So I want a smoker....

[Ohoopee]

Hello everyone, if you read my introductory post in the new member's section, you know that I am a native of Georgia but I currently reside in Ireland. After doing research, what I really want is a reverse flow smoker. I am not a welder or metal fabricator so I am going to be hiring a Polish fellow, a friend of a friend, the build the smoker for me. He wants me to source all the metal and he will just show up and build it for me. Ireland doesn't have scrap yards, only for cars. It is extremely hard to find used tanks and other equipment like that because it usually gets recycled. I have become quite frustrated looking for parts. I have found a few stainless steel tanks used at Dairies online here in Ireland that are for sale but they are very expensive and don't stay for sale long. What I do have access to here is plenty of steel drums which I am afraid might be too flimsy and used beer kegs. The guy I have agreed to hire advised against the kegs; said they would be difficult to weld. But I am afraid that the steel drums would be too thin. There is one single company I have found here in Ireland that makes smokers. Based on the pictures they sent me, they appear to use steel drums as smoking chambers. They are also very expensive. The smaller of their two reverse flow smokers costs over a thousand euro, and the larger one over two thousand euros. Not being a metal fabricator myself and generally not knowing much about welding in general, I would really like to approach this with a set of plans and instructions for my fabricator because trust me, there are people here who know how to work with metal, but hardly anyone here that knows how to build a smoker. I don't really care how pretty the smoker looks, I care about the quality of the smoked meat it makes. I have already gots some oak and applewood sourced here in Ireland, now I just need something to use it in. Any help or advise would be greatly appreciated.

 

[mike243]

Buy a 22" Weber and be done with the search imo. you wont find a better cooker in the same price range it sounds like, we have plenty of builders here but folks dont always want to wait months/years for 1. choices are always good. if its that hard to find a smoker how bad will it be to source wood/charcoal? good luck in your search

 

[phathead69]

Hello everyone, if you read my introductory post in the new member's section, you know that I am a native of Georgia but I currently reside in Ireland. After doing research, what I really want is a reverse flow smoker. I am not a welder or metal fabricator so I am going to be hiring a Polish fellow, a friend of a friend, the build the smoker for me. He wants me to source all the metal and he will just show up and build it for me. Ireland doesn't have scrap yards, only for cars. It is extremely hard to find used tanks and other equipment like that because it usually gets recycled. I have become quite frustrated looking for parts. I have found a few stainless steel tanks used at Dairies online here in Ireland that are for sale but they are very expensive and don't stay for sale long. What I do have access to here is plenty of steel drums which I am afraid might be too flimsy and used beer kegs. The guy I have agreed to hire advised against the kegs; said they would be difficult to weld. But I am afraid that the steel drums would be too thin. There is one single company I have found here in Ireland that makes smokers. Based on the pictures they sent me, they appear to use steel drums as smoking chambers. They are also very expensive. The smaller of their two reverse flow smokers costs over a thousand euro, and the larger one over two thousand euros. Not being a metal fabricator myself and generally not knowing much about welding in general, I would really like to approach this with a set of plans and instructions for my fabricator because trust me, there are people here who know how to work with metal, but hardly anyone here that knows how to build a smoker. I don't really care how pretty the smoker looks, I care about the quality of the smoked meat it makes. I have already gots some oak and applewood sourced here in Ireland, now I just need something to use it in. Any help or advise would be greatly appreciated.

Dont limit you yourself to round or reverse flow. Square does well also. Dont know ive ever seen square and reverse flow.

 

[JCAP]

If the smokers are really hard to find and/or are really more expensive than what you want to spend, then I would probably agree with mike243 - get yourself a really nice kettle and you can grill, smoke etc. and crank out great food.

I think some companies like Pit Barrel also ship internationally. You could always look for something like that too.

 

[radioguy]

Welcome to SMF! Search is your friend. You may consider a Weber Smokey Mountain WSM clone. They are easily built using a kettle grill and a large tamale pot or metal sheet. These cook real nice and are considered thin skinned.
Also you can build a ugly drum UDS they cook equally as well.

RG

 

[Ohoopee]

I have already sourced the wood, I found some oak and some applewood so I am good to go on that front. I am also not in any hurry. I have lived in Ireland without a smoker for over a decade so I can wait to get the smoker that I want. A friend of mine today put me in touch with a metal fabricator that he has done business with before. This fabricator has no idea how to build a smoker but he does know how to weld. He recommended I use the beer kegs rather than the steel drums because the kegs are thick steel and he felt they would hold heat better. He said he can weld them, no problem. I would like to have a relatively big smoke chamber, where I can maybe do ribs, a pork butt, brisket, chicken all at once, or maybe even a smallish whole pig. I was thinking about getting two full-sized kegs, cutting one end off of each, and welding them together to make a large smoke chamber. Use another keg, maybe a half keg for the firebox. Again, while not knowing anything about smokers, this new fabricator seemed to think all of that was doable by him. I showed him pictures of what I wanted so he has a good idea of what it will look like. I just need to get to come up with a plan for him.

 

[daspyknows]

Shipping might be a bit but at least inquire with some of the US manufacturers. Not sure I would want someone to pop his smoker cherry building one for me.