Started my New Smoker Today

[deejaydebi]

Well yor not even gonna believe this ...

My firebox has been in the store for a week! I called the internet service and they called the store and the store said they didn't know they were supposed to call me when it came in. I went up to the store today and they have them on the shelf! A whole flock of them! They got 10 of the little buggers all at the same time and never called. When I called the store they said they had no way to check on the internet orders.


Anyways ... hope to get something going this weekend if we don't get slamed by this snow storm that's supposed to start tomorrow and go through until Saturday.

Tim -

I bought this firebox because it was suggested as the best thing to do. Maybe the next smoker will be all from scratch. By then I'll know how to cut and weld better! Now I am just learning.

 

[pigcicles]

Lowe's is cheap on a lot of things.. but they aren't know for hiring rocket scientist for help. My front yard is proof of that.

The neighbor up the lane had a delivery made Monday and Prince Cow Poo driving the truck decided my yard looked like the place to turn around... he got stuck! then got his loader stuck trying to pull out the truck... yep I was happy

I asked him if it looked like a parking lot, he said no. Then I asked why he couldn't back up to the road since there were two ding-a-lings in on the delivery.. uhh I don't know. I wasn't too upset until I asked him who was going to fix the yard and he said he didn't know.

I almost blew a gasket, but managed to keep it down to a fairly calm.. I know who's gonna do it.. YOUR BOSS!

Called the store talked to the manager and he sent out a really nice fellow who couldn't believe they drove a truck on ground that was soft to walk on, and again amazed he got on my property when I wasn't even the customer, and again when they had to have a tow truck get the guy out.

I'd say they lost money on that 50' of privacy fence plus half a days wages for two guys to watch my grass for me, plus to fix the yard...

Good Grief
sorry Debi didn't mean to ramble in your thread

 

[chris_harper]

i wouldn't say the chargriller firebox is the best option; building a bigger one would be better. i was thinking of building a new (bigger) firebox from scratch. but since i added the insulation, i don't think i need a bigger one now. i am thinking of putting some insulation on the firebox, too. i didn't have the time nor materials to build a nice big firebox when i built my smoker.

 

[smokyokie]

The nice thing is that if you end up not liking it, it's only $50. You can always take it off and add a new one. Are you welding it on, or bolting it?
If you're bolting it on, maybe you could even take it back to Lowe's and tell them it was defective,

As to insulation, have you ever looked into refractory cement?

Tim

 

[msmith]

Smokyoky what in the sam hill is refractory cement, Ive never heard of it.

 

[deejaydebi]

I'm thinking I will bolt it on - because I already have another idea going on for the next build after I see how this works. It's about 1/4 the size of the barrel I'm using so I'll probably be okay for summer but I don't think it'll cut it for winter.

I was just going to ask that - Refractory cement? I did consider put sand betwenn the layers at one point.

Pigcycles -

no problem I had a hard time staying calm and all I did was wait!

 

[gunslinger]

Here ya go Deb. This was the first thing that popped up on Google. We use this stuff in our boiler at work. The boiler is used to make the load water hot for a winter mix. I never thought about using it in the smoker though. Nice job Tim. That's why I love this forum so much. Such a wealth of knowledge and innovation here.

Kast~O~LITEÂ[emoji]174[/emoji] is a castable refractory cement manufactured by A.P. Green / Harbison-Walker. It is used as the insulation material in foundry furnaces. Its maximum temperature is 2600 Degree Fahrenheit . You'll need 86 lbs of material per cubic foot, not counting mixing losses.
Refractory cement is unlike regular cement in that regular cement has water bound up in the compound. Heating regular cement will cause the water to flash to steam and destroy the structure. Refractory cement allows the water to be driven off during curing and in the initial heating. Refractory cement has elements that trap many microscopic air pockets in the mix that provide a high degree of insulation.

 

[smokyokie]

Yeah, whar Tom said!

Plaster it on thick, you can paint it if you like. It'll make your smoker look like it's made of concrete.

Tim

 

[deejaydebi]

Kewl Thanks I'l check it out!

 

[chris_harper]

debi, the insulation i used on mine is "fyre wrap" brand. see if you can find some around there; it is some good stuff.

 

[smokyokie]

Chris,
Tell us more about this "fyre wrap". What's it made out of and how is it configured, etc.. Any pix of it?

Tim

 

[chris_harper]

it is a felt like stuff, with foil on one side. you put the foil on the outside. the guy told me it is fire proof; they put it on our furnace burner exhaust ducts, and they get over 2000° F. here is a pic of it, on the end of my smoker. the fire i used to build to hold at 225° now gets over 300°.

 

[smokyokie]

Where do you buy this stuff, and how is it sold?

Tim

 

[deejaydebi]

Chris -

Thanks I was looking for the name of that stuff you bought. I want to put this between the barrel another thin layer of steel and weld it up inside. Found the link Oky...

http://www.fyrewrap.com/

 

[chris_harper]

i didn't buy it. i got a box of it at work from the contractors doing the exhaust ducts for our furnaces. we are re-doing each furnace line, one at a time. he (the head of the group) told me i could have any scrap box i wanted. i saw one in the pile that was all new stuff (not my mess up, sorry). i took it. it was a fairly big box. i wrapped my smoker, and still have enough for one more. i am going to build myself a new one (as soon as i can) and give mine to a guy at work. i will probably use it on the new one, whenever that may be. i have the 2.0 stuff.

 

[chris_harper]

hey, debi, how is it coming on the homemade smoker? i haven't seen anything on it in awhile...

 

[gypsyseagod]

welcome debi- ya gots lots of ketching up 2 do

 

[smokyokie]

Hey Chris,
Long time no talk to. The little one's not so little anymore by the looks of the avatar.

I was just looking @ your smoker. Where did you come up with the wisdom to put the stack exit on the bottom of the unit? It works well that way, doesn't it.

AND YEAH DEBI, HOW'S THE SMOKER COMING?

Tim

 

[chris_harper]

hey tim. he is going to be 11-months old mon (7/9/07). he was 20lbs 7oz last month when he went for a check-up.

i got the idea from marvin smith to put the smokestack where i did. i had it thru the top, down to the grate. he said to move to where it is now, and it will work better. it does work nicely. temp is pretty close from end to end, depending on what i have in it.

 

[smokyokie]

My grandson is 19 mos. now, and copying everything his dad does like a monkey. He even swings a golf club and then tries to cuss. Ain't it fun to watch 'em grow?

My stack comes straight out the middle. Same as in the bottom, it creates a "yemp bubble w/ a slow moving vortex in the cooking zone. That way, there isn't any direct heat blowinf across the food.

Tim