Backyard Smoker Project

Epicurean Exploits - Food and Recipes
1

Thought this would be cool to share.

We have been following these plans with minor tweaks since we have an architect, engineer, and accountant involved. The 3 of us + Plasma Cutter + Welder + grinders + cold beers = an adventure…

Plans: http://www.compuvices.com/smoker.shtml

We still have to build the main rack, smoke chamber to connect the box to the smoker, dampers, door handles, a drop down table in front of the smoker, a good sandblasting, and several coats of paint. Then it will be mounted to a trailer…

(not sure if the link will work below even though the settings are at everyone)

We are adding a small top rack to handle taters, corn, trays of beans, or use for rotating the meat around the grill. Instead of having a small handle on the door, we are modifying the plans for a long drop down style handle to prevent burning of the forearm on the grill door. We are modifying the dampers by adding a long rod, with a 90 degree bend at the bottom, to make it easier to adjust without reaching up to the stacks.

We thought about making a burn box for 1 side of the smoker for an open fire pit for cooking steaks. Open for other suggestions.

2

Les, very nice!! It is going to be a monster. The pictures are super. It gives you a true feeling for all the work that has been done.

Your pit will easily hold two pigs. You’ll need a pecan forest to run it. [welldone.gif]

Bill

3

Thanks! Its been a lot of fun! It’s our getaway from wives and girlfriends. [wow.gif]

I have access to 1000 acres of Pecan. I may go in the Pecan wood business! I didn’t realize the demand for it.

4

Brilliant!

5

Les, below is the link to my new custom smoker. It was the first pit the fabricator built. We collaborated on the general design and he added the damper system which gives excellent heat and smoke control. He liked the pit so much, he decided to take the design public.

http://www.mycustombbq.com/olesmokie.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Bill

6

Re: Stack damper - you did exactly what we are doing. Love the set up! Did you use square tubing for the rack frame or flip angle upside down?

We are not completely happy with our hinge setup so that might get changed before its painted. We already have to adjust 1 tear drop to line it up better.

Our door handle will come out like yours, then drop 2" at 30 degrees with a piece of flat stock, and then connect a piece of 3/4" rod as the handle. Does your handle heat up?

7

Les, the damper system works great. It is a 4 inch square tube. At the end of a long smoke, the handle gets hot. It’s a minor inconvenience and one that can be remedied. Your handle system is an excellent idea.


Bill

8

Rack support is in -

We were getting ready to cut the expanded metal for the racks until the rain. [cry.gif]

9

It’s looking good Les. Are you going to sand blast it and then paint with high heat rustoleum?

10

Absolutely.

Looks like the weather will be nice so we are going to “try” and get the expanded metal cut.

11

No rain today. The neighbor’s plans changed so he brought all the welding equip back over to the house to finish up the racks.

The plans called for all 4 rack sections to have 3/8" round rod around them. We added 3/8" round rod cross supports to keep the expanded metal from sagging over time.

The finished racks inside -

Just need to add the 1" flat metal trim around the smoke box

Link to all the pics:

12

Hey Bill,

We just stole this trailer. It’s overkill for what we need, but it was cheaper than building one. The guy wanted $625 for this mammoth!

We have enough room for a kegerator, stripper pole , disco ball, the smoker, and whatever else we can think of. [wow.gif]

13

It’s like a big stage. How fun! But since the top is wood, do you have any problem with embers falling from the box? What is the projected date for the first smoke?

Bill

14

Wood deck should not be an issue.

Vegetarian Nightmare will commence Sept 4th if everything goes according to plan.

Sept 4th is opening collegefootball wknd… flirtysmile

15

Sunday’s backyard welding update:

Last door handle is done…

Used a motorcycle jack to put her on blocks…

Working on her new frame…

Rack is welded and reinforced…

16

very impressive - thanks for posting.

17

Thanks - We never made the Sept 4th deadline. Hoping to fire it up for the Iron Bowl.

Next up -
[]Smoke box gets mounted.
[]Forklift the entire unit in place to bolt to the trailer.
[*]Drop off to be sand blasted and painted.

18

Looks good Les, but you better hurry because you are running out of prime smokin weather. To fire that puppy up in December will take 1/2 cord of wood. My big surprise from my pit was how much wood it eats in a 10-15 hour smoke.

Looking forward to see the completed project.

Bill

19

Still 85 degrees here… I am hoping it stays warm until after the last wknd of November…

20

Well, after a year, the backyard smoker project is complete. The Vegetarian Nightmare got her makeover yesterday.

The rest of the pictures are http://3drunkcooks.com