New to me refurbish

[JustCallMeChris]

So I’ve been smoking for quite a few years on my Orion and my Webber Kettle dreaming of the day I could get an offset smoker but I just refused to get a cheap mass produced one that would just frustrate me and haven’t been able to save the coin for a nice one. Yesterday I think I found a great compromise. I picked this smoker up for cheap and plan on refurbishing it and making some minor changes here and there.

Main chamber is 20” cold rolled 3/8” steel that is 36” long. Firebox is 16” cold rolled 3/8” steel that is 20” long. The stack is 4”x6”, 4” above the cooking grate, and is 24” tall. Cooking grate is dead center with 10” above and below cooking surface.

My immediate plans are to get it back down to clean bare metal and get a better look at what I’m working with. There is a drain hole in the firebox that is rusting our I plan on filling. I also want to cut the baffle off the end of the firebox and do something different...I’m thinking maybe a sliding door with some flat stock. Replace this janky hinge/chain setup...

And then I want to weld some flat bar around the door openings to frame them and seal them up better. They were cut with a plasma and left...

So, with this being my first offset smoker and a learning curve in front of me are there any other changes you can see that need to be made before I fire it up? I’m looking into baffle plates and planning on replacing the cooking grates also.

 

[shannonc]

That's a solid foundation for refurbishing. I would weld in 1 1/2 in angle rails for a slide out cook tray. Maybe add another about 4-6 inches above the bottom grate. I would tack the door shut at the bottom to keep it from springing out when you weld the flat bar to the side seams. I didn't think 3/8 steel would move but mine did and now I have heat it up and get it back flush at the bottom. Good luck with it.

 

[JustCallMeChris]

I really like the idea of a slide out rack!

 

[daveomak]

You may have to enlarge the exhaust stack for good air flow...
Seal the FB door with strapping also... 1/16" is adequate for seals..
Think about this configuration for FB air control.... or something very similar...

 

[73saint]

That looks like my old brinkman. It’s what got me started and still one of the best smokers I ever owned.

 

[JustCallMeChris]

So I went to town on the inside today and got a bucket full of gunk out of it!

I think they quit using it to smoke with and started using it as a bbq grill as the main cooking chamber was full of old ash and charcoal and was hard as a rock! Will this scraping be sufficient after a good burn in and reseason or should I get in there with a wire brush and sandpaper and get it down to shiny metal?

 

[73saint]

I think what you did was great. I think if you reseason you should be fine. It looks pretty good in there!

 

[JustCallMeChris]

Just what I was hoping to hear. Almost down sanding and wire brushing the outside and I think I’ll give it a coat of paint and try it out just like it sits. I’ll go back and make changes and metal work after a burn or 2 when I get a feel for it.

 

[JustCallMeChris]

Couple more questions I’ve come up with after browsing around.

Can the opening between the firebox and the cooking chamber be too large? This one has quite a large opening.

Also, there is no bottom lip in the opening to stop juices and drippings from running down into the fire box. There is a drain right before the opening so I’m assuming most would drain away before running into the fire box...how big of a deal is this?

 

[daveomak]

That is a good design.... I'd leave the lip...
Also, you can heat the smoker up to ~4-500 with a good fire in the FB, 600 will turn the crust to white ash.. that's good also.. ... Then the crusty stuff inside should flake off.... The large opening is perfect....

 

[JustCallMeChris]

Been tinkering for a couple days...so far so good.

 

[JustCallMeChris]

And first burn is in the works. I ended up getting some lava lock and gasket material and made a temporary lip on the inside until I get around to doing the metal work of adding a steel lip to seal things up. Works great with very little leakage!

 

[73saint]

It looks fantastic!

 

[azhunter]

I think its a good idea to have a lip at the bottom between the FB and CC to prevent grease oil fat running into the FB and starting a fire in the CC. Just my $.02. Maybe a cap for the stack too, to keep undesirables out (rain,bugs, etc.)Very nice score, looks like it's built to last.

 

[ahumadora]

Seal the main door (the temporary works but won't last) Don't go ape shit mad and weld it solid like half the ones you see on the web. Less welding means less warping. I stitch it about every 5 ". It was full of gunk as the stack was not able to draw a vacuum with that narly door leaks. Run a deflector plate to stop flames licking your brisket. Build a heavy duty grate that raises it up off the floor, so air can get under. make a decent sized air intake low down on the firebox. seal the firebox door for more control and better quality smoke.

 

[JustCallMeChris]

I’ve been looking at adding a lip between the fb and cc but it will be a little while before getting a chance to tackle that. And there is a damper on top of the exhaust, just not visible in that picture.

And I appreciate the spot weld vs solid information. I’d hate to warp things at this step!