120 Gal Tank build thread...

[SmokinAussie]

Well, the important thing is that it didn't go BOOM!


That woulda been the shortest build ever!

Looking great so far man!

Cheers!

Bill

[keale]

I'm glad you're still here! Looking fwd. to your build...all these ideas that are being posted are great, i actually understand them!
I know you won't so I will, for some of the new guys, Pharsty has "little" experience in not going "boom"... after all, he did build these!!

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...ad.php?t=36553

[SmokinAussie]

Wow, just checked out that thread... You're a true artistPhrasty!!!

Cheers!

Bill

[Norcoredneck]

Keep up the post.

[markpmc]

consider a double wall insulated firebox. it's not hard to find mineral wool insulation.

[Phrasty]

Hey everyone. Today was a good day.. started a bit late again (bout 2:00) I had a friend come over and give me a hand with the build, we got quite a bit done. First, we got the other set of hinges aligned and tacked on. Then we cut out the doors which came out pretty cool ... so far so good. Once the doors were cut and the hinges were OK'd for alignment I finished welding them on. Had to clean the paint off the edges of the doors to weld on the door overlaps. I was planning on using 1.5" flat stock for this but I realized that I had some 1" already left over from a last build and thought "free is good right?!?!" so thats what I threw on. Left them 5/8" proud, so that should give me enough space for a decent seal by itself and hopefully should fit a high heat gasket to seal this bad puppy up. Got as far as 3 sides of the big door and called it quits for the night. Man I haven't done this in a long time... took a little while to get my welding feel back.

I want to go pickup some 3/4 square hollow section or 1" angle iron tomorrow for the trays and get those started as well as the sliding supports for them. If time allows I'll also try get the handles for the doors fabricated and mounted. The only thing holding me up is getting the 1/4" Sheet steel for the firebox. At about $325 a sheet locally, it's DEFINITELY the bulk of my budget... Steel is so expensive out here. I cant even THINK about stainless with my budget!! Pisses me the fark off.

Anyways guys I'll post another update tomorrow after another day of building.. God willing.

[Phrasty]

Originally Posted by keale

I'm glad you're still here! Looking fwd. to your build...all these ideas that are being posted are great, i actually understand them!
I know you won't so I will, for some of the new guys, Pharsty has "little" experience in not going "boom"... after all, he did build these!!

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...ad.php?t=36553

Haha... Thanks Keale! I know you got my back bro. I've done one or two grills since then too. I should look for those pics and throw them up here. How was the birthday man? Hope you had a good one! lol

Cheers

[Stevesonfire!]

Phrasty this is exciting stuff for me. I do have to say you have an ambitious time frame to build it!
I built mine this past winter. Was only able to work on it on the weekends, mostly Saturdays. It took me 3 months of Saturdays to finish mine. I built mine as a reverse flow type...works great. I have three thermometers on it. On average, the top rack runs about 20-25 degrees warmer than the bottom.
As far as the tires on the trailer...no worries. I have pneumatic tires on mine very close to the firebox...the sun makes them hotter than the fire.

I do have one bit of advice to pass on though... I used exactly the same hinges on my doors when I started. They are not heavy enough.. I ultimately made my own using some 5/8" round stock and pieces of metal fence post. Not only are they strong, they added to the overall appearance of a heavy smoker!



Feel free to message me if I can help...
Steve

[Stevesonfire!]

Originally Posted by Phrasty

Haha... Thanks Keale! I know you got my back bro. I've done one or two grills since then too. I should look for those pics and throw them up here. How was the birthday man? Hope you had a good one! lol

Cheers

Wow! I checked out the thread..... This guys an artist!

[2K1TJ]

Coming along great. What are the dimensions of your tank?

[Phrasty]

Looks like an all day rain today. Don't know if I'm going to be able to do much work. Hopefully it'll clear up..

Cheers

[Phrasty]

Originally Posted by Stevesonfire!

Phrasty this is exciting stuff for me. I do have to say you have an ambitious time frame to build it!
I built mine this past winter. Was only able to work on it on the weekends, mostly Saturdays. It took me 3 months of Saturdays to finish mine. I built mine as a reverse flow type...works great. I have three thermometers on it. On average, the top rack runs about 20-25 degrees warmer than the bottom.
As far as the tires on the trailer...no worries. I have pneumatic tires on mine very close to the firebox...the sun makes them hotter than the fire.

I do have one bit of advice to pass on though... I used exactly the same hinges on my doors when I started. They are not heavy enough.. I ultimately made my own using some 5/8" round stock and pieces of metal fence post. Not only are they strong, they added to the overall appearance of a heavy smoker!



Feel free to message me if I can help...
Steve

Thanks Steve. The hinges seem ok for now, But i agree with you... they could be a bit more "solid" Ill probably try to fab. some later and put them on. Ive been trying to fond out... what kind of heat do you get with your Reverse flow? How hot can you get it? Can you hold steady 300's with that thing? Let me know Bro... Thnkas

Cheers

[Smokin Turkey]

I have a pit calc that works very well. I oversize fire boxes for reverse flow as well as the box to chamber hole and exhaust. It gives the option to go hotter.

Looks good so far but why go with red brick? Use fire bricks to avoid off gassing and reflect heat instead of holding heat. My last build is insulated with 2" and 1.25" fire bricks. You can pm me if you want pointers on it. My build is way more efficient and runs much cooler on the outside because of the bricks.

[hardy02ttu]

Looks good man, something to be proud of!

[Phrasty]

So, it's been raining on and off since friday. Didn't really get anything done on Saturday but I think yesterday and today have been pretty productive.

• Finished up the seals on the doors (have to finish up the welding on them)
• Cut and welded up the frames for the food grates out of some 3/4 square hollow section
• Welded 3/4 16ga expanded metal onto the food grates.
• Cut and mounted the slide guides for the food grates.

Had some probs with the doors closing after welding on the seals, so that took a bit of time to remedy, I have to clamp and torch the lids to get bend fit I wanted back.

But overall, I think its coming along. Starting to look like a smoker now. Should be getting some scrap metal that I can use for the firebox this week. Got it sourced through a friend so hopefully I won't have to buy a full sheet of the stuff!

Well I guess that's about it. Please tell me what you guys think so far.


Cheers