My Smoker build is almost done, but I need some help.

Igotgas

Igotgas

is one Smokin' Farker
Joined
Dec 14, 2010
Location
Orangeva...
Hello all,

Thanks to my wonderful family, I have been able to make a lot of progress on my first smoker build over the last week. However, I have run into a few hurdles and I was hoping this fantastic forum could help me out. First here is some pron of my almost finished build.

IMG_0334Small.jpg

My first question is about the burnout. I searched the forum and found a lot of threads for UDS burnouts but none for what I am doing. My tanks were propane tanks, they had been sitting since the late eighties, one with propane in it, and the other was empty. I was thinking of lighting a few chimneys of charcoal and putting them in the cook box, but that didn’t seem sufficient to me. I burned it for a few hours Friday just to see the temperatures it would run, but that didn’t do much for cleaning the old or new metal. Also, I don’t want to get it so hot that it warps the lid either. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks again to all of you that make this place a home for people like me.

My second question has to do with the tuning plates. I got my baffle tack welded in, but I do not know what next. Do the plates sit at the same level as the bottom of my baffle or do they need to be higher.
IMG_0318small.jpg
 
I can't quite make out what you're doing but as a word of cautiion , remember a gas smoker requires more air than a wood smoker and gas is more prone to flash explosions when air hits the cooking chamber. Apparently the smokey atmosphere shuts down the oxygen then when it opened....boom. Ask others.
 
I'm kinda confused as well. Are you using propane ? Whats the unpainted propane tank on the left used for? I would also put your exhaust at grate level. I'm sure someone smarter than me will reply. Good luck.:thumb:
 
QDoc said:
I can't quite make out what you're doing but as a word of cautiion , remember a gas smoker requires more air than a wood smoker and gas is more prone to flash explosions when air hits the cooking chamber. Apparently the smokey atmosphere shuts down the oxygen then when it opened....boom. Ask others.
Click to expand...

Yes I did learn about the flash this weekend. Luckily I run the burner an its lowest setting to reach the low 2oo's so the flash is more like a poof. I think I will be adding more vent holes to the firebox before I start cooking
 
I am still a little weirded out by your gas idea, but, here is something.

The tuning plates go at or just above the edge of your baffle lip, the idea is that the tuning plates push the heat along the bottom of the cooking chamber to allow for more even heat across the width of the chamber. Thus, the heat must start off below the tuning plates. Do not weld the plates in, you want to be able to move them about, hence the tuning part.

For burning out, you could start a fire in the cooking chamber and leave the door open, this will prevent the door from warping. You do not need a hugely hot fire, just enough to raise temps to above normal cooking range.
 
1FUNVET said:
I'm kinda confused as well. Are you using propane ? Whats the unpainted propane tank on the left used for? I would also put your exhaust at grate level. I'm sure someone smarter than me will reply. Good luck.:thumb:
Click to expand...

Yes it is a Propane smoker. The tank on the left is where my burner is and where the wood chunks will go. I put my exhaust between the two grates ( thanks to input from here).
 
landarc said:
I am still a little weirded out by your gas idea, but, here is something.

The tuning plates go at or just above the edge of your baffle lip, the idea is that the tuning plates push the heat along the bottom of the cooking chamber to allow for more even heat across the width of the chamber. Thus, the heat must start off below the tuning plates. Do not weld the plates in, you want to be able to move them about, hence the tuning part.

For burning out, you could start a fire in the cooking chamber and leave the door open, this will prevent the door from warping. You do not need a hugely hot fire, just enough to raise temps to above normal cooking range.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the help. I kind of thought that but was unsure. Out of curiosity what weirds you out about using gas?
 
It just looks so much like an offset, but, uses gas. It is built a lot like a charcoal burner but, has gas, which I happen to think has some disadvantages when smoking foods. Ignore the man in the corner babbling, and carry on.
 
Does look real nice. I like the retro design. Did you make the wheels too?
 
landarc said:
It just looks so much like an offset, but, uses gas. It is built a lot like a charcoal burner but, has gas, which I happen to think has some disadvantages when smoking foods. Ignore the man in the corner babbling, and carry on.
Click to expand...

No worries. I am just learning and was curious. I learned on a gas smoker so thats what I built. I would like to hear of the disadvantages.
 
Capozzoli said:
Does look real nice. I like the retro design. Did you make the wheels too?
Click to expand...

Thanks. My Father-in-law says it looks like something from the 1800's. I did not make the wheels they were something that my neighbor was getting rid of and I took them to make a wagon for my daughter, but I made the wagon without them.
 
Igotgas said:
Thanks. I installed a cast iron-low pressure burner that is capable of 15,000 btu's
Click to expand...
That should do the trick. the most danger is if it goes out and you try to relie without purgeing If you do ever experience something like this, open all doors and wait at least 10 min before trying to relight.
 
Igotgas said:
Thanks. I installed a cast iron-low pressure burner that is capable of 15,000 btu's
Click to expand...
It should be big enough to do the trick. but if you ever check it and the burner is out be sure to open all door and give it a good purging before trying to relite wait at least 10 min.
 
The two things that are most often brought up...

1. Some folks say they can smell and taste the gas on meats cooked in gas fired smokers. The exposure to the gas over a long period of time leaves just enough of the odorant to throw off the flavor. This is not me, although I am conscious of it.

2. Some folks feel that the flavor of the food cooked in a gas cooker, even with smoke added is not the same as cooking over a wood or charcoal fire. I am one of these folks, in that I have had a lot of food cooked over gas and feel the flavor is just clean. It lacks character. Some of the most raved over food that I have cooked has been over or in gas, but, personally, I find the flavor to be too clean.

I will say, that my favorite places cook with JR Oyler pits running with wood. The least favorite are the Southern Pride places that use them like large ovens with almost no wood at all.
 
Congratulations, it looks like you've put a good amount of BS&T into that unit and will soon have smoky delicious meat to show for it. I have to agree with others observations here about gas vrs charcoal/wood. I like charcoal a lot but there's something that wood does to your pit that is almost magical. I could go for a month and not smoke anything and walk up to mine and open it up and that hickory smell just makes me wanna run to the store and buy something to Que up! Once upon a time I loved the convenience of gas but after tasting someone else's brisket with a butane tang I forever switched to lump and sticks.
 
LoneStarMojo said:
Congratulations, it looks like you've put a good amount of BS&T into that unit and will soon have smoky delicious meat to show for it. I have to agree with others observations here about gas vrs charcoal/wood. I like charcoal a lot but there's something that wood does to your pit that is almost magical. I could go for a month and not smoke anything and walk up to mine and open it up and that hickory smell just makes me wanna run to the store and buy something to Que up! Once upon a time I loved the convenience of gas but after tasting someone else's brisket with a butane tang I forever switched to lump and sticks.
Click to expand...

I think you are probably right but the food I have been turning out on my gasser has been real good, so that and convenience made me go against the grain and build a gas fueled smoker. I think my next build will be a uds or maybe a cabinet style but I still have a lot to learn before I attempt one of those.
 
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