60gal RF(First Build)

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pig sooie

Newbie
Original poster
Oct 30, 2013
22
10
South Arkansas
Hello everyone, my name is Brandon and this is my first build. I finally acquired a tank (old craftsman tank) and thanks to my awsome
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wife I got a 125 flux core welder for my birthday. I am on a tight budget, so needless to say is that the local scrap yard is my best friend. Also this is the first time I have ran a MIG so my welding skills are not the best. I have been putting my boys to work on this one and so far they are up to the task and loving it. Anyway here is some of the pics that I have so far and hopefully this weekend I will be getting the metal to build the firebox.


when I got the tank home their was some surface rust but not bad, it is an older tank so I was actually surprised by the thickness of it.


got the lid cut and framed and found some old galvanized pipe for the legs


stepson doing a little cleaning on the exhaust standoff


got a drop piece of 70x3 inch from the yard for $8 for the exhaust. I only needed 37" but when I called to get a quote it was gonna be around $50 new.


a pic of the pipe and the stand off. to get the side pieces on the stand off correct took some time and cardboard but the boys learned some pointers from the old man, such as cardboard is cheaper than metal when test fitting.


back supports for the door, nothing fancy but they work


handle mounts in place


doing the burnout, used redoak and it got hot. also in case your wondering that is a firepit built out of a dryer drum in the bottom left of the picture, looks cool at night with all the little holes in the drum


got the cool touch handle on and notice the color change from the burnout. I had some warpage issues on the lid but I expected it I will address that in the future. Well this is where I am at for now, I am going with a 17 squared firebox which is at 106% according to the calculator. I am also gonna frame up the legs so I can put a catch all on the bottom. Hope everybody likes it so far and all ideas are welcome, good or bad.
 
Looking great, bud. Can't wait to see finished product with some smoke coming out the top. Currently building a 250 gal RF smoker with my son and a friend. As I said on my build post..... BBQ is an AWESOME way to spend time with the family, building memories that will last forever. Good job.
 
I like how your son went to sleep in the buggy with the helmet on, bye the way that is a nice looking buggy you got their Smoke Break. That 250gal is going to be nice when your done
 
Haha...yeah... Me and Shane laughed for hours about him sleeping on us. Since you're in S. Arkansas... we need to arrange a family Que meet up one day. Should be some nice middle ground areas we can meet. I got fam around Rogers and Stuttgart area also. 
 
Sounds good, I know Lake Chicot has a nice state park and it is right on the Mississippi river around Greenville/Lake Villiage. I might have to plan on it around next spring. We do some camping and I think maybe we could get some other local forum guys and gals from Ark, Miss, and Louisiana to come. Call it Smoke on the Water or something. Maybe like a 3 day event.
 
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Well I finally got the metal for the firebox and so far that was the most expensive part, but I had to bite the bullet because I couldn't find any pieces at the scrap yard. Today was opening day of deer season so my kids went hunting with papaw and I got a little work done, the deer can wait, I know where they hide
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. Sorry I didn't get any pics of the build in progress but I was fighting off some rain all morning and as you can see in the photos I'm stuck on some build space but this is what I got done.


a couple more angles



I had to use my jack out of my truck and a strap to get it into place and that was fun, but I was able to get some  decent tacks into place before the little 1inch strap burned and snapped.  I think I will build the firebox first next time and just flip it over and attach it so it is not like trying to wrestle a bear. Tomorrow I will hopefully finish the latch and get the damper on, and also finish up some welds on the box, I will post some more pics on that tomorrow.
 
Looking more like a smoker all the time

Gary
 
Got a little bit more done on the firebox today. I had some pretty good gaps between the firebox and the cook chamber. I used some metal off of one of the wife's flower stand's as filler rod, just don't tell her, she will never miss them. Question???? I have seen a lot of firebox's that look like they have cross supports on the door, is that so it doesn't warp? Also I think I will support around the opening of the firebox with angle iron. If anybody can answer I would appreciate it.



 
Well I got to work early Saturday and Sunday morning and while I was fighting off more rain I got a little bit more done. Sunday ending up fairing off so I cooked some ribs and they turned out great. I used a charcoal chimney in the firebox since I haven't built my basket yet but it kept the temp right at 240 so after seasoning it I went to the grocery store and got some baby backs. I'm going to work finishing up where I can the next week but so far I am happy with the results.


I decided to got with 2000lbs clamps to help solve my door gap problem. You can see on the door where I heated it up with a torch but I was just chasing the gap. The clamps work real well and didn't leak at all


did a slide out grate with 1 inch square tubing and flat expansion metal


Another view


did a basic slide damper on the intake


a view of the reverse flow chamber from inside the firebox


door closed


The baby backs, I used A1's sweet mesquite rub and fajita seasoning, real good flavor


Dinner is served, a slight smoke ring, will have to work on it but they pulled right off the bone but did not fall off. So far I am happy with it and cant wait to start a brisket. So want to say thanks for all the inspiration I have got from the guys on this forum.
 
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