About to start my own DIY propane cooker, any input is appreciated

So I have a fully functional machine shop at my disposal (at work), and will be purchasing a burner/regulator/lines online tomorrow. My question is, I would like to see what some of you have used as framework for such a project. I'll be using a 22.5" grill as my cooking surface, just need some ideas as to what to build to hold it with a burner under it. So far my idea is this:

1.) 2" square tube stock cut in half diagonally to make an "L" shape, 22.5" lengths

2.) Use 4 of these to make a 22.5" square, which the grill should fit perfectly in

3.) Maybe run some thinner supports underneath in an "X" shape to make for a large kettle support (for weight)

4.) Use said square stock to make 12" length legs for the frame. Maybe some larger feet made of sheet stock?

5.) Stainless steel wire to make hangers for the burner itself

Any feedback?

Well I'm no engineer but it'd seem round pipe would provide a better lateral strength. Other than that just be sure to test the frame with some more than needed weight before putting the hardware in and using it. Best of luck.

two tips. One map it out. Most people here use google sketch. And second make sure you factor in intense heat. It causes Grates or grills to warp significantly.

GOOD LUCK! Cant wait to see what you come up with!

All good advice, I'll whip something up and post an idea here. It won't be anything fancy though! lol

Do you think heat treating the grill would help? We have furnaces at work too.

Quick question, why are you going to cut the box section in half? Why not use 2" equal angle? (I can understand if it was surplus from another job )
I wouldn't think heat treating would do much for this application.

It's all in what I have access to for free (old stock from work). I did however just come across some relatively thick steel "L" pieces, each 50" in length. Amazing what's left behind in the pile left over from last summer's roofing project.

So I made a quick thing in Google Sketchup (a noobish design, lol) of what I know so far. Not sure how to add it onto here, but I'll just keep my progress posted with actual photos. Should have the framework built tomorrow, sans the burner itself as I'll be ordering it tomorrow.

ebj5883 said:

It's all in what I have access to for free (old stock from work). I did however just come across some relatively thick steel "L" pieces, each 50" in length. Amazing what's left behind in the pile left over from last summer's roofing project.

Click to expand...

Yeah I thought that would be the case I got some ok 1/2" 3 piece valves salvaged from work!

ebj5883 said:

So I made a quick thing in Google Sketchup (a noobish design, lol) of what I know so far. Not sure how to add it onto here, but I'll just keep my progress posted with actual photos. Should have the framework built tomorrow, sans the burner itself as I'll be ordering it tomorrow.

Click to expand...

You could do an (alt + "print screen") and post the screen shot on here.

You could do an (alt + "print screen") and post the screen shot on here.[/QUOTE]

I'm not really sure why I didn't think of that, but here you are! The drawing is indicative of the skill of someone who spent 5 minutes familiarizing himself with the program, and 20 minutes drawing it. Don't mind me

At any rate, I don't intend to make anything fancy, and the legs in the drawing are actually longer than they will be (12" shown/8" actual) for a lower center of gravity. I'll likely be using stainless steel thermocouple wire as a hanger for the burner underneath the grill.

So here's the pictures of the final product. I was going to bolt it together until the machine shop supervisor said he could weld it in 1/4 of the time, lol. So I went that route!

nicely done! but i dont think you need the grate on there

I keep it on there for my smaller stock pots. No need for the turkey cooker anymore

do you have any more metal? i'd be worried about that getting too hot above the flame with the smaller pots and get too flimsy and the pot would fall in. Do you have any more angle iron? could always do some 45* to each center. That way you have stability and it'll still have room for smaller pots too

You mean the grill becoming too hot? Yeah I was looking into running some strips of metal along the bottom as supports because of that. So far it's held up just fine, but I only ran it twice over the weekend for a total of 3 hours.

you could use some cold bar and a hoop. thats what I did on these that I built.