Introduce yourself to the BS - Brick Smoking page!

wes w · Nov 5, 2014

Jim Williams said:
Wes, I do not know where you get your strength and determination from, if I may guess...Your Family!

I had dug a footing 36" down by hand (42'' wide x 7' 4'' along with 3 adolescents ) , rebar to specs (16" square grid) for block and poured an solid footing/foundation/slab.

I had laid 40 block with 800lbs of cement mix and mortar on top of the foundation. All is done in 4 weeks and my back is kicking my ass!!!. (spare time only)

Bottom line I am out of shape but feel better every time I get to go do my own project.

I deeply appreciate You, your information, your family history, patients with al

Dad and Carrie.jpg

jim williams

Nov 5, 2014

l of us on the forum!

What a true leader for us to follow and I am 45 years of age!!!

Have a nice evening Wes W. and all Brick Smoker builders! (PS) This is my Daughter and I, she is currently serving the USAF

Thank you Jim. It nice to see who I've been talking to and texting to. Please thank your daughter for her service! Hold her close sir, we just never know.....

It blows me away your freeze line is 36in.. Damn it gets cold there. :-) I sanded and finished hardwood floors for 25yrs. I can understand back pain.

Take your time and take care of your back. After a hard days work, nothing feels better to the back then a good stiff drink, but thats just me. :-)

I look forward to seeing your smoker go up. When you get started, start a new thread so everyone can see it go up.

Hope you have a great evening sir!

drummermom · Nov 14, 2014

Howdy!

I am in southern Illinois where the temperature right now is unseasonably COLD. It is supposed to be in the 50's in November, but we are right at the freezing mark for our highs this week and through the weekend. I was planning to test out my new smoker this weekend and am concerned that I will be battling to keep it hot enough to cook my turkey breast and whole chicken. We will see.

My brick smoker is my own design. I wanted to be able to use it as a fire pit if it doesn't work out well as a smoker, so it is only about 3.5 feet tall (but taller with the kettle type lid on). It is round and open on top. I have a kettle style lid from an old fire pit that goes on top. I drilled a couple of 1" holes in the lid for the smoke to come out (I may add another hole tonight) and I also installed a thermometer on the lid. I don't have a whole lot of confidence in the lid thermometer, but I needed something for now until my new Maverick ET-732 arrives. I have a vent at the bottom that is the space of 1 brick wide and two horizontal bricks high. I will open/close this vent area by positioning bricks as needed. I installed two rows of firebrick on the inside, but it doesn't go all the way up to the top because I wanted a ledge for iron bars to hold my racks. I may add more firebrick next year if it doesn't seem to hold heat well enough.

Anyway, here is a pic of me building the smoker/fire pit. It is only about half way done in the pic. I will have to take a pic of the completed product this weekend and post it.

View media item 352245
I have spent quite a bit of time researching smokers and have made decisions based on what I have seen works well for others (like buying the Maverick ET-732). However, I have yet to find someone who has made a round smoker out of brick and mortar. Maybe because it's a bad idea, or maybe because I am a genius and need to trademark my design! ;)

Anyway, I am looking forward to reading more about smokers and smoking technique!

-Debbie

portsmokers · Nov 14, 2014

Thats more of a open pit bbq smokers are in close smoke . Its getting old here canada i had to stop my project going to finish next year. ::; (((

drummermom · Nov 14, 2014

Sorry, man. Someone told me to make sure to post here so that's why I did. I will have to look into what an open pit bbq is, but my plan is to use this with the top on it just like anyone would use a weber kettle grill with the top on. It's just got more room inside for smoking more meat and holding more coal.

jim williams · Nov 14, 2014

I admire your work ethic and dream of smoking meat! stay with it Debbie!

jim williams · Nov 14, 2014

I had to stop my project also here in Lincoln, Nebraska.

I am going similar to Wes W. behive with a few twists.

24" x 40" brick counters on each side and an arch.

Anyhow, good luck and we will build on together in the spring! -later

wes w · Nov 14, 2014

DrummerMom said:
Howdy!

I am in southern Illinois where the temperature right now is unseasonably COLD. It is supposed to be in the 50's in November, but we are right at the freezing mark for our highs this week and through the weekend. I was planning to test out my new smoker this weekend and am concerned that I will be battling to keep it hot enough to cook my turkey breast and whole chicken. We will see.

My brick smoker is my own design. I wanted to be able to use it as a fire pit if it doesn't work out well as a smoker, so it is only about 3.5 feet tall (but taller with the kettle type lid on). It is round and open on top. I have a kettle style lid from an old fire pit that goes on top. I drilled a couple of 1" holes in the lid for the smoke to come out (I may add another hole tonight) and I also installed a thermometer on the lid. I don't have a whole lot of confidence in the lid thermometer, but I needed something for now until my new Maverick ET-732 arrives. I have a vent at the bottom that is the space of 1 brick wide and two horizontal bricks high. I will open/close this vent area by positioning bricks as needed. I installed two rows of firebrick on the inside, but it doesn't go all the way up to the top because I wanted a ledge for iron bars to hold my racks. I may add more firebrick next year if it doesn't seem to hold heat well enough.

Anyway, here is a pic of me building the smoker/fire pit. It is only about half way done in the pic. I will have to take a pic of the completed product this weekend and post it.

View media item 352245
I have spent quite a bit of time researching smokers and have made decisions based on what I have seen works well for others (like buying the Maverick ET-732). However, I have yet to find someone who has made a round smoker out of brick and mortar. Maybe because it's a bad idea, or maybe because I am a genius and need to trademark my design! ;)

Anyway, I am looking forward to reading more about smokers and smoking technique!

-Debbie

First off, I know there is a story behind the "DrummerMom" title. :-)

Ma'am, you are a genius and your more then welcome to share your design here!

A round smoker would be awesome! Lots of extra room for air to flow upward. The biggest problem I see are doors. Would you set them in square or have them made to match the round shape? You could reveal brick to carry the racks in the same manner as a square smoker. You could carry the racks in the front and back with no problem.

I really like this idea. That would be a true work of art. Keep us posted. When you get started, start and new thread and I'm sure all of us working together can get it built.

moikel · Nov 15, 2014

I like this a lot, not entirely sure I understand it totally.Any chance of some more photos?

Good idea putting the reclaimed metal top on it. Just trying to picture how the doors will go in.Do you need 2 ,1 for the fire & 1 for the food?

daveomak · Nov 15, 2014

Great thread Wes..... Yeah, I'm middle aged also.... 66 and counting..... I don't have a picture of the 5 1/2' square x 10' high block smoker I built in the early1980's... Heck, that was 3 houses ago.... and 235 miles from here.... Smoked a full deer in it and thousands of pounds of salmon... Turkeys for Thanksgiving for friends...

2f37c433_DaveOmak.jpg

daveomak
Nov 15, 2014

drummermom · Nov 17, 2014

Wes W said:
First off, I know there is a story behind the "DrummerMom" title. :-)

Ma'am, you are a genius and your more then welcome to share your design here!

A round smoker would be awesome! Lots of extra room for air to flow upward. The biggest problem I see are doors. Would you set them in square or have them made to match the round shape? You could reveal brick to carry the racks in the same manner as a square smoker. You could carry the racks in the front and back with no problem.

I really like this idea. That would be a true work of art. Keep us posted. When you get started, start and new thread and I'm sure all of us working together can get it built.

Hi Wes! "DrummerMom" comes from my taking drum lessons (I am learning Back In Black right now!) and the fact that I have two (grown) kids. No doors on my smoker. I posted a bunch of pics on a new thread, so you can see more of the finished product and how I use it. Thanks for your comments! :) - Deb

wes w · Nov 18, 2014

DaveOmak said:
Great thread Wes..... Yeah, I'm middle aged also.... 66 and counting..... I don't have a picture of the 5 1/2' square x 10' high block smoker I built in the early1980's... Heck, that was 3 houses ago.... and 235 miles from here.... Smoked a full deer in it and thousands of pounds of salmon... Turkeys for Thanksgiving for friends...

2f37c433_DaveOmak.jpg

daveomak

Nov 15, 2014

Always good to hear from you Dave. Sounds like an awesome smoker.

After hearing everyones ideas I wish I had built mine differently. I'd love to do a whole hog or deer. Guess I'll just stick to the parts and pieces. :-)

Hope you have a great evening!

seth d · Jul 9, 2016

20160709_145354.jpg

seth d
Jul 9, 2016

20151224_103629.jpg

seth d
Jul 9, 2016

Well this page kind of died. I hope the smoke didn't ;) I have been reading all the posts on BS and I just have to have one. Have to finish the patio first but hopefully will be smoking by the year end. Drew up a quick rough sketch of what I was thinking.

jim williams · Jul 10, 2016

Go for it Seth! Make sure you have your outside measurements correct and dig a footing as deep as local frost depths. This looks to be of multi-use. I will watch ya build.

wes w · Jul 14, 2016

Welcome to the BS page. :-)

I like what you have drawn! Keep us posted on the start date. Be sure and start a thread when you get it going.

lemans · Jul 14, 2016

Brick Smoker... I wish I had a spot to build one. .
It's like the ultimate smoker.. Can you imagine the taste of a brisket on a brick smoker you had for 5 years? The seasoning of the pit, the taste of past smokes? I getting hungry!!!

wes w · Jul 29, 2016

A new found friend from Texas, who used to work at a Q joint in Texas gave me a brisket to smoke. He gave me some Texas rub too. Smoked over fire in my smoker, said it was the best he'd ever had. LOL, must be all the pork on the shelves that made it taste so good. :-) Yes, sir, I know how it taste :-) And, when I fire the smoker and burn off the grates, I can smell the last smoke. Simply awesome!!

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