It's time.

[Dirtytires]

Do you have round bar for the grate or square? I've heard others mention ash staying on the gate. I'm about to actually start building my mini and I'm planning round just not sure if that will change anything.

I believe this is on a gravity feed...where the charcoal drops down a chute into a firebox. If not bumped every couple of hours the ash will definately build up as the fire can burn unattended for hours. Charcoal is a different animal than logs and does tend to ash over some.

The other post was on a log burning offset where the user appeared to be constantly knocking all the coals thru the grate. In my opinion, logs don’t really ash over all that much and simply adding a new log every 45 min will keep your fire stirred up. I never knock down my log fires in either the smoker or my fireplace as I don’t want to destroy the coals.

[JKalchik]

Yes, double pan gravity feed.

I am burning lump hardwood charcoal, not briquettes. Over a 24 hour burn, I'll get between a pint and a quart of ash, really not all that much. If I burn briquettes, I'll get 4 or 5 times as much ash (pretty much only did that for seasoning runs.) When I knocked it down earlier today, I got about a cup of ash down through the grate.

[Chromeski]

Do you have round bar for the grate or square? I've heard others mention ash staying on the gate. I'm about to actually start building my mini and I'm planning round just not sure if that will change anything.

I believe this is on a gravity feed...where the charcoal drops down a chute into a firebox. If not bumped every couple of hours the ash will definately build up as the fire can burn unattended for hours. Charcoal is a different animal than logs and does tend to ash over some.

The other post was on a log burning offset where the user appeared to be constantly knocking all the coals thru the grate. In my opinion, logs don’t really ash over all that much and simply adding a new log every 45 min will keep your fire stirred up. I never knock down my log fires in either the smoker or my fireplace as I don’t want to destroy the coals.

Yes, I agree. I know some gravity feed units were built with square grates in the firebox

[Dirtytires]

Carry on then....just wanted to make sure everyone was on the same page.

[JKalchik]

Another data point....

I smoked a brisket overnight, ambient temps down between 5 and 20 degrees F. It's taken this thing well over an hour to drop from 225 to 175 (HeaterMeter damper has closed completely) to keep the brisket warm until service.

[Chromeski]

You could cook a rack of ribs after you run out of charcoal

[JKalchik]

20 lbs of charcoal in 24 hours. Granted, it was all low temp, 16 hours at 225, 4 hours at 175 and then 4 hours at 150. That's still pretty good.

I'd have used 8-10 lbs. of charcoal to stoke my old smoker, and it would have burned through in about 4 hours.

[JKalchik]

Plan is to build a trailer for this thing this spring. Single torsion axle (thinking 10" wheels with electric brakes,) with the smoker mounted on the driver's side (cook chamber door opening forward of the rear wheel with the ash box door facing to the rear,) with a 48"x18"x18" enclosed tool box and a rack for coolers & totes on the passenger side, and all LED lighting. The firebox should be fairly well centered over the rear axle. My intent is to keep the smoker as low as possible. Frame will be C-channel.

I may add a provision for a 12v battery to run the HeaterMeter, along with battery charging from the vehicle pigtail. Might be worth just tying into the breakaway battery.

Oooooh.... this might be a good idea. In addition to the front trailer jack, a pair of small jacks on the rear corners so that I can easily level this thing anywhere. That'd also make it easy to make it completely immobile, no need for wheel chocks.

This will almost always be used close to electric & water, so I don't see much of a need to add water service.

What have I missed?

[Dirtytires]

Great ideas but don’t skimp on the tires. Going too small can be a problem with carry capacity, reliability sometimes speed restrictions. Those tiny tires just don’t hold up as well as a full size truck tire.

[Big T]

These cookers are heavy when they're sitting still but the load on the tires greatly increases when you go over a bump in the road.

[JKalchik]

Tire size, undoubtedly. I already am pretty sure the smoker itself is up around 1,200 lbs. Aiming for a total weight of 2,000 to 2,400 lbs, I'd like to use a wheel/tire capable of no less than 1,300 lbs. each. 12" tires wouldn't be the end of the world for sure, but lower CoG is better.

[Dirtytires]

You are fabricating a trailer, right.? Use a full size tire on a 16 inch rim and just set the smoker lower in the frame or raise the axle a bit.

[JKalchik]

Good thought.... but I'm also intending on being able to use my shop crane to lift the smoker on and off the trailer, and I'll be definitely height limited. My 10k flatbed runs 16" rims, that might be overkill even by my standards.

[Dirtytires]

Why lift if that is a restriction. Use a set of ramps and a small atv winch. I picked up one at Costco 2 years ago for super cheap.

And, in my opinion, why build another trailer with the yearly expenses (tires, registration, insurance, maintenance) when you already have one? If you are not going to mount it permanently, I don’t think being “too big” is a concern.

[JKalchik]

An 18' 10k flatbed is a bit of overkill, and not towable behind my g/f's Subie. This smaller trailer would be within the Subie's capabilities. My pickup has a stick shift, and that's something that she just can't get (not that I/we haven't tried....)

I want to bolt the smoker directly to the trailer without the casters. Getting it on & off the cradle is still probably my biggest concern. Once I get back at this, before I start buying any parts, I will have to see just how high I can lift safely with the gear I have.

I'm not concerned about the 2 fixed casters collapsing, I'm somewhat concerned about the swivelling casters, and the beating that the bearings would take on the road if the smoker was resting on them.

[Dirtytires]

Sounds like the girlfriend needs to step up to a 3/4 ton truck.

[JKalchik]

<chuckle> Yeah, that ain't happenin'. Love her to death, but I can park the QE 2 in a parking spot smaller than what she needs for her Subie.

[Dirtytires]

I understand....truly, I do.

[JKalchik]

Just due to time, looks like the flat bed is getting used. This having to work for a living gets in the way....

And I think I'm building a new firebox grate, with 3/4" spacing instead of 1/2". The natural lump charcoal that I use (2 different brands, actually,) seems to have just enough non-burnables that lodge in 1/2" spacing to cause airflow problems. About every 40-50 lbs. of charcoal, I need to burn it out completely and pick the rocks out of the grate. I've said it before, I'll say it again: I consider a removable grate in this style of smoker to be a mandatory requirement.

[wbegg]

I made my firebox grate adjustable, with servo motors to automatically adjust the spacing through a WiFi phone app .... Just kidding, I would have no clue on how to do that.

[JKalchik]

I made my firebox grate adjustable, with servo motors to automatically adjust the spacing through a WiFi phone app .... Just kidding, I would have no clue on how to do that.

A long time buddy of mine is of the opinion that the entire smoker needs to mounted on devices such that it can be given a "pop" or vibrated remotely.....

[JKalchik]

And I think I'm building a new firebox grate, with 3/4" spacing instead of 1/2". The natural lump charcoal that I use (2 different brands, actually,) seems to have just enough non-burnables that lodge in 1/2" spacing to cause airflow problems. About every 40-50 lbs. of charcoal, I need to burn it out completely and pick the rocks out of the grate. I've said it before, I'll say it again: I consider a removable grate in this style of smoker to be a mandatory requirement.

BINGO.



That's what was left on top of the grate after burning through 40 lbs of Kingsford Professional briquettes, and shaking the grate a few times during the long burn (probe testing.)

[JKalchik]

And another opportunity presents itself.... The bottom of the flue where it exits the firebox (that piece of 1/4" stock welded over the C-channel,) has built up a pile of ash so high that it choked off the firebox. Gotta remember to reach in there and clean it out.

[JKalchik]

Well, nutz. Not just that shelf.... the expanded metal screen between firebox and flue has already failed and was holding some pretty good lumps of ash. Doesn't look like a pleasant job to weld in a new screen, but looks like I'll have to do that when I get a chance. I may also need to re-evaluate what charcoal I'm using.

[JKalchik]

Random thought for the day....I want to be able to cold smoke, but with my current setup, I can only get down to about 175 F before the charcoal starts to flame out. I think the burning bed is a little too large.

I'm thinking about making a wedge that will sit on top of the grate (see, a removable grate IS a good idea...) that will block off part of the burn surface. The remaining open area should burn hotter, but with a lot less fuel.

Has anybody done anything like this?