Backyard Puffer

sam1amm · Oct 24, 2014

First off I would like to thank Wes for starting a page just on brick smokers. I have been trying to convert everything from normal smokers for my use.

This is what I came up with from all the postings that I found in this forum. It works rather well and I enjoyed building it in the back Yard. My neighbor calls it a heated out house but I think he enjoys the aromas that find their way to his house.

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sam1amm
Jun 30, 2014

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sam1amm
Jun 30, 2014

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sam1amm
Jun 30, 2014

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sam1amm
Jun 30, 2014

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sam1amm
Jun 30, 2014

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sam1amm
Jun 30, 2014

pc farmer · Oct 24, 2014

WOW.

I like it.

How does it cook? You like it?

moikel · Oct 24, 2014

Brilliant I love it.

What sort of things do you cook in it?

wes w · Oct 25, 2014

Outstanding build. If you don't mind, explain how it works.   Is the right side for cold smoking?

I love the design.    LOL, when the wind is right, my neighbors 1/2 mile up the road know when I'm smoking!

Thank SMF for the page.   I simply ask.

sam1amm · Oct 26, 2014

Yes Wes you are right with the cold smoke side. I did a batch of cheese the other day. It was around 60F outside and it held around 84F inside the box. (I insulated it with foilboard then wrapped the inside with 1/4" luan) I have a 4" pipe that runs from the right side to the left to draft smoke only. Its about 5 feet long so it bleeds a lot of heat off before it gets to the smoke chamber. It will burn on 2 good pieces of wood for a couple hours.

The hot side also works great. I need to watch out for coals to build up or it gets too hot. I found that I can hold it as low as 200 F if I pay attention and not add too much wood.

This is my first time smoking anything and I jumped in with booth feet. I really enjoy it and do a lot of research in here. My wife enjoys the flavors but sometimes complains that I don't do as much grilling anymore.

sam1amm · Oct 26, 2014

I LOVE IT!!! It works great. I use it a lot and enjoy it. I will have to start taking pics of the greatness that it provides our table and post them. Doing a deer hind quarter tomorrow.

wes w · Oct 29, 2014

Sam, I have a question. What is the distance between the cold box to the smoker firebox? Also, where are your fresh air vents located. I don't see them in the pictures. ....I think I could convert mine to do that. Great idea! When I cold smoke I use a chargriller sidebox and run it in through a pipe. It works well, but a hassle to set up. Help me here. I'm thinking I could build another firebox to the right and plumb it in through the clean out underneath for cold smoke. I'd have to do away with the clean out, but it would work way better and look better too. Thoughts.

So many ideas, so little time to do them. :-) *Pizza oven, cold box, deck area, ..... LOL! *

dirtsailor2003 · Oct 29, 2014

Great looking Smoker!!!

sam1amm · Oct 30, 2014

Wes, The fire boxes are about 50" from outside to outside apart. As far as the fresh air vents... I didn't know about them (new to this smoking thing). I looked at a lot of pictures of smoke house builds before I jumped in and didn't find much reference to them. I never had a smoker of any type before this so this is all new territory for me. With that being said I think I got lucky with the build. Maybe you could look at what I have and let me know if I need them. I asked a lot of questions and this is what I came up with. I put 2 - 5" dampers in both of the doors to allow for air to enter the fireboxes. I put a fire grate about 2 inches off the bottom so air would circulate under the fire. The fire boxes are linked with a 4" pipe. I didn't seal the pipe tight to the boxes. I just cut a hole in the block so it would be a little snug and laid it in. Also the granite top sits 1/2" off the brick on globs of silicone caulk so it will draw air under that. I left it that way in case I needed to go back inside under the granite and seal the pipe to the block. Also if I am cold smoking I tend to open the left side fire box dampers to let in some cooler outside air. I noticed that when I build a fire in the cold side it tends to burn at a real slow rate. It seems to starve for air but I guess that's good since I don't want the heat.

So I guess in conclusion my fresh air vents are hidden throughout the entire build...LOL!!

wes w · Oct 30, 2014

sam1amm said:
Wes, The fire boxes are about 50" from outside to outside apart. As far as the fresh air vents... I didn't know about them (new to this smoking thing). I looked at a lot of pictures of smoke house builds before I jumped in and didn't find much reference to them. I never had a smoker of any type before this so this is all new territory for me. With that being said I think I got lucky with the build. Maybe you could look at what I have and let me know if I need them. I asked a lot of questions and this is what I came up with. I put 2 - 5" dampers in both of the doors to allow for air to enter the fireboxes. I put a fire grate about 2 inches off the bottom so air would circulate under the fire. The fire boxes are linked with a 4" pipe. I didn't seal the pipe tight to the boxes. I just cut a hole in the block so it would be a little snug and laid it in. Also the granite top sits 1/2" off the brick on globs of silicone caulk so it will draw air under that. I left it that way in case I needed to go back inside under the granite and seal the pipe to the block. Also if I am cold smoking I tend to open the left side fire box dampers to let in some cooler outside air. I noticed that when I build a fire in the cold side it tends to burn at a real slow rate. It seems to starve for air but I guess that's good since I don't want the heat.

So I guess in conclusion my fresh air vents are hidden throughout the entire build...LOL!!

Thanks for the info.   As long as you are getting a thin blue smoke, your getting enough air to the fire. White smoke is a starving flame. Blue smoke is perfect for smoking. I've found with my smoker, sometimes you just can't get the fire low enough toward the end of a smoke. In that case, I usually throw in about 5 charcoal to keep the fire from going out and small sticks of wood.

I over looked the door vents. Sorry about that.

You did a really good job with it.   You will enjoy it for many years!

jaez · Oct 30, 2014

I like it! Very similar to what I am building =)

So, what holds the lava rock in the opening on the cap and how much of a temperature variance do you get from each cooking grate?

I don't see how you have the wood attached to the cement? Is it just floating on top or did you drill some anchors?

sam1amm · Oct 31, 2014

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sam1amm
Jun 30, 2014

Jaez... I drilled into the cap and put 3/8 steel rod across then a piece of small grate. It's about 10deg F difference per rack. I used redheads to anchor the angle iron to the cap on the inside of the box and used s/s screws to attach it.

I built it like this so I can add a pizza oven to the other side next summer. (If I can keep the dogs off of it long enough).

jaez · Oct 31, 2014

hmmm, I was planning on using an old chimney starter with a pan of sand on top to let the heat up to the smoking chamber, but now looking at your lava rock I may have to try something like that... It makes a lot of sense to me =) How thick of a layer is the rock?

Wonder if I could put wood chunks on top of the rock and have it slowly smolder or if it would get too hot and catch fire...

switching to pellets anyways since I just ordered the A-Maze-N pellet smoker and 12" tube smoker =)

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