Building a smoker.

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mattmuir

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Hello all. I am building a smoker from an expansion tank with a box I will weld for the offset fire box. I have not seen how big the hole from the fire box to the grill/ smoker should be. I dont want the hole to be too large if that means too much heat or to small for too little. Is there an average? I can make it any size. The box will be 12x18n and the grill is round 38x20.

Thanks,Matt
 
It doesnt really need to be that big. Maybe like a 1/4 the size of the firebox. I would put a damper on the opening so the flame isnt going up the side of the pit. The damper will help the meat closest to the firebox from getting flame and also push the heat accross the bottom of the pit first.
 
If you would like to get the expert opinion of a great bunch of guys, some of whom build smokers for a living, or have been doing it for years as a hobby, I would highly recommend thesmokering.com. I come to HBT for beer advice, and go to the smoke ring for BBQ advice. Not that there aren't good bbq folks here to, but those guys are Q fanatics!
 
I have built a couple and modified alot. See pic for my latest. Small compact and fits in the garage. A SWMBO must. Can you spot the beer opener on my pit?!

yes the dampner/deflector is a must. I am a fan of just using a flat plate so it is nothing to hard to weld up. This just keep the flame from kissing the meat closest to the box. I have seen some guys run plates all through the bottom so it retains heat better like an oven then the smoke comes out the other side still inside the main chamber and gets in the meat for flavor. You can make these removable so that you can do either or. Its almost like staking grates, but solid plate.

I added a pic showing the baffle concept. You can make the plates small or one long continous depending on what you are trying to do. I dont have one of these setup yet but would like one because it gives you one more thing to adapt or change when smoking.

aad2j8.jpg


offset_baffle.jpg
 
most of them are done and stop at the diagonal slant. that is the deflector/dampner. Going straight across is optional.
 
If you would like to get the expert opinion of a great bunch of guys, some of whom build smokers for a living, or have been doing it for years as a hobby, I would highly recommend thesmokering.com. I come to HBT for beer advice, and go to the smoke ring for BBQ advice. Not that there aren't good bbq folks here to, but those guys are Q fanatics!

I would second this. They have a spreadsheet in one of their stickies that will figure out how large our firebox needs to be, as well as what size opening you'll need to your smoke chamber.
 
So, when smoking food, you don't bother using wet wood chips at all? What is mean by using lump? Man I wish I had a smoker, but I'm quite positive I'd get kicked out of my apartment complex. I'll move out soon enough and want to get all this info down in advance. Is there a book or someway to see the action going down to better understand what I am reading?
Thanks
J
 
Lump is Lump charcoal. As opposed to Briquettes. It burns a little hotter than briquettes, and doesn't ash as much. Personally, I prefer using it myself. Some like briquettes though.

In terms of the wood, don't get it wet. It burns better and cleaner. Check with your apt complex. I had a smoker at my apt complex.
 
Thanks for the definition dfess1. I highly doubt my apt complex will allow a smoker as they are just now posting flyers that grills are not to be on the patio,let alone used. I guess I ticked someone off :(
 
Thanks for the definition dfess1. I highly doubt my apt complex will allow a smoker as they are just now posting flyers that grills are not to be on the patio,let alone used. I guess I ticked someone off :(

ahh, that sucks. I couldn't live without a grill. How else do you cook your meat?? ;) You can check out a book called "Fire and Spice". It has some intro stuff on smoking, types of cookers, then a ton of recipes. I haven't really worked my way through the recipes. I have a dry rub that I have been tinkering with, almost have it dialed in to make everyone happy. Another book that I would highly recommend (not so much for the smoking aspect, just good bbq comfort food) would be Dinosaur Barbque Cookbook. I own alot of cookbooks, varying cuisine styles. Like most, you go into them for one or two recipes. The dinosaur book, I have split the spine on it. There is one recipe in it that we weren't thrilled with. The rest are outstanding. It has recipes for cooking on the stove, in the oven, over a pit, etc. The "shepards pie" is awesome (homestyle mac and cheese over bbq beef), and I hated meatloaf until trying their recipe. I LOVE it, but only that recipe. Anyway, worth checking out.

Keep in mind, bbq and food recipes are guidelines (at least to me anyway). Try it the way its called for the first time, then change it around if you want (like garlic? add more!).

Next on my to do list is learn how to can/preserve my BBQ sauce.
 
Thanks for the info dfess1,
I'll look into getting those books. The disappearance of my grill is short term, I'm positive no one will care come fall when it gets too cold. In the meantime, there are a few grills in our courtyard i can use that offer a similar surface area, it just means I got to lug my home brew with me to cook....a minor inconvenience to knock out my student loans. :) But soon we'll be free of them and I get me a horizontal/vertical smoker to compliment a pit grill!!!!!!:)
Cheers
J
 
Dfess1,
Incidentally, who is the author of fire and spice? I looked at amazon and found soooo many books with that title. Thanks again
J
 
Dfess1,
Incidentally, who is the author of fire and spice? I looked at amazon and found soooo many books with that title. Thanks again
J

This one.

And this was the Dinosaur Cookbook.

I own both. Haven't gone through the first one all that much. The second one, well I've already said my piece on that one. a must have if you ask me. ;)
 
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Dfess1,
Thanks, that's the one I thought you were talking about and thought you got fire and smoke mixed up. It's on my wish list, as is the Dinosaur cookbook, which looks like a classic! What do you think of this book, and this one?
Cheers
J
 
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Dfess1,
Thanks, that's the one I thought you were talking about and thought you got fire and smoke mixed up. It's on my wish list, as is the Dinosaur cookbook, which looks like a classic! What do you think of this book, and this one?
Cheers
J

don't know anything about these. The second one I might pick up, (or check out of a library first before purchasing). It really will come down to having your own smoker, and learning how to control it.
 
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