200 Gallon Oval Oil Tank Reverse Flow Smoker Build - 55 Gallon Drum Firebox

[motolife313]

That came out really nice great fab work and working the grinder. That's a lot of work

 

[motolife313]

How did u burn up 6 grinders? My forearm would fall off first

 

[fatbastard09]

Thanks ML313, I paid about $24 for the first angle grinder at HF, cheap piece of junk but it had a 90 day warranty that resets each time you get a replacement.  So, since February when I bought the first one I just kept returning them when they broke.  I think 3 of them the spindle lock button eventually broke, one of them the spindle threads stripped and I couldn't get the lock off and the 5th one (which was the first one I bought) the safety switch broke pretty much right out of the box.  I am still on the 6th grinder, but it is barely going to make it.  I bought two boxes of twenty flapper discs on AMZ for ~$24 each, I only have a couple left.  I think I went through maybe 5 grinder discs and 15-20 cut off wheels too.  Lots, and lots and lots of angle grinder use.  My forearms and shoulders paid the price for sure.

I really meant my comment above out being jealous of guys that actually have a shop with tools to build in.  It was hard enough learning these skills but having the right tools and not having my schedule dictated by the weather would have made several things go so much easier and allowed me to focus on technique and design rather than trying to figure out how to do something with the wrong tool.  

Tools I didn't have that would have been very useful: drill press, vertical band saw, sand blasting box and associated equipment, belt sander, multiple angle grinders [one each for cut off wheel, grinding wheel, flappers disc] and a bunch others I don't even know exist.   

 

[fatbastard09]

Second cook on this rig and I couldn't be happier with the results.  I upped the charcoal usage a little on the start (~ 18 lbs) and about 5 hrs in added another 8 #s and cherry wood throughout.  Didn't use a ton of wood (didn't need it to maintain temp), had thin blue smoke all day!   Got a deal on charcoal this week anyway ( $5 per 18.6 lb bag).   When opening the doors the CC would rebound to 225F + within two minutes every time.  I am so glad I put the pizza oven base in, it is an incredible heat sink.

We cooked 6 racks of babybacks and 30 pieces of chicken (cut up leg 1/4s) along with some baked beans.  Ribs went 3-2-1 and were perfect.  Chicken came out great too.

Halfway through:

 

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• fatbastard09
• Jun 19, 2017

Right before serving

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• fatbastard09
• Jun 19, 2017

We only had 16 on the campout so I still haven't had a chance to even use the top rack yet, but so far so good.

 

[motolife313]

That awesome its working the way u built it to work. I really like the top rack its the very unique! Do u get hotter temps at the top or bottom of ur cooker?

 

[fatbastard09]

I haven't had a chance to do a good evaluation on how even the temps are from side to side and top to bottom.  I still have some work to do:

-Install the seal around the doors (I have wood stove door rope and RTV silicone, just haven't had time)

-Buy and install some fixed thermometers (looking at Tel-Tru)

-Second coat of paint

-Mount a bottle opener

 

[bubba0161]

FB

That is a really nice build. I am going to be in the same boat learning how to do welding as I am building.

I hope mine turns out as nice as yours does.

 

[motolife313]

might wanna practice on somthing less important. That way ur smoker will turn out much better.

 

[bubba0161]

Yeah I have a guy I work with that is going to help me with my welding! Plus my boss at work said I can use the welder after hours. I hope to get back to my build the doctor says I have one more week for my hand to heal.

 

[motolife313]

Sounds like it will work out good for you.

 

[hog hunter]

FB looks nice gives me hope on my first build. Looks like have about the same tools you did to make this

 

[Rings Я Us]

First Smoke Complete!  Finished up the paint job on Friday and Saturday (well, the wife did – I am a terrible painter), one last seasoning burn Saturday night, and then a test cook on Sunday.  Ice cold Iron City, ribs, rib tips, chicken and a 5[SUP]th[/SUP]Stanley Cup championship for the Penguins!  It really doesn’t get any better than that.  Here are some pics:

Smoker Paint Job 2.jpg

• fatbastard09
• Jun 12, 2017

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• fatbastard09
• Jun 12, 2017

Q View: 

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• fatbastard09
• Jun 12, 2017

Obviously there were quite a few more rib tips than this pic shows, we were eating them all afternoon along the way and this was all that made it to the table.  I made the sauce in the bottle using tomatoes from garden last summer and Chiavetta's marinade (I'll post the recipe on a different thread, it turned out awesome).

Thoughts on the first smoke:
- I cooked at 225F using charcoal to start, cherry wood for 3 hours, then a little more charcoal and cherry the rest of the way
- I went 3-2-1 on the ribs, put the chicken in for the last 3 hours uncovered
- I didn't want to fill her up in case we ended up with any off tastes due to inadequate seasoning, but we had none of that.  Between grinding down the interior to bare metal and the 3 seasoning burns, no issues at all. 
-  The refractory cement on the reverse flow plate was amazing.  It took less than a minute to get the cook chamber temp back to 225F after opening the doors to service the meat.  I need a few more cooks under my belt but that design feature may be something others might want to look at in the future, I will keep this thread updated on that.
-  We used high temp anodized engine paint (chrome base with blue finish) on the trim and BBQ black on everything else.  This needs another coat of black but it will have to wait.  I waited a couple hours after the painting was done and then used about 10 #s of charcoal and a few sticks to heat it up to cure.  Seemed to work well, the grease from my hands wiped right off during the cook the next day.
-  With only this one cook in, my son and I are doing a cook for 20 people on a camp out this weekend with scouts.  I would have preferred to practice a little more, but this project took a long time (dealing with the weather was the hardest part)
-  For all of you welders out there that have good equipment, a shop to work in, etc I hope you appreciate how good you have it.  Having never welded before and using only the cheap HF welder and burning through 6 angle grinders, I think that would have made a very difficult project a little less frustrating.
-  This was a lot of work but man am I glad I did it.  If you end up reading this post while you are considering building your own rig, I hope seeing the results here push you to build your own.  I hope I have done a good enough job above explaining just how little skill I had going into this thing, so my suggestion to you if you are on the fence is to get a good design and go for it! 

FB

Forgot to comment on this .

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• Rings Я Us
• Aug 29, 2017

Nice job..

 

[fatbastard09]

I can't believe its been since June and I still have my same punch list of finishing items left to complete:

-Install the seal around the doors (I have wood stove door rope and RTV silicone, just haven't had time)
-Buy and install some fixed thermometers (looking at Tel-Tru) - Update: These went on my Christmas list
-Second coat of paint
-Mount a bottle opener

I've only had 3 or so more cooks on this thing, I just haven't had the time. Took it into the woods on a campout Labor Day, those 5" wheels were TERRIBLE through the mud. Putting a 3'x4' piece of plywood was the only way to move it to the trailer and it took 3 of us to get it back on but it worked. The food was excellent though. Hoping to get a smoke in this weekend, we'll see how the thin walls on this thing react to 30-45F ambient temps.

 

[cjohnson3006]

I'm glad you liked the cement. It's holds heat very very well. Looks like you did a great job. There's nothing more satisfying than building something like this yourself. Now you'll have confidence to do other welding projects. Congrats on the build

 

[ray1000]

Is the refactory still in place did it crack thank you

 

[cjohnson3006]

Mine hasn't

 

[ray1000]

Mine hasn't

thank you for reply did you use in firebox how thick did you pour it how long has it been in thank you ray oh did you use needles or wire thanks again

 

[cjohnson3006]

I just used it on reverse flow plate. I poured 2" thick. Sorry for the delayed response

 

[cjohnson3006]

Been in since 2012. I welded 1/2" rebar to the tank and tied them with wire where they crossed. I also welded a few 1" tall vertical pieces which was prob un necessary but wanted to stay put as many miles as I pull it