Got the door for the cooking chamber done, except for the handle, and the chimney with a damper. It now has a stand and wheels and almost done with the cooking grates. I'm leaving them loose because they are so small and should be handy for cleaning also, they just sit on the heat plate. I made them so that they can be flipped over to have 2 different hieghts above the heat plate. Getting there slowly.
Got the "basket" for the charcoal/wood done & the ash pan and I'm burning it hot! with oak & some pine. The old paint is coming off nicely. Next burn will be to see how it will hold smoking temps with charcoal. Getting close!
That's killer man!! Enjoy it! Why is it called a "Reverse flow" ? It looks like the flow is in the "normal" direction.... ?
I think it (pine) might be, at least that what someone said on one of the smoking forums. I was just burning HOT to try to get some of the old paint off the tanks. I do like the flavor from cooking over an open flame with pine. Machria this is my first smoker build and I just used what I had collected. The traditional "reverse flow" has the fire box on one side, the heat & smoke travels across the cooking chamber under a solid (sealed) piece of metal called a heat plate, warming it, then go's up at the opposite side and reverse's flow back across and around the meat to the chimney back at the same side as the fire box. At least that's how I understand it. My thinking (on this smoker) is that the smoke/heat starts in the center and is divided to the L & R then reverses back to the center and exits. The 2 100# propane tanks & the tires are all from the transfer station (dump)! I wanted a smaller smoker for cooking for just a few people at a time. Also something that could be easy to move around.
I didnt eant to be a know it all azz. If i where you, id clean the hell out of that pit & build a raging fire it. Burnt pine by products - can trigger some bad allergic reactions in some folks. Id be an azz not to say so. I know it would break your heart if somebody got sick.
Didn't take it that way at all PG. Dont't worry. Well, no welds poped with temps above 650! I put in a few thermometers last night to watch the next burn with charcoal to see what it's like trying to control temps for smoking, maybe a hot dog or 2 might fall in there during the process.
Well it seems to work well. Between the 2 oposing air inlets and the damper on the chimney, holding temps seems to be pretty easy. I used mostly charcoal with a few oak sticks and think that I'll be playing with that combo and ratios next, and prolly for years to come. And woudn't you know it, but a lonely hot dog did wonder it's way in to the cooker. I don't know why but I was worried that this thing wouldn't work and might end up being a mailbox or something, prolly some of the less than encouraging design comments I got out there in forum world. So now I'll add some shelves and handles, tool holders, etc. and get it painted. I imagine that's when the real learning begins, the actual smoking part that is. Some of the stuff I read…… I'll just say that there are some real smoking guru's out there with details & procedures that are quite precise, right down to how you "hold your mouth" while…….
I have one friend like that^. He enjoys babysitting his smoker, nothing wrong with that. I learned my technique from another friend who said, "I like to eat good with the least amount of time and effort involved". Which mostly means having a smoker that can bet set and left unattended for 12 hours. Get it going in the morning, come back to good cooked food in the evening.
That remindes me of a question I've been meaning to ask. Is reloading the FB during a "smoke" a bad thing? 12, heck 6 or 8 hours of burn would seem to me to take one he!! of a big FB. I doubt my little smoker would go much more than 2 hours, but I am VERY early (in experiance) with questimate of wood use.
I'm no pro but here's what I do--- I use a straight wood smoker. I usually only smoke the meat 1-1.5 hours, too much smoke is not good thing. I usually smoke it at the beginning, then cover it and cook it for several more hours at about 225F. I let the fire get going good, let the "dirty" smoke clear up, before putting the meat it the smoker. It can be cooked first then smoked at the end, add a couple sticks of fresh wood to the coals to get the smoke going again, then uncover the food. If you add wood while the food is uncovered, you may stir up some ash but I doubt you'll taste it. Pork makes it own juice, beef and chicken need fluids. If cooking for hours.
If I didn't mind the taste of ash, I'd never use the 2 second rule when a 'dog rolls off the grill into the fire I think of them a carbon credits.
Mine is easy, just plug it in, set the temp and timer, fill the wood chip bin with wood chips and come back when the time has passed. I have a Masterbuilt electric smoker. Pretty bad azz for $240 bucks! http://www.amazon.com/Masterbuilt-2...428454557&sr=8-3&keywords=masterbuilt+smoker'
Whoa hold the phone!!! It is absolutey imperative that you watch your smoker for at least 8 - 10 hours while parked in a good chair, cigar & bottle in hand... This is BBQ 101.
