Reverse Flow Build - First Ever

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michaelwise

Newbie
Original poster
Sep 3, 2013
7
10
Hey guys,

I just brought home a tank I got from work yesterday. It's a 300 gallon tank, 3 feet diameter, 6 feet long. My brother is a teacher/coach at a local high school. They have a metals/welding class their, which is one of the best in our region. The class has made several cookers, but never a reverse flow. I plan to give them all the plans and materials and let them do the building. Myself and my brother will keep close check on them to be sure everything goes smoothly, and we'll be sure to take plenty of pictures to provide to you all. Since this is our first sophisticated build, I'll need all the guidance you care to give

Right now, I'm still in the planning phase. I have all my calculations together, except for how high off the bottom of the tank the baffle plate should be. If any of you have input on that, I would appreciate it. As mentioned, this will be a reverse flow cooker, but I also plan to put propane tube burners in the cooking chamber to have the option of cooking on gas. My plan is to put them just above the RF plate, with grease shields over them. I haven't seen a lot of hybrids like this, but I do know they exist. I know all the hardcore BBQ'ers burn only wood or charcoal, but we often do day-long events, and the propane option is nice to have. One of my good friends has a Side FB / Propane hybrid, and his brother has a Rear FB / Propane hybrid. Therefore, I am confident I can make a hybrid. By all means, if you have any experience with hybrids such as this, please elaborate on your thoughts.

I'll post pictures as I go. I have some sketches I created in PowerPoint. They are rather elementary, but they're as good as I can do since I no longer have daily access to CAD or a 3D Modeling software.

Please throw any and all ideas my way!!! I'll need all the help I can get for this project.
 
Above you can see the sketches I mentioned earlier.  This gives you an idea of what I'm going for.  Again, I know the sketches are elementary, but it was all I really had to work with.  Please express your thoughts.

Thanks,

Mike
 
Looks like a great plan. You might want to put the drain on the other end though. The heat from the FB is going to be hard on the seals in the valve if it is on that end.
 
I agree about the drain,  Great idea and concept, Please keep us posted with lots of pictures of your build. Also be sure and let everyone know how the gas burners work and how it cooks.

Gary
 
Rasimmo, looking at it now, moving the drain and valve to the other end, away from the heat of the firebox, seems pretty obvious. Not sure what my thinking was originally; good call!

Gary S, I plan to take as many pictures as possible. We have a party and pig-cook planned for December 7th. I hope this thing is together, tuned up and ready for that; if not we have a propane cooker lined up. I'll be sure to keep the info/pictures coming as the build progresses.
 
Michael, looks like a good plan, Only advice I would give you is just take your time, do all your research and check and recheck before you weld er up. Only reason I say that is I know a couple of people who got in a hurry and forgot a couple oh important things, Like forgetting the drain and welding in the RF plate solid.

Anyway looks like fun. We will wait till cooler weather to start our next build, gives us something to look forward to in the fall.

Gary
 
I like the idea of the propane burners, I think you could just get away with placing a burner in the firebox when not using wood, along with a tube smoker or other device from A- maze-n Smoker.  As far as the baffle or RF plate, it needs to be somewhere between 4" to 5" below the bottom cooking grate.  This is also determined by the amount of area you need for sufficient airflow to properly draft the smoker from firebox to exhaust.  There is an online calculator that will give you these numbers to insure that you have a well drafted pit.
 
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