My 100 gallon reverse flow build

[chemicalguy]

very nice you should go into business.

 

[boomhower]

This past weekend I sprayed down the entire inside with bacon grease, the lit some oak in the firebox......

I've got smoke!!!!!!

After the paint stopped smoking and stinking (cured), I laid out 7 lbs of fatback that I picked up (free) at the local butcher.....

Kept that fire going for about four hours, then I loaded the firebox up with wood and went to bed. The next morning.......

I think that looks like a good season on the smoke chamber. The first cook starts tomorrow. I'm cooking for about 50 people for my little girls birthday party. I picked up four Boston Butts and two racks of spare ribs that I just finished rubbing and got them back in the fridge. Lighting the fire tomorrow at noon. Can't wait.

I'm looking forward to trying many different recipes I've found on this site. I've gotten a lot of information from this forum that I used in this build. I'd like to thank the mods for making this board possible and all of the posters who freely share information about their various builds. This spirit of sharing and comaraderie is truly what makes sites like this great.

While this is a small, backyard, simple smoker without a lot of bells and whistles, I do have to say I have a gut feeling that this is simply my first smoker build. I would imagine the next one would be much larger and have lots of features and accessories. But that is some time down the road.

Thanks again for all the compliments.

Boom

 

[daveomak]

Boom, evening and thanks for letting us in on your build....   Very nice smoker..... Hope it brings you many folks to your back yard.....   Happy birthday to the little one.... Take pics of the Big Event to share....  Now you can share more Q-Views.....   Dave

 

[bruno994]

Awesome build.  You probably won't get some of the other kiddos Dad's away from that baby.  Thanks for sharing.

 

[patrick clark]

Unbelievable to see this coming together.  This is my first post and I myself am looking to fabricate and build my own smoker.  I truly can't wait to see the finished product. 

 

[fatback]

That is one bad ass smoker...there is no other way to describe it. damn, just damn.

 

[sunman76]

great build thanks for posting it up!

 

[diesel]

Beautiful!.. Good job boom.  You are really gonna enjoy the RF.  Some amazing Q will come off of that thing.  Can't wait to see it!

 

[fracwilt]

amazing work! that smoker is a thing of beauty!

 

[hdflame]

Boomhower,

I absolutely LOVE your build.  I've been thinking about a 250 gal tank for my build, but after seeing yours I think it'd be just about the perfect size for my first build.  I guess if I got a FREE 250 gal tank, I could cut a section out of the middle and weld it back together?  Or maybe get lucky and find a smaller tank.

I've got a couple of questions for you.  If you had to do it over, would you consider lengthening the tongue to make it easier to back?  Plus it would give you more room in the front to add something else.

And second, do you think the door would be too heavy to make it one piece instead of two?  Looks like the smaller tank doesn't need any offset counter weights for the double doors.  I'm just wondering what your thoughts are since you've had a chance to test out the weight of double doors.

GREAT build, I've got it saved for future reference!  

 

[dragons breath]

Sweet. Your skills are apparent. It's nice to watch an innovative builder at work. Time well spent. Now you can innovate with the Que!

 

[diggingdogfarm]

Beautiful smoker!
I wish I still had a shop.



~Martin

 

[boomhower]

Boomhower,

I absolutely LOVE your build.  I've been thinking about a 250 gal tank for my build, but after seeing yours I think it'd be just about the perfect size for my first build.  I guess if I got a FREE 250 gal tank, I could cut a section out of the middle and weld it back together?  Or maybe get lucky and find a smaller tank.

I've got a couple of questions for you.  If you had to do it over, would you consider lengthening the tongue to make it easier to back?  Plus it would give you more room in the front to add something else.

And second, do you think the door would be too heavy to make it one piece instead of two?  Looks like the smaller tank doesn't need any offset counter weights for the double doors.  I'm just wondering what your thoughts are since you've had a chance to test out the weight of double doors.

GREAT build, I've got it saved for future reference!  

Thanks,

    As for the length of the tongue.   No, I would not lengthen the tongue.  But let me clarify that.  I live in a subdivision with a homeowners association that prohibits having trailers parked for a period greater than 3 days.  (enough time to load or unload a camper for a trip, for example)  For this smoker I wanted something small enough that it might squeak by my HOA.  Also, I have to push this thing into my backyard (I can't drive through my fence).  I didn't want a lot of bells and whistles, (sink, water tanks, cooler, accessory burners, etc...) I wanted something simple that I can still cook for up to 100 people.  Is backing it a little tricky?  Yes, but I've got a lot of experience with trailers, so it's no problem for me.  Yes, you  could lengthen it and add more accessories and also make it easier to back up.  Your preference.

   I think I could definitely lift it if it were one door, but it would take both hands.  I can lift my doors currently with one arm.  If it were one door, it would definitely take two.  Keep in mind, my smoker is a 100 gallon air compressor tank.  It is 24" in diameter and 1/4" wall thickness.  If you use something bigger in diameter, or greater wall thickness, your doors will be heavier.  I don't know the diameter or wall thickness of a 250 gallon propane tank, but I'm sure you can find it somewhere here. 

   One thing I would do differently would be the reverse flow plate/water pan.  If I could do it over again, I would do it with center channel down the middle with the water pan split and angled towards the center channel on both sides.  Much like sunman76 did on his.  Look here at post #12.... http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/117187/first-reverse-flow-500-gallon-smoker-build.

Mine drains fine, but if the smoker is not perfectly level side to side, I'll get a puddle in the corner that doesn't drain.  So far, that's the only think I would change.

Good Luck, I hope this helps.

 

[hdflame]

Thanks,

    As for the length of the tongue.   No, I would not lengthen the tongue.  But let me clarify that.  I live in a subdivision with a homeowners association that prohibits having trailers parked for a period greater than 3 days.  (enough time to load or unload a camper for a trip, for example)  For this smoker I wanted something small enough that it might squeak by my HOA.  Also, I have to push this thing into my backyard (I can't drive through my fence).  I didn't want a lot of bells and whistles, (sink, water tanks, cooler, accessory burners, etc...) I wanted something simple that I can still cook for up to 100 people.  Is backing it a little tricky?  Yes, but I've got a lot of experience with trailers, so it's no problem for me.  Yes, you  could lengthen it and add more accessories and also make it easier to back up.  Your preference.

   I think I could definitely lift it if it were one door, but it would take both hands.  I can lift my doors currently with one arm.  If it were one door, it would definitely take two.  Keep in mind, my smoker is a 100 gallon air compressor tank.  It is 24" in diameter and 1/4" wall thickness.  If you use something bigger in diameter, or greater wall thickness, your doors will be heavier.  I don't know the diameter or wall thickness of a 250 gallon propane tank, but I'm sure you can find it somewhere here. 

   One thing I would do differently would be the reverse flow plate/water pan.  If I could do it over again, I would do it with center channel down the middle with the water pan split and angled towards the center channel on both sides.  Much like sunman76 did on his.  Look here at post #12.... http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/117187/first-reverse-flow-500-gallon-smoker-build.

Mine drains fine, but if the smoker is not perfectly level side to side, I'll get a puddle in the corner that doesn't drain.  So far, that's the only think I would change.

Good Luck, I hope this helps.

Thanks a lot for your insight.  I understand perfectly why you designed it the way you did.  I really like the size of your cooking chamber and after seeing yours I'm rethinking what I want.

I think for me, a 250 gal propane tank is just going to be too big.  Most of my cooking would definitely be under a 100 people and 99.99% would just be for my immediate family.  One thing I'd like to incorporate into mine is a direct charcoal cooker on the front with an integrated turning rack.  I really like the design of this:



http://content.bitsontherun.com/previews/0XMfLN1K-kL4DFYAd

Around here, we have a lot of benefit plate sales to raise money for various charities.  Leg quarters or chicken halves are two of the favorite things  to cook.  Having one of these chicken cookers on the front of my trailer would be awesome!

The reason I asked about making it a single door is so I can do a whole hog if I want to.  I'll be doing mostly butts and ribs, but it would be nice to have the option for a whole hog.  I saw one design that had the door split, but didn't have a frame piece in the middle.  They just had the door close so that one would close first, then the other closed with an overlapping flap.  That way it will open up with a large opening with no frame piece to get in the way, but you can open the doors individually to reduce the weight of a single door.

You've done a really nice job and I'm sure I'll learn from my first build!  It sure is nice to learn from everyone elses though....much cheaper! 

 

[iron]

First..

  i have a couple quick questions.. where did you buy those hinges, they look easy and fool proof to install...and the fire box door, I understand why you did the bracing and it looks great, but was there a reason you did it on the outside of the door rather than on the inside?   is there some advantage? or just easier to do and achieve the same results?

Thanks, Jason

 

[boomhower]

First..

  i have a couple quick questions.. where did you buy those hinges, they look easy and fool proof to install...and the fire box door, I understand why you did the bracing and it looks great, but was there a reason you did it on the outside of the door rather than on the inside?   is there some advantage? or just easier to do and achieve the same results?

Thanks, Jason

The hinges I think I bought them from here: http://www.hardwaresource.com/index.php?l=product_list&c=101&gclid=CLKXnpSnh7ACFWQDQAodGnBjkw

I could be wrong though, it was a long time ago when I got those.  You can just google " BBQ weld on door hinges" and you get a couple dozen links.

As for the bracing, no reason, you could do either.  I just thought that leaving the back side of the firebox door completely flat would make installing the door seal a little easier.

Boom

 

[kcbluesnbbq]

Looks really awesome. I like the details you did put on it, the trim color on the doors and the bracing, to go with flames on the stack.

Excellent craftsmanship. We just need to see some qview now.

 

[dog1234]

Boom

How did you come up with the opening size for the fire box to the cooking chamber?

How large of an opening on the reverse flow plate at the far end from the fire box?

I am converting a 3/8" wall, 16" OD, 22 inch long pit to a reverse flow smoker. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[boomhower]

Boom

How did you come up with the opening size for the fire box to the cooking chamber?

How large of an opening on the reverse flow plate at the far end from the fire box?

I am converting a 3/8" wall, 16" OD, 22 inch long pit to a reverse flow smoker. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

For the firebox to cooking chamber opening I used an online calculator, and then went just a little bit bigger than it recommended.  I used this one here:

http://webpages.charter.net/tomchism/Dodis Calculator/

but there are several available on the SMF website if you just look around.  

For the opening on the reverse flow plate at the far end, I just made sure I didn't restrict the flow.  (Same size of slightly larger than the firebox to cooking chamber opeining).

What is the size of your firebox?  Round or rectangular?

boom

 

[boomhower]

Excellent craftsmanship. We just need to see some qview now.

Q-view is here:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/121778/first-smoke-q-view-included

boom