Reverse Flow 300L Air Tank Build in Greece...$20 Stick Welder and Angle Grinder

[alfa01]

Yeah I see your point. Having it stick is not ideal either.

@Ahumadora what is the flat bar you mentioned above and where can you get it?

Usually you can get it at any hardware store that has steel, Home Depot or Lowes.  You can even find it at the scrapyard like I do sometimes.  It's the cheapest way to make door seals that I've come across and it bends to shape fairly easy.  Also, it doesn't spring load when you bend it to the shape of that tank so that the door doesn't seal correctly.  Using too heavy of a bar will cause it to want to spring out of shape.  In which case, you may need to reshape the door to get it to fit correctly.  

Cheers,

Dan

 

[alfa01]

Alright, we made some progress, but it was slow and difficult.  A lot of mud after the rain.  Got a couple of jolts from the welder, as there was some water sitting under the air tank.  I was touching the metal and putting a welding rod in the rod holder.....zzzzzztttt!  That'll wake you up!  

Anyway, the firebox and the main chamber are married now.  

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• alfa01
• Jan 28, 2017

 

[alfa01]

Lieutenant Dan, you got new legs!  

New smoker legs, that is!  

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• alfa01
• Jan 28, 2017

 

[alfa01]

 
1/8 x 1"   steel bar that's flat.  Look at 99% of the smokers that use it for door seals.     

Any place that sells steel has it.  You can bend a curve in it easy enough by wrapping it around the door with your hands.

Don't go nuts welding it onto the door, it only stops air.  The more you weld it, the more likely the door will warp from the heat.

Agreed.  It's not necessary to really weld it fully.  Actually, I think you run the risk of getting it too hot and maybe causing your door to warp or distort from too much heat.  It's better just to put a couple of small welds ever 4 to 5 inches and letting it cool a bit in between.  When doing these, I tack my pieces in place and then bounce back and forth doing a weld on the top, then the bottom, then the left, then right and repeat.  It gives some cooling time, plus keeps the heat warpage to a minimum.  

 

[soul-q]

Thanks guys on this advice, the door seal is one I want to create better on this next project.

 

[alfa01]

I decided to change things up a bit and make a semi cabinet style top on the smoker.  I cut the top out and started shaping the sides. The right side is pretty well done, but I ran out of cutting discs and no stores are open on Sunday afternoons, so I'll have to wait until tomorrow.  

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• alfa01
• Jan 29, 2017

Cut and bent angle iron for the door flange.  The main chamber door gasket will fit against for a good seal.  

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• alfa01
• Jan 29, 2017

Welding on the door flange.

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• alfa01
• Jan 30, 2017

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• alfa01
• Jan 30, 2017

 

[sonofasmoker]

Looks fantastic, cant wait to see more!

 

[alfa01]

 
Looks fantastic, cant wait to see more!

Thanks.  Got some more done today.  I'll post up pics in a bit.  

 

[alfa01]

More work on the top framing and panels.  

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• alfa01
• Jan 30, 2017

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• alfa01
• Jan 30, 2017

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• alfa01
• Jan 30, 2017

I'll probably burn out the floor tomorrow to get rid of the remaining rust.  Then I'll be ready to start installing the reverse flow floor and grease tray and trap.

Cheers,

Dan

 

[alfa01]

Put in the grease drain rail and drain pipe/valve assembly today.  

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• alfa01
• Feb 1, 2017

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• alfa01
• Feb 1, 2017

Added the cooktop to the firebox.  It's double layered and should work well if I decide to go with the rib box, which I think I will.  

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• alfa01
• Feb 1, 2017

 

[gnatboy911]

Great project.  Looks good, can't wait to see it finished!

 

[alfa01]

Burned out the rust, crud and metal coatings last night.  The draft seems to be very prominent from the firebox the the main chamber. You could really tell that the flames were pulling left through the main chamber and away from the firebox, which means there was a good draft.  

Looks like it will flow heat very nicely. 

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• alfa01
• Feb 1, 2017

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• alfa01
• Feb 1, 2017

 

[alfa01]

 
Great project.  Looks good, can't wait to see it finished!

Welcome aboard.  I appreciate it.  I'll be delayed for a day or two...got adult stuff to do like paying bills and running errands.  First of the month is always busy for us.  

I'll keep adding the pics.  

 

[alfa01]

And, we have a door.....

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• alfa01
• Feb 6, 2017

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• alfa01
• Feb 6, 2017

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• alfa01
• Feb 6, 2017

 

[gnatboy911]

That looks great!

 

[motolife313]

Nice fab skills in the bush! Looks good so far

 

[alfa01]

Nice fab skills in the bush! Looks good so far

Thanks.  Work has been slow due to rain.  I got some small details work done, so I'll post up some pics. 

 

[alfa01]

That looks great!

Thanks.  I think it will turn out pretty good.  Trying to track down some casters with inflatable tires at the moment.  

 

[ahumadora]

I would stay away from inflatable wheels.   

They only hold air for about 5 mins.   At least the ones down here do.

 

[alfa01]

Got one of the thermometer holes drilled and a piece internally threaded pipe tacked on to accept the thermometer threads.

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• alfa01
• Feb 15, 2017

I even got it lined up a the 12 o'clock position just right.  I'm using Taylor Weekend Warrior gauges at the moment.  Anyone else have these?  I've seen pretty accurate results temp wise from the one I've been using since 2014.  They are supposed to glow in the dark, but I've never noticed if that worked or not.  

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• alfa01
• Feb 15, 2017

Also started getting the second rack rails tacked in.  I started fabbing up the grease dam and should get it installed by tomorrow.  

More to come...

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• alfa01
• Feb 15, 2017