Juggy D Beerman
Full Fledged Farker
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2006
- Location
- Warrensb...
I sold my big smoker today. Dad and I built this thing 30 years ago. It was originally a 275 gallon oval fuel oil tank. Dad had a machine shop cut the top third of the tank off. The tank was laid flat when the tank was cut. We built a rectangular box and welded it to the top of tank. Two sets of double doors were installed on the on the side of the smoker that is not seen in the photo. Once this step was completed, Dad covered the three sides of the smoker with insulation and then covered that up with sheet metal. The smoker is very fuel efficient. There are two sets of 30" x 40" cooking grates at the base of the box and another set about 15" above the base.
We built a water pan about 30" square and 4" deep. The pan rested on two pieces of angle iron which allowed us to remove for easy cleaning of the smoker. The angle irons were not affixed to the tank so they could be removed as well. We found that different distances of placement of the water pan from where the heat and smoke enter the cooking temperatures would increase or decrease the difference in cooking temperature between the cooking grates. After this picture was taken, we installed three Ashcroft thermometers with a 3" dial. These thermometers each had a 12" stem and were placed in the center of the top two grates and far bottom grates and two inches below each grate for accurate monitoring. These thermometers are at least 20 years old and are still accurate. The greatest difference in temperature between the top right and bottom right grates was usually 50F. The top two grates ran pretty close together or could vary 25F depending on where the water pan was placed. If I cooked chicken quarters, I would not use the water pan.
At the time this photo was taken, the smoke stack was removable for when the smoker was traveling. It has since had a permanent smoke stack installed. The firebox also is removable for traveling. At the back of the trailer is a work bench with a cabinet. We also built a set of stairs that bolts to the trailer when it is in use and not on the road.
This was the father-son project that brought my dad and I closer together. Dad said he figured he had about $1200.00 in materials in the smoker. I sold it today for $525.00. I wanted more money for the smoker, but it was more important to me to sell it to someone who would use it and take care of it. The guy I sold it to had done a lot of repairs to it over the last ten years. The smoker needs a new paint job and a new axle with new tires. The axle under it now is an old mobile home axle that has been cut down to six feet wide and the tires are at least 20 years old. I am not sure if you can even find tires that size these days.
So why did I sell the smoker? I am no longer a country boy and live in the city now. I don't have a place to use it nor do I have access to cooking wood like I used to. I have not used the smoker in four years and with me having COPD, it hurts me when I do any cooking that lasts more than two hours. That smoke just tears me up. I still have my three WSMs, so I am still BBQing. Those bullets don't hurt me. I guess you could say I am bullet proof. My big smoker days are done now and it was a good run. The guy in the picture below is not me. Steve is the person who painted the cooker. Steve was also on our BBQ team with Dad and I. Both of them are cooking somewhere in the sky.
So farewell old friend. I guess I will buy a 50ml bottle of Johnny Walker Blue Label and toast the cooker, Dad and Steve.
Fooball said the picture does not show up in this post. For some reason it does show up on my laptop. Here is the url for the photo: http://bbqcookoff.com/images/juggy.gif
We built a water pan about 30" square and 4" deep. The pan rested on two pieces of angle iron which allowed us to remove for easy cleaning of the smoker. The angle irons were not affixed to the tank so they could be removed as well. We found that different distances of placement of the water pan from where the heat and smoke enter the cooking temperatures would increase or decrease the difference in cooking temperature between the cooking grates. After this picture was taken, we installed three Ashcroft thermometers with a 3" dial. These thermometers each had a 12" stem and were placed in the center of the top two grates and far bottom grates and two inches below each grate for accurate monitoring. These thermometers are at least 20 years old and are still accurate. The greatest difference in temperature between the top right and bottom right grates was usually 50F. The top two grates ran pretty close together or could vary 25F depending on where the water pan was placed. If I cooked chicken quarters, I would not use the water pan.
At the time this photo was taken, the smoke stack was removable for when the smoker was traveling. It has since had a permanent smoke stack installed. The firebox also is removable for traveling. At the back of the trailer is a work bench with a cabinet. We also built a set of stairs that bolts to the trailer when it is in use and not on the road.
This was the father-son project that brought my dad and I closer together. Dad said he figured he had about $1200.00 in materials in the smoker. I sold it today for $525.00. I wanted more money for the smoker, but it was more important to me to sell it to someone who would use it and take care of it. The guy I sold it to had done a lot of repairs to it over the last ten years. The smoker needs a new paint job and a new axle with new tires. The axle under it now is an old mobile home axle that has been cut down to six feet wide and the tires are at least 20 years old. I am not sure if you can even find tires that size these days.
So why did I sell the smoker? I am no longer a country boy and live in the city now. I don't have a place to use it nor do I have access to cooking wood like I used to. I have not used the smoker in four years and with me having COPD, it hurts me when I do any cooking that lasts more than two hours. That smoke just tears me up. I still have my three WSMs, so I am still BBQing. Those bullets don't hurt me. I guess you could say I am bullet proof. My big smoker days are done now and it was a good run. The guy in the picture below is not me. Steve is the person who painted the cooker. Steve was also on our BBQ team with Dad and I. Both of them are cooking somewhere in the sky.
So farewell old friend. I guess I will buy a 50ml bottle of Johnny Walker Blue Label and toast the cooker, Dad and Steve.
Fooball said the picture does not show up in this post. For some reason it does show up on my laptop. Here is the url for the photo: http://bbqcookoff.com/images/juggy.gif
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