Reverse Flow Smoker Plans

[kageryu]

I have a few more questions about rust. Do you remove the rust from the interior of the pipe as well?  Do you paint the inside as well?  The OSPHO ButchM mentions seems like an interesting product.  Is it safe to use on the inside as well?  I'm not sure if it will react to the heat and seep into the items being smoked.  There is so much to know to start one of these builds.

Does the drip pan in an RF build doulble as a baffle to push the heat down once it enters the main chamber or should you use another plate to do this?  Will there be room in a 20'' pipe to have two levels of cooking grates, or will only be room for one.  I think I read the cooking grate should be 4'' from the heat baffle.

Thanks for answering all of my questions, guys.  This is really a great forum.

-p

 

[tom37]

Unless the rust was really bad and flaking off of the inside, I wouldn't worry about it. Once you start cooking on it the rust will quit developing almost all togather. Well so long as you keep the rain out.

I have never used the product that Butch mentioned.

And two shelfs is probably doable but it may be a tight squeeze. My pipe is 18 and the grate is about 3 1/2 to 4 inchs above the plate. I would not want to make one with a permanent shelf. Now a removable shelf might be nice to have.

 

[butchms]

The OSPHO I told you about is brushed on. The surface is ready to paint when ot dries. It is really a good product to stop and arrest rust.I have seen it used on the Gulf Coast alot.

 

[butchms]

I had the same question about it being used in a cooking unit. The tech perso, at the mfg company, n at the said it should not be a problem.

 

[moparman33952]

Hi there Kage please please DON'T use ospho on the inside of your newly planned smoker project  it is toxic stuff  I'm a bodyman by trade and use this stuff in both resotrations and collision repair to stop and prevent future rust. It has a boiling point of  240 degrees ( I'm sure while still in its liquid state) and has a wicked nasty smell. It is an ACID etching product designed to help make paint stick to bare metal,it's great for things that stay out in the elements all year round & not intended for applications involving heat, especially where cooking is involved as this product when heated I'm ALMOST CERTAIN WILL give off toxic fumes after all it's main ingredients are phosphorus acid (75%), and  Sodium Dichromate and a few others.

So once again I STRONGLY suggest against it's use on  your smoker  please read the M.S.D.S. sheet  ( material safety data sheet )  they have on their website; please do yourself a favor and give it a good read   as far as the person that posted above me (butchms) that said the tech person said  it should not be a problem I don't trust that statement at all  if a product that when applied to bare metal will turn it colors  in my opinion can't be safe to use near food  not trying to start an argument just stating a professional opinion I use this ( ospho ) and other acid etching refinishing products on a daily basis in my job and NONE of which I would nor will use on a BBQ grill or smoker of any sort  

 

[raptor700]

I've used OSPHO many times, It works great. You let it soak in and the metal turns almost black then you can paint. I personally would'nt put it on the inside! I'm with Tom37 on this

 I wouldn't worry about it. Once you start cooking on it the rust will quit developing

 

[kageryu]

Thanks for all of the advice.  I might bite the bullet and use a grinder to remove the rust.  The last thing I need is to poison myself...again.  There was an incident with beef jerky I made with a dehydrator a few years ago.  But I digress.

My next question would be about what to use for wheels.  The Horizon smokers use big steel wheels that look expensive.  Maybe some kind of riding lawnmower wheel...

 

[tom37]

Kage, is there a chance your dad still knows anyone in the trade? Could be a source for your pipe.

The wheels are pretty easy so long as you can find pipe. Just cut a 2 or 3 inch chunk off the end. Layout five spokes and use two pieces of DOM tubing, one welded to the spokes and one welded to the rig for the wheel to slide onto. The spokes can even be rebar to keep the cost down. Its one of those things thats not as hard as it looks.

If you go the grinder route be sure to check out the rapid strip disc. There pretty fantastic.

 

[sqwib]

Hey Guys,

I'm new to this forum and I was wondering if there is any place I can find detailed plans for building a reverse flow smoker.  I really like the smoker built for Cajunsmoke13.  I've found one internet site that will sell plans for a normal offset smoker, but it is not a reverse flow smoker.  I plan to do the build with my father.  He is a retired pipe fitter.  I've found a lot of pictures and diagrams on this site, but I was wondering if there are any plans that would give dimensions, materials, etc...

Thanks,

Phil

Phil, hello and welcome.

I have a blog documenting my build, maybe you can find some useful info there. Click on the link below



"FRANKENSMOKER"

 

[butchms]

Hey Duys

    I want to thank Moparman for his feedback regarding OSPHO. I did call the company and spoke with their tech service. I was just repeating was told to me. I would never try to put anyone in danger.Especially myself or family. I had used the product externally and it did a super job. I am going to look at the MSDS also, Again thanks!!!

 

[moparman33952]

No Prob.  butch I just don't wanna see some one make a very bad mistake.... used as directed ospho is very safe  if used in an unsafe manner  ie. inside a bbq grill or smoker where toxic fumes can't vent properly very very bad  I  just wanna warn people  I probably should have made myself more clear my bad 

 

[kageryu]

Hey Tom,

My Dad is looking for some alternative sources for pipe.  He thought the price at the yard was high.  He is also looking for a fab shop that we can build the smoker in.  I live abut 20 minutes away from the New Jersey Battleship, but I'm guessing they won't let us build it there.  What a story that would be.

 

[tom37]

WOW man, that would really be a deal. Of course if you built it on a battle ship then you would have to name it like a battle ship lol.

My buddy went to the salvage yesterday, oh boy, he was in hog heaven. Lucky for him, they only take cash and check. He may have needed a place to sleep for a night or two, had he been able to use the debit card.

He said they had a few chunks of pipe but tanks were all over the place.Mild  steel and stainless as well. The mild steel went for 30 cents a pound and 120 for stainless. Thats not great but considering the times its not to bad.

Good luck with the search of a shop. If I lived close enough, you could come on over. My place isnt much of a fab shop, somewhere along the way I forgot to by the shop part before I bought the tools.

 

[mrrmobile]

i will bump your thread. i do it all from my head when i build, i only use the calculators. some of these guys on here are talented when it comes to CAD and stuff. what kind of build are you looking to do? from scratch or using a tank etc.?

I am one of those guys that does CAD... If anyone would like me to design a pit for them, please let me know. 

 

[gary s]

I wanted a reverse flow, so we did Lot's of research and looked at a lot of RF Smokers. We took the best ideas and came up with our first smoker. Works really great

Here is a picture of what we built. We started with 16" pipe because that is what we had laying around. We used the Ratio guide to size the openings & stack size.

The plate in the bottom is actually two removable plates. Everything is 1/4" the wheels we made from pipe and round rod. The only thing we bought was the Temp Gage and the ax handles for the fire box and smoke chamber.

 

[gary s]

Also I forgot to mention that we took the 16" pipe and split it and added 6" plate so we would get that oblong look and a little more room inside.

 

[jgharbin]

I have found that a wire wheel on a grinder works well, just make sure you have on eye protection because the wires come loose and go everywhere. I really enjoy reading this forum and have just joined today so I could talk to you guys. I have started a smoker on a trailer myself using a 330 gallon propane tank. I am going to make it RF also. I would show a pic but dont know how. lol

 

[stihl007]

Where do you get those drums?

 

[jonnysbbq]

Nice to have ya around Kage,

18 or 20 inch is not unreasonable at all.

Here's a shot of the one I am working on right now. And of course I have my drums.



Here is the link to my build, mine isn't any better then anyone elses, maybe a little different tho.

I say go with the pipe, I bet the old man would enjoy a flash back from the old days. Pipeliners are some of the best there is, I'm not sure how old either of ya are even, but if you can pick u a trick or two along the way, jump on it.

P.S. unless you want to hear him laugh, don't let him see my armature welds. I would feel bad if he pulled a muscle laughin at my stuff. LOL