This is my 3rd cabinet smoker build. The one I did a year or so ago has been an amazing cooker but I realized recently that it's just WAY bigger than we need. Spent considerable time thinking through a design that would incorporate the reverse flow aspects of the T-Pit I used to have with the efficiency of the cabinet smoker. I took into account a ton of info I gleaned from
civilsmoker
and a fantastic conversation I had with
SmokinEdge
a while back and incorporated what I learned from them into the design. This turned out to be a massive project but so worth the time....I hope 
Start out building the back panel. It is banded with 1" x 1" angle steel to hold the insulation in.
The top with the chimney centered in the cook chamber.
The 2 side panels. Notice how the steel is set back from the edges.
All of the panels clamped together to see if they fit and line up correctly before adding the insulation and the second steel panel on the inside.
The bottom with the opening between the FB and CC.
All the panels are insulated with 1" thick high density industrial grade high temp insulation.
The back and side panels complete.
The top and bottom. The last 2 pieces of the bottom will need to be precisely cut to fit after everything is put together.
All components assembled for the CC, the door built and attached, and a stay-cool handle built.
A small shelf on the right side and the brackets to mount the latches. Thge handle is identical to the one
seenred
put on his smoker and I did this before seeing his. Pretty cool how much alike we were thinking.
Top damper built.
A bar on the left side to hang my remote therm and a sleeved damper to run my temp probes through.
Build the FB, dampers, and the base.
All the hardware drilled, tapped, and installed to make sure everything worked.
Now for the moment of truth. Three 500# rated ratcheting tie down straps attached to the tractor.
Got it but not before breaking three of the straps in the process. Holy smokes this thing is heavy!!
After over two solid weeks of fabrication, it's finally prepped and painted. Time for final assembly and out to the patio.
The heat deflector plate...also 2 steel panels and insulated.
The cooking grates.
Out to the patio and fired up for the initial burn-in. Running charcoal and oak.
After a high temp run for a few hours I dialed the temp down to see how stable the CC temps were. One probe top rack and one bottom rack. I'll take this all day long.
This one is a totally different concept from any of my other smokers. The intent is to run charcoal and wood for my primary heat source with propane as supplemental heat to dial temps in precisely where I want them. It worked!! After a couple hours at 400* I turned the propane down to almost nothing and the unit ran beautifully for three hours or so with just a small amount of charcoal and one oak split. This is going to be one VERY efficient cooker to say the least and I have the best of all worlds....full flavor from the charcoal and wood plus the benefit of the propane for precise temp control. The propane is also used in the beginning to get the charcoal lit up. Prefabricating all the panels and hoping they fit together for assembly was a quantum leap of faith...but it worked. I had to tweak the side panels about 1/16" for them to line up so the CC door would lay flat but other than that, it went together exactly as planned. I will say though...it took a lot of time laying everything out for perfect overlap on the panels as they were put together. All in all I'm thrilled beyond belief with this thing and plan to fire it up shortly for the inaugural run. Here are a few pics of the firebox with the burner, grate, and charcoal / wood pan.
This grate has been built and rebuilt several times for different smokers. Not the prettiest thing in the world
Well that's it....finally. Gotta run and get this thing ready to do a rack of monster beef ribs. Thanks for sticking it out to the end....assuming you made it Have a great weekend and happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there.
Robert
civilsmoker
and a fantastic conversation I had with
SmokinEdge
a while back and incorporated what I learned from them into the design. This turned out to be a massive project but so worth the time....I hope Start out building the back panel. It is banded with 1" x 1" angle steel to hold the insulation in.
The top with the chimney centered in the cook chamber.
The 2 side panels. Notice how the steel is set back from the edges.
All of the panels clamped together to see if they fit and line up correctly before adding the insulation and the second steel panel on the inside.
The bottom with the opening between the FB and CC.
All the panels are insulated with 1" thick high density industrial grade high temp insulation.
The back and side panels complete.
The top and bottom. The last 2 pieces of the bottom will need to be precisely cut to fit after everything is put together.
All components assembled for the CC, the door built and attached, and a stay-cool handle built.
A small shelf on the right side and the brackets to mount the latches. Thge handle is identical to the one
seenred
put on his smoker and I did this before seeing his. Pretty cool how much alike we were thinking.
Top damper built.
A bar on the left side to hang my remote therm and a sleeved damper to run my temp probes through.
Build the FB, dampers, and the base.
All the hardware drilled, tapped, and installed to make sure everything worked.
Now for the moment of truth. Three 500# rated ratcheting tie down straps attached to the tractor.
Got it but not before breaking three of the straps in the process. Holy smokes this thing is heavy!!
After over two solid weeks of fabrication, it's finally prepped and painted. Time for final assembly and out to the patio.
The heat deflector plate...also 2 steel panels and insulated.
The cooking grates.
Out to the patio and fired up for the initial burn-in. Running charcoal and oak.
After a high temp run for a few hours I dialed the temp down to see how stable the CC temps were. One probe top rack and one bottom rack. I'll take this all day long.
This one is a totally different concept from any of my other smokers. The intent is to run charcoal and wood for my primary heat source with propane as supplemental heat to dial temps in precisely where I want them. It worked!! After a couple hours at 400* I turned the propane down to almost nothing and the unit ran beautifully for three hours or so with just a small amount of charcoal and one oak split. This is going to be one VERY efficient cooker to say the least and I have the best of all worlds....full flavor from the charcoal and wood plus the benefit of the propane for precise temp control. The propane is also used in the beginning to get the charcoal lit up. Prefabricating all the panels and hoping they fit together for assembly was a quantum leap of faith...but it worked. I had to tweak the side panels about 1/16" for them to line up so the CC door would lay flat but other than that, it went together exactly as planned. I will say though...it took a lot of time laying everything out for perfect overlap on the panels as they were put together. All in all I'm thrilled beyond belief with this thing and plan to fire it up shortly for the inaugural run. Here are a few pics of the firebox with the burner, grate, and charcoal / wood pan.
This grate has been built and rebuilt several times for different smokers. Not the prettiest thing in the world
Well that's it....finally. Gotta run and get this thing ready to do a rack of monster beef ribs. Thanks for sticking it out to the end....assuming you made it
Have a great weekend and happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there.Robert
