Well after viewing this site for a long time I finally registered and said hi over at the roll call. You guys have really inspired me with all the cool builds I have seen on these forums, I decided to start small and after seeing the mini reverse flow from the fireman's air tank I decided to try one myself. First thing I found out after starting to cut is that this scuba tank is made of chromoly steel and most likely had some type of hard coating inside.
I don't weld but I do have a lot of stainless hardware from building boats. I decided to bolt as much as I can and use stainless hinges for the cook chamber door since it will look really nice against the black paint. Rather than build it on a mini trailer I am going to make it a scaled down version of a Horizon type patio with the steel (mini) wagon wheels. I am off to a good start but of course I have a lot of questions.
1. will the Feldons pit calculator be accurate for a chamber this small? I am using the I.D.inside length and diameter 6.750" X 23" and not sure if the calculator is based on O.D.
2. do I have to weld the baffle plate in and create a catch pan or just make a tight fit for the heat and smoke
3. should I extend the chimney 1.750" X 6" into the chamber near the grate level and does the length of the chimney stay the same? (not a lot of room in there already)
4. Afraid to ask but does anybody think it will be okay to leave the Galvy/Zinc plating on the outside surface? I know I will have to grind it off where the firebox and chimney will weld in but its a pain to remove.
Thanks guys I'm having a lot of fun with this
I don't weld but I do have a lot of stainless hardware from building boats. I decided to bolt as much as I can and use stainless hinges for the cook chamber door since it will look really nice against the black paint. Rather than build it on a mini trailer I am going to make it a scaled down version of a Horizon type patio with the steel (mini) wagon wheels. I am off to a good start but of course I have a lot of questions.
1. will the Feldons pit calculator be accurate for a chamber this small? I am using the I.D.inside length and diameter 6.750" X 23" and not sure if the calculator is based on O.D.
2. do I have to weld the baffle plate in and create a catch pan or just make a tight fit for the heat and smoke
3. should I extend the chimney 1.750" X 6" into the chamber near the grate level and does the length of the chimney stay the same? (not a lot of room in there already)
4. Afraid to ask but does anybody think it will be okay to leave the Galvy/Zinc plating on the outside surface? I know I will have to grind it off where the firebox and chimney will weld in but its a pain to remove.
Thanks guys I'm having a lot of fun with this
Last edited: