Slideshow of the Stumper Clone's construction
 

In my sig, I mention the Stumper Clone XL that's under construction. DH Robert has done such a great job so far that I wanted to share pictures of the progression. She's built in the style of a Stumps GF223, but each rack is 2' deep and 3' wide. She's almost ready to season and start cooking, as soon as doors get attached. This is Robert's first welding project ever... and I even laid a few beads (and grinded a few) myself.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=...d&x=0&y=z4mvla

(Upon edit, I've fixed this link - it didn't work at first... sorry about that!)

We've been told by more than one that, when this cooker is finished, there is to be a backyard cookoff between me and Robert - me on the DPP Fat 50, and him on his Stumper. With 60 sq' feet of cooking space between us, we're going to need a LOT of judges. :mrgreen:

Keri C

Keri-
I couldn't get the site to load. If ya need some extra judges, i know a few Brethren in Texas that would go for a road trip.

WOW. That is a work of art! Congrats. So the heat is on the bottom, correct? What's going on with the left side and the extra, rectangular vent?

By the way, I considered ordering a coffee mug with your new cooker on it from the Kodak gift shop.:biggrin:

The heat is on the bottom on the side of the cooker, not underneath the cooking chamber. The Stumps GF 223 design is an insulated gravity feed offset, essentially. The 5x7 steel chute going down the side will first have a chimney of lit lump dumped in from the top of the chute, which will land on a removable grate near the bottom of the charcoal chute in the heavy steel firebox area. A removable ash box will be located directly under the firegrate. Unlit lump with be loaded in on top of the lit in the charcoal chute, and an airtight lid on top of the chute on top of the cooker will be closed and latched to stop air flow from the top of the charcoal column. Air enters the firebox at the bottom of the charcoal chute through a 2-inch ball valve that will be in a door to the firebox there at the bottom of the charcoal chute. The grated opening seen inside the cooking chamber channels heat from the firebox at the bottom of the charcoal chute into the cooking chamber. The actual fire is burning at the bottom of the charcoal chute a few inches below the heat entry opening into the cooking chamber.

As the fire burns at the firebox level at the bottom of the charcoal chute, the ash and small coals fall through the firegrate into the removeable ash box and the unburned fuel will gradually feed the fire, thus the GF or Gravity Feed designation. There will be probably two heat shields between the entry into the cooking chamber and the bottom shelf. The bottom of the inside of the cooking chamber where you see what looks like a big X is where he created the positive drain so that drippings and grease would flow toward the drain pipe rather than just side in the bottom of the cooker.

Robert hangs out on a Canadian BBQ board on which many of the members have built or are building these beasts, and results they're seeing are very impressive. One friend of ours here in Broken Arrow built one taller than ours but not quite as wide, and is seeing 9 to 11 hour extremely steady cooks on one chute of lump. The units are insulated with 1500 degree insulation.

I think that why Robert wanted to build this Stumps clone - so he could sleep longer instead of feeding logs to the Fat 50 quite so often through the night. :roll: Now granted, it isn't a REAL Stumps cooker, but through this project he got to learn how to weld, which was something that he wanted to do for a long time anyway. And, hey, once he's through, I have a new toy to cook on, not to mention a husband who knows how to weld!

Oh, and Clint, don't get that coffee mug just yet. Wait until she's finished, when she has her dark garnet red metal-flake paint, subtle chrome flames, diamond plate door, and chrome Peterbilt turn-back stack. THEN she'll be ready for her final photo shoot. :wink:

Keri C

That looks amazing, I'm envious of both of your craftmanship! heck and you can cook also!!! :-) j/k

Keri,
thanks for the pictures. Robert is doing a fantastic job on that one can't wait to see the finished product. If he has any dimensions or maybe a link to the forums where the other guys are building units like that would you please email or PM those to me? I am about to order some steel and start building.
Thanks,
Mike

Keri,

A job well done (well nearly) by both of you. The capacity of that cooker is massive.

Are you guys planning on using a Guru type setup?

BTW... I had a chance to see the Bubba Q's new Stump's Elite 8 this past weekend. It was so new he had to wait for them to put on the doors and touch up the paint before he pulled out with it last Thursday!!!

It is a gorgeous smoker with a lot of capacity... but I don't think it has a thing on your new one!!! Well done!!!

Keri,

Awesome pictures taken of an awesome job. Robert is doing a great job. I have a Stumps GF223 and I can tell you that he is doing it right. Don't do the lit chimney of charcoal dumped in the chute. Too many hot ashes will be flying. Just use a weedburner through the bottom in the fire box. This method takes just a few minutes. Some folks will dump a load of lump right into the firebox as well. You can also use a propane torch.

You will also need to get a Stoker or a Guru. I use the Stoker myself.

Can't wait to see the finished product!

Bravo!!!! on the Stumps clone and Robert really is talented builder and Keri you are the bomb. That's a good thing.

Very Nice! When is the first cook?

That is freakin' awesome!! That is one sweet looking smoker! Great job!!

We had wondered about the weed burner lighting option - we have one of the $20 Harbor Freight... uhhh... no, make that the "Minionator Ultra 5000" :wink: models that we've been using to light the Fat 50, and I usually use it to light the WSMs. Sounds like that will be the ticket. Do you put your smoke wood chunks in the ash box, or in the chute to gradually drop throughout the cook? I often use foil pouches of BBQer Delight pellets in the WSMs - I had thought about using those in the ashbox as a smoke option as well. Does an ashbox of lit lump help the initial heat up process as much as it would seem that it would? And do you only run an initial ashbox full of lit lump during the heating-up process, or do you keep it burning during the cook?

As for the Stoker or Guru, Robert claims he's going to do his testing with my hair dryer. I'm hot on the trail of an old iron hand crank blower such as was used in the old blacksmith forges from Civil War through the early 20th century, though - a century-old "manual Stoker", so to speak. I have one of the earliest Gurus as I was a tester on the WSM for them. I went through their testing process, then put it back in the box and haven't used it since. I have nothing against the electronic fire maintenance options at all - we're just still at that "toddler" phase where we'd rather play in the fire ourselves with no help from electronics or motherboards. :biggrin: Once we start playing with Miz Stumper, we may think differently, but I'm looking forward to it either way! Thank you for your suggestions - we appreciate it.

Keri C, still smokin' on Tulsa Time

That definitely is a great lookin' smoker. Robert's done good on that un!

I know that monster will give you years of enjoyment. What cookin first?

That looks great, Keri! You and Robert both must be just beside yourselves with anticipation and excitement.

And it wouldn't be a long trip for me at all to judge your 'he vs she' sompetition! :wink: