tawd77
07-06-2012, 09:34 AM
hi, i am building a smoker from a 120gallon propane tank. Its laying horizontally, with a center feed firebox directly underneith it. It has a water pan that directs the heat and smoke to the ends, and then passes out through a 4.25" chimney, centered in the smoker.
I have made a,"stoker" to run the pit, but i think im possibly passing way too much air through the pit, as i think im using alot of charcoal. I lit about 3/4 chimney of coals, and put about half the 20lb bag of charcoal in the charcoal basket. Once the chimney was ready, i added it to the unlit coals in the basket. I added a couple fist sized pieces of wood. It took about 30-40 minutes to get up to 235, which was my set temp. I put my pork butt on, and it held temp perfectly. My problem is, it sawed through almost a complete 20lb bag of charcoal in 6 hours of running(including getting up to temp). Isnt that a little excessive? Or is this what i should expect from a,120gal tank? The tank is 1/4" thick if that makes a difference... Anyone else have a similar sized or designed smoker to compare charcoal usage? Thanks!
I have made a,"stoker" to run the pit, but i think im possibly passing way too much air through the pit, as i think im using alot of charcoal. I lit about 3/4 chimney of coals, and put about half the 20lb bag of charcoal in the charcoal basket. Once the chimney was ready, i added it to the unlit coals in the basket. I added a couple fist sized pieces of wood. It took about 30-40 minutes to get up to 235, which was my set temp. I put my pork butt on, and it held temp perfectly. My problem is, it sawed through almost a complete 20lb bag of charcoal in 6 hours of running(including getting up to temp). Isnt that a little excessive? Or is this what i should expect from a,120gal tank? The tank is 1/4" thick if that makes a difference... Anyone else have a similar sized or designed smoker to compare charcoal usage? Thanks!