building a smoker, with a stainless steel top. Thickness?

[barbacue jim]

  I am currently in the process of designig a trailer pit. So I can sell barbacue. I would like to make the top out of stainless steel. Does anybody know what grade as well as thickness i should be considering?  

 

[sunman76]

not sure what part your talking about.  Do you have a sketch of what your going to build

 

[chinasmoke]

Are you talking about the the racks? if so check out Meadows creek pits, they use light expanded Stainless steel for racks

 

[chinasmoke]

if you are talking about the racks, I used 9 gauge.   Are you sure you need SS to be able to use it commercially because SS is not cheap? 

 

[daveomak]

  I am currently in the process of designig a trailer pit. So I can sell barbacue. I would like to make the top out of stainless steel. Does anybody know what grade as well as thickness i should be considering?  

First, the top of what ??  Are you speaking of the top of the fire box to use as a griddle ??  If so, that will not work... stainless expands too much and will buckle and warp...

been there, done that....Dave

 

[sunman76]

First, the top of what ??  Are you speaking of the top of the fire box to use as a griddle ??  If so, that will not work... stainless expands too much and will buckle and warp...

been there, done that....Dave

yep that is what I was going to say if that was the plan.  I got a pc along time ago and we put it on my dads fire box and it bowed up in the center like crazy...

  it worked like a redneck George Foreman grill lol.... all the fat and grease ran to the edges