Jonty Posted May 27 Report Share Posted May 27 This won’t be a quick thread - it’ll take me ages to finish this project. I’ve been wanting to build an offset smoker ever since I went on a hunting trip to Georgia in the US and got to sit next to one ‘tending the fire’ whilst getting gently sloshed on moonshine. The idea behind them is the fire is in the side firebox and a chimney on the opposite side of the smoker draws the heat and smoke through the cooking chamber and across whatever meat you have in there. I’m brand new to welding and have been teaching myself (via YouTube) for a few months now, and I eventually plucked up courage to make a start on assembling stuff today. I picked up an air receiver tank from a compressor which was too long and thin to be useful in its original state, but with 1/3 cut off to make the firebox, the dimensions were spot on. The welding won’t win any awards, but so far, it’s holding together, and I’ll take that as a win! the first pic is a professionally made smoker to get an idea of what I’m aiming for, I suspect mine will have a face that only a father could love, but as long as it cooks, I’ll be happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7daysinaweek Posted May 27 Report Share Posted May 27 Jonty, it looks like you are building a shorter version of the scud missile. Pack it with the powder from a few thousand carts, load with AAA's, then put Putins name on it and send it forth! Seriously, it would appear you are doing a grand job and one I am following with great interest. Keep the pics coming. 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted May 27 Report Share Posted May 27 good thread...........i love watching people make stuff and suceed,,, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldypigeonpopper Posted May 27 Report Share Posted May 27 Hello, a great start Jonty, That top photo looks a job well done, 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKD Posted May 28 Report Share Posted May 28 Like others have said,,,, this is going to be interesting 👍 Are you making it up as you go or working to measurements, set dimensions ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Boggy Posted May 28 Report Share Posted May 28 (edited) Just love these sort of threads and look forward to its progression. Edited May 28 by Old Boggy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonty Posted May 28 Author Report Share Posted May 28 1 hour ago, JKD said: Like others have said,,,, this is going to be interesting 👍 Are you making it up as you go or working to measurements, set dimensions ? Thanks for all the feedback folks, it may take a while so be patient with me (and any welders out there - please don't zoom in too closely!!) JKD its a mixture of both. There are some pretty good guidelines/calculations where you can get the most efficient set up - they are all derived from the volume of the cook chamber, from this volume you can calculate the ideal dimensions for the fire box, the area of the throat (opening) between the fire box and the cook chamber, the area and height of the chimney and the area of any vents. I'm trying to stick to these as closely as I can, but may have to box clever where materials and skill levels may restrict me. the 'design' as such is pretty much going to be me winging it based on the many YouTube videos I've seen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old'un Posted May 28 Report Share Posted May 28 Yep, this looks like an interesting thread, look forward to part 2. will we be getting any close-ups of the welding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKD Posted May 28 Report Share Posted May 28 9 minutes ago, Jonty said: Thanks for all the feedback folks, it may take a while so be patient with me (and any welders out there - please don't zoom in too closely!!) JKD its a mixture of both. There are some pretty good guidelines/calculations where you can get the most efficient set up - they are all derived from the volume of the cook chamber, from this volume you can calculate the ideal dimensions for the fire box, the area of the throat (opening) between the fire box and the cook chamber, the area and height of the chimney and the area of any vents. I'm trying to stick to these as closely as I can, but may have to box clever where materials and skill levels may restrict me. the 'design' as such is pretty much going to be me winging it based on the many YouTube videos I've seen. Thought that was the case 🙂 I suppose there's an optimum scale where it works perfectly, and slightly different measurements where it works quite well,,,, then there's the funny looking cylinder on wheels that sits behind the shed turning slowly to rust 🤭😂 Good luck and don't rush 😆 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonty Posted May 28 Author Report Share Posted May 28 9 minutes ago, JKD said: Thought that was the case 🙂 I suppose there's an optimum scale where it works perfectly, and slightly different measurements where it works quite well,,,, then there's the funny looking cylinder on wheels that sits behind the shed turning slowly to rust 🤭😂 Good luck and don't rush 😆 Nailed it 😀 if all else fails, we can take @7daysinaweek's advice - stuff it with AAAs and resolve the Ukraine crisis!! 17 minutes ago, old'un said: will we be getting any close-ups of the welding. Absolutely not... no! 😀 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKD Posted May 28 Report Share Posted May 28 5 minutes ago, Jonty said: Nailed it 😀 if all else fails, we can take @7daysinaweek's advice - stuff it with AAAs and resolve the Ukraine crisis!! Absolutely not... no! 😀 Or,,,, turn it into a model of Stevenson's Rocket 😯😂🤣 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7daysinaweek Posted May 28 Report Share Posted May 28 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon R Posted May 28 Report Share Posted May 28 Watching with interest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted May 28 Report Share Posted May 28 will you be able to hot smoke and cold smoke ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonty Posted May 28 Author Report Share Posted May 28 2 hours ago, ditchman said: will you be able to hot smoke and cold smoke ? These smokers are aimed at hot and low & slow BBQ smoking/cooking so it would maybe run a bit too warm for cold smoking by UK standards if you were using a fire in the firebox. But with a cold smoke generator (like the one shown below) in the cook chamber it would work a treat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonty Posted May 31 Author Report Share Posted May 31 I got a little bit more done on the smoker today. I've read that when you cut the door out, sometimes it can spring and distort because of the tension in the steel when it was rolled into a cylinder. Fortunately I only had maybe 3mm distortion in one corner of the door which I will be able to fix with a ratchet strap and a bit of brute force. The steel flat bar tacked along the sides is the smoke heat baffle to try and keep everything in the cook chamber, and also to allow the door to shut properly. I need to weld everything properly now (or at least as properly as I can) but I'd pulled everything outside as it was a nice evening and then the midges stopped play!! I've just stuck a bit of an offcut from a horseshoe as a temporary handle whilst I'm working on it, but the final handle will definitely involve a couple of shoes from my wife's horse. Hopefully you can see how the home made hinge lifts the door up and away from the body of the smoker to provide clearance for the baffle - @Shambam1962 that's why I couldn't use regular hinges. Next job is to clean the rust from the inside whilst one side is open to make access easier, then it will be time to make the side firebox and then work on the chimney. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7daysinaweek Posted May 31 Report Share Posted May 31 Coming along nicely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old'un Posted June 1 Report Share Posted June 1 see what you mean about the welding …….looking good though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonty Posted June 1 Author Report Share Posted June 1 7 minutes ago, old'un said: see what you mean about the welding …….looking good though. You can go right off some folk!! …..fair point, well presented 😀 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old'un Posted June 1 Report Share Posted June 1 33 minutes ago, Jonty said: You can go right off some folk!! …..fair point, well presented 😀 Only playing you up mate, ....cant wait to see it finished, are you going to paint it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonty Posted June 1 Author Report Share Posted June 1 37 minutes ago, old'un said: Only playing you up mate, ....cant wait to see it finished, are you going to paint it? As long as it holds together I’ll be happy. I’m not sure if I’ll paint it or strip it to bare metal and then get it really hot and season the outside like you would a cast iron pan, I’ve seen some done like that and they look pretty good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonty Posted June 8 Author Report Share Posted June 8 Not much of any excitement to add today, apart from my own excitement… using a section of the cylinder as a firebox meant that I’d j[have to cut and weld end caps to it - the thoughts of trying to cut a perfect circle out of 4mm steel with a grinder filled me with dread! Fortunately it worked out ok and I’m happy/relieved for the other 2 x semi discs I need to make. I have a question for the PW massive… in the last pc you may be able to,pick up a slight moist glaze of an oily substance on the inside of the tank - I assume it was some oil in the cylinder to. Stop it rusting , I’ve used break cleaner and also dish soap to tandoor clean it - do any of you have a better suggestion ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old'un Posted June 9 Report Share Posted June 9 Did you use an attachment tool to cut the circle? If not you did well to cut that circle free hand. Try some oven/drain cleaner or caustic soda to get he grease off the inside of the barrel, if that fails, burn it off. looking good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
claydodger Posted June 9 Report Share Posted June 9 Looking very good, the last thing I made was a spit roast out of a 45 gallon drum, mounted on a frame similar to yours with a chimney and the handle complete with meat rotating on either end, still got the handle and frame but the rest fell to bits, we certainly had some good pig roast's on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
islandgun Posted June 9 Report Share Posted June 9 Brilliant thread, bare metal and heat sounds like a good finish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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