I appreciate that lukem I don't think it's necessary I think the vast majority of them are 3/16" from everything I've read and few folks I've talked to. But thank you so much for offering I think I am ok with settling for 3/16" not sure I will find an older affordable tank that is 1/4" and buying new rolled steel well just isn't cost effective. Trying save a lot of $$ by doing myself and using harvested materials.
I did get to messing around with the OKJ on Sunday. I removed the smaller 3" stack and replaced with a 4" stack and lowered it to grate level. Please go easy on me with the welding, while I've practiced for the better part of a whole week making metal art , I am a complete rookie and this was my first rodeo and it showed! I don't think the stack isn't going anywhere and I was able to cut a puck size piece of metal and backfill the original 3" hold and grind her down a bit. I was afraid to grind to much I didn't want to poke a hole in the cooking chamber. Not the best looking metal work, but some of spray paint helped cover it up make it look a bit better. Best part is the stack is removable so my cover still fits. Smoked a rack of ribs yesterday (sorry no pic's) to try it out and I will say judging by yesterdays cook alone, it's a completely different smoker. It just pulled so much more air and kept the fire going making it easier to maintain temps and also making it easier to reload with splits catching fire much quicker vs. smoldering. Great modification so far.
Don’t look like pigeon chit with pieces of wire sticking out! I have seen a lot worse that people have payed for. Like anything keep practicing you’ll get better.
Little trick with welding - preheat area to be welded with a heatgun. You will find things go much smoother and none of that piled up popcorn effect. Penetration will be better also and you can dial down a bit to prevent blow through. When doing alum. it is almost mandatory to get quality welds.
