Stretch_
Newbie
Yo! My name is Brandon, I'm currently living in upstate South Carolina. I've been curious about smoking for a while - I love smoked meat and doing things myself - but I’ve never jumped in. I like doing things the right way (some might say I overdo it) and I was pretty sure I wanted an offset setup, but didn’t want to start with inexpensive thin metal variant; I appreciate a process and dialing it in, and I’m not super interested in compensating for the additional variability that can some with them. I researched offset smokers made with 1/4” steel (like Horizon), and knew I’d be in at least $1,000, plus a nice freight cost. With that in mind, it’s sort of been a distant dream.
Well I got an itch again recently and started poking around on FB marketplace. I got familiar with the market and tried to be patient. After a couple weeks, I saw this dual chamber unit pop up that looked like a Horizon Ranger. It had a badge that read “Dragon Smoker • Cooker
Beaumont, TX
Modern”
I looked it up and couldn’t find more than a few posts on forums, Facebook and Reddit, but they seemed to indicate it was a brand that made smokers in the 80’s out of 1/4” steel. It needs some love, but I snagged it on Friday for $295.
It is indeed 1/4” steel - this puppy’s got some heft. All 3 chamber are 16” diameter; the firebox is 20” long, the horizontal cooking chamber is 36”, and the vertical cooking cabinet is 48” tall. Firebox has a door on the side, and the vertical cabinet has a side door at the bottom as well.
Got to work cleaning ‘er up Saturday morning. Mostly using a grinder with braided wire wheels. The side door on the vertical cabinet was a little stubborn but came open without too much fuss. The side door on the firebox, however, was absolutely stuck. At first I thought the door was stuck to the flange and cycled PB Blaster and the plumbers torch. It moved a little, but I was weary of warping the door and didn’t want to pry too hard. I eventually torched each hinge for about 10 minutes and finally got it to move. It’s still kind of stiff but I should be able to work it pretty smooth.
Here are my planned next steps (open to suggestions):
1) finish wire-wheeling the outside
2) wire wheel the inside
3) use sandpaper for the few nooks and crannies that the wire wheel couldn’t reach
4) clean with soapy water and steel wool or thin bristle wire brush
5) power wash
6) thoroughly dry with leaf blower and towel
7) wipe down completely with degreaser
8) paint outside with high temp black paint
9) start a fire and season the inside
My main questions are:
- what is the best way to clean and prep for paint after the paint and rust removal?
- is there a primer I should use before I apply paint?
- what is the best high heat paint to use?
- does anybody skip paint on the firebox and just season the outside? What about the whole smoker?
- how do you season the inside of the firebox?
Any tips or tricks appreciated - happy to be a newbie on the forum.
Well I got an itch again recently and started poking around on FB marketplace. I got familiar with the market and tried to be patient. After a couple weeks, I saw this dual chamber unit pop up that looked like a Horizon Ranger. It had a badge that read “Dragon Smoker • Cooker
Beaumont, TX
Modern”
I looked it up and couldn’t find more than a few posts on forums, Facebook and Reddit, but they seemed to indicate it was a brand that made smokers in the 80’s out of 1/4” steel. It needs some love, but I snagged it on Friday for $295.
It is indeed 1/4” steel - this puppy’s got some heft. All 3 chamber are 16” diameter; the firebox is 20” long, the horizontal cooking chamber is 36”, and the vertical cooking cabinet is 48” tall. Firebox has a door on the side, and the vertical cabinet has a side door at the bottom as well.
Got to work cleaning ‘er up Saturday morning. Mostly using a grinder with braided wire wheels. The side door on the vertical cabinet was a little stubborn but came open without too much fuss. The side door on the firebox, however, was absolutely stuck. At first I thought the door was stuck to the flange and cycled PB Blaster and the plumbers torch. It moved a little, but I was weary of warping the door and didn’t want to pry too hard. I eventually torched each hinge for about 10 minutes and finally got it to move. It’s still kind of stiff but I should be able to work it pretty smooth.
Here are my planned next steps (open to suggestions):
1) finish wire-wheeling the outside
2) wire wheel the inside
3) use sandpaper for the few nooks and crannies that the wire wheel couldn’t reach
4) clean with soapy water and steel wool or thin bristle wire brush
5) power wash
6) thoroughly dry with leaf blower and towel
7) wipe down completely with degreaser
8) paint outside with high temp black paint
9) start a fire and season the inside
My main questions are:
- what is the best way to clean and prep for paint after the paint and rust removal?
- is there a primer I should use before I apply paint?
- what is the best high heat paint to use?
- does anybody skip paint on the firebox and just season the outside? What about the whole smoker?
- how do you season the inside of the firebox?
Any tips or tricks appreciated - happy to be a newbie on the forum.
