Baffle Spacing Question.

[deezy88]

Hi folks. New guy here. I'm more of a fabricator than a "smoker". I'm building this unit for a friend who plans to cater with it. Because it's mounted on a trailer, I didn't want to have ground clearance issues so the firebox is mounted a little higher than the norm. Because of this. I'm going to have more space between the baffle and the bottom of the tank. Will this be too much for the smoke to flow through? Or will it be fine? If need be I could just lay a two foot wide peice of steel on the belly of the tank to lessen the air space. Hope you can help. Thank in advance.

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• deezy88
• Oct 9, 2016

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• deezy88
• Oct 9, 2016

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• deezy88
• Oct 9, 2016

 

[ahumadora]

Use this calculator for a smoker that will work well. http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/a/reverse-flow-smoker-how-to-calculate-build-tutorial

 

[deezy88]

Seen that. Just need to know if there is too much space under the baffle.

 

[dannyp]

Too much space is better than not enough but looks like the opening on the firebox will be too small.

 

[socalcooker]

Just from looking at the pics your firebox looks to small and the opening to the cook chamber is to small. You really should use the calculator to get correct numbers. What size tank and firebox are you using?

Kyle

 

[deezy88]

Well the tank is 500gallons. But I'm really only using 4/5ths of it I would say. Especially is I lay a sheet of steel on the bottom to take up more room. The firebox is 18" high, 20" wide, and 27" long.

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• deezy88
• Oct 11, 2016

 

[socalcooker]

Google feldon smoker calculator and enter the tank dimensions. Your specified firebox size is only 25% of what's needed for a tank that size. So in other words your firebox needs to be 75% bigger at a minimum for the smoker to work properly. Check out the calculator, and I would definitely cut the firebox off and build a new much larger one.

Kyle

 

[deezy88]

Really? 4x that size would be almost the same size as the tank itself.

 

[ahumadora]

He said 75% biiger, not 400% bigger, there is a difference.

Go ahead and build it how you want and let us know how it works.

 

[deezy88]

He said 75% biiger, not 400% bigger, there is a difference.

Go ahead and build it how you want and let us know how it works.

Just a misunderstanding. No need to be ignorant.

 

[nwbhoss]

You will find that there is a huge amount of VERY knowledgeable help here to be had if you ask. Since you are a fabricator and not a smoker you should know that a bunch of guys who LOVE smoking and are very intelligent spent a lot of time perfecting a calculator to build the best possible smoker with good air flow and temperature characteristics. Check out the thread on my build "500 gallon reverse flow smoker revised" and you will have a lot of your questions answered. I started out very much like you and I made a lot of mistakes that with the help of guys here I corrected and now I have a great working 500 gallon smoker. THESE GUYS WILL GIVE YOU GREAT INFO ON HOW TO BUILD A GREAT WORKING SMOKER! Believe me that if they tell you your firebox is too small it is. Please look at my thread you will be glad you did!

 

[nwbhoss]

It looks like you are trying to a woodstove as your firebox? I did exactly the same thing and still plan to use my old stove on a much smaller build that it will work properly on. A 500 gallon tank will need a much bigger firebox to work properly.

 

[bigeee]

  Hi Deezy88

  I like my builds to have a fire box at least 130% of what is required.

I aim for 150% as a rule. Having room for the ashes & a sold steel wood

rack up from the air inlets seems to work great.

IT'S OK to be to big........... tooooo small is a common mistake.

A properly built / working smoker has the exhaust gasses (SMOKE) flowing

through the cook chamber across the meat at just the right speed.

Too fast or too slow gives awful food quality results.

There are lots of home built smokers for sale that people build that just don't work right.

Listening to the great people on this site gives you the best chance at building

a great smoker for years to come.

 

[deezy88]

Thanks everyone. I'm fairly disappointed right now as it is a major step backwards for me. Better to find out now though. Thanks everyone. I'll do my best to keep you posted. I'll likely start up a separate build thread so keep your eyes peeled. Have a great day fellas.

 

[nwbhoss]

Thanks everyone. I'm fairly disappointed right now as it is a major step backwards for me. Better to find out now though. Thanks everyone. I'll do my best to keep you posted. I'll likely start up a separate build thread so keep your eyes peeled. Have a great day fellas.

I feel your pain I did the same thing! Like I said if you read my build thread it will be a tutorial and what not to do. You may find some good info on things to avoid in the future as well.