I'd love some insight from the more seasoned members. I have seen several builds on this and other sites- and they all have their relative pro's and con's.
My biggest question: Why - with almost unanimity- are they all "insulated"? I'm probably 100 percent of base but - but if you live in a climate like North Central Texas, you are not dealing with overcoming some seriously low ambient temps.
Most of these builds use 14 /16 gauge sheet metal sandwich with a 1" or thicker insulation wrap...even going to the extreme of filling in their tubing with pcs of the same stuff.
Is this really necessary?
I'm very limited in my budget- it's practically non-existent and I see a way to cut the cost WAY down- but I don't want to lose functionality. I might be up for insulating and skinning a firebox- that make sense to me- but the cooking chamber too? Metal- even scrap- is pretty expensive.
I'm even questioning the "need" for a reverse flow setup in the cabinet... I have and love my UDS and MiniWsm- they are not insulated and they are very skimpy on fuel- miserly even. Why would a smallish, no frills, cabinet smoker not work like a champ.
Thanks in advance!
My biggest question: Why - with almost unanimity- are they all "insulated"? I'm probably 100 percent of base but - but if you live in a climate like North Central Texas, you are not dealing with overcoming some seriously low ambient temps.
Most of these builds use 14 /16 gauge sheet metal sandwich with a 1" or thicker insulation wrap...even going to the extreme of filling in their tubing with pcs of the same stuff.
Is this really necessary?
I'm very limited in my budget- it's practically non-existent and I see a way to cut the cost WAY down- but I don't want to lose functionality. I might be up for insulating and skinning a firebox- that make sense to me- but the cooking chamber too? Metal- even scrap- is pretty expensive.
I'm even questioning the "need" for a reverse flow setup in the cabinet... I have and love my UDS and MiniWsm- they are not insulated and they are very skimpy on fuel- miserly even. Why would a smallish, no frills, cabinet smoker not work like a champ.
Thanks in advance!