Good Morning All,
Joined the forum back in July, have been trying to read as much as I can about a traditional offset; the wealth of information on this forum is incredible and I am appreciative for all those who have posted help and ideas on different builds. Just as I think I have it almost figured out, it seems three more questions pop up!
I have been smoking on a WSM for years but always wanted a traditional stick burner. Have no experience in welding so took a class over the spring at a local college and have a buddy who lets me practice my welding most Friday's and destroy whatever scrap metal he has lying around. Now ready to take the plunge and build my first smoker. To all those who do welding and fabrication for a living, much respect for what you folks do, it is truly a craft and one I wish I had learned a long time ago.
I purchased a 20" dia pipe, 1/4" thick; CC length is 42" and the FB length is 15". My plan is to have this sitting on a cart built out of 1 1/4" x 1 1/4" tubing with heavy duty casters, borrowing ideas from AleSmokers build. I also want to install tuning plates similar to the ones I saw in the post http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/54542/building-an-italian-offset-smoker. Seeing as it is a traditional off set, I used Feldon's calculator and came up with the following:
[url=http://feldoncentral.com/bbqcalculator.html?cc=20,42,0,0,0,0,13188.00,4396.00&fb=0,0,0,20,15,4712.25,4396.00,107.2&ch=4,235.61,18.76&fi=0,0,4,14.14,1.13&fc=6.93,9.80,37.70]Link to BBQ Pit Calculator[/url]
So according to this, the opening of my FB to CC should be 37.7sq in., the opening diameter 9.8" and using a circle calculator I found on one of the post's, the height of the opening should be 5". I am planning on using a 4" exhaust stack and it recommends an 18 3/4" high stack.
My first questions are:
1) Are the FB / CC opening dimensions correct (image below)?
2) For the stack, is 18 3/4" too short? I thought I had read in a number of posts that the stack should be in the 30" range for smokers the size I am building. I also read that you don't want the stack too tall as it could cause problems with stale smoke and draw?
3) Is there a benefit to building a plenum for the stack or would an elbow work just as well?
I have a number of other questions but will wait to ask until I am at the part of the build.
Thank you in advance for looking through my post and I appreciate any feedback anyone has.
Jason
Joined the forum back in July, have been trying to read as much as I can about a traditional offset; the wealth of information on this forum is incredible and I am appreciative for all those who have posted help and ideas on different builds. Just as I think I have it almost figured out, it seems three more questions pop up!
I have been smoking on a WSM for years but always wanted a traditional stick burner. Have no experience in welding so took a class over the spring at a local college and have a buddy who lets me practice my welding most Friday's and destroy whatever scrap metal he has lying around. Now ready to take the plunge and build my first smoker. To all those who do welding and fabrication for a living, much respect for what you folks do, it is truly a craft and one I wish I had learned a long time ago.
I purchased a 20" dia pipe, 1/4" thick; CC length is 42" and the FB length is 15". My plan is to have this sitting on a cart built out of 1 1/4" x 1 1/4" tubing with heavy duty casters, borrowing ideas from AleSmokers build. I also want to install tuning plates similar to the ones I saw in the post http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/54542/building-an-italian-offset-smoker. Seeing as it is a traditional off set, I used Feldon's calculator and came up with the following:
[url=http://feldoncentral.com/bbqcalculator.html?cc=20,42,0,0,0,0,13188.00,4396.00&fb=0,0,0,20,15,4712.25,4396.00,107.2&ch=4,235.61,18.76&fi=0,0,4,14.14,1.13&fc=6.93,9.80,37.70]Link to BBQ Pit Calculator[/url]
So according to this, the opening of my FB to CC should be 37.7sq in., the opening diameter 9.8" and using a circle calculator I found on one of the post's, the height of the opening should be 5". I am planning on using a 4" exhaust stack and it recommends an 18 3/4" high stack.
My first questions are:
1) Are the FB / CC opening dimensions correct (image below)?
2) For the stack, is 18 3/4" too short? I thought I had read in a number of posts that the stack should be in the 30" range for smokers the size I am building. I also read that you don't want the stack too tall as it could cause problems with stale smoke and draw?
3) Is there a benefit to building a plenum for the stack or would an elbow work just as well?
I have a number of other questions but will wait to ask until I am at the part of the build.
Thank you in advance for looking through my post and I appreciate any feedback anyone has.
Jason
