300g Tank

heyer5 · Jul 29, 2013

Hey SMF community!

I have acquired a 300g fuel barrel to be used to transform into a smoker. This process will most likely start this winter, as the end of summer is coming quick, and with fall comes harvest. So, it'll be a bit before we get rolling.

However, I'm looking to make it a RF, side firebox, with warmer for the wood. Eventually, it will make its way onto a trailer for me to pull around :)

Also, I'm hoping to have two different rack levels as seen on many smoker builds here on SMF.

I'm curious and hoping some of you 250-300 gallon guys could chime in on, how much meat can one fit? The two main smokes will be pork butts and ribs. I'm just wondering on a quantity side, how much can you fit on your smoker?

Thanks!

megt123 · Jul 29, 2013

Not to be a smart a##$%, but you will be able to get alot of food on there if you are going to use two shelves. I don't know how much exactly because it depends on what you are cooking.

Good luck on the build and post some progress pics. Everyone loves to see them.

heyer5 · Jul 29, 2013

Megt123 said:
Not to be a smart a##$%, but you will be able to get alot of food on there if you are going to use two shelves. I don't know how much exactly because it depends on what you are cooking.

Good luck on the build and post some progress pics. Everyone loves to see them.

Oh, I know it'll hold a lot of food :), I just wasn't sure if someone with a set up similar to what I'm building, could give me a rough idea. No offense taken!

ribwizzard · Jul 29, 2013

What do you think the rack size will end up? That will determine how much you can fit. Ribs take up a lot of sq.inches, butts dont. Fiqure a slb will take up 7"x 14" on average, butt probably 7"x 10" , and the but will feed 8 to 12 and the slab 2 to 3 people.

megt123 · Jul 29, 2013

I have looked endlessley here around Baltimore for old tanks. I gave up and I am now using a WSM 22 after building my own uds out of a large barrel.

heyer5 · Jul 29, 2013

Ribwizzard said:
What do you think the rack size will end up? That will determine how much you can fit. Ribs take up a lot of sq.inches, butts dont. Fiqure a slb will take up 7"x 14" on average, butt probably 7"x 10" , and the but will feed 8 to 12 and the slab 2 to 3 people.

I'm not quite sure yet. I have to get out and measure my tank here one of these nights. I know it's 300 gallon though, just not positive on the actual diminsions of the tank. And yeah, ribs are going to take up more space than butts! I'd like to get into some smaller local competitions, and I think getting this built might be the ticket as it's kind of hard to do a lot of meat on my 18.5" WSM!

munxcub · Jul 29, 2013

I hear you, that's exactly the boat I'm in, currently 18.5" WSM and building a bigger RF (not 300 gallons tho... only about 30-40) I figure if I can fit a small top rack in mine, I could get 2 butts, a brisket and a couple racks of ribs, figure 9-10x as much in yours at least... haha

please note these are completely pulled out of thin air... ;)

ribwizzard · Jul 29, 2013

Word of advise, sometimes these fuel tanks are not all that thick a guage of steel. But your going to have just as much work into as if you would have used a propane tank that will be 3/16" or 1/4 " thick walls.

A 250 gallon propane tank makes one nice smoker if you take the time to round one up. ...just saying...

heyer5 · Jul 29, 2013

Ribwizzard said:
Word of advise, sometimes these fuel tanks are not all that thick a guage of steel. But your going to have just as much work into as if you would have used a propane tank that will be 3/16" or 1/4 " thick walls.

A 250 gallon propane tank makes one nice smoker if you take the time to round one up. ...just saying...

Ribwizzard

That is a great point! The first fuel barrel we found seems to be a pretty thin gauge of steel. However, my FIL just found another one for free that is much heavier than the current one we have. I guess I'm not sure if this new one is an LP tank or fuel barrel as I haven't seen it yet.

ribwizzard · Jul 30, 2013

Well...its just like restoring a car, your going to put the same man hours and money into it either way, so do you want to end up with a pristine pinto, or a bad ass chevelle......It all about what you start out with.

heyer5 · Jul 30, 2013

Ribwizzard said:
Well...its just like restoring a car, your going to put the same man hours and money into it either way, so do you want to end up with a pristine pinto, or a bad ass chevelle......It all about what you start out with.

Good reference! As a Chevelle lover, and hopefully one day a Chevelle owner, it made it to be a really good comparison!

ribwizzard · Jul 30, 2013

Does is stand for ..Super Sport......or ...Supper Smoker?????????

heyer5 · Jul 30, 2013

Ribwizzard said:
Does is stand for ..Super Sport......or ...Supper Smoker?????????

Depends if it's running with a 396, 454, or charcoal and wood!

urbotrimmm · Aug 1, 2013

Build you some rib racks. They are AWESOME! I built mine from 2" flat stock....1/4" thick and welded #20 penny bright nails every 2 " onto them. It takes 2rib racks for each shelf. Stand your ribs on edge between the nails. My 288 gal smoker gets 45 racks of ribs on the bottom shelves at one time...3 sets of 15. I can get 4 briskets to a shelf comfortably on the bottom 2-3 on top. In short I can cook a lot at time.

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