Offset Design Thoughts......Reverse Flow

[5J Farm]

So I like the vertical cabinet smokers.........fire box below, smoke rises to the top of the cooking chamber, and then exits from a low point on the chimney. Unless I'm searching incorrectly, I have yet to find a smoker like this.........and that's a big possibility.
And I like offset cabinet smokers with the reverse flow. But I want a taller cooking chamber (like a cabinet) and not a long cooking chamber. And I really want a reverse flow.

But I want to eliminate my Weber Kettle and the offset design will help with this.

So, after months and months of web searching (and SMF searches), I can't find the design I'm desiring.

But this is an offset firebox design with a reverse flow concept. See the attached file for thoughts. Is this doable and actually functional? And I'm not sure how this fits into the entire design calculation model............

(FYI.............the yellow lines is the proposed smoke).

 

[tx smoker]

Unless I'm searching incorrectly, I have yet to find a smoker like this.........and that's a big possibility.
And I like offset cabinet smokers with the reverse flow. But I want a taller cooking chamber (like a cabinet) and not a long cooking chamber. And I really want a reverse flow.

This is a link to my most recent build. It covers all of the bases you're looking for.

Hybrid Insulated Cabinet T-Pit Smoker Build (Long And Mega Pics)

This is my 3rd cabinet smoker build. The one I did a year or so ago has been an amazing cooker but I realized recently that it's just WAY bigger than we need. Spent considerable time thinking through a design that would incorporate the reverse flow aspects of the T-Pit I used to have with the...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

Robert

 

[Bigtank]

I have a Backwoods Fatboy, its a very good cabinet smoker.

 

[Smokin Okie]

For what my opinion is worth, and its worth about as much as it cost you, your design is going to have air flow problems.

Its gonna take a helluva stack to pull that hot air back down. The heat will build in top of the cook chamber and it appears to me there will be very little air movement.

Hot air wants to go up and forcing it down generally screws everything up.

Conventional offsets with long cook chambers that exhaust at grate level, get away with pulling air down to grate level, due to their length.

In barbecue smokers, air flow is your friend.

I would suspect due to low air flow, your cooker design would have very slow recovery after you've opened the cook chamber, for whatever reason.

But again, I've no experience with the type of smoker you've designed.

I have seen a vertical cabinet smoker, and I think its made by Humphries, that routes the heat up the sides of the cook chamber, then pulls the heat down to the bottom of the cook chamber. I would think that smoker also has air flow problems.

 

[Smokin Okie]

It is Humphrey's that has a reverse flow gravity feed. They call it "

• Humphrey's Advanced Air Flow System

The only pic I can readily find is in this YT vid, which I have set to start at the point discussing that reverse system. I have a lot of doubts about the air flow , but what do I know.

 

[jaxgatorz]

I have a T&K reverse flow cabinet smoker. I have the most consistent thin blue smoke that I have ever seen in any of the multiple smokers that I have owned. Obviously just 1 persons opinion , but I love it. Good luck on your build .

 

[civilsmoker]

Your sketch is nothing more than a standard reverse flow smoker with a top lid for grilling on top of the fire box. Just search Shirley smokers and take a look at all the pictures, you will see several concepts like you want.

If you want a smoker like this then it should be designed as a reverse flow. By the way a reverse flow works very good when "shorter and taller" than a long tube.

If you want a vertical cabinet cooker, then the other posts have you covered.

Here is an example from Lone Star with the cooking allowed on top of the fire box

Here is a Shirley smoker that is mostly square:

So just use the fire box with an opening to allow grilling, I would also have a side door for smoking, and then do a square cooking chamber, it doesn't need to be round or long.....

Take a look at the reverse flow tutorial in the RF section of the forum and it will give you the formulas to size things.

PS Edit, Shirly has made a fast back smoker that is all square as well. Height width and such is all owner desired (within reason)

 

[5J Farm]

Thanks everyone. I believe the Shirley is what i'm looking for. Thanks. Think I'll ditch my design LOL.

 

[seenred]

civilsmoker already beat me to it, but I was gonna suggest you take a look at 2 different pit builders with similar designs to what you're thinking:

Shirley Fabrication may be the experts at building reverse flow cabinet-style smokers. If you haven't already, you should take a look at their designs.

Lonestar Grillz builds a line of offset cabinet smokers - but they are direct flow instead of RF. Still, you might some ideas from their design.

Red

 

[5J Farm]

seenred Thanks for that. And I've reviewed your build (very nice by the way). Lone Star Grillz is right down the road from me (and they have some nice features and great smokers). My welding friend is trying to get a name for himself out there, so he's using me as a guinea pig (and I don't mind). Just trying to find something unique for his design but that isn't trying to reinvent the wheel either. We are both looking at different features and ultimately my goal (just weekend smoking).