First Big Smoker Build. Advice welcomed!

[daveomak]

You said your rack was 24 x 24.... you don't want the rack hitting the door when you close it....

and you want the rack to be able to slide in the door...

Rectangles are the cantilever pins for the racks.... 

The drawing is a little screwed up.....   end view inside the circle tied in with an angled view behind it.....  and the door is weird.....   

Sorry.... 

 

[bruno994]

Really? What if I have no sinks? Is that also against the rules? How does one get involved in BBQ competitions? Most of the ones I have seen are invitation only. Thanks for the heads up.

You do not have to have a "sink", but you might be required to have a specific area to wash your hands and one to wash, one to rinse and one to sanitize your utensils and reusable dishes.  I know you had mentioned putting a burner and propane tank on the trailer as well, great idea (for boiling water), you will need it for your dishwashing and sanitizing.  KCBS rules (http://www.kcbs.us/index.php) state (Rule 17) that each team must have a separate container for washing, rinsing and sanitizing of all utensils.  This can be accomplished by simply bringing some jugs of water (5 gallon buckets, coolers with a spicket that can be turned on or off, not push button style, etc.) or have running water either on or in your trailer.  Some even pre-boil all their water and put in a cooler, it will stay warm for quite a while, eliminating the need to boil or heat water on site.  Of course for $250, you can install a propane fired, on demand water heater on your rig and not have to worry about heating water up.  As far as the 4 sinks, you  can either have a 4 sink setup, 3 together for washing utensils and 1 separate (available on ebay, under concession stand 3 compartment sink) for washing hands or you can buy 4 of the gray bus boy boxes from a restaurant supply store or Sams' carries them as well.  Mark each one for what it's purpose is and you'll be in compliance.  Of course quite a few teams travel in RV's making comps and cleaning quite a bit easier, but for those of us that don't have that luxury, lugging water and setting up cleaning areas is a chore.  here in Texas, we mainly have IBCA contests and the rules are a bit more laid back.  They do require you to handle all uncooked and cooked meats in a sanitary way, but I have never been checked for my conditions.  Of course, I take great care with it all, because I'm feeding myself and my family with the leftovers anyway.

I have my 12 volt pump powered by one of the 12 volt rechargeable power supplys used for jumping off a battery.  You can also just use a lawn and garden battery or wire it into your trucks power system. 

As far as finding BBQ events, check the KCBS website under events for a complete listing (I think Tennessee has 15 events scheduled rightn now from April to October, but I'm sure there are a numer of others in and around the state to enter.  Most KCBS events also have either a Pro Division (anyone can enter in) and a Backyard Division for those that consider themselves beginners or rookies.   

 

[smokin-aces]

You said your rack was 24 x 24.... you don't want the rack hitting the door when you close it....

and you want the rack to be able to slide in the door...

Rectangles are the cantilever pins for the racks.... 

The drawing is a little screwed up.....   end view inside the circle tied in with an angled view behind it.....  and the door is weird.....   

Sorry.... 

Okay that makes more sense. I wasn't criticizing your drawing, just needing some clarifying... sometimes I'm not the smartest cookie in the jar...

So are Cantilever racks basically several "resting" points set at different heights of which the rack can be set on? For example, angle iron set at say 6-8" apart vertically on each side of the rack so it can be placed on the different heights?

 

[smokin-aces]

You do not have to have a "sink", but you might be required to have a specific area to wash your hands and one to wash, one to rinse and one to sanitize your utensils and reusable dishes.  I know you had mentioned putting a burner and propane tank on the trailer as well, great idea (for boiling water), you will need it for your dishwashing and sanitizing.  KCBS rules (http://www.kcbs.us/index.php) state (Rule 17) that each team must have a separate container for washing, rinsing and sanitizing of all utensils.  This can be accomplished by simply bringing some jugs of water (5 gallon buckets, coolers with a spicket that can be turned on or off, not push button style, etc.) or have running water either on or in your trailer.  Some even pre-boil all their water and put in a cooler, it will stay warm for quite a while, eliminating the need to boil or heat water on site.  Of course for $250, you can install a propane fired, on demand water heater on your rig and not have to worry about heating water up.  As far as the 4 sinks, you  can either have a 4 sink setup, 3 together for washing utensils and 1 separate (available on ebay, under concession stand 3 compartment sink) for washing hands or you can buy 4 of the gray bus boy boxes from a restaurant supply store or Sams' carries them as well.  Mark each one for what it's purpose is and you'll be in compliance.  Of course quite a few teams travel in RV's making comps and cleaning quite a bit easier, but for those of us that don't have that luxury, lugging water and setting up cleaning areas is a chore.  here in Texas, we mainly have IBCA contests and the rules are a bit more laid back.  They do require you to handle all uncooked and cooked meats in a sanitary way, but I have never been checked for my conditions.  Of course, I take great care with it all, because I'm feeding myself and my family with the leftovers anyway.

I have my 12 volt pump powered by one of the 12 volt rechargeable power supplys used for jumping off a battery.  You can also just use a lawn and garden battery or wire it into your trucks power system. 

As far as finding BBQ events, check the KCBS website under events for a complete listing (I think Tennessee has 15 events scheduled rightn now from April to October, but I'm sure there are a numer of others in and around the state to enter.  Most KCBS events also have either a Pro Division (anyone can enter in) and a Backyard Division for those that consider themselves beginners or rookies.   

So basically I need to check local competitions rules and build accordingly? It seems like you have some in depth knowledge about BBQ regulations..

 

[daveomak]

Yep..... But the way the round tank taper toward the top, getting the depth for the rack will be a problem for several racks....   It will get too narrow.....   Dave

 

[smokin-aces]

How would I go about making my own burner for the fire box? I am wanting to put something under the fire rack so I can open the propane and push a button to start a fire until the wood catches. Can I just take some gas pipe (I have seen some pipe called black pipe mentioned on this forum) and drill holes in it, put a one way valve on it and plumb it to a propane tank? This seems too simple...

 

[daveomak]

I would get a weed burner.. one of those 50,00 btu units.... open the FB door and VOILA !!! Instant fire....  Less hassle with the burner plugging up with ash etc.... Keep it simple.... Less work in the long run...   

 

[smokin-aces]

Does a weed burner work that fast? If it is almost instant (less than 10 minutes) I may do this. But I am going for this: put wood in, shut lid, turn bottle on, walk away, come back (should be to temperature by now), turn bottle off, and put on meat.

And what if the homemade burner was on the sides pointed in, would that eliminate it getting plugged? And if I did want to make my own burner, how would I do so?

By the way, a 5,000,000 BTU Weed Burner on amazon is $57. Would installing a burner in the FB be around this cost and would it be this effective? I assume I would have to buy the burner pipe, a valve, hose, and more pipe to plumb.

 

[smokin-aces]

Yep..... But the way the round tank taper toward the top, getting the depth for the rack will be a problem for several racks....   It will get too narrow.....   Dave

Could I just sit the rack in the tank and see how low it sits relative to center, then know that that far above center would interfere with door operation? Or put a straight edge across the door and raise the rack and straight edge until they touch and not go above this point? I sat the rack in the tank and it sits about 6" above the bottom of the tank..

 

[daveomak]

Does a weed burner work that fast? If it is almost instant (less than 10 minutes)

I start fires in my fire pit, once all the wood is stacked etc, in less than 2 minutes...  

 

[smokin-aces]

Nice! Seems like I will be going that route.

 

[smokin-aces]

I have a question concerning exhaust. I wonder how well metal building downspout would hold up as exhaust for the smoker? I could get it to be any size, I assume.

I would want 7". This is of course square. The advantage over .125 square tube is this would be much lighter, but would it rust out fast (within 5-10 years)? They last forever as downspouts but I wonder how the heat will effect its durability.

 

[bruno994]

So basically I need to check local competitions rules and build accordingly? It seems like you have some in depth knowledge about BBQ regulations.

I have a lot of free time at work...I can watch and read alot of Q stuff in an 8 hour day!  LOL.  I think if you install a sink with a water supply and grey water tank along with a propane burner, you will have no problems at all.  The only item you would need then would be to pick up 3 of the bus boxes or some other similiar size tubs for the dishes and utensils.  Most of us use disposable pans so there is not really that much that needs washing, knives and hands are the 2 biggest things I wash.  I also have a couple sauce pans I use for heating up sauces or au jus, but most of the time with those, I throw them in a box at the end of the day and into the dishwasher when I get home.  To be honest, the 3 tub or 3 sink setups are more for show, than they are for anything else.  Nice to have if you have alot of washing to do, but you will probably not use them that much in the end, unless you're doing catering or possibly vending.  At a comp, keep it simple, which means disposable.  Most big ones have trash pickups or at the very least a community dumpster to dispose of bags of trash.  Other big "show" items are a bleach cleaner and some Lysol wipes.  People walking around see them and immediatley will think CLEAN when they see either of those.  I always have them out in plain view and use them of course when needed.  Paper towels are a must.  Cloth towels are kind of frowned upon due to the potential presence of bacteria on a dirty towel.  I keep cloth towels for use on certain things, such as wiping down the shelf on my pit, one at my sink for drying my hands after washing, but if your doing cleaning, paper towels are a must.  Once again, a disposable item.  A box of food prep gloves is a must as well, Sams' has 500 pair for $6.  Even though you may wash your hands constantly, nothing shows concern like covering your hands while prepping and serving food. 

I know were getting a bit off your build and thats the concern of this thread, but some of this could put some ideas into your head for additions to your trailer, allowing you to be ready to handle anything.

 

[themule69]

Dave, I like the idea of the hair dryer just because it is making me consider other than ordinary fan types. But like you said, the hair dryer wouldn't hold up to the heat from the FB. Also, I have in the back of my mind a fan that will run off of the trucks charging system (battery) so that if I am off somewhere, I can still use the fan. Maybe some of you onlookers can come up with a fan idea that is large enough to move heat through this setup (I do not know how powerful it needs to be), withstand Fire Box heat (I do not know how hot that is), and run off of a 12 volt system without draining it completely. I really am enjoying all the ideas and comments on here. It is making me think about many scenarios before acting on one.

i'm not sure how many cfm a hair drier puts out. however an outdoor wood boiler furnace. uses between a 50 and 150 cfm fan. if you mounted it divorced from the firebox and under it should not heat up. you could still be under and pipe it so as the air enters above or anyplace you wanted.. a radiator fan is going to be a lot more cfm and more money. a computer fan is a low voltage fan with lower than 50cfm.....as far as a sink goes farther down in this post..... 30 or 55 gal plastic barrels work well and just gravity feed the water to the sink.

david

 

[smokin-aces]

Yes, I appreciate all the ensight. I have never competed with BBQ so I don't have the slightest idea of what to expect, thus I don't have the slightest idea of some things that would be useful in competition.

 

[smokin-aces]

i'm not sure how many cfm a hair drier puts out. however an outdoor wood boiler furnace. uses between a 50 and 150 cfm fan. if you mounted it divorced from the firebox and under it should not heat up. you could still be under and pipe it so as the air enters above or anyplace you wanted.. a radiator fan is going to be a lot more cfm and more money. a computer fan is a low voltage fan with lower than 50cfm.....as far as a sink goes farther down in this post..... 30 or 55 gal plastic barrels work well and just gravity feed the water to the sink.

david

This sounds good. Do you know what kind of voltage these wood boiler furnace fans use? I am not wanting a generator so I want to be able to use a car battery. I like the plastic barrel idea, but will this fit within competition specs?

 

[themule69]

This sounds good. Do you know what kind of voltage these wood boiler furnace fans use? I am not wanting a generator so I want to be able to use a car battery. I like the plastic barrel idea, but will this fit within competition specs?

the fans for all the wood boilers that i know of would be 115 volts. probably under 2 amp but not sure. the little desk fan beside me is .2 amp (that is point 2). so amps x volts = watts or 115x2=230. or 115x.2=23 watts. so a small power inverter would run it fine off of a battery. not sure if a plastic barrel would be allowed in compatition. it should be. it is just a storage tank. they are food grade.

david

 

[smokin-aces]

Sounds good. Now the next question is how man CFM's would it take to move heat through the CC without blowing it all out too fast?

 

[themule69]

This sounds good. Do you know what kind of voltage these wood boiler furnace fans use? I am not wanting a generator so I want to be able to use a car battery. I like the plastic barrel idea, but will this fit within competition specs?

here is a fan from grainger .t is .23 amp so 115x.23=26.45 watts

PSC Blower,115 Volt Item # 1TDN7 PSC Blower, Forward Curve, Direct Drive, Wheel Dia 3 In, CFM @ 0.000-In SP 50, Voltage 115, 60 Hz, Single Phase, Full Load Amps 0.23, RPM 3036

DAYTON 1TDN7

4319

Ready to Ship   When can I get it?

1

$73.50

 

[smokin-aces]

Could a fan like this be used with an adjustable thermostat?