I have been meaning to document this build for some time now. I want to thank those who have posted their builds, which inspired me to finally build my own. This design is as basic as can be, but I plan to further it some time down the road. I actually built this smoker about one month ago, and, finally, put the first burn to it tonight. As of now, after an hour and a half since reaching temp, it has maintained a temperature of 225*. I am thoroughly impressed with the steadiness so far. I only loaded about 1/4 of the basket with Stubbs Briquettes.
Here are some pictures of the build:
All of the materials laid out. I found this pot, which is 36 quarts, at the local Academy Sports. It was $40, but I couldn't find the more common IMUSA pot at any other local store. This could be another option for those with an Academy near by. It fit the Smokey Joe Silver just fine. The lid is a tad loose, but so far I have not seen it affect the temperature.
Hole cut out and diffuser grate installed. This is a cheap $2 grate I bought from Academy. It fits perfectly in this pot and I imagine it would in other brands of pots.
The most lengthy part of the build was the charcoal basket. I used the supplied charcoal grate and expanded metal from Home Depot and tied it together with rebar wire.
3-1/4"x1/2" bolts, lock washers, and nuts were used to hold the cooking grate. I only have one grate for now, but plan on adding a second, lower grate.
Finally, the finished product. I liked the look of the stainless steel pot, so no paint. The therm is form Lowe's. Char-Broiler brand I believe. I plan on buying an electric therm. The Maverick seems popular so I will look into that. I still have a few more mods I would like to add such as ball valves for air vents and latches to hold everything together as one unit.
Thanks for looking. If anyone has any questions on how I did something, feel free to ask. I have been on this site for a couple months looking and have learned a lot from everyone. Looking forward to getting a lot of smokes under my belt with this MWSM.
Here are some pictures of the build:
All of the materials laid out. I found this pot, which is 36 quarts, at the local Academy Sports. It was $40, but I couldn't find the more common IMUSA pot at any other local store. This could be another option for those with an Academy near by. It fit the Smokey Joe Silver just fine. The lid is a tad loose, but so far I have not seen it affect the temperature.
Hole cut out and diffuser grate installed. This is a cheap $2 grate I bought from Academy. It fits perfectly in this pot and I imagine it would in other brands of pots.
The most lengthy part of the build was the charcoal basket. I used the supplied charcoal grate and expanded metal from Home Depot and tied it together with rebar wire.
3-1/4"x1/2" bolts, lock washers, and nuts were used to hold the cooking grate. I only have one grate for now, but plan on adding a second, lower grate.
Finally, the finished product. I liked the look of the stainless steel pot, so no paint. The therm is form Lowe's. Char-Broiler brand I believe. I plan on buying an electric therm. The Maverick seems popular so I will look into that. I still have a few more mods I would like to add such as ball valves for air vents and latches to hold everything together as one unit.
Thanks for looking. If anyone has any questions on how I did something, feel free to ask. I have been on this site for a couple months looking and have learned a lot from everyone. Looking forward to getting a lot of smokes under my belt with this MWSM.
