Need help planning a smoker build

[Troyb1990]

Hi, My brother and I are wanting to build a small smoker. We have and old 60 gal air compressor tank that we can use, a farm shop with all the tools, access to whatever materials we want for reasonable price, and both can weld.

We need some tips though. We're thinking of doing a reverse flow, and hoping to be able burn wood or charcoal. I did find Feldon's BBQ Pit Calculator, to that's a huge help.

I need some help on where to place the baffle, as far as height off the bottom, and how far above that the grate needs to be. Also how to build the firebox properly, as it will probably be a new built square box. Do I need a grate to set the fire off the bottom, or should it be on the bottom?

I'd appreciate any help, and feel free to ask questions!

 

[kruizer]

Welcome to SMF from Minnesota.

 

[weedeater]

Welcome to SMF from NW Georgia. You have come to a happy place!

The link below will take you to a tutorial developed by daveomak and others on this forum that will result in a much better smoker than using Feldon’s. It is located at the top of the reverse flow section.
Post some pics of your tank and a rough sketch of what you are planning and some of the knowledgeable folks around here will jump in.
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t...moker-how-to-calculate-build-tutorial.268692/


Weedeater

 

[kmmamm]

Welcome, a 60 gallon tank is going to be pretty small, not saying it can’t be done, but you will put nearly the same effort into a 60 as you would a 150. Sounds like you are on a farm, so you probably have a relationship with your local co-op. Check to see if they have any old LPG or NH4 tanks they are scrapping. On the other hand, you could go ahead with the 60 and get some practice for a bigger build...just sayin’

 

[Troyb1990]

Welcome, a 60 gallon tank is going to be pretty small, not saying it can’t be done, but you will put nearly the same effort into a 60 as you would a 150. Sounds like you are on a farm, so you probably have a relationship with your local co-op. Check to see if they have any old LPG or NH4 tanks they are scrapping. On the other hand, you could go ahead with the 60 and get some practice for a bigger build...just sayin’

Ya, we'd love to do a bit bigger, but scrap tanks are nearly impossible to find here. And the ones we do find are usually a couple hundred bucks. We're thinking of doing this one and then see what we did wrong, and maybe build a bigger one sometime in the future. We don't usually smoke for huge groups, so a smaller one will be a good starter.

 

[Troyb1990]

Ok I did some drawing and calculating this morning, and this is what I came up with. the drawing is not all to scale. If any of my calculations are incorrect please let me know!
Ill try to get a pic of the tank sometime today.

 

[Troyb1990]

Ok, finally got a pic of the tank. We had time so got to work on it. Hope we aren't doing things to terribly wrong!
Got the door made, and my brother is working on the firebox. Hope to work on the baffle some this evening. We still need to figure something out for the cooking grates.

On a side note, we're hoping to keep the entire build in the $300 - $400 range.

 

[AllTuckerdOut]

Still haven't finished this site. If you want to use an online calculator for the measurements, I have read that feldons isnt great, but Daves is. As I was trying to do all the calculations by hand a bunch I got fed up and made a site. It is still in the works. Only works for revers flow right now and only up to the stack height calculations.

Feel free to check it out: https://tcozzens.github.io/smoker-calculator/

 

[Troyb1990]

I'm just adding a link to another thread of mine that explains some of the things I did wrong and how I fixed them.
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/reverse-flow-help.285963/