Whole Hog Cinder Block Build / Function Questions

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Not sure where you're from but do you have a black Smith shop anywhere near you? They usually have scrap steel around and maybe you could find something there. This is one case where bribery is a good thing... unless he's a vegetarian!

Ryan
Good thought and will do some looking but living in Austin, TX not sure if there is one around. MP
 
MPutska, morning... I would leave the block in the vent holes on their side... You will need something to partially block the air entering the smoker... You don't really want flame... Smoldering low and slow is good... A cooking temperature of 225 is about what works best... Splits about 1.5" square is good...
In the picture, cross braces of steel pipe or rebar at the 4 block height (~30') is good... chip out the top course to hold the support bars (4-5) below grade... lay expanded metal (HEAVY expanded steel) so it doesn't sag too much across the supports... Add another course of block... Now you have an ~8" tall oven... lay steel corrugated roofing across the top to keep in the heat... Screw 2x2 to the roofing metal for a frame... Leave the long side of the metal open (no frame) for a chimney of sorts... A small bed of coals will heat the unit nicely...
If you can, secure the pig between 2 layers of expanded steel (light weight) for ease in turning and removal to the carving table... (all thread & fender washers works) For a successful BBQ, do not skimp on anything... You may end up with a disaster during the cook...
I've got 2 extra concrete blocks to place in front of the opening - to control air flow. I can block it if necessary, open it, or somewhere in between.

I'm a novice so not sure what "Splits about 1.5" square is good..." means. Do you mean (4-5) supports at the 4 block height, recessed so that a 5th coarse can be laid?

I used a masonry blade on my skill saw and notched an opening for the support.

For a stretcher to encapsulate the hog and allow for it to be turned over was thinking of a rebar, cross hatched, tied steel, stretcher. I'm thinking 1/2" rebar should work. Expanded steel is more $ than what I had wanted to spend.

"For a successful BBQ, do not skimp on anything... You may end up with a disaster during the cook..." Anything in particular I should focus on to keep from being a disaster?
 
I've got 2 extra concrete blocks to place in front of the opening - to control air flow. I can block it if necessary, open it, or somewhere in between.

I'm a novice so not sure what "Splits about 1.5" square is good..." means. Do you mean (4-5) supports at the 4 block height, recessed so that a 5th coarse can be laid?

I used a masonry blade on my skill saw and notched an opening for the support.

For a stretcher to encapsulate the hog and allow for it to be turned over was thinking of a rebar, cross hatched, tied steel, stretcher. I'm thinking 1/2" rebar should work. Expanded steel is more $ than what I had wanted to spend.

"For a successful BBQ, do not skimp on anything... You may end up with a disaster during the cook..." Anything in particular I should focus on to keep from being a disaster?
1.5 inch splits...the size of wood pieces to add. They will burn at a decent rate to give you nice coals.

I believe the not skimping meant to make sure to have decent support under the hog and fasten it securely so that it can be flipped...you don't want the whole hog to end up in the coals!

Ryan
 
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That product appears to be designed for roof insulation. Peak temps there would be 150F, far less than what you'd use it at. I don't see detailed specs, but it appears to be an expanded polymer product that I think would max out at ~250F. I'd recommend Hardee board instead, which is made of more high-temperature materials:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/James-H...ft-x-5-ft-Cement-Backerboard-220023/100170507
You could put a sheet of this attic insulation over it however and probably not melt anything. If it did start to smell bad, throwing an intermediate sheet of plain old gypsum drywall should do the trick.
 
That product appears to be designed for roof insulation. Peak temps there would be 150F, far less than what you'd use it at. I don't see detailed specs, but it appears to be an expanded polymer product that I think would max out at ~250F. I'd recommend Hardee board instead, which is made of more high-temperature materials:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/James-H...ft-x-5-ft-Cement-Backerboard-220023/100170507
You could put a sheet of this attic insulation over it however and probably not melt anything. If it did start to smell bad, throwing an intermediate sheet of plain old gypsum drywall should do the trick.
Was thinking about Hardi Board. I think I've now got a line on some metal roofing panels. Thanks for your help. MP
 
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IMG_7621[1].JPG
 
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Found some corrugated metal for the top. Angle supports are in place for the rebar stretcher to rest on. Making the stretcher next and then may try a pork shoulder or the like as a test run. Also bought a port to install in the metal lid so that I can use my thermometer probe to keep an eye on pit temperature.
 
Still experimenting. Had to make some modifications. Opening wasn't big enough to feed the fire so I doubled the height of the opening on each end. Notice the first two layers of CMU are stacked and then the top two are staggered. Didn't have to cut any of the block and the physics on the two concrete block that act as a header above the opening works. Also couldn't reach temperature so Iowered the rack to the top of the 3rd course of block, added one more course on top and did away with the 5th course.
 
I would make me a fire box at the opening and at the far end remove 1/2 of a block so it would draft, build the fire in the box and maybe add a piece of tube to help draft, I'm not 1 much for shoveling coals all night lol you don't have to have a bottom in the fire box the ground will work fine
 
Thank you. Those are good ideas that should help and make it easier.

I'm assuming I'd need to move the firebox opening and the chimney opening to the middle of each side to better function? What size firebox? If the opening is 16" wide and I added a couple of concrete blocks to make the inside of a fire box 16" x 32" - would that suffice? I'm also then thinking to turn a couple of blocks sideways with the holes open to the air to provide fuel for fire box , 2 courses high of block tall and then a lid over the top.
 
We're all talking about draft, and I can see where your new, larger 2-block air intake is, but where does the hot smoke exit from? just the gaps in the corrugated steel top?
You want the exit to be opposite the intake so the heat goes the whole length of the food. So you really want the corrugations stopped up (wadded up aluminum foil would work) on the side where the air intake is, otherwise that heat is all just going up the side wall and not progressing the length of your cooker. The other thing to get more flow (which WILL consume more fuel) is to put a little fan at the intake. That's equivalent to enlarging the area of the air ports.
I like the idea of a firebox because its easy to add fuel if you're not cooking your meat as fast as you intended and your fire is going out. But that is a different flavor profile than roasting over hot coals, which I thought was your original intent. If you do pursue a firebox approach (like an offset steel smoker) you then are only cooking the meat with smoke, not the infrared radiation from the fire, so you need to "shield" the fire in the firebox with steel or brick so that the meat close to the firebox does not "see" the glowing red fire...otherwise it will cook way too fast. So a firebox probably needs to be a little igloo you'd build outside what you have already. But again, that's not a traditional pig-roasting setup.
 
We're all talking about draft, and I can see where your new, larger 2-block air intake is, but where does the hot smoke exit from? just the gaps in the corrugated steel top?
You want the exit to be opposite the intake so the heat goes the whole length of the food. So you really want the corrugations stopped up (wadded up aluminum foil would work) on the side where the air intake is, otherwise that heat is all just going up the side wall and not progressing the length of your cooker. The other thing to get more flow (which WILL consume more fuel) is to put a little fan at the intake. That's equivalent to enlarging the area of the air ports.
I like the idea of a firebox because its easy to add fuel if you're not cooking your meat as fast as you intended and your fire is going out. But that is a different flavor profile than roasting over hot coals, which I thought was your original intent. If you do pursue a firebox approach (like an offset steel smoker) you then are only cooking the meat with smoke, not the infrared radiation from the fire, so you need to "shield" the fire in the firebox with steel or brick so that the meat close to the firebox does not "see" the glowing red fire...otherwise it will cook way too fast. So a firebox probably needs to be a little igloo you'd build outside what you have already. But again, that's not a traditional pig-roasting setup.
Bill, thanks for the feedback. There is a same sized opening on the opposite end of the pit as the one shown in the picture. What is your recommendation for accessing the pit to add fuel? My shovel isn't long enough, and the opening wasn't big enough so I enlarged the opening and was thinking about purchasing a longer shovel handle. The longer shovel handle I don't think is a great solution but have been having a hard time coming up with something better.
 
I have no great solution to re-fueling pig roast pits. I think you have to, through experience, learn to slightly over-fuel and then live with some wasted coals when you pull your food. You can control temp by adjusting air flow (by changing the area of intake and exhaust ports) but when the fire is out of fuel, it's Game Over.

That's the big advantage to building a firebox outside your pit. You can keep adding fuel if you run low (and even shovel some out if you over do it) if normal air flows aren't working for you.

One possible solution to re-fueling in your style of pit is to include some steel rain gutter troughs that feed the fire every few feet and exit low through the side walls. They're plugged when your'e cooking but should you run out of fire you can feed in fresh coals from the outside with just a steel rod (rebar) as a pusher. They'll slide easy in the rain gutter as opposed to try to slide coals over dirt. I do something similar to add coals to a drum-stye smoker in the middle of a cook.
 
I have no great solution to re-fueling pig roast pits. I think you have to, through experience, learn to slightly over-fuel and then live with some wasted coals when you pull your food. You can control temp by adjusting air flow (by changing the area of intake and exhaust ports) but when the fire is out of fuel, it's Game Over.

That's the big advantage to building a firebox outside your pit. You can keep adding fuel if you run low (and even shovel some out if you over do it) if normal air flows aren't working for you.

One possible solution to re-fueling in your style of pit is to include some steel rain gutter troughs that feed the fire every few feet and exit low through the side walls. They're plugged when your'e cooking but should you run out of fire you can feed in fresh coals from the outside with just a steel rod (rebar) as a pusher. They'll slide easy in the rain gutter as opposed to try to slide coals over dirt. I do something similar to add coals to a drum-stye smoker in the middle of a cook.
When you say, "That's the big advantage to building a firebox outside your pit", I'm assuming you mean burn pit outside your pit to keep coals and embers burning for when you need them?
 
I think what Mike243 was suggesting was that ALL the heat for cooking comes from a "firebox" that's of a smaller volume than your existing build, and not from coals under your meat. It could be in a separate igloo right outside the opening you showed.

My alternate rain gutter trough suggestion (because I've never seen anything bigger than just a part of a hog cooked in an offset smoker) was that you could feed cold coals onto a hot, but dying fire, without removing your meat or even the steel panel cover.

And I'm willing to concede I may be overthinking this. It sounds like you've done a trial run or test cook already so you have some idea how long a sack of charcoal lasts? As I said most pig pickings are done by experienced folks that just kinda' know when their fire might run out of fuel and account for that by adding a little extra upfront. I think we all do this instinctively every time we use a Weber kettle. It's not impossible to add more charcoal in the middle of a cook but we avoid it by making sure we start out with more than enough.
 
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