250 Reverse Flow w/ Trailer Build

[kevine]

That looks sweet! I'm dieing for more pics!

 

[vhram]

Looks great . Cant wait to finish reading build.

 

[bluetang]

Quality work! Love the welds:thumb: (cs welder here:icon_blush

 

[gtr]

I'll bet the hogs in your area are getting nervous.

 

[Mike in Corpus]

Did you neutralize the whatever propane that may still be left inside? Even vapors remaining could ruin your whole day when you put the torch to it. Good luck!

 

[Jlane21034]

Did you neutralize the whatever propane that may still be left inside? Even vapors remaining could ruin your whole day when you put the torch to it. Good luck!

Yeah Mike, I tried to follow instructions from others that have done this type of build in the past. I pulled all the regulators/valves/etc and let it air out for about a week (don't think there has been anything in it for 30 years but I wanted to make sure). I then filled it with a water/soap mixture for about 3 days. Still made my first cut outside but it seemed to do the trick.

 

[jacob]

Looking Good, I am still working on mine as well. Hopefully will be finished in time to do a few charity cooks this season to thank God for allowing me to be able to build it.

 

[Jlane21034]

Next I worked on counterweights for the doors. This was one of the most frustrating parts of the build The doors weren't extremely heavy to begin with but I wanted something that would hold them open when I need to be inside. I also wanted to be able to reach the handle to pull down the door when I was ready to close. When I was trying to figure this out I decided that I wanted my counterweight to be just inside my hinges when the door is closed. I figured this way the weights would actually help the doors to stay closed when going down the road but if you opened the doors a couple of inches the weight would start to pivot behind the hinges and aid in opening. Either I was lucky or right because this seemed to work great.

Used 3/16" steels for the sides and some scrap 3-1/2" pipe for the bulk of the weight. I decided on the width, that I wanted the weight, and cut pipe for both sides. I then cut a couple of 2x4 to hold open both doors at the same height (where I wanted the doors to stop when completely open). I really just guessed at the distance I wanted the weight from the door and used some scrap 1" tubing to tack it to the door while it was resting against the tank (with door in the open position). I then gently closed the door and checked out weight location. I tacked the weight in such a way as to be able to make adjustments to the weight location. After much head scratching and cursing I got both weights located in, what I felt, was the perfect location. I then used cardboard to make a template of the 3/16" end plates. After they were cut out I found some old 1/2" rebar and cut several pieces to a length that would fit inside the weight. I welded on one side of the 3/16" end plate and started adding rebar, opening and closing the door to find the perfect weight (I think it took 11 pieces per door). When I got the doors weighted right I welded the rebar in place inside the pipe, welded on the remaining end plate on both sides, and removed the scrap 1" tubing that was holding everything temporarily in place.

It wasn't exactly easy but I couldn't think of an easier way to do it with the tools/materials I had to work with.

 

[got14u]

Looks like you are doin a damn fine job.....and learning for the next one you build. :becky:

 

[Rick T]

Very nice work: Speedy and well thought out.
Can you help me understand a little something. (Question of Ignorance if I may.) I was wondering how your baffle for the reverse flow will work. I see the void at the end, that makes sense to me. But the baffle is short of the front which I would think would change the effect. ( I really have no idea just trying to get a handle on it) I have never seen the reverse flow construction but really like the idea.

Thanks a lot.
Rick

 

[Jlane21034]

No problem Rick. The pictures I have posted so far only show a partially completed baffle that has been tacked. When completed the baffle runs from the firebox end of the smoker to within approx 6" of the opposite end and is solid from front to back. I will try to include a pic that will better explain. This picture is looking at the far end of the smoker (away from the firebox). The baffle ends 6" before the end of the tank and has a 1-1/2" pipe welded to the bottom of the angle (running down the center). This allows all grease to run to the channel and exit the smoker. The baffle is sloped towards the center (toward the angle) and runs downhill (towards the 1-1/2" drain) to help the grease run. The angle you see above the baffle is just rails for the cooking grates so don't let that confuse you.

Here is another picture. Once again looking from the firebox end towards the drain.

I didn't get a picture looking back towards the firebox but the baffle just runs all the way to the end of the tank. The rounded shape of the tank can make it tricky to get this cut and welded but I used a piece of cardboard to mark the shape of the end of the tank (once I had notched out the location of the firebox but before I welded the firebox in place). Then I used the template to mark the curvature I needed on the baffle plate. Most people just run their baffle off the end of the firebox so there is not need to cut out this shape but I figured that I might get a more even temp if there was an air gap between the baffle and the firebox instead of the top of my firebox being part of the baffle. Hope that made sense, don't know if it made a hill of beans but it made sense to me that it might cut down on excessive radiant heat on that end of the tank. I placed the actual baffle about 2"-3" above the firebox. Hope that helps, sounds as clear as mud now that I am re-reading it.

 

[jestridge]

Good job cutting the doors out!!!

 

[rakerb]

That looks great! How much slope did you put on the baffle plate? That fire box looks big, no problem putting big sticks in there!

18.5 WSM, Mini WSM (SmokER Joe), ECB, 22.5 OTS, Gasser

 

[Rick T]

Thanks JLane: Makes perfect sense. Those pics and your explanation got me thinking right. Looks great.

I look forward to the finish and to the first cook.
Rick

 

[NRA4Life]

nice build!

 

[42BBQ]

Sweet build, no welding skills here so just saving and counting my pennies until I can buy a trailer rig!

 

[Jlane21034]

Next came the stack. Since we are a well drilling business it was easy to come up with steel casing to use. I cut about 32" of 6-5/8" OD steel casing and welded it in place at the firebox end of the tank. I wanted two things on this stack. One is the ability to choke back the exhaust in case this is ever needed in the future. The second is the ability to keep rain out of the stack when it isn't in use. I didn't want to do this with an internal damper and a cap so I found some pictures of another build that adressed these options with one component (sorry I can't remember who to give credit for this but it wasn't my idea).

I took a scrap piece of 1/4" plate and cut it out using the casing as a template. I smoothed it down with a belt sander and welded on 1/2" rod to run down the casing and act as a handle to open and close it. This way I can open or close the lid to dampen the exhaust if needed and close completely to keep out the weather. Very happy with the way this turned out.

 

[mikeTRON]

Nice build! :thumb:

I would LOVE to duplicate it :-D

 

[BBQ PD]

I am loving the photo essay on your build. Can you do us a favor and just keep building more just so we can enjoy the process. Great work :thumb:.

 

[Black Dog BBQ]

I really like the stack idea. There is no doubt in my mind that you are going to end up with a great cooker. Keep us up to date. I'm looking forward to seeing pic.s of the first cook on it.