Cinder block pit experimenting

This is great, and I'm going to do some detailed reviewing and may be asking a few questions. I tried setting my block pit up as an offset, but I couldn't get it to draw appropriately. I just burn a fire inside and put everything else on the other side, which has worked well in the past.
 
WhitesideJC said:
This is great, and I'm going to do some detailed reviewing and may be asking a few questions. I tried setting my block pit up as an offset, but I couldn't get it to draw appropriately. I just burn a fire inside and put everything else on the other side, which has worked well in the past.
Click to expand...
Absolutely. Ask away.
 
pitbossJB said:
I knew a guy that was going to throw a big party, I told him we should build one of these to cook two pigs. Some other guy persuaded him to bury them with a bunch of coals, that was a waste of two pigs, he should've listened to me. Oh well!
Click to expand...
Wasting two pigs brings a tear to my eye.
 
So as I mentioned I did cook a pig before but this wasn't assembled quite the same way. I'm planning on a pig roast soon. Plan is to have a solid steel lid on the food chamber at the time. So I will smoke the pig in the offset and then to finish I will add coals to the food chamber lid to crisp up the skin with more direct heat. Like a caja china grill for the finish. Should be another fun experiment, any thoughts on that plan? Anyone done something similar?
 
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Well I went ahead and replaced the lid on the food chamber with a piece of 14ga steel. I had to test it out so we smoked a 50lb hog for our Sunday meal. I lit the grill at 10pm Saturday night and we ate around two or three pm on Sunday. Turned out amazing.
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Where did you get the food grate piece and the lids? I want to make one of these as well since i don't have a stick burner and have some old cinder blocks laying around. Would like to be able to find something for the food grate piece and the lids secondhand to keep costs down.
 
I bought the grate from a local metal yard. I believe it is 9ga 3/4" expanded if I am remembering correctly (that was over a year ago). It really wasn't terrible, maybe $60. The 12ga lid on the fire box and 14 ga lid for the food chamber came free from a friend at my old job. I am not sure what a metal yard would charge you for those, I would just call around if I were you.
 
Curious, where is the vent at the firebox? How well does it hold temps? I didn't notice in your pictures. It looks really awesome, I would love to build one of these.
 
BBQscott said:
Curious, where is the vent at the firebox? How well does it hold temps? I didn't notice in your pictures. It looks really awesome, I would love to build one of these.
Click to expand...
There is a sideways block at ground level. I was just looking through my phone but don't see any pics that show the intake really well. I messed around with a brick in front of the intake to regulate intake but in the end it seems to burn best with the intake wide open.
 
Did you use a solid 'cap' block to close up the outer wall where the chimney starts? If not, how did you close that hole?
 
This is cool as hell. I've wanted to do one of these before myself, I just haven't had the space. I don't know why, but they are so cool. Nice work!
 
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