Double Deluxe Pitmaster Mod

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Wow about the grate. Ya just gotta hate it when something like that happens.

Thats the kind of ribs that people go nuts over. Nice work.

Did you keep the temps the same for the chicken or did you finish the ribs and then put the chicken on afterwards.

My chicken is getting close but I can't seem to find a happy place.

LOL, I will be sitting right here in my living room tomorrow night while the game is on.

Better leave early tomorrow :). oughtta be a full house.

I hope ya have a great time and enjoy.
 
Alright KCblues,

Your hard work is paying off with some nice Q. 
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Now when you get it running perfectly, you'll be able to get your other things done while it's cooking, but I guess the little woman already told you that. 
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But then again, you might have time to think of something else to start?
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Great & interesting thread!

Thanks,

Bear
 
Thanks Bearcarver, I think I will take a break when I get it done and not start anything for a while.

Tom, I put the chicken in when I foiled the ribs. I put the ribs at fire box end, where the reverse flow plate is closer to the lower rack and the chicken at end of the plate on the lower rack. It is hotter at the fire box end. The chicken was at 165 degrees and the skin had just enough crisp to make it perfect. I would say the chicken cooked about 2 1/2 to 2 3/4 hours.

It was a good game, but a miserable one. We were soaked from head to toe. Wasn't to bad till the wind picked up, then we got cold and had find some shelter. Everybody else was doing the same thing. At least we won our opener on Monday night football.
 
Pretty cool that we won the opener, pretty big bummer it was raining tho. My boss what there and said he stayed dry until late in the 3rd when someone wanted across the isle. He said after they all stood up to let the people out the rain started leaking in there ponchos. With traffic, the drive home and breakfast he said he made it to bed about 3 30.

Thanks for the info on the chicken.
 
I finally recovered from the Monday night game and got some work done. Welded up the seams at the top ends to fix some leaks and decided it would look better filled in and rounded off, so I made some wide passes with the welder and then ground and ground till they were round. Will make the paint look better. To bad I couldn't of just wiped a little filler over the welds, would have saved a lot of time.

Got the new coal basket welded up. Raised the bottom up higher for more air flow and more ash room. Think I will add a reinforcement under the middle so the heat doesn't warp it.

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Looking at the pic, I need to add some handles in case I have to remove it when it is hot. Why does it always seem that when you add some thing, it always means you have to do a couple more things to make it work. I would say that half of what I have done wasn't planned. One thing leads to another.
 
Here is a pic I took of the seams. I must have been tired last night and forgot to add this. I built up quite a bit of weld to make a smooth transition and then ground the hell out of them. Had to go back and fill some spots with more weld, then grind some more. The original seams had the end pieces pressed inside the outer and welded on the inside about every 4 inches.

Before example.

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 Filled and smoothed.

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Now I need to move to 150 grit disc and go back over to lessen grinder marks.

I found some high temp primer at Advance Auto parts. Says it will take 500 degrees. That will help with grinder marks. I hope it has some fill quality, and  sand able, so it will hide the sand scratches and grinder marks. The only colors I can find in high temp, 1200 degrees, are flat, no gloss. Does any one know what I can paint fire box with that might have some shine, and take the heat. The areas where I had bare metal turned blue when I tested it out, so I know it gets pretty hot.

I might have to paint fire box black for now and do my red to yellow fade on the rest. I just want some paint on this thing to see how rough it will look. After I paint it, I may have to put some flat on it to hide the flaws, lol!
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Thanks for all the great comments. I think having this forum has pushed me to work a little harder just so I can show some progress every day and get some feed back. Keep pushing me and it will get done.
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The rounded end makes it look like a whole different firebox. I really have zero knowledge where paint is concerned but between the tv and people talking ya hear things. Would hardener make the paint have any gloss to it?  And then I wonder what hardener would do with the heat.

From what I am seeing, you are going to have that thing slicked up smooth enough to heat it and coconut oil the firebox and end up with it looking cast iron black. Of course it would take more then one or two seasons.
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Its funny you said something about using filler, i can't even think of how many times I have thought about that in the past.

BTW,,,, Its looking mighty good.
 
The hardener makes the resin in the paint setup. I could shoot a urethane on the cook chamber and it would be fine. Would blister really quick on fire box.

On the filler, I sat down and took a break, looked over at the pegboard and saw some JB weld hanging there. I have fixed a broken front cover behind a water pump on a 289 I had in a Pinto. Held up for several years. I bet it would work for filler on the cook chamber. The only problem JB weld is the drying time. Takes about 24 hours, and you have to keep it from sagging. Tried JB quick, but doesn't seem near as strong.

It's not going to look to slick on the back. I warped an area when I welded in the the reverse plate, about a foot long. I got it out to within a 32nd of an inch from the back wall. I tried to get creative with the grinder and make it look like an accent line. Have to see what it looks like after paint.
 
Very neat rounded end!

I've been watching your great work for weeks, and that is one of my favorites!

Bear
 
BBQ and stove paint from the hardware store will go higher as will the stuff at the auto store intended for exhaust and manifolds.

I think the 500 degree stuff is mainly intended for engine blocks.

I have simple tastes so black is a good choice and lucky for me they always have that color in hi temp but I think I've also seen it in grey and white. If the metal is thick enough it will even stay on the fire box.

I layered the sheet metal in mine, steel, then aluminum, then steel again so it holds heat much better than it did as it came from the store.

It also keeps the paint from burning off all but right across the top of the door opening where a small amount of heat still escapes. It's not as bad as it was but it's not a perfect seal there. It's good enough for me as it is though, only a small strip is sans paint now and that took several smokes. The rest of the firebox still has all the paint intact.  

However, with stainless like the one guy here used, you don't need anything. I'm trying really hard not to hate him for having way more tools and fab skills than I do. LOL 
 
I have to agree about Flua's stainless build. How did you layer the fire box? I was thinking about wrapping the out side with an aluminum cover. Maybe space it about 1/4 inch. With my slide off door, I think I could do that. Some thing to do later on down the road.

For now I am going to paint the fire box black and gloss up the cook chamber.

Sanding down the paint edges now and had to take a break. Can't take the vibrations from the DA sander like I did when I was young. I don't know what kind of coating is on it now, but it doesn't sand very good. Been baked on over and over again for about 17 years.

Thanks Bear, turned out to be more work than I wanted to do, but will give a more finished look.

Break time over, back to sanding
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!!!
 
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Found some gold wheels at Harbor freight today, on sale, for $5.99, with tires. Used a couple of 5/8 bolts for axles. Had to get 4 inch bolts so they would have a long enough shoulder for the bearing to ride on. Need to trim the threads, or add some spinners.LOL. The wheels are fine for the smoker, but I wouldn't suggest using them on anything that needs to be moved much. Tightened down the nuts on the axle finger tight and the bearings feel like they have rocks in them instead of balls. Was surprised when I rolled it around, couldn't feel the roughness, so I think it will work. You get what you pay for.

Need to slick up the sidewalls.

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Big nasty weld. Flat head on bolt, round tube on leg, Had to get enough weld for strength.

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Welds cleaned up real nice, good blended look.

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Decided I would try to fill the little imperfections. Read the JB quick package and says it will withstand 300 degrees. Waiting on it to cure so I can sand it down and get some primer on it. 4 hours is what it says, above 70 degrees with less than 60% humidity. A thunderstorm and some hail all evening. I am sure the humidity is high, because it has been 4 1/2 hours and not hard yet. It is set up and not tacky, but I am afraid if I try to sand, it will peel and not feather on the edges. Really want to get some primer on it tonight, I want to smoke a butt tomorrow. If it is not fully cured by morning, it will be after a smoke.

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Man, harbor freight is a pretty freakin cool store. A guy has just gotta know when to look elsewhere when it comes to some of there stuff. Alot of it is really pretty decent, I wouldn't buy there hand tools if I was a professional wrench turner but for the turning I do here at home they are the bomb. If it says pittsburg and it breaks, take it back even with no receipt and walk away with no questions ask. Well almost, if a item from a set breaks you take the whole set back and leave with a new full set.

Those wheels are what I used on several different projects. On the heavy projects you can cut a piece of sheet into a circle and drill the lug holes along with the axle and insert it between the two pieces of the wheel and it will make it an excellent wheel.
 
I hate busted knuckles from cheap tools, but some of the big heavy stuff like 3 foot pipe wrenches and ball joint press seem to be holding up. I get spoiled by the tools I buy for work and try to have good ones at home.

The JB quick finally cured and sanded like concrete. Got some high heat primer on the all the grinder marks. Looks like it will fill most of the scratches.I hope it sands good.

Looks like I got some crap on the lens. The round edges look good in primer. Not perfect, but close enough for a smoker.

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Looking forward to the final completed smoker. I was thinking of getting rid of my Charbroil offset, but not any more!

Great idea and fab work. I've always wanted to learn to weld. You've inspired me to get it done. 
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Thanks smokemaster, glad to have inspired you.

Welding is not hard, just takes a little bit of practice.

Got a butt smoking. It is at the stall point now. Been at 156 for quite a while.

Sure is a lot more relaxing to have some meat smoking instead of grinding and welding. Watching the smoker and enjoying a nice cold adult beverage.

Will post some qview when it gets done.
 
Looks like I am gonna have to head out driving around with my window open and try to snif out where the fantastic smoke smell is coming from. My calculations are saying the butts should be about ready just after dark.

Glad you are having a nice day and really glad you didn't post about smokin in the storms last night. I heard the sky lights were broke out at the center last night from the hail. The three cars that were at home yesterday all took some minor hits. The hail here was only golfball size. Lucky me Huh.

I hope the butts turn out great.
 
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