Hi everyone. I am 2/3 done with a garage built 120 RF. It is a typical RF layout. Feldon numbers are right on. It is a 120 gallon propane tank with a 22" square FB and a 6" OD chimney setup on casters as a backyard home pit.
I screwed up one of the first things I did on this project. I went plasma cutter crazy and clocked the single cook chamber door at around 9 at the bottom and 1 o'clock up top. This seemed legit at the time so I went ahead and attached the firebox to CC with the 1/2 moon cut about 7" high for heat and smoke into the CC. I attached my RF plate atop the FB ledge inside the right end of the CC and sloped it inboard and down for fat collection/drainage. I have plenty of space for smoke to come up and around the left and all seems good. Now, that clocking of the door...As it sits now, the lowest edge of my door opens up at the 9 o'clock and if I hang my lower shelf angle iron at the lowest possible portion of the door opening the cooking surface will be between 5.5-6 inches from the heat coming from the RF plate below. I think that is too high. If I had clocked the door opening to be lower, say 8 o'clock, the bottom shelf would have been closer to the RF plate height and all that heat. If I just skip the slider mechanism and drop the lower shelf into a fixed position at around 3-4 inches above the hot RF plate it should give better heat across the shelf. The second shelf up high will slide out and remove to access the lower shelf which will only be removable by reaching in and lifting it out entirely.
I have very little experience cooking on a pit this big so the practical opinions of those of you who smoke on big RF rigs is very helpful.
So my question is:
Do I build the lower shelf high above the hot RF plate so I can slide it like a drawer?
or
Do I make the lower shelf fixed down in the CC and positioned closer to the heat?
Thanks Folks.
I screwed up one of the first things I did on this project. I went plasma cutter crazy and clocked the single cook chamber door at around 9 at the bottom and 1 o'clock up top. This seemed legit at the time so I went ahead and attached the firebox to CC with the 1/2 moon cut about 7" high for heat and smoke into the CC. I attached my RF plate atop the FB ledge inside the right end of the CC and sloped it inboard and down for fat collection/drainage. I have plenty of space for smoke to come up and around the left and all seems good. Now, that clocking of the door...As it sits now, the lowest edge of my door opens up at the 9 o'clock and if I hang my lower shelf angle iron at the lowest possible portion of the door opening the cooking surface will be between 5.5-6 inches from the heat coming from the RF plate below. I think that is too high. If I had clocked the door opening to be lower, say 8 o'clock, the bottom shelf would have been closer to the RF plate height and all that heat. If I just skip the slider mechanism and drop the lower shelf into a fixed position at around 3-4 inches above the hot RF plate it should give better heat across the shelf. The second shelf up high will slide out and remove to access the lower shelf which will only be removable by reaching in and lifting it out entirely.
I have very little experience cooking on a pit this big so the practical opinions of those of you who smoke on big RF rigs is very helpful.
So my question is:
Do I build the lower shelf high above the hot RF plate so I can slide it like a drawer?
or
Do I make the lower shelf fixed down in the CC and positioned closer to the heat?
Thanks Folks.
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