BadVolf
Well-known member
Okay, so the topic is a little confusing, so let me explain... I am going to build a smoker, I am in Russia and we don't have a lot of choices here for commercially bought. To ship one here, it's going to cost nearly $8000 just for the shipping. And so, with my engineering experience, I have decided to make my own. The first think I needed to do was to decide on a design. Verticle? Horizontal? Barrel? Standard or Reverse Flow? And, so I used my $60,000 work software (used to model the internal combustion of rocket engines, aircraft, etc...) and to look at several existing designs and was shocked at what I found out.
In the end, I ran 1000 different laminar flow/turbulent flow simulations to get what I think will be the prefect shape that addresses the problems and benefits of horizontal smokers, both standard and reverse flow. This will be reverse flow but with a completely different body shape. Here's what I learned:
Traditional smokers have less problems with "dirty" smoke but don't cook as evenly. Why: The laminar flow is quick, evacuating the heat from the smoker faster and also some of the cooler smoke. But there isn't much turbulence so you get uneven cooking. Also, the end where the exhaust is... the air is accelerated as it enters the exhaust, and it creates a funky channel of air that isn't great for cooking. Picture water going through clear funnel.
Photo Here
Reverse flow cookers are different... a lot of turbulence but not much laminar flow. This is what causes the dirty smoke. Again, you have that problem with that round exhaust.
Photo Here
But, you can see why in a traditional smoker, that fast moving air is more beneficial for evacuating the dirty smoke:
Photo Here
And so, Have come up with a new design, and I would like to find someone to help me test and make it. It will require someone with a fabrication shop that has a laser cutter and hydraulic press.
One of the most important things I learned in the reverse flow smoker is that the length of the buffer plate is absolutely critical. By altering the length, you can get the air to move faster so that it behaves more like a traditional smoker while keeping the smoke turbulence and even heating benefits of a reverse flow. So, if anyone wants to help with my experiment, let me know!
Note: I posted photos but they aren't showing up so I also included links to the photos.
In the end, I ran 1000 different laminar flow/turbulent flow simulations to get what I think will be the prefect shape that addresses the problems and benefits of horizontal smokers, both standard and reverse flow. This will be reverse flow but with a completely different body shape. Here's what I learned:
Traditional smokers have less problems with "dirty" smoke but don't cook as evenly. Why: The laminar flow is quick, evacuating the heat from the smoker faster and also some of the cooler smoke. But there isn't much turbulence so you get uneven cooking. Also, the end where the exhaust is... the air is accelerated as it enters the exhaust, and it creates a funky channel of air that isn't great for cooking. Picture water going through clear funnel.
Photo Here
Reverse flow cookers are different... a lot of turbulence but not much laminar flow. This is what causes the dirty smoke. Again, you have that problem with that round exhaust.
Photo Here
But, you can see why in a traditional smoker, that fast moving air is more beneficial for evacuating the dirty smoke:
Photo Here
And so, Have come up with a new design, and I would like to find someone to help me test and make it. It will require someone with a fabrication shop that has a laser cutter and hydraulic press.
One of the most important things I learned in the reverse flow smoker is that the length of the buffer plate is absolutely critical. By altering the length, you can get the air to move faster so that it behaves more like a traditional smoker while keeping the smoke turbulence and even heating benefits of a reverse flow. So, if anyone wants to help with my experiment, let me know!
Note: I posted photos but they aren't showing up so I also included links to the photos.