Smoker/BBQ build style

[Bigfork]

Hi there folks! It's my first post in the BBQ land. I'm a member of a couple of sailing forums and now I've got one more to "check" up on...ha!

Let me predicate this by first saying...I might be in the wrong forum...

I built a barrel smoker last year from a 20 gl can. Put some valves along the bottom, made a lid/chimney by welding a band along the cut-off original lid. Added some top-loading grates and a bottom fire pit. It closes quite nicely, does a great job of smoking venison, was easy to make with a basic welding and steel cutting ability...

Now that I've got the taste for home-done jerky, it's just too small and there one other main drawback...I must remove all 3 grates in order to get to the charcoal fire "pit" in the bottom. I've thought about fitting a chute of sort that feeds hot charcoal straight to the pit from the exterior (easy enough alteration I think...)

What I really want to do is build a larger smoker/bbq operation. I just got my hands on a large water pressure tank in like new shape (it looks near to 50gl). This is to be the smoke/cooking chamber with a external firebox that is the smoke source while still having the ability to bbq. There are several styles out there like the typical back-yard-offset where both barrels are horizontal. My brother has one and complains about the performance with localized heat/smoke and bad drafting.

The other option is the webber upright Smokey Mountain type deal. Again, there are several popular versions of this out there. Still the problem is the size, and those cheap uprights don't draw well either (leaky)

I want to sister a 20gl small fire barrel (bbq purpose) horizontally while the smoke chamber (50 gl water tank) is aligned vertically aside it and slightly above. This would take some frame building to support the whole apparatus but I think it could meet the ground in a wheel barrow-styled dolly and do just fine.

I can figure out the engineering, I guess my real question to the forum is:

--Why aren't there more "sidecar" fire boxes mounted to vertically oriented smoke chambers. The popular is horizontal to horizontal with slight off-set.
--Any one done this or have site suggestions for me?
--Am I posting on the right site? (ha)

Thanks bbq and smoking community...it just makes food taste so much better!

bigfork

 

[Pyle's BBQ]

You should check out a reverse flow smoker. That is where the exhaust is on the same end as the firebox and there is a plate along the bottom that directs the heat to the opposite end and then flows across the meat to the exhaust vent. This eliminates the hot spot issue and cook evenly in the cooking chamber. As far as drafting you need to have enough hot air going into the cooking chamber. Most people building a smoker for the first time make the opening into the cooking chamber too small and that will give you a bad draft. If you search builds on this site you will find all sorts of different ideas.

Good luck.