Stainless offset build

[JustinHildebrand]

Hey everyone, I'm just starting a Smoker build after coming across some 20" x 3/16" wall 316L stainless pipe at a friends shop. I'm roughly copying the franklin smoker design, with some tweaks to my liking. I know 3/16" is on the thin side for the pipe, but the thermal coefficient of stainless is 15 watts per kelvin per meter compared to steels 45. So comparing the insulating properties to a 1/4" steel chamber you still come out way ahead. I'm planning on getting all the plate parts cut from 1/4" 304SS.

I still need to add the venting to the door and a tray in front of the door. Also note the pipe under the cook chamber is for a signals smoke fan. Let me know what you guys think. THIS THING IS GOING TO BE AWESOME!!

 

[Alphonse]

Great looking design and it should be a thing of beauty. Yes, stainless is better than carbon steel relative to thermal conductivity and corrosion.

Not trying to rain on your parade, but caution on a couple of fronts.

A controller/fan doesn't work well on a wood fired pit. It doesn't know how to keep a flame going. It works on temperature only and with wood you will get a smoldering fire (bad smoke). If you are intending to fire with charcoal, good idea.

My son has a 20" stainless offset, not as elegant as your design, and it gets very little use due to its small cross section and firebox size. These space limitations cause him to use a larger pit.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Hey everyone, I'm just starting a Smoker build after coming across some 20" x 3/16" wall 316L stainless pipe at a friends shop. I'm roughly copying the franklin smoker design, with some tweaks to my liking. I know 3/16" is on the thin side for the pipe, but the thermal coefficient of stainless is 15 watts per kelvin per meter compared to steels 45. So comparing the insulating properties to a 1/4" steel chamber you still come out way ahead. I'm planning on getting all the plate parts cut from 1/4" 304SS.

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I still need to add the venting to the door and a tray in front of the door. Also note the pipe under the cook chamber is for a signals smoke fan. Let me know what you guys think. THIS THING IS GOING TO BE AWESOME!!

I like this a lot! Wow this is going to be a very cool build. Watching for progress. Good luck.

 

[sawhorseray]

Whoa, that is a work of art, I hope it serves you well! RAY

 

[JustinHildebrand]

Great looking design and it should be a thing of beauty. Yes, stainless is better than carbon steel relative to thermal conductivity and corrosion.

Not trying to rain on your parade, but caution on a couple of fronts.

A controller/fan doesn't work well on a wood fired pit. It doesn't know how to keep a flame going. It works on temperature only and with wood you will get a smoldering fire (bad smoke). If you are intending to fire with charcoal, good idea.

My son has a 20" stainless offset, not as elegant as your design, and it gets very little use due to its small cross section and firebox size. These space limitations cause him to use a larger pit.

Thanks for the advice. I was planning on using the fan to maintain temperature while keeping vents in the door open. I did notice that others aren't doing this, thought maybe give it a try as I already fan unit.

And if I could find larger diameter stainless pipe I would be making a larger unit.

 

[Alphonse]

Thanks for the advice. I was planning on using the fan to maintain temperature while keeping vents in the door open. I did notice that others aren't doing this, thought maybe give it a try as I already fan unit.

Justin, the port for the fan is a decent idea particularly if you choose to run lump charcoal as the fuel. It gives you the opportunity to cook for a couple of hours using splits and then swap to lump and the temp control. That way you tend fire for a couple of hours and then put it on automatic to finish.

I do this on a LSG offset and it works great.

 

[bauchjw]

Looks like it’s going to be a true statement piece for your patio! Can’t wait to see how it turns out!

 

[jbruce]

Nice! Stainless... it sure would be nice to NEVER oil the outside of my firebox again.

It is possible to use a controller that does not use a fan [or in any way control fire management], but the idea is really geared toward someone that is building their own smoker because it uses a small custom stack on the firebox.

Bubba Grills smoker / custom controller

I bought a Bubba Grills reverse flow offset smoker a few months ago. I had Lonnie add a custom exhaust to the top of the firebox [surely he thinks I'm crazy]. I built a custom raspberry pi PID controller for it that controls a tractor flap on top of that exhaust. There are no fans, no choking...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

Good luck with your build!

 

[Gonna Smoke]

2 months in, what phase of completion? We need more pics...

 

[JustinHildebrand]

Sorry for the massive wait. After clearing some of the honey do list I'm finally underway. The main tube is 3/16 stainless and all the flat parts are 1/4 stainless. After welding I'm planning on re burnishing the surface and do a quick pulsed reflow of the welds to really dial in the finish.

 

[Gonna Smoke]

That is going to be a good looking smoker and having access to a plasma cutter makes things much easier and neater...

 

[Newglide]

Man that's already awesome lookin.
Can't wait to see the finished product

 

[civilsmoker]

Man oh man so far your build is pure awesomeness!!! I'm in for the final product.

 

[JustinHildebrand]

I managed to get a few things fabricated over the last few days. Can't wait to fire it up.

 

[BigW.]

Looks awesome!

 

[Brokenhandle]

Looking great!

Ryan

 

[Danblacksher]

amazing!

 

[JustinHildebrand]

Well i finally got some free time on the cnc mill to finish up the hinges and handles. Just a couple more things to do before its done and ready to light up. I should have it done before Christmas.

 

[Danblacksher]

incredible work

 

[Newglide]

Man that looks increadible
I know you're itching to fire it up