Featured Smoker Build from old boiler

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Whisky Creek

Newbie
Original poster
Dec 3, 2019
10
7
I rescued a 50 year old boiler vessel from the clutches of nature recently. It measures 4 ft in diameter and is about 6 1/2 feet long. Have started a smoker build project with it. It is 1/4 " side walls with thicker top and bottom riveted onto it. So far, I have just cut the front access door out with my plasma cutter. I figure I can install 6 removable racks (48 inches in diameter) with 8 inches of space between them. I would like to be able to do hot and cold smoking with this unit. I already have an old homebuilt barrel woodstove to set up some distance away and plumb the cold smoke into the unit, via flexible aluminum pipe (that should work???) and I am just deciding on the hot smoke part of the design.

I am leaning towards propane heat, to be able to control the temperature more easily. Then a wood chip box over that and a heat deflector / diffuser on top of that all. Then a pot of water on top of the heat deflector / diffuser. I was going to make the heat deflector in a way that it also serves as a drip tray to make cleanup easier. I live in northern Canada so need to be able to use store bought wood chips for smoke, as we only have spruce, pine and alder up here.

I have ZERO experience with smokers and smoker builds, aside from eating alot of it at "D.B.'s Rustic Iron BBQ" in Terlingua, Texas each winter during holidays! haha

So, any and all advice will be greatly appreciated and considered. Such as, how long of a stack should I put on the smoker and what diameter? Should it be centered in the middle of the unit? Propane burner options?

Thanks!

CLINT
 

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Not 100% sure about exhaust but I think double or 2.5 times what you have coming in.
More knowledgeable folks than me will confirm or deny.
Thats gonna be one badass unit when done.
 
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What kind of condition is the boiler plate in? I have passed on some that were heavily scaled and/or severely rusted to the point they were not worth the time and effort of cleaning and trying to salvage . Are you planning to make this a vertical unit or laying it on its side and going horizontal? Given you are that far north, an insulation wrap would probably be something to consider. LPG is a good option, however, crunch the numbers, you may well need multiple burners to achieve your target temps. Be careful welding old plate, sometimes the metal is brittle and will fracture near the welds.
good luck
 
What kind of condition is the boiler plate in? I have passed on some that were heavily scaled and/or severely rusted to the point they were not worth the time and effort of cleaning and trying to salvage . Are you planning to make this a vertical unit or laying it on its side and going horizontal? Given you are that far north, an insulation wrap would probably be something to consider. LPG is a good option, however, crunch the numbers, you may well need multiple burners to achieve your target temps. Be careful welding old plate, sometimes the metal is brittle and will fracture near the welds.
good luck


The condition is good.

It is being used vertically. Yeah, might need the insulation if I use it in the winter.

I'm hoping to make a tubular ring burner to have the heat uniformly around the whole bottom. Maybe a 30 inch diameter ring of fire??
 
How are you set for machines and tooling?
Building a safe, effective burner 30” in diameter is not nearly as simple as it sounds and probably not a practical endeavor without some pretty expensive equipment and lots of practice. A far simpler and more cost effective solution would be to use one or two high pressure burners in the center and fabricate your diffusers to distribute the heat evenly through out the vessel. Check out Tejas smokers as a source for burners and controls.
Keep in mind a naked steel vessel that large setting unprotected in cold ambients will require a whole lot of energy to maintain typical smoking temperatures.
Good luck!
 
Use wood anyone can use propane ...stupid proof.. now wood ...that a whole nother Animal. ...

Not looking to "prove" anything...... I'm looking to smoke meat and would certainly not shy away from something "stupid proof". Propane can be purchased here, as can mesquite, pecan, cherry "chunks" from the local hardware store....

Thanks for the "anything but helpful" comment! ;)

Regardless, the unit is completed and work awesomely, last weekend on its inaugural run. Stupid Proof really...... haha


The wood itself, doesn't grow with about 3000 miles of where I live....
 
And a couple more.

For the inaugural smoke show, I used the fresh ribs, backstraps, tenderloins and hind quarters from my 12 yr old son's first black bear. I used a homemade dry rub. I kept the smoker temp at 220 - 240°F. The ribs and smaller cuts were taken off at an internal temp of 195 - 200 °F after about 5 hours. The hanging hind quarters were taken off at about 10 1/2 hrs with an internal temp of 160°F. Beautiful bark and nice smoke ring!
I disassembled the hind quarters into muscle groups and froze for later use in meal sized portions. Along with some friends, we ate the ribs and small cuts over the next 3 days.
 

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Wow. That is huge. Good job on making it into a smoker.
 
Then I did not read that..a propane would be in order...my apology...Guess I'm Blessed aTexas has lotta wood

I believe you, Sir, are blessed if you live in Texas!

I go down there each year for a couple / few weeks, and because of that, that's why I am trying my darndest up here to recreate that little bit of heavenly Texas taste and feel! I love my home in Canada, but love Texas nearly as much!

My apologies for being a little bit sharp there too...

Clint
 
Nice looking build. Any details on the burners and how they are configured?
 
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