Propane tank electric smoker build.

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SickSilverado

Newbie
Original poster
Jun 13, 2018
4
0
Hi SMF. New here, new to smoking, new to building and new to welding. I have a 4 foot upright propane tank, I don't know the gallons but it's a lot smaller than my 60gal air compressor tank. I used the heating element and controller from my butterball oil-less turkey fryer. I installed the element in the bottom 3 inches of the tank. I don't have a stack on there yet...it just puffs out the 1 inch threaded hole in the top. I did lay a 2 7/8" pipe on top to try. I'll post pics in a bit. Gonna look around the site more and figure out how to make this work. So far it's been FAIL after FAIL. But I'm willing to learn.
 

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I tried it again today and I seem to be getting a nasty smell from the smoker, like stale smoke. I usually love it anytime mesquite wood lights up, but this smoke didn't smell good at all. I think I'm gonna pull the electric stuff out and install a charcoal basket.
 
Well I messed up. I welded on the hinges and warped the door/fitment. I feel like kicking myself. Only a few days ago I watched a youtube video and it addressed warpage/prevention...and still I managed to forget it all and mess up. Gonna try again if I can get the hinges off.
 
I managed to get the hinges off and get the door back to an acceptable fit. I'm not confident in my ability to weld the hinges on and not warp so I'm gonna see if I can make some that bolt on(for now).
I also made myself a charcoal basket from an old helium tank. Fired up some 7018 rods and melted holes in it. Still at this point I only have myself another useless fire pit. Does anybody have any idea how I can proceed from here? I want to smoke a rack of ribs or small brisket one day.
 

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