Big Blue Egg: Finished build of the 19" flower pot smoker.

[cjp87]

Welp, here's the final design. I'll give a basic rundown of the construction, but it's actually not too terrible complicated. Everything I used besides the thermometer, the colander, the gasket, and the J-B Stik putty can be purchased at Home Depot. 

Major parts include:

2 19" Ceramic Cobalt Blue Pickle Pots

1 15" Weber replacement grill

1 Ceramic saucer

1 9" granite colander

8 1/2" black steel nipples

8 1/2" black steel caps

2 8" black steel 1/2" pipes

2 1/2" black steel 90* angle joints

2 1/2" brass ball valves

1 Pit Thermometer

J-B Stik

~5' high-temp gasket

4 1/4" x 3" bolts / nuts / lockwashers

Drilled four holes in the pot with masonry drill bits and placed the bolts through them to hold the grate. Used J-B Stick putty to seal in the steel nipples and pipes w/ ball valves to the drainage holes for intake/exhaust. 

The 9" Colander serves as the charcoal pit. Cut 1/4" steel bar into four 14" segments, used J-B Stik to bond together for a platform to hold the wood plate. 

And of course, the finished product. Forgive the UPC labels I hadn't taken off yet. 

 

[bluechip]

Cool....I like it. Let us know how the first smoke goes. I bet it will hold the temp very well.

 

[tom37]

Hey, that looks really nice.

How tough is it to get the lid on and off? It looks like its heavy.

 

[cjp87]

Both pots are about 35 lbs, so it's a bit heavy, but even when the internal temp was about 170*F (I never got it higher because I couldn't get more than two chunks of lump charcoal to catch fire, getting a chimney starter tomorrow) it was only warm to the touch on the outside. Handles would be ideal, but I'm not sure how the walls of the pot would hold up with that little surface area holding up the weight. 

On a positive note for the burning, though, it held 170* for nearly five hours burning on just maybe two lumps, and stayed at 150* for a few hours after the coals were out entirely, so it's incredibly efficient. 

 

[dave54]

man. that ought to really hold the heat!!!

 

[tom37]

Both pots are about 35 lbs, so it's a bit heavy, but even when the internal temp was about 170*F (I never got it higher because I couldn't get more than two chunks of lump charcoal to catch fire, getting a chimney starter tomorrow) it was only warm to the touch on the outside. Handles would be ideal, but I'm not sure how the walls of the pot would hold up with that little surface area holding up the weight. 

On a positive note for the burning, though, it held 170* for nearly five hours burning on just maybe two lumps, and stayed at 150* for a few hours after the coals were out entirely, so it's incredibly efficient. 

WOW thats great on the temps. 35 lbs isnt to bad, just dont trip and drop it. It would definatly be worth having a table close to set the lid on.

Most of the TV stuff I pay no attention to, but when you said something about handles. It made me think of the old Billy Mays comerical for Mighty Putty.

 

[hotpepperdaddy]

Hi, nice build!  I am building a similar smoker (although it will be electric) and have some questions.

1)  Can you explain the use and purpose of all the iron pipes and valves (on the lid too).

2)  Is there a reason you chose such a large lid, or convenience factor (same diameter, etc).

Thanks,

-Rob

 

[rbranstner]

Cool. Some hinges like the big green egg has sure would be nice but the lid may be to big and it could tip over if you open it I suppose.

 

[SmokinAl]

Great idea, will be looking forward to your first smoke.

 

[michael ark]

For handle use steel electrical box cover 4x4 plate on the inside to spread weight .For handle just bend all thread to desired  length use a nut and a fender washer out side and same on plate inside .One on each side should get you .Make sure to burn metal to get galvanize off or muratic acid is  what i have heradon this site or since you like black pipe 2 nipples same lenght for height 2 tees or closed nipples and caps or 2 ells and a spanner nipple cut to size for handle use plates on inside top too they come all ready stamped for 1/2 or 3/4 pipe might half to trim up or bend to fit curves but it looks good

 

[shellbellc]

Question regarding the actual pots...are they "hardened" clay? I'm not sure if that's the correct term, I know that some clays are kilned and treated differently for different uses.  How do you know that they won't crack under the heat?  Just curious, this a great idea for an inexpensive egg!

 

[jirodriguez]

You may want to take a 1/2" drill bit and punch some larger holes in the bottom of your charcoal basket so the ash can fall out of your charcoal, otherwise the ash will smother your fire. Also punching some bigger holes over the rest of the basket would also help with improved air flow - having good controlled air flow is THE key ingreadiant to stable long lasting temps.

 

[fourashleys]

Cool idea and a nice build! Looking forward to seeng some Q from it.