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Insulated Vertical Reverse Flow

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bluffton smoker

bluffton smoker

Smoke Blower
Original poster
Aug 15, 2012
132
12
Lucasville, OH
Hi all. It has been a busy year for me so far. But, it's time to get back to building yet again. I learned a lot on my first RF build.... http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/...-build-125-gallon-propane-tank-plenty-of-pics

I learned that I would not fill up that smoker more than 2-3 times per year, which made it very inefficient for me to run. What I am looking for is a smaller, more efficient smoker that I don't have to 'babysit'. 

I am absolutely sold on the RF design. (More smoke actually ON the meat and even temps.)

I'm looking to design & build a smoker that will be:
  1. Coal Burner
  2. 750 - 1,000 square Inch Cook Surface
  3. Efficient (Fuel Burn, Footprint, Weight)
With that in mind, I was thinking about a Vertical Insulated RF smoker. I ran across one out on the road that I liked. I visited with the owner and was told about its performance. It did what I am looking for.

I started laying it out in general and haven't even got to the point of plugging the numbers into the calculator yet. When I get an electronic copy or two and a few numbers, I will post 'em.

Has anyone built such an animal?
 
I went and looked at your build. That is a nice pit. I agree it is a little large for a brisket.

Have you thought about something like a UDS? I have one and love it. I put a divorced smoke box for a AMNPS. You could put a baffle above the coal basket.

In Texas I'm not sure you need insulation. If so maybe a welding blanket.

I know you said vertical RF. I'm not seeing a mind picture.

Happy smoken.

David
 
Okay, here's what I have so far.. It is like the BackWoods smokers....

Yellow jacket.jpg

Yellow jacket.jpg


The numbers work out. I still have research to do as far as the thickness of the firebox and RF plates. I have located insulation good for 1800-degrees.. Just a little research and I'm ready to begin...
 
Ok I'm thinking that would be good.

Did you use feldons calculaor for your numbers?

With it being vertical. I think the firebox can be smaller than it would be with a RF

What did you find for insulation. I'm going to be hunting for some for my outdoor boiler furnace build.

David
 
Thanks Mule,

Thanks for the words. The last build was a tad large.... To say the least.

I am looking to do something a little different this time. I always thought out side of the box as it were. Maybe I should get back in the box and stay there. We will see where this roller coaster takes me.
 
I found a[font=Lucida Grande, Trebuchet MS, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]  ceramic blanket product on McMaster-Carr. RockWool/MineralWool is also another option which can be found @ Lowes/Depot type stores. [/font]

[font=Lucida Grande, Trebuchet MS, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]I sketched out the design, then plugged the numbers into the calculator and learned that my fire box was way too big. I opted to cut the sides of the firebox down at a 45-degree angle to reduce the size where it was wasted space and weight anyway.[/font]

[font=Lucida Grande, Trebuchet MS, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The insulation is for efficiency. The ability to run the smoker through cold wind & rain is just a plus.[/font]

[font=Lucida Grande, Trebuchet MS, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]I am in the very beginning of my research on this one. I will post pics of the entire project once I get started.[/font]
 
BS, evening.....   Hey, digest this.....  instead of a round stack, how about a 1 1/4" X 30" wide stack....   using the entire rear panel for the stack...  I would stop the height at the top of the CC.....  That would in effect be a 36" tall stack....      Ka Ching.....    my 2 cents...

Dave 
 
Dave, I was just searching for a way to make a different stack. I was considering using the 2" X 6" OD rectagular tubing left over from the last build. I dismissed it due to weight issues alone. BUT I like the back panel stack thought. Lemme mull it over... THANKS

JckDnls 07, This is exactly what I was looking for earlier...  I saw this build way back when, then I lost it.. This is very similar.

My THANKS to you as well, Sir...
 
DaveOmak said:
BS, evening.....   Hey, digest this.....  instead of a round stack, how about a 1 1/4" X 30" wide stack....   using the entire rear panel for the stack...  I would stop the height at the top of the CC.....  That would in effect be a 36" tall stack....      Ka Ching.....    my 2 cents...

Dave 
Click to expand...
I tryed to do this a couple of hours ago But Huddle wasn't responding so I will try it again.....

Dave here you go my friend...........  Ka Ching!!!!

.02 cents.jpg

.02 cents.jpg


Thank you so much for all your help with our builds.

Now i have a question..........Am I allowed to offsite link Feldon's calculator???

Happy smoken.

David
 
themule69 said:
DaveOmak said:
BS, evening.....   Hey, digest this.....  instead of a round stack, how about a 1 1/4" X 30" wide stack....   using the entire rear panel for the stack...  I would stop the height at the top of the CC.....  That would in effect be a 36" tall stack....      Ka Ching.....    my 2 cents...

Dave 
Click to expand...
I tryed to do this a couple of hours ago But Huddle wasn't responding so I will try it again.....

Dave here you go my friend...........  Ka Ching!!!!

.02 cents.jpg

.02 cents.jpg


Thank you so much for all your help with our builds.

Now i have a question..........Am I allowed to offsite link Feldon's calculator???

Happy smoken.

David
Click to expand...
David, are you a Premier Member ???   If not, become a Premier Member and I think you can place the link in your signature line....  Then you can refer to your sig. line for folks to access....    See my sig. line and all the info in it...  Copied and pasted from the Terms of Service blurb......  Hey, in my sig. line is a link to becoming a Premier Member.....   Premier Member     ......  click it and become a supporter of the site....  post links in your sig. line....  and FEEL THE POWER. !!!!!!!!!!    

                                                                ....... 
super.gif
 ....  
Gunner.gif
 .......   YMMV....

Some exceptions to this rule:
  • premier members are allowed to post off-site links in their signature area. They are considered to be paying sponsors of the forum and pay for the right to do so.
  • Site sponsors are allowed to post links to their website, store, etc. in posts, articles, signature areas, etc. in order to promote their products.
  • There are some approved sites such as the USDA/FDA websites which we sometimes link to for food safety purposes.
 
DaveOmak said:
David, are you a Premier Member ???   If not, become a Premier Member and I think you can place the link in your signature line....  Then you can refer to your sig. line for folks to access....    See my sig. line and all the info in it...  Copied and pasted from the Terms of Service blurb......  Hey, in my sig. line is a link to becoming a Premier Member.....   Premier Member     ......  click it and become a supporter of the site....  post links in your sig. line....  and FEEL THE POWER. !!!!!!!!!!    

                                                                ....... 
super.gif
 ....  
Gunner.gif
 .......   YMMV....

Some exceptions to this rule:
  • premier members are allowed to post off-site links in their signature area. They are considered to be paying sponsors of the forum and pay for the right to do so.
  • Site sponsors are allowed to post links to their website, store, etc. in posts, articles, signature areas, etc. in order to promote their products.
  • There are some approved sites such as the USDA/FDA websites which we sometimes link to for food safety purposes.
Click to expand...
Nope Dave. I'm just a smoker.......No DR I quit smoking..........that is why i don't try to cross the line on Feldon's calculator. I don't have a dog in this fight.....I have learned a lot and enjoy playing in TULSA JEFFS HOUSE
 
Okay I have the frame pretty much done... I used Dave's suggestion with using the rear panel as a stack. Well, kinda anyway.. I'm gonna use part of the rear wall as an integrated stack. Tomorrow I will frame it in with square tubing.

I didn't cut the fire box down at 45-degrees on the sides. It looked good on paper, but just made everything way more complex than it needed to be. So the fire box ended up being 1/2 the size of the cook chamber. But with such a small cook chamber, it is what it is. This skewed my numbers in the calculator, but it is all good. Was kinda busy today with the frame and didn't get a single pic. I will get the camera up and running tomorrow and start documenting.

The lens in my hood is supposed to be adjustable, but it is too darned dark, so I may have to shut down until I get this addressed. My 14 year old son can see okay thru this dark lens, so he did most of the welding today. That left me to the measuring, cutting & grinding tasks.

One thing is for sure. These insulated boxes are WAY more complex than my Horizontal Offset RF Smoker was by far...

Stay Tuned...
 
BS, morning..... about your welding hood.....    How's your eye sight ???    I have to use a pair of reading glasses to weld...   I found a pair that focus about 12-18" out....  full lens type...   sure does make the welding easier....  I've tried it thru bi-focals and that don't work....   Be sure there is no light from behind the hood also....  that makes welding very tough....    

Dave 
 
I usually work with a lighter lens than most myself. Cant see anything with a #13.

Many times I have to set up a light focused on the weld area. And running the bead towards me helps as well. Be carefull of what kind of shirt you are wearing, it can reflect light behind the hood like Dave say's. Duct tape a rag to the bottom of the hood like a bib will help with that.

th
 
Thanks all for the input on my hood issues. I actually do wear a pair of readers under my hood normally. I am right-handed and weld right-to-left so I can see what's happening.

This morning I pulled the lens apart and checked everything out. I figured if I destroyed it, I'm not out anything. I cleaned all the connections and lenses as well. When I put it all back together, Volla, I had an adjustable, auto darkening hood once again.... AND no leaks to boot!!!  Dialed it back to 11 and I can actually see 'where' I'm welding. Last year I had to put a halogen work light behind me when I was welding my RF Plate in my last build. What a pain that was. The halogen would darken my hood at the most inopportune times. The hood works, so I'm back in business.

I finished up most of the the framework (1" X 1" 14 Gauge Tubing)... I got the top of the firebox (1/8” plate) stuck down as well before I shut it down for the day.

I plan to finish up the tubing framework (door jams, hinge & latch backing) and get the 3 sides of the firebox welded up tomorrow.

All my joints are cut on 45s. So a lot of time was wasted... err consumed. If I continue with this design, I will build a universal jig and easily cut this time (measuring, cutting, clamping, squaring, tacking, re-squaring, welding, verifying) in half.

Here's a couple of pics of what I have so far....

The entire box will end up being 30" high X 30" wide X 18"deep when complete.

IMG_2948.JPG

IMG_2948.JPG


Could have been a better pic, but the stack will be completely integral to the rear panel. It is 10" wide X 1" deep. I had to choke that 1" down to 7/8" by running 1/8" flat bar across the top of the box to give me a welding surface for the outer skin. The stack will rise approx 10" above the box when complete. Should still draft well.

IMG_2950.JPG

IMG_2950.JPG


More (and better) pics to follow as items get checked off the list.

I want to keep track of hours invested in this build.10 Hours so far.
 
I almost finished welding the frame... I forgot to add blocks for the latches... A 10-minute task I will start with next time. I started the coal tray slide, but ran out of angle, so I moved on to building the doors.

I am unable to upload the pics... Local ISP issues...

16 Hours
 
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