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Round or rectangular cooking chamber?

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ekamm

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Anyone wanna comment on any advantage to a build with a round/pipe chamber over a rectangular or box type of cooking chamber.
 
they mention on the Lang site that if you have a flat top, then moisture an collect and drip on the meat, which is not good. You could get black stuff dripping on your meat

with the round style, it rolls off to the sides

I would imagine the heat circulation would be better with a round style also for the same reason
 
Possibly, I feel like there is a lot of wasted space in a round vs. a rectangular. The top of the chamber could be made with a sloped roof..
 
I've had both, and don't notice any difference. I never had any black stuff dripping on my meat when I had my flat top smoker. If that were the case, wouldn't the same hold true for the UDS or any of the many cabinet style smokers?
 
PalmettoSmoke said:
I've had both, and don't notice any difference. I never had any black stuff dripping on my meat when I had my flat top smoker. If that were the case, wouldn't the same hold true for the UDS or any of the many cabinet style smokers?
Click to expand...

no idea.

just reporting what they say on the Lang site.
 
ButtBurner said:
no idea.

just reporting what they say on the Lang site.
Click to expand...

I'm not questioning you. I've been to the Lang site. They make fantastic cookers! I think a lot of the stuff you read on their sites (not just Lang) is marketing. After all, they ultimately want you to buy their smoker!
 
I don't know about any moisture build up in a smoker, usless you are using a water pan and cooking at a high heat causing a lot of steam, but I have only used small backyard smokers. I have made, designed, modded, quite a few backyard smokers and have not had a problem with anything dripping from the lid onto the meat.

My understanding is that the round top will aid in circulating the heat and smoke better. With that said, many of the Brethren use flat top lids on their UDS's and many large manufacturers make box shaped smokers like vaults.

I guess it is up to you and your preference and what is easiest for you to manufacture and what materials you have available.
 
PalmettoSmoke said:
I'm not questioning you. I've been to the Lang site. They make fantastic cookers! I think a lot of the stuff you read on their sites (not just Lang) is marketing. After all, they ultimately want you to buy their smoker!
Click to expand...

sure could be

but you are talking about vertical smokers that have a lot smaller roof and the heat flow is different.

Have you ever seen a square horizontal smoker with a flat roof?

I never have.

Its an interesting discussion, I dont know who is right or wrong
 
It should not make any difference if it has a flat roof, and is vertical or horizontal. Should not matter if it is an offset, like my Bandera vertical, with flat roof and heat rises directly from the offset bottom, like my large Spicewine, with flat roof and heat comes directly from the bottom with a large water pan deflector, and the uds, mine does not use water. Take something on the line of say a Good-One, which has the fire coming from along the back side, with a flat roof, and holds water, or my old Ok Joe offset with a barrel horizontal cook chamber. Heat and the gasses are going to rise to the roof, the only thing that could make a difference is an inefficient fire, and , or a lot of moisture from a water pan. Heck I have had it happen on my weber kettle, and my wsm.

One of the reasons I do not like using water, is it just really can make a big mess at clean up, plus when you get that nasty stuff on you, it is hard as hell to get off, don't even try getting it out of your cloths. I find it hard to remove from grates and the inner walls, it can concevable drip, if allowed to accumulate, but I admit I am a messy cook.
Dave
 
Round pipes are traditional. They were scraps used to build the first pits in Texas. (IF my memory isn't failing me now.)
To build a round tank would require less welding on the tank but more skill on the round doors.(IMHO)
Square smokers would be easier to insulate if you were so inclined.
You will get more usable area with a square smoker.
jon
 
I am sure that the first round smokers were a matter of convienience because a pipe or tank was available and required less construction. In my case I buy from a scrap yard and a pound of steel all costs the same. My scrap yars has a great pile of nearly new plate steel and I haven't seen any horizontal chambers that were rectangular. I plan on a build that will use all plate with a square fire box and a rectangular RF cooking chamber. I want to make the doors cabinet style so when they are both open you could easily put a large (hog sized) piece in it. Any ideas greatly appreciated, I have built a number of ugly and not so ugly rigs in the past. This time I want to go bigger and have it work well.
 
Ya after that post I googled up a few pics. I think that it is doable and could work wee. I notice very few that were actually rectangular. A few hat a peaked top like a roof or a three sided lid with a squared bottom. Not sure if that was an attempt to keep good flow or not.
 
The angled tops may be to help with the door staying open.
Some are assisted with door openers or counter weights.
Slamming doors and hands are bad things.
Once you have decided on a style, post up some sketches. There are several experienced builders here that can help.

jon
 
Here is a couple of photos of one that appears to be a tank that was cut to have a squared front with the style doors that I want to make.


 
ButtBurner said:
sure could be

but you are talking about vertical smokers that have a lot smaller roof and the heat flow is different.

Have you ever seen a square horizontal smoker with a flat roof?

I never have.

Its an interesting discussion, I dont know who is right or wrong
Click to expand...

I have a hexagonal offset stick burner that has a flat roof. I love it. I have never had any black stuff fall the top. I also have a rack in the middle. It's much hotter up top so it acts like a broiler. Great for setting sauces.
 
Thanks for the replies. I am going to try my hand at some CAD and see if I can get a plan together. I'll put it up if I get some thing going. A draftsman I am not.
 
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