I have been working like crazy, with every last minute of free time spent in the shop. I have a deadline of the 4th of July for the inaugural smoke, and time is running out. It won't be painted, and I will still have some bells and whistles to put on, but I am determined to have doors on it, have it burned out / cleaned up, and seasoned by then. Here is where I am at, and I can tell you with certainty, that pictures don't do justice to how hard I have been working on this, and how far I have come.
I put the drain line in.
I have also read that someone with a new unit (maybe a bell fab unit??) loved their ash dump to really stoke up the fire as well. I don't know how this is going to sit on the trailer as of yet, but I wanted to make sure that I could do this as an option, so I framed it out on the bottom of the firebox, and If I decide to install the ash dump / under fire damper, I just need to cut through both skins with my plasma cutter, slide the pipe into place, and weld it. I also have a really cool idea for a slider damper out of this ash dump thing should it materialize. The cover for the ash dump would be attached to a rod, and you would slide the rod at the front of the firebox from one side of the firebox to the other around a hinge point, effectively giving you a 90° rotation, which would move the cover from fully open to fully closed...It would work really sweet. For now, I will just weld the skin shut, and the fact that the framing is there will be my little secret!
The Lower side of the firebox ready to be covered. The ceramic wool blanket really is a blanket...that is 1 inch thick!
Side view of the firebox / rib rack, and the back of the unit complete with pass through pipes. When completed, the skin welds will be ground flat, and the corner welds on the skin will be ground to right angles. Trust me, this thing will look sweet.
Welding around the edges to encapsulate the insulation tonight, and tomorrow.......I begin on the doors!