Vertical Cabinet Smoker Build, reverse flow or no?

[wesir]

If I want to build an insulated vertical cabinet (charcoal fueled) which would be more forgiving between direct or reverse flow? I'd like to use it for smoking brisket/pork butts as well as snack sticks/bacon, want to control it with a fireboard drive if that changes things.

I was originally looking to order a LSG Large IVS or Humphrey Pint Plus and thinking I might try my hand at making my own and customizing it to my needs, might not be as pretty but I can alter it whenever I want without having to worry about warranty and gain welding experience.

Thanks

 

[tbern]

Sounds like a great project for you, take pictures along the way to show your progress. Good luck!

 

[tx smoker]

I recently built one and it's far and again the best smoker I've ever owned...and I've had a bunch of them. Here is the link to the first one:

4th Welding Project: Very Ambitious Vertical Cabinet Smoker Build (Long & Lotsa Pics)

I'll preface this with a heartfelt apology to all my SMF friends. I've missed a ton of amazing stuff recently due to simply not having time to follow everything that's been going on. This is my crazy time of year at work. All the builders are trying to get their construction projects to certain...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

Although an interesting concept, it didn't turn out as I'd hoped. Deconstructed it and started over. Here is the second one and it's still in operation regularly. Truly a dream to cook on.

Cabinet Smoker Build: Take 2 (Long, Lotsa Pics, Good Info)

A few weeks ago I posted a cabinet smoker build I'd done and at the time, I was really happy with it, especially based on an extreme lack of metal fabricating experience. After running the smoker through the paces a few times I realized there were some major deficiencies. I was confident that...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

This might give you some ideas on a starting point at least.

Robert

 

[wesir]

Although an interesting concept, it didn't turn out as I'd hoped. Deconstructed it and started over. Here is the second one and it's still in operation regularly. Truly a dream to cook on.

That helps a ton, thanks! If you did it again would you have added a cart so it's more stable moving around? thinking I'm going to need to do that on mine since I have to take it through grass to get from the front to the back patio (might honestly be cheaper to pour a sidewalk going back there or add pavers though might run into issues with the power/fiber lines).

Also you considered popping the propane burner off and seeing how it does with charcoal and a control board? Having the ability to convert from charcoal to propane in 10-15 min seems pretty useful, asked Chris at LSG if they might be able to run a pipe from the outside to the inside so I could convert and I guess the cooker is sealed so well that it would become a very large bomb.

Looks like I'm going to need to also install a winch in the garage if I ever want to lay it down with the expectation of standing it back up.

 

[tx smoker]

If you did it again would you have added a cart so it's more stable moving around?

It's on 6" pneumatic casters. I can move it around with two fingers. No issues at all.

Also you considered popping the propane burner off and seeing how it does with charcoal and a control board?

Nope. Not even crossed my mind. It is so effortless to perfectly control temps with the micro valve for the propane, I'm perfectly fine with it as it is. Every smoker I've had for the past 12-15 years have all been converted to propane.

asked Chris at LSG if they might be able to run a pipe from the outside to the inside so I could convert and I guess the cooker is sealed so well that it would become a very large bomb.

Huh?? If that was the case, mine would have started blowing up years ago but none have. My guess is that it's out of Chris' wheelhouse so he is taking the high ground. Mine is running off hard-piped household propane that I had installed when I built the house. Just have vents open (which you need to do for cooking) and have the door open when you light the burner. You MUST have the top vent open or the burner will go out (no air flow) then it'll fill up with propane but just a bit of common sense is all it takes....and obviously you have that

Looks like I'm going to need to also install a winch in the garage if I ever want to lay it down with the expectation of standing it back up

Not a bad idea...or a tractor with full hydraulics

Glad you got some good info from the threads I attached. There was a ton of time, work, and $$ that went into those builds and it seemed appropriate to share the info with the good people here.

Robert

 

[wesir]

Huh?? If that was the case, mine would have started blowing up years ago but none have. My guess is that it's out of Chris' wheelhouse so he is taking the high ground. Mine is running off hard-piped household propane that I had installed when I built the house. Just have vents open (which you need to do for cooking) and have the door open when you light the burner. You MUST have the top vent open or the burner will go out (no air flow) then it'll fill up with propane but just a bit of common sense is all it takes....and obviously you have that

Might have also been a liability thing which I can't blame him for. I'm leaning toward charcoal because I've only ever used a pellet pooper and MES and want something with the ability to get flavor closer to a stick burner, if fireboard sold the stuff to make your own pellet pooper like LSG/Yoder use I'd probably try using that and adding in a grate to stick wood chunks over the firepot similar to what Camp Chef's new cooker does, could probably do it with one of the existing hopper assemblies but after using the fireboard on the Yoder it's hard to go back to something that's manual or has an app they paid an intern to make.

If you're interested I was looking to weld a threaded pipe running through the wall and I'd toss one of these gas mixers on the end on the outside of the smoker and on then inside I would either throw the other end of the burner they make or make my own pipe burner which seem fairly basic.

Cast-Iron-Venturis-for-3/4"-and-1-1/4"-steel-pipe-or-stainless-steel

Tejas Smokers two cast iron venturis. One has a 3/4" FNPT gas outlet and the other an 1 1/4" FNPT gas outlet Either can be used with high or low pressure propane or natural gas.

tejassmokers.com

Not a bad idea...or a tractor with full hydraulics

I don't know if that thing would even be able to its the arm in my garage, I live a subdivision with a tiny plot so no barn to store it in either, as is my garage is going to be tight to weld in. Probably going to see if I can't recreate something like the Chud's BBQ table before starting on the the smoker since it seems way more forgiving a project to learn on and I could probably pull the cutting board out and use it as a welding table.

Still going through your redesign notes, so is this accurate?

• 2"x1" 1/8" thick channel for the frame walls
  • 1" of the 2" is used for insulation and then a panel is welded on top of it to seal it in.
  • The other 1" is free airflow up from the firebox other than a central 2x1 tube that supports the racks
• back wall is 1" thick filled with insulation
• Steel all around is 1/8" thick?
  • Is there a benefit to having it that thick for the outer walls or could I maybe go 1/16 and save some $$$ since I'll probably go 2" insulation all around.
    • https://www.homedepot.com/p/UniTher...Ovens-Stoves-and-More-CF8-2-24X50in/308017187

Don't know how much it would impact airflow but I'm thinking I might start out as reverse flow with the side/back walls attached with machine screws (maybe a bead of high temp grill silicone to seal it) and see how it works and if it doesn't I can just unscrew and convert to direct heat, might need to make the chimney central to start and have a 90 degree turn at the top of the back wall moving air to it.

 

[tx smoker]

Might have also been a liability thing which I can't blame him for.

Yep, that's why I said he took the high ground. If some fool were to blow himself up doing the conversion there is a potential liability.

if fireboard sold the stuff to make your own pellet pooper like LSG/Yoder use I'd probably try using that and adding in a grate to stick wood chunks over the firepot

Going that route seems to defeat the purpose of going to the time, work, and expense of building a smoker just to have another pellet pooper. Stick with charcoal and wood on top of the charcoal. you'll get MUCH better flavor.

Probably going to see if I can't recreate something like the Chud's BBQ table before starting on the the smoker since it seems way more forgiving a project to learn on and I could probably pull the cutting board out and use it as a welding table.

Don't know what Chud's BBQ table is but I just use a piece of 1/4" concrete tile backer on top of the workbench for the most part. Works great and never had a fire.

Still going through your redesign notes, so is this accurate?

• 2"x1" 1/8" thick channel for the frame walls
  • 1" of the 2" is used for insulation and then a panel is welded on top of it to seal it in.
  • The other 1" is free airflow up from the firebox other than a central 2x1 tube that supports the racks
• back wall is 1" thick filled with insulation

Correct on the channel size. As far as insulation, it's 1/2" on the sides, 3/4" on the back and door, 1" top and bottom of the cook chamber. If you go with the design of mine and want 2" of insulation, you're going to have to use much wider material for the channels.

Steel all around is 1/8" thick?

Correct.

Is there a benefit to having it that thick for the outer walls or could I maybe go 1/16 and save some $$$ since I'll probably go 2" insulation all around.

That is your call to make. Of course, thicker steel is always better. I tried saving a bit of $$ on the first one and it wound up costing over 2x as much and took a LOT more time. My suggestion is to do it right the first time and take the guess work out of it. Is a hundred dollars or so extra for the steel worth tearing it all apart and starting over if it doesn't work right?

Robert

 

[wesir]

That is your call to make. Of course, thicker steel is always better. I tried saving a bit of $$ on the first one and it wound up costing over 2x as much and took a LOT more time. My suggestion is to do it right the first time and take the guess work out of it. Is a hundred dollars or so extra for the steel worth tearing it all apart and starting over if it doesn't work right?

K, might look into it more, didn't know if the outer layer did much for heat retention if it's insulated.