New here. Need some direction.

Iwishicouldcook41 · Post by **Iwishicouldcook41** » January 17th, 2022, 4:42 pm

New here. Thanks for the add. I’m a custom cabinet builder, wanting to get into some metal work. Been cooking for about 8-10 yrs now, on everything from kettles, kamados, uds, and stick burners. Wanted to build my own for a while now, finally getting around to it. My first build is going to be a backyard offset. Similar to the Franklin pit. Eventually want to build my own 500-1000 gallon offset on a trailer. Would love to make it a side hustle and make a little coin, eventually.

Would love it if you guys could point me in a good direction to do some research before I get started.(I’ve tried searching, honestly not even sure what to search for) For the time being I’ll be using a horney easy weld 140 and an angle grinder(will this suffice? Do I need to invest in s torch or plasma cutter?) All in the back yard. Will buy clamps and magnets and such at harbor freight as I go. I have a buddy that runs a fab shop that I can order materials from and also hopefully get scraps from.

I may have access to and old 80 gallon compressor tank, but I think we may be using that for a helper tank since we just added onto the cabinet shop. And I would also love to get more space than that offers.

Would love to use some rolled steel pipe, but have no idea where you guys are sourcing this from? I checked with my fab shop buddy, and anything in a 20-24” diameter is going to be min 3/8” wall thickness. I was hoping to find 3/16” 1/4” max.

(Pros and cons to tank vs pipe build?)

Also curious as to tips and tricks about how you guys love these large chunks of steel around by yourself, without heavy equipment. Guess I could build some kind of winch/hoist system. Would love to know there’s a way I can do it without needing a forklift.

Post by **Pete Mazz** » January 18th, 2022, 4:11 am

Welcome

Dirtytires · Post by **Dirtytires** » January 18th, 2022, 12:19 pm

Welcome.

Wow...where to begin...lol.

First off, if you are just getting into welding and plan to make a side-hustle out of it, just stop now. Fabrication is a time consuming and expensive hobby. The key to making any money is to have a dedicated shop area with all the time saving tools set up and ready to use as well as a repetitive product that you can become efficient doing. Working in your backyard is going to make that pretty tough. I am fortunate to have a dedicated and well tooled home shop but would never do welding for money.

However, if you just want to explore the hobby of welding, a smoker is a great project. It is definitely possible to fabricate one with only an angle grinder and a welder. A few additions like a full size truck, hoist, plasma, bench grinder, heavy vice and band-saw will cut your build time in half but the investment is just not worth it for a single project.

Pipe gives you more flexibility but a tank is fine as well. The average thickness most of us recommend is 0.25" as it is thick enough to hold temps really nicely and not be impossible to work with. That, however, is on the max capacity of your machine so working with 0.125 might be a bit better.

ThinBlue · Post by **ThinBlue** » January 18th, 2022, 5:24 pm

Welcome

Pros and cons
Tank Pros
• Usually thinner material which is easier to work with, lighter and can get up to temp faster
• You already have 2 ends on it so there is less welding necessary
• Possibly a slight advantage in airflow within the cooker due to the curved ends

Tank Cons
• More skill required in connecting the cook chamber to the firebox
• Less heat retention and greater possibility of temp swings if you don't manage the fire properly
• Could be even harder to find than pipe depending on where you live

Pipe Pros
• You will know what the wall thickness is without having to cut it open
• Wall thickness is usually greater than a tank which promotes better heat retention
• Easy to connect the cook chamber to the firebox
• Better heat rention and should tolerate a slight lapse of time if you don't put another split on right on schedule

Pipe Cons
• Takes longer to get the pit up to temp with a thicker wall
• Possibly a slightly disadvantage to airflow within the cook chamber due to air slamming into an end cap. One other option with a pipe is to put a bell on the stack side to compensate for that. Could be splitting hairs though, honestly. I have no clue.
• Heavy with a thicker wall. By a large margin. - my pipe is 3/8" and the firebox weighs more the the 80 gallon tank that will be used for a follow-up build.

I concur with Dirty tires that welding is a very time consuming thing that you really want to be specific about what projects you're doing and basically build your shop out for production of those few things if you want to make it your side hussle. And to clarify that a bit more, it's really all of prep work that is time consuming, not the welding. You really only spend a very small portion of your time actually welding. You'll spend 50 minutes prepping material for 10 minutes of welding.

Iwishicouldcook41 · Post by **Iwishicouldcook41** » January 18th, 2022, 7:00 pm

Thanks for the quick and informative replies to my long winded post. Haha.

I’ll admit, side hustle would be a bit of a stretch.

On the tank vs pipe issue. I’ll try to figure out for sure if the old 80gal tank at the shop is going to be used. If not, I’ll start with that and go from there.

If i can’t use it, is there an online source for ordering pipe by the ft or something?

Back9Q · Post by **Back9Q** » January 18th, 2022, 7:24 pm

Outside of what thin and dirty said have plenty wire, cut off wheels, flapper wheels, wire wheels on hand to clean up welds. Depending on how much of near freak you are a chop saw would be good for straight cuts so everything fits nice. During my build I bought plasma cutter off amazon and has made a lot of things easier so I think worth look at. You can get one under $200 that cuts 3/8”

Also plenty of weld tips, weld mask lenses, good marker that writes on steel. I use white paint markers, center square for marking doors and center of tank. Flexible straight edge. Thats what I can think of for now

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Dirtytires · Post by **Dirtytires** » January 19th, 2022, 10:10 am

Most steel suppliers carry sheet/plate and tubing/angles up to a certain size point and then stop. Big pipe requires a different set of machines to move and cut them so looking for a speciality (industrial) pipe supplier is your best bet. Many will specialize in making custom flanges and fittings for factory/plant use or for the oil/gas industry so cutting a 5-6 foot section for a smoker is routine.

Scrap yards sometimes have but it depends on what is dropped off for recycle....and it is typically used pipe requiring some cleanup.

Iwishicouldcook41 · Post by **Iwishicouldcook41** » January 19th, 2022, 9:59 pm

Heck yea. Thanks guys.

I have a chop saw. Haven’t welded enough to even think about needing extra tips and lenses yet. Thanks for the heads up.

Thanks for the clarification on the pipe. I’ve been searching for things like “large diameter rolled steel” with minimal results. I have a local scrap yard that I’ll give a shout. Will also try to find industrial pipe dealers near me.

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Back9Q · Post by **Back9Q** » January 19th, 2022, 10:03 pm

If running flux core you will want to change tips regularly. You will start see weld quality deteriorating and you will know to change. Same with lenses on weld hood. Flux core is very dirty and lens gets messed up easily

If running gas you get longer life out of them.

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Iwishicouldcook41 · Post by **Iwishicouldcook41** » January 21st, 2022, 9:16 am

So I’ve sourced some 20”x42” pipes. At $25 a piece. I feel like I can’t turn that down. They’re only 1/8” thick, though.

I don’t mind this for keeping weight down, as this is a backyard pit. And there is nothing level about any of my yard. And bc it’s a more easily handled material size for my welder.

Is there a way to make 1/8” chamber cook more efficiently? By putting either 3/16 or 1/4 end caps on it and building the firebox out thicker material as well. Figured maybe I could build the grates out of heavier gauge tubing as well instead of just angle iron

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Back9Q · Post by **Back9Q** » January 21st, 2022, 9:35 am

Plenty of backyard pits are 1/8” so wouldnt worry. For firebox you can insulate it but that would add significant more weight and tank may not be able to counter. I would add wheels under FB if this is case

The absolute easiest solution is throw welding blanket over top if needed based on ambient condition. Acts as insulation and you will see performance increase

Use whatever thickness you want on ends. Just make sure designed to breathe and draft properly. I would not live by calculator on certain aspects unless building reverse flow

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Dirtytires · Post by **Dirtytires** » January 21st, 2022, 10:17 am

0.125 is fine. Build it to proper dimensions and it will be efficient and maintain temps. Thicker material is nice in that it retains heat better and is more resistant to temp swings from wind and weather. Downside is thicker takes longer and more fuel to heat up in the first place.

Good find on the pipe...

Iwishicouldcook41 · Post by **Iwishicouldcook41** » January 21st, 2022, 11:56 am

Thanks fellas. Will try to pick up 2 after work today, depending on weather.

Any benefit to using same tube for fire box, putting a flat bottom in it, and insulation underneath the flat panel? Or is that a negligible amount of insulation

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Dirtytires · Post by **Dirtytires** » January 22nd, 2022, 11:20 am

Firebox dimensions are important in that you want it long enough to put a log in it. With a shorted cook chamber like yours, using the same diameter pipe will result in a pretty short section for the firebox. Round fireboxes are also hard to put vents and doors on as well as fit a log basket in. A popular alternative is to fabricate a square firebox so that you can choose the dimensions. Also let's you use a thicker steel to help it last longer.

Insulation is your choice...it helps with efficiency a bit as it reduces heat blend-off but the biggest benefit is safety with cooler external metal. Just insulating the bottom is of minimal help to both tho a block off plate is a great way to reduce the cubic inch of a longer pipe.

Iwishicouldcook41 · Post by **Iwishicouldcook41** » January 22nd, 2022, 4:31 pm

Firebox longevity was def a concern of mine as well with the 1/8” pipe.

In the spirit of working with what I have I was leaning towards fully insulated cylinder firebox.

20” outer tube. 18” inner

I would use the existing pipe cut in half, cut a 6” or so strip (whatever the math calls for) out of it. Ratchet strap it and weld back together to make an 18” tube. Use 1” insulation between them.

I was hoping since the inner box, that will contain all of the fire and ash wouldn’t see the outside elements like the outer shell, this would extend the life.

Running it thru the calcs last night, this would allow me to run roughly an 18” long fire box as well.

Would prolly still run a square door, like the Franklin pit.

If you guys think the heat of the fire box is just too much for 1/8” steel I don’t have a problem building a 3/16-1/4” square box, either.

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Back9Q · Post by **Back9Q** » January 22nd, 2022, 4:46 pm

1/8” is fine if insulated. Would be fine without but would lose a lot of valuable heat. The okj is 1/8” and I believe FB is 20” diamater. I used 2” insulation and covered it with half a 55gal drum. Perfect fit. I also added 1/4” thick steel just to bottom. This is a cheap workaround to building entire box out of thicker steel due to prices

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Olibinoui · Post by **Olibinoui** » January 26th, 2022, 8:29 pm

Welcome, have a great build

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