Making a firebox, Fairly cheap for Char Griller....

[sprayking]

Just wanted to post my method of making a firebox for the char griller. At first I had some angle iron on the underside of the charcoal grate that chargriller came with and that worked fine but all the wood and coals would fall to the side so I had to make this. First the box, Really hated to see a smoker that is good size come in a small box but after a few beers had it assembled.


Here are some of the things you will need, But you dont need a welder you can use bolts and nuts to attach this stuff. It isnt rocket science just keeping a fire together.



Also Some expanded steel. I got the beefy stuff it was 22 bucks for a 2'X4' sheet. And some angle iron, this was 3/4" angle that was 6 bucks.

Also get one of these bits that use a socket for your cordless screwgun, it makes the tightening of all of these nuts and bolts much easier and helps on the leakage of the griller. My SFB does not leak at all because it is tight to the grill.



Next I welded angle iron in the SFB to support the new box.....



Next I cut the angle iron at 45 degrees and made a box, then cut the expanded steel the fit the bottom. welded together but you could use nuts and bolts.



Then cut little "legs" for the sides to be supported, I cut them at 5" to fix in the SFB. Also cut the expanded steel, clamped it then welded it to the legs.


It measured 12" X 13" X 6" and fits perfectly.


Also did the dryer vent mod with a hose clamp to hold it in place. Just wedge it under the flange to stay in place



Great mods helped a ton and didnt cost that much total probably $32 bucks. and saves charcoal right from the start.

 

[hdsmoke]

Whats the dimensions of the bottom of the basket?

 

[thunderdome]

Nice work.

 

[sprayking]

You can make the box smaller if you like but I wanted a large size firebasket. the dimensions are 12" X 13" and 5 inches high. fits just right. Next I want to fabricate a more sturdy handle to roll it around. The shelf on the left side is too wobbly to hold and move it around, I will probably use some 1" box tubing and weld it to the cart. We'll see!!

 

[warthog]

I go by the old adage KISS. Purchased a stainless steel cooking basket at Lowes and some stainless hardware. Took five minutes to put together. Sits perfect on the cooking grate angle irons.Clears ash drawer fine so ash can be removed while charcoal is lit.

 

[sprayking]

Yes I seen the shaker idea and wanted bigger holes. With kingsford those holes on the shaker looked like they would clog up with ashes. With the expanded steel all ash goes to bottom. I will post a pic of the fire going it works real well, red hot coals and logs on top and red ashes on bottom. but both are great ideas to mod the firebox.

 

[chicagochris]

I found this to be the case (I use Royal Oak Briquettes), so I ditched the shaker basket for the expanded metal basket, as well.

 

[olewarthog]

I put the wheels on the shelf side & use the handle on the SFB.

 

[caveman]

Yeah. When you put it together following the design, the wheels end up on the SFB side. It is kind of dumb really, to make people depend on rolling it around using the table. I moved mine over to the SFB side as well & use the handle on the SFB. It works really well unless it is hot. I usually wait until it cools off or just put on some gloves if I need to move it out of the way. Also, when you do your first burn / smoke, check the back for smoke escapage. I found I was losing heat & smoke from the gap between the top & bottom part of the barrel. Right now I have it plugged with foil but I am about to close it with either fire rope or 3/8" tubing. Both can be purchased from a hardware store. My basket works just fine as I use lump. No worries there.