Couple Questions

[SeenRed]

I’m about to start designing and fabricating the cart for a 24”x46” RF patio. For those who’ve built patio smokers:

1. How far should the main cooking grate be above the ground? Is there a standard? I’m sorta thinking around 36”, but open to experienced advice…any input?

2. In order for a RF to have proper air flow, should the CC be exactly level…or does it need to tilt a bit one way or the other?

If it helps answer, here are a couple pics of the CC. (I’m building from a set of plans from Frank, but the plans don’t include a cart design).

TIA!

Red

[hogaboomer]

36 inches is a good height. You can go a bit higher or lower, depending on your height, it's not really all that critical. Just whatever you think you'll be comfortable with.
I haven't built a RF, I'll defer on that to others. If it was me, I would probably build it level, the smoke will still go through, and the grease won't pool up all on one end.

[SeenRed]

36 inches is a good height. You can go a bit higher or lower, depending on your height, it's not really all that critical. Just whatever you think you'll be comfortable with.
I haven't built a RF, I'll defer on that to others. If it was me, I would probably build it level, the smoke will still go through, and the grease won't pool up all on one end.

Thanks hogaboomer…I felt like 36” seemed a pretty workable height - good for taller cooks (I’m 6’2”) yet not too high for short-to-average height cooks. I just wondered if there was an “industry standard”. If there was, that’s probably what I’d use. Plus, this thing is gonna be a heavy mother by the time it’s finished…I don’t want to end up with too high of a center of gravity, and make it too top-heavy.

As to the “levelness” of the CC, I wasn’t thinking as much about grease draining/pooling as I was about airflow. My assumption on that was that grease drainage wouldn’t be an issue if the baffle plate is installed properly. Since it’s my first RF build, it’s entirely possible that I don’t know what I’m talking about, but I assume the baffle plate has to have a slight grade/tilt toward the drain…so that even if the CC is exactly level, the grease will still flow to the drain.

Am I on the right track?

Thanks again,
Red

[Pete Mazz]

The BP should really be level as well. It will catch drippings and smoke off and even if it is tilted, the grease won't be able to easily run off anyway.

[Dirtytires]

A smoker is not like a grill where to can stand near flip meat for an hour so shelf height is not as critical. Make it comfortable to use and remember that reaching up is more work than reaching down. If you put slid-out shelves on it, height becomes even less of an issue because you no longer have to reach between racks to move product.

[SeenRed]

Thanks gents. Your advice is appreciated, and convinces me to design my cart for a main grate height of about 36”…and to make both the CC and the BP level.

Hoping to get far enough along to start a build thread here pretty soon. And I’m positive I’ll be soliciting lots more advice as I go.

Thanks again!
Red

[Chad Peterson]

What’s up Red! On my reverse flows, I weld the BP in just slightly angled down to the opposite end of the fire box with the drain on the lower end obviously . For example this 24 x 40 was 1/2-3/4”lower on the left…not much but the hot grease definitely runs to the drain & that little downward slope isn’t significant enough to effect airflow!

[SeenRed]

What’s up Red! On my reverse flows, I weld the BP in just slightly angled down to the opposite end of the fire box with the drain on the lower end obviously . For example this 24 x 40 was 1/2-3/4”lower on the left…not much but the hot grease definitely runs to the drain & that little downward slope isn’t significant enough to effect airflow!

Howdy Chad! Thanks for the input. I haven’t welded the BP in yet, although I have already cut it - sized to fit level in the CC…so I’ll have to tweak a little if I want to angle it any. BTW my build thread is here: http://smokerbuilder.com/forums/viewtop ... =11&t=8209

Red