My first RF smoker, 120 gallon

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I really dig this build. I may or may not steal some concepts ;). The door prop and drain style caught my eye.
 
Got the cooler holder made. I may have over built it but oh well. The way I designed it gives me the ability to secure things other than a cooler to it. Also bolted hold downs for door while smoking and traveling.

Next is brackets for the trailer lights and getting some fenders. That should be the last things to weld, then it's off to grinding and prepping for paint.
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I really dig this build. I may or may not steal some concepts ;). The door prop and drain style caught my eye.
That's what so great about this forum....you get a ton of concepts and ideas to help you during your build.
 
Made a holder for my temp probe out of scrap piece of steel. Also cut the hole and installed grommet for the probes. Still waiting on a quote to get the smoker high temp ceramic powder coated.
Regular powder coating is only good to 400-500 degrees. Ran CC up to 300-325 for a few hours to see surface temp of FB. Got over 410 degrees and I don't want to mess up expensive powder coating job so high temp it is.
 

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Highland International coatings has some high heat paints up to at least 1200*F that don't need to be baked and which can be applied by brush, roller or spray and they also have similar high build paint. It's been a few years since I've talked to them so I don't know what their current policies are for smaller purchases.


They have a good reputation in the high heat and corrosive conditions arena for industrial coatings and for good color retention.

Best regards to all,


Lance
 
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Added external temp gauges. Also cooked some ribs in it yesterday. It was in the 40s and 20mph wind gust. Worked flawlessly, I was very impressed with it. Planning to insulate top of firebox. It gets a little too hot, so I'll probably add 2" of space above it. I'll put some insulation between firebox and new plate to keep temp as low as possible.
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The upper air inlets are designed to move heat from the FB to the CC...
Try opening up the upper air inlets and see what that does for the heat on the top of the FB.... Should also reduce your wood consumption....

You can always pre heat the wood on top of the FB also.....
 
You’ve got yourself a real nice smoker Rex! You should be very proud.
May I suggest though a small strip/drip edge on the bottom of your door that runs the entire length. Mine did the same thing, dripped out the bottom. I added that and no problem after that. As long as the drip edge overhangs inside the CC it will just drip back inside. Just make sure it sits up just enough so it clears on the swing of the door when you close it.
Looks great Rex!!

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The upper air inlets are designed to move heat from the FB to the CC...
Try opening up the upper air inlets and see what that does for the heat on the top of the FB.... Should also reduce your wood consumption....

You can always pre heat the wood on top of the FB also.....

Hopefully next time it's not so windy. I had them open for a little bit but the wind wanted to blow ash up into the CC. I'll practice more with opening and closing vents to find the balance. Thanks for the information.
 
Been busy with work past few months. Loaded it up before deploying earlier this year. Also just got done putting a third rack in for more cooking surface. Next is insulating the FB and then she will be ready for wiring and paint. Love this smoker so much.
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Been busy with work past few months. Loaded it up before deploying earlier this year. Also just got done putting a third rack in for more cooking surface. Next is insulating the FB and then she will be ready for wiring and paint. Love this smoker so much.View attachment 509112View attachment 509113
Looks great. Where are you being deployed to?
 
Finally able to get some time to work on the smoker some more. Adding ceramic insulation around the firebox to keep the heat in. Wish I would have done this when I built the firebox, but you live and learn. Been smoking some chicken and duck lately. Using left over carcasses to make soup stock, which is amazing.
 

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