Building an Offset Vertical

cobbqguy · Jan 21, 2017

So I have been BBQing for years, and I have never had a good smoker. I've had a Char Griller for years that I have modified, and am still not happy with the results. I have a BGE, which makes great BBQ, but does not have enough cooking area. I also have a Louisiana pellet smoker. I love the ease of use, but growing up in Texas, I really like a stronger smoke flavor, which the pellet smoker does not provide.

I started looking around for smokers, and was intrigued by the Yoder Stockton, but didn't want to have to explain to my wife why I bought a $2,500 rig, when we already have three others in the back yard.

My neighbor has a welding rig ald lots of tools in his garage. I showed him the Yoder pics, and asked how hard it would be to build something similar. He said not hard at all (even though it might not look quite as pretty). I drew up the below plans, ordered some steel, and we started last weekend.

Schematic.jpg

cobbqguy
Jan 21, 2017

Due to work schedules, all we have finished so far is the substructure. It will probably take a month or so to complete. but I'm already getting pretty excited.

substructure.jpg

cobbqguy
Jan 21, 2017

All steel is 1/4" plate. The chimney will actually be 6" tube, and I'm not sure if we will put it in the center, or do a reverse flow type arrangement. I'm not sure if this will really make much difference since the smoking chamber is only 24" wide. I appreciate any comments, suggestions, critiques, etc.

SmokinAl · Jan 22, 2017

Looking forward to seeing this one!

Al

tiggyt · Jan 25, 2017

Did you weld the base plate of the wheels to the frame?

cobbqguy · Jan 25, 2017

cobbqguy · Jan 25, 2017

tiggyt said:
Did you weld the base plate of the wheels to the frame?

Yes, bad idea?

tiggyt · Jan 25, 2017

Maybe not I would be worried about having to change them in the future if a bearing went bad. That may never happen but it does look nice.

cobbqguy · Jan 25, 2017

tiggyt said:
Maybe not I would be worried about having to change them in the future if a bearing went bad. That may never happen but it does look nice.

We thought about that, and put the casters with bearings on the side opposite the fire box to keep heat away.

3montes · Jan 26, 2017

Move your exhaust stack to the center or you will have a hot spot on the entire side of where the stack is located. Arizona BBQ Outfitters located the stack on my vertical on the right side of the top and the fire box on the left. Ran much hotter on the side with the stack and had to constantly keep flipping ribs from side to side to get to cook evenly. I had to order another stack assembly from them and mount it on the other side to get a even draw.

ahumadora · Jan 28, 2017

Line the firebox with firebrick to stop heat transmitting. Will save you a bunch on wood also

cobbqguy · Jan 30, 2017

Firebox complete

IMG_1487.JPG

cobbqguy
Jan 30, 2017

IMG_1488.JPG

cobbqguy
Jan 30, 2017

cobbqguy · Feb 8, 2017

Getting closer!

IMG_1498.JPG

cobbqguy
Feb 8, 2017

IMG_1509.JPG

cobbqguy
Feb 8, 2017

cobbqguy · Feb 10, 2017

We should be nearly done by the end of the weekend. I decided to add a propane burner from an old turkey fryer to help get the fire started

IMG_1513.JPG

cobbqguy
Feb 10, 2017

gr0uch0 · Feb 10, 2017

Looks great so far. May want to do one of two things with the burner:

1. See what kind of flame you get from inverting the burner. Helps keep crapola out of the ports, and if sufficient flame, you likely won't need much (if any) of a guard.

2. Make sure that there's a solid guard that will shield the burner and withstand the (I'm guessing) 50K BTU that thing can crank out. Also will help keep any crapola out of the ports.

Keep posting pics with progress. Especially with you being a Texan in Colorado: want to make sure you haven't been offed, as there's not too many of us who are accepted long-term there!

sqwib · Feb 11, 2017

gr0uch0 said:
Looks great so far. May want to do one of two things with the burner:

1. See what kind of flame you get from inverting the burner. Helps keep crapola out of the ports, and if sufficient flame, you likely won't need much (if any) of a guard.
2. Make sure that there's a solid guard that will shield the burner and withstand the (I'm guessing) 50K BTU that thing can crank out. Also will help keep any crapola out of the ports.

X2
My pipe burners slits are underneath for this reason and so far never had an issue.

cobbqguy · Feb 11, 2017

SQWIB said:
X2
My pipe burners slits are underneath for this reason and so far never had an issue.

It's welded in place already, so it will be a pain to rotate it. I'd also be concerned about the paint on the underside. What do you all think about putting a screen over the burner?

gr0uch0 · Feb 11, 2017

My money's on a solid plate: total protection from anything (solids or liquids) falling in and causing flare-ups or clogging. Helps even out heat distribution also.

cobbqguy · Feb 11, 2017

gr0uch0 said:
My money's on a solid plate: total protection from anything (solids or liquids) falling in and causing flare-ups or clogging. Helps even out heat distribution also.

Ok, there seems to be some confusion here. The burner is in the offset firebox, and will be used solely to assist in igniting the wood splits or charcoal. It will not be exposed to any liquids or food, and cannot be covered by a solid plate.

sqwib · Feb 11, 2017

No confusion here.
Since it's welded in place and appears to be off center, and hopefully further away from the cooking end, I would leave it be. Once you use it to ignite the logs, shift the fire to the other side, shut off the log lighter and cover with a plate during the cook.

cobbqguy · Feb 11, 2017

SQWIB said:
No confusion here.
Since it's welded in place and appears to be off center, and hopefully further away from the cooking end, I would leave it be. Once you use it to ignite the logs, shift the fire to the other side, shut off the log lighter and cover with a plate during the cook.

Got it

gr0uch0 · Feb 11, 2017

COBBQGuy said:
Ok, there seems to be some confusion here. The burner is in the offset firebox, and will be used solely to assist in igniting the wood splits or charcoal. It will not be exposed to any liquids or food, and cannot be covered by a solid plate.

My bad: read "offset" as the burner being offset within the vertical. I'd still cover it once you've got the sticks ablaze. One other question: these types of burners usually have an adjustable vent on the neck--where you have it going through the vertical wall. Will you still have access to it?

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