- Jan 15, 2012
- 27
- 10
Hi,
Newber here but I figured I'd share my newest build, been modifying, improvising and rigging things for about as long as I can remember.
As the title says my ECB won't hold the heat and going to lump coal is even a bunch of work in the cold months here in Idaho. I did a turkey, venison roast and venison jerky during the time I took the picture below. I'm sure some of you know how laborious this turned out to be in a ECB!
So not wanting to put myself through that again I started researching materials. I'll be the first to admit I'm still questionable about the plywood but I don't have a welder and when it get this cold wet hands start sticking to metal. Besides metal is pretty expensive for a guy like myself.
Here's where I started a simple plywood box framed by 1" fir pine.
Then I started with multiple layers of aluminum foil on the outside of the box covered by 100% wool blanket material. The four sticks of 1" square you see there close in the dampers and give support for the handles to come later. Yeah I can't sew for beans but the 100% wool yarn holds the blanket material closed on the corners.
After multiple layers of more of the same materials it looked like this. I left material over the dampers to keep bugs out.
Not owning a metal break to bend sheet metal I had to get creative.
I thought I did pretty good with the sheet metal so I congratulated myself with a cold one.
Then the metal went into the box and I made the interior damper holes.
Next I built the exterior box, trimmed the edges of the sheet metal, cut slat dampers and drilled holes in them, installed the legs and handles from my ECB.
Then onto the door which was more 1" material ripped from 2X4s attached to 3/8 inch ply, insulated a little heavier than the box and sheeted with metal.
Then I framed in the door with dadoed out fir, the dado channel was lined with aluminum channel to try and avoid warping of the door. Before the door was framed I also dadoed out a shallow channel for a gasket. The gasket is 100% wool yarn, about 25 to 30 strands twisted with a drill and stapled into place with a recessed hole at the bottom of the door for the ends.
A couple hinges a rigged latch for the door and she was ready for burn in.
I brought temps up to 400F 3 times and the 4th to 418F and let it cool down slow the 4th.
Left over coals from dinner did the job of burn in fine with the lid to my little Wally World special pulled off.
All seemed to have gone very well. Temp recovery time amazed me and being I'll never make pizza in this thing it will likely never see temps like that again. Now I just have to figure out the right heating element for my ECB so I can get 275 F in zero temps with electricity!
Newber here but I figured I'd share my newest build, been modifying, improvising and rigging things for about as long as I can remember.
As the title says my ECB won't hold the heat and going to lump coal is even a bunch of work in the cold months here in Idaho. I did a turkey, venison roast and venison jerky during the time I took the picture below. I'm sure some of you know how laborious this turned out to be in a ECB!
So not wanting to put myself through that again I started researching materials. I'll be the first to admit I'm still questionable about the plywood but I don't have a welder and when it get this cold wet hands start sticking to metal. Besides metal is pretty expensive for a guy like myself.
Here's where I started a simple plywood box framed by 1" fir pine.
Then I started with multiple layers of aluminum foil on the outside of the box covered by 100% wool blanket material. The four sticks of 1" square you see there close in the dampers and give support for the handles to come later. Yeah I can't sew for beans but the 100% wool yarn holds the blanket material closed on the corners.
After multiple layers of more of the same materials it looked like this. I left material over the dampers to keep bugs out.
Not owning a metal break to bend sheet metal I had to get creative.
I thought I did pretty good with the sheet metal so I congratulated myself with a cold one.
Then the metal went into the box and I made the interior damper holes.
Next I built the exterior box, trimmed the edges of the sheet metal, cut slat dampers and drilled holes in them, installed the legs and handles from my ECB.
Then onto the door which was more 1" material ripped from 2X4s attached to 3/8 inch ply, insulated a little heavier than the box and sheeted with metal.
Then I framed in the door with dadoed out fir, the dado channel was lined with aluminum channel to try and avoid warping of the door. Before the door was framed I also dadoed out a shallow channel for a gasket. The gasket is 100% wool yarn, about 25 to 30 strands twisted with a drill and stapled into place with a recessed hole at the bottom of the door for the ends.
A couple hinges a rigged latch for the door and she was ready for burn in.
I brought temps up to 400F 3 times and the 4th to 418F and let it cool down slow the 4th.
Left over coals from dinner did the job of burn in fine with the lid to my little Wally World special pulled off.
All seemed to have gone very well. Temp recovery time amazed me and being I'll never make pizza in this thing it will likely never see temps like that again. Now I just have to figure out the right heating element for my ECB so I can get 275 F in zero temps with electricity!
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