Double Barrel smoker build

[kumes12688]

Hey everybody.  I'm a newbie here, never smoked anything in my life.  I'm in college and decided to start building a double barrel smoker last week.  Picked up some barrels and I'm in the  process of burning them out.  I'm gonna make up the brackets to mount the one barrel on top of the other but I was curious if it mattered how far apart the barrels were.  I made a bracket that separates the bottom barrel from the top barrel by about 4 inches.  I was just wondering if the barrels should be further apart.  I'm concerned that if the barrels are too close that the heat from the bottom barrel will radiate to the top barrel and the temperature will be harder to regulate.  Any other tips would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks. John

 

[SmokinAl]

Welcome to SMF. There are a lot of very friendly & knowledgeable folks here to help you. I urge you to sign up for the free E-course. It will give you the basics, & even if you are an experienced smoker you may learn something new. Then start asking questions. Good luck & glad to have you aboard. Don't forget we all love Qview! Now, if you would, go to the roll call section & introduce yourself, so we can give you a proper welcome. I can't help you with your build questions, but I'm sure someone will be along soon who can.

 

[bamafan]

WHen I built mine. I hade 6" between the barrels, Was a great smoker. Maybe this will help.

http://www.thesmokering.com/pits/metalpit/bigbaby/default.jsp

 

[Fife]

Hello and 

 

[fourashleys]

 

[timstansbury]

I built a double barrel smoker a couple years ago, & I was thinking about building a wall around the bottom barrel & enclosing it with dirt.  My thought is that it would give it better insulation, so I would use less fuel.  Of course I would leave the bottom door uncovered so I can add fuel/clean it out. 

I was wondering if anybody has tried this or heard of anybody doing this....and whether it works/would be a good idea.  Thanks