Stainless Reverse Flow smoker

[Belding Hill Farms]

Hello All

I’m a new member and I have joined to consult with all you guys/gals that have way more experience than me.

Several years ago, while working at a brewery, I was able to get two tanks for next to nothing and that began an adventure to have a reverse flow smoker made. It was designed by Frank Cox and essentially consists of a cook chamber made from a 31” diameter tank with a bell on both ends and a firebox made from a 29” diameter tank cut in half with two 27” wide rectangular sections welded between the two tank half’s making an oval firebox. The smoker was built to Frank’s design and the firebox rounded parts are made from 1/4” stainless and the two rectangular pieces and back/front are 1/8” with a heavy door.

My real question I have is how big of a fire will it take to maintain 225 Deg F inside the cook chamber and will this fire be so big that it is likely to warp the firebox. I’m wondering if I should install firebrick inside the firebox to help avoid potential warping. I would rather not use the firebrick, but it has taken a long time to gather all the parts and make this and I don’t want to ruin it first time out.

Any advice you can give would be appreciated.

Thanks
Luke

[BBQscott]

Wow, that’s a beautiful cooker! I’m not sure how to answer your question but I just wanted to say you have a great pit there! Fire size, I would say burn down 3 splits for your coal bed then just adding a stick every 45mins or so. I just cooked on a 31x96 and it took probably 5 splits to get the metal heated up then I added 2 splits every hour to maintain 250. That firebox was ridiculously hot though.

[Belding Hill Farms]

Ok, I just realized I should have mentioned the cooking area is nearly 84”x31”. Ok, so you answered some of my question, it’s not likely going to require 6 sticks of firewood, so with the size of the firebox and a reasonably small fire in it, it may not be too bad. The thing with stainless is that it really sucks up the heat though. Thanks for the response and thanks for the compliment. It’s taken a long time to gather all the parts I needed without completely breaking the bank, so I am very excited to use this thing. Lol

Originally Posted by BBQscott

Wow, that’s a beautiful cooker! I’m not sure how to answer your question but I just wanted to say you have a great pit there! Fire size, I would say burn down 3 splits for your coal bed then just adding a stick every 45mins or so. I just cooked on a 31x96 and it took probably 5 splits to get the metal heated up then I added 2 splits every hour to maintain 250. That firebox was ridiculously hot though.

[luv2smoke]

What gauge steel is the firebox?

[cowgirl]

Nice build! Welcome to the forum.

[Fire and Ice]

Beautiful build. I have a 5 foot Ben Lang reverse made of steal. I usually start with just two or three pound of charcoal and a split on top to start with if that helps. Start small and work your way up. If you concerned about the bottom you could line it with fire bricks to be safe

[Belding Hill Farms]

Originally Posted by luv2smoke

What gauge steel is the firebox?

Mix of 1/8th and 1/4”

[TC Smoke & Que]

Welcome to the Brethren!!
That is a mighty fine looking smoker you have there. I am not a "stick burner", but I appreciate a good smoker.
The guys here will be very helpful and informative and you will find a lot of answers to your questions.
Looking forward to your cook pics.

[MisterChrister]

Welocme to the asylum, Luke! That's a gorgeous rig you have there! I have 5 or 6 large stainless tanks to make smokers with myself, and try to work at a couple of them here and there. I hear you about pecking away at them without breaking the bank, it's hard! I'm looking forward to seeing your cooker in action!

[Turkey Shack]

I don't think there is any downside to lining it with fire brick. I would absolutely say to line it.

[ronbrad62]

That is a nice looking smoker. I'm digging the shiny appearance.
I wouldn't think that you would need a huge fire to maintain 225*, but only firing it up fully functional will determine that.

[1MoreFord]

Very nice looking pit.

Once possible concern I see is your fire grate. It may just be lack of perspective with nothing to relate the size against but that looks like a lot of space between your grates. Let me spend a bit more of your money for you and suggest you, at the least, get some expanded metal to place on top the grates with smaller openings so your coals won't fall thru so much Or get something like a Lone Star Grills fire basket. See the link.

https://lonestargrillz.com/collectio...nagment-basket

The fire basket will also keep coals off the sides and minimize any possible warping plus it will give you room in the firebox to preheat your next sticks.

[Belding Hill Farms]

I put a piece of expanded metal in there today. Lol