422 gallon tanks - reverse flow build

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lovelife

Smoke Blower
Original poster
Jan 4, 2016
135
12
Holland
Hi guys,

So i found some 1600 liter/422 gallon tanks for sale.

They look very different than the American 500 gallon tanks....right?

What do you guys think of the shape of these tanks? They seem longer and narrower. How does that affect it any way? More space length wise, less depth?


Thanks again!





 
Hi Dave,

Thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate it.

So I just got the official measurements of the tanks. They are 134 inches long and the diameter is 31.5 inch. In your opinion it wouldn't be a smart idea to make one large smokers out of it? Too skinny and long?
 
Lovelife, think about how you are going to use the smoker as well.  That tank is over 11 -feet- long and nearly 3 feet wide.  You could get -what- 28 or 30 pork butts in there?  Do you smoke that much?  The fuel requirements alone are going to be huge to get (and keep) a reasonable temperature in that thing.  Having said that there are smokers out there made from 1,000 gallon tanks, but the guys who use them smoke hundreds of pounds of meat every day commercially.  So YES, you could build, but do you need/want to.
 
Hi Glenn,

Thanks for the reply.

The answer is no, I won't need to smoke 28 butts a day. However I am going to use them commercially. I am setting up a take out and catering business.

Two 211 gallon smokers does sound more attractive. I could use one most of the time and when really large orders come in I can use the second as well. Or when I need to smoke at different Temps I can use both.

Another thing. I have a pretty large warehouse that we are building a commercial kitchen in, in one of the empty spaces that used to be an office. I am planning to use the smokers indoors. Any tips and knowledge out here on building a large exhaust hood installation that will be big enough for both 211 gallon smokers? I was thinking to have the exhaust turned on when the smokers are warming up and I am building the fire. Once I have a nice fire and there isn't any smoker coming out of the CC I can turn off the exhaust fan. I just have to make sure the smoke stacks of the smokers have a turn in them and go out the wall of the warehouse through a whole that we will be making.

I appreciate all feedback.

Excited to share pictures with you guys soon.
 
I would cut them in half, use the round ends with the dome for the reverse flow area and cap off the cut ends and put your fire boxes and smoke stack there. 

Having two gives you the ability to run at different temperatures also depending on what you are cooking. 

It might not be  the best idea to use them completely indoors. The carbon monoxide from the large fireboxes may get dangerous. Maybe have them in a screened in area? Otherwise a huge vent hood over each smoker and lots of exhaust fans. 
 
Thanks for the reply.

What does a screened in area do exactly?

When the smoke stacks of the smokers are going out the wall of the warehouse that should be sufficient right? The vent hood over the smoker is just when the CC is open when I am building the fire and smoke escapes the CC. Or did you mean that the exhaust fans need to be turned on during the entire smoke?
 



Aaron has his smokers inside and in a way smaller building Tham the warehouse I will be able to use. Aaron doesn't even seem to use hood vents...

Is it fair to assume I should be fine, especially when I will have two hood vents build, one for each smoker?

I will post some pictures of the warehouse soon so you guys have an idea of what it looks like.
 
This is the warehouse. The kitchen is in the room behind the forklift. I will be covering the counter with either glass or some kind of plastic and will be using the counter to make all the plates and sandwiches.

The smokers I would like to have to the right of the counter and create some kind of exhaust vent system for when I am starting the fire in the fireboxes of the smokers. Once they are running nice and hot I will be turning off the exhaust vent and all the smoke will be leaving the smoke stacks out the building through the side wall.

What do you guys think of my plan? For obviously reasons I would love to have the smokers inside.

Thanks for the time guys!


 
My first reaction was WOW, wish I had that much space to build a smoking operation in!  As long as your stacks go outside the building I suppose you would be OK.  However, have you checked with the building code and the inspectors?  Don't know how such things are handled over there, but over here all it takes is someone to say something to those folks and after you have spent a lot of money you might suddenly be spending a lot more.
 
The fire department will be inspecting once a year, as long as they approve of everything we should have a 90% chance of being ok and not getting shut down by the city. It's a long and complicated story but we are taking our 90% shot (hopefully my estimate is somewhat accurate) :)

There is a restaurant in the area that has a smoker inside the dining area of their restaurant. They got approved by the fire department I suppose, so I guess we should be fine too. 

 
I found a gas company much closer to my location, they had a 1200 tank available and delivery was included in the price...awesome. Here it is:




I am definitely not comfortable making two smokers out of it (too small of a tank). The measurements are  94.5 inches long and a diameter of 32. 

I am going to start Dave his formulas to start some calculations and go from there. I will not be the person working on it but I am the one who has to do all the research and preparations. Totally not my field, but hopefully I will manage. I might ask some noob questions along the way...

Any advice and feedback is always much appreciated.
 
Last edited:
Looks good. Those measurements put it right about 250 gallon. Makes a nice sized smoker. 

I have one the same size and shape that I hope to build this summer. 
 
Hi JC,

I did some calculations and it was 321 gallon if I remember correctly. So just a tad bigger Tha 250.
 
Yeah liking the size.

Would you guys recommend two or three doors for a 95 inch tank? I was thinking if I use three, I would probably not need contra weights (if that is correct English)
 
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