Our Gravity Feed Smoker design and build.

Dargo · Post by **Dargo** » July 6th, 2020, 9:17 pm

I included elements of many builds and some commercial brands into this design. I picked what I liked or thought would add something.

Examples are a drip tray that I will put a pan under to capture the grease and fire bricks in the firebox. Some design choices were made by my buddy who is a machine designer and used Solidworks for the model. He made the charcoal chute removable because he wanted access to the firebox for any corrective maintenance needed in the future, while I like that idea I hope the seal works good. So this is really a design done between us.

Cut view:

With the door hidden so you can see i side with the drip tray:

Comments and discussion welcome. Though the design and drawings are with the shop and all materials bought. So no big changes can be made now.

Needless to say, the gravity feed smoker has been my dream smoker for a while. Finally it will be a reality.

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Dirtytires · Post by **Dirtytires** » July 6th, 2020, 10:51 pm

Nice design. I’m interested to see how the remote firebox works out. Definitely leaves a bit more room in the main chamber. Keep us posted.

mp4 · Post by **mp4** » July 7th, 2020, 12:58 pm

Looks cool!

A couple thoughts...
1) consider swinging your cook chamber door opposite of how it is shown so it doesn't hit your valve.
2) consider skipping the ball valve and design it for a temp controller with a fan. I ran mine with the ball valve only for a while. It's ok if you keep a close eye on it (I suck at that) but if the temp drops recovery time can slow down your cook or shorten it up if the temp climbs too high. I recently removed the ball valve so the fan didn't hang out so far.

Dargo · Post by **Dargo** » July 7th, 2020, 8:24 pm

Dirtytires wrote:Nice design. I’m interested to see how the remote firebox works out. Definitely leaves a bit more room in the main chamber. Keep us posted.

My grill grates are 19”x21”, so the chamber is not much bigger. It could have been, but I did not want the smoker to be to big for my space.

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Dargo · Post by **Dargo** » July 7th, 2020, 8:33 pm

mp4 wrote:Looks cool!

A couple thoughts...
1) consider swinging your cook chamber door opposite of how it is shown so it doesn't hit your valve.
2) consider skipping the ball valve and design it for a temp controller with a fan. I ran mine with the ball valve only for a while. It's ok if you keep a close eye on it (I suck at that) but if the temp drops recovery time can slow down your cook or shorten it up if the temp climbs too high. I recently removed the ball valve so the fan didn't hang out so far.

I know eventually I will get a temp controller and fan setup, but one of the things I like right now is tending the fire. The stick burner requires more baby sitting and I enjoy it.

So I gather your gravity fed did fluctuate temp some with the ball valve. I would believe it would do better than my stick burner.

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mp4 · Post by **mp4** » July 8th, 2020, 2:58 pm

Dargo wrote:
mp4 wrote: So I gather your gravity fed did fluctuate temp some with the ball valve. I would believe it would do better than my stick burner.
It didn't fluctuate so much as it just reacted slowly, so dialing it it wasn't a quick ordeal. Then factor in lump charcoal that doesn't always burn consistently so you have to mess with it some more.

Speaking of charcoal, make sure your grate allows the ash to drop through and give it a tap from time to time to keep your fire burning clean.

Overall, it's a great design and will make awesome food, I think you'll really like it.

tinspark · Post by **tinspark** » July 10th, 2020, 1:34 am

Will be watching this one with eager anticipation. Please be sure to post plenty of pics. Interesting build.
Also Curious if the uninsulated coal chute above the fire bricks will pose any heat loss issues, and if not why is there so much insulation in all of the other GF builds out there. If there is no difference then there is a lot of wasted time and material in all of the other GF's out there. No disrespect intended on adding or not adding, But if it is not needed, and works fine, then what a savings! please keep the posts coming!!

Dargo · Post by **Dargo** » July 10th, 2020, 10:11 am

tinspark wrote:Will be watching this one with eager anticipation. Please be sure to post plenty of pics. Interesting build.
Also Curious if the uninsulated coal chute above the fire bricks will pose any heat loss issues, and if not why is there so much insulation in all of the other GF builds out there. If there is no difference then there is a lot of wasted time and material in all of the other GF's out there. No disrespect intended on adding or not adding, But if it is not needed, and works fine, then what a savings! please keep the posts coming!!

I am anticipating some extra heatloss vs the fully insulated ones. I am actually hoping I can get more smoke flavor this way as the fire should run a little hotter than other designs. Since we chose an odd size for the firebricks my dimensions may not save money due to the cost of the fire bricks. It would have been plenty cheaper with 1.25” bricks and most likely more than enough insulation.

tinspark · Post by **tinspark** » July 10th, 2020, 12:14 pm

Lowe's has cheap ones for $3.28 each, so that's hard to beat!!
Theirs is 1" thicker than the overpriced cheapies..
9"x4"x2-1/4" rated at 3000 deg, F (manufactured by Oldcastle Precast)-

I'm liking your design.
When will you have the parts cut?

Here's a link to the referenced fire brick...not sure what thickness you are using..
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Oldcastle-Conc ... k/50037062

Dargo · Post by **Dargo** » July 10th, 2020, 4:31 pm

tinspark wrote:Lowe's has cheap ones for $3.28 each, so that's hard to beat!!
Theirs is 1" thicker than the overpriced cheapies..
9"x4"x2-1/4" rated at 3000 deg, F (manufactured by Oldcastle Precast)-

I'm liking your design.
When will you have the parts cut?

Here's a link to the referenced fire brick...not sure what thickness you are using..
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Oldcastle-Conc ... k/50037062

Parts were cut last week and pickup by the fabricator on Thursday:

Cannot wait to see what all these pieces look like when put together.

Thank you for the firebricks. If there is ever another smoker made, we will design for the 2.5”. Mine are 2” because by the time I noticed they were nearly impossible to source it was too late.

I have ordered all the parts for the smoker already and they have arrived at the shop.

JKalchik · Post by **JKalchik** » July 11th, 2020, 9:53 am

What's the weight rating on those casters?

I'm sure you already know this..... even with the firebrick, I'd expect the firebox and especially the uninsulated charcoal chute to get very hot in operation. Make sure the kids know it's a burn hazard.

Dargo · Post by **Dargo** » July 11th, 2020, 10:06 am

JKalchik wrote:What's the weight rating on those casters?

I'm sure you already know this..... even with the firebrick, I'd expect the firebox and especially the uninsulated charcoal chute to get very hot in operation. Make sure the kids know it's a burn hazard.

Casters are 400lbs rated.

I do have a stick burner and expect similar heat on the firebox. My son is 10 so I have gotten a little used to it and probably need to keep an eye out for guest more than I am. Thanks for the reminder.

tinspark · Post by **tinspark** » July 11th, 2020, 12:25 pm

Looks like a nice start! A lot of material in the back of your truck!!
That should keep you busy for a spell.
This'll be a nice build!!
Keep the pics and progress posted...

Dargo · Post by **Dargo** » July 21st, 2020, 8:44 pm

Here are some progress pics I got from the fabricator:

Dirtytires · Post by **Dirtytires** » July 21st, 2020, 10:57 pm

Lookin good!

Post by **Big T** » July 21st, 2020, 10:58 pm

mp4 · Post by **mp4** » July 22nd, 2020, 5:47 am

AWESOMENESS!!!

El Gato · Post by **El Gato** » July 22nd, 2020, 9:50 am

WOW!!!!!

Dargo · Post by **Dargo** » July 22nd, 2020, 9:52 am

Needless to say I cannot wait to get this baby cooking. Hopefully all goes rather smoothly.

tinspark · Post by **tinspark** » July 22nd, 2020, 12:07 pm

Very nice start!

Dargo · Post by **Dargo** » July 22nd, 2020, 5:56 pm

A little more progress today. Out covers are being installed, with quite a bit more welding.

Post by **Big T** » July 22nd, 2020, 7:14 pm

Dargo · Post by **Dargo** » July 22nd, 2020, 7:31 pm

A couple more of the finished covers:

ajfoxy · Post by **ajfoxy** » July 23rd, 2020, 4:06 am

Looking really good!

bjustison · Post by **bjustison** » July 23rd, 2020, 11:03 am

Looks good!

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