Hello from central IL

[Scott Spear]

Hi folks, glad to be here! Have been watching the you tube videos and listening to the podcast and I figured it was time to join this community.
I've been smoking since the summer of '20 where I started on a free to me Char griller, where I made some bad food then eventually started making fairly decent food.

Got bit by the bug and kept going with it and upgraded a little in the fall of '21 to an OKJ longhorn I bought used for a whopping $80. LOL That is where I started to want to get more into building as I did 2 projects on it just right after I barely learned to weld. I made the firebox door much bigger so I could watch the fire better and add splits without having to open the firebox lid. Also decided to make a collector and bigger smokestack so I did that as well. I got my pipe for the stack at a local scrapyard and after turning in some of my own scrap metal the material for the project cost me $4. Can you see where I'm going with this? I like to do things myself and for as cheap as possible as long as I get the result I'm after.

Fast forward to about 2 months ago and I found a project 330 gallon trailer smoker in my area for a decent price made by a restaurant guy who made the smoker as a project while he was laid off during covid. I've used the smoker a few times and I'm wanting to change several things about it so it's going to be a fun process. So I'm more of a smoker-rebuilder at this point! Anyway I'm going to have quite a few questions here and it looks like I'm in the right place to learn a lot, thanks for having me.

[Barrion2018]

Glad to have you!

Post as many pics as possible of your project, it'll be very helpfull to get the right info to your questions on what you would like to do/change.

[Scott Spear]

Still figuring out the image posting but my upcoming project on the smoker is to insulate and possibly expand the firebox. I recently did a big cook on the 330 that lasted 14+ hours and I went through 50 splits of wood, that seems like way too much even if the outside temp was in the low 30's for the most part.

Using the calculator here, my firebox was made about 10" too short- 72% of what size it should be, and although I haven't had any ill affects so far, I'm wondering if once the firebox is insulated the smaller than optimal size will be more of an issue. Thoughts on that? I'm prepared to cut off the back plate of the firebox and make an extension to get it where it should be.

I have my insulation on the way, I'm getting a roll of ceramic blanket insulation, 1" thick that I'm going to use 2 layers of around the box.

I was thinking for the outer shell of the insulation to use about 1/8" steel. Is it ok to use thinner metal there?

[towtruck]

Welcome!

[Pete Mazz]

I was thinking for the outer shell of the insulation to use about 1/8" steel. Is it ok to use thinner metal there?

Welcome! It is.

[Scott Spear]

Thanks for the welcomes and the response. Looks like I'll be using the 1/8 for the shell then.

As luck would have it, the guy I bought the smoker from contacted me yesterday and he has a 4x4 sheet of metal left over from the build that he's going to sell for a reasonable price, along with a 4x4 piece of expanded metal. So it looks like I can put my project into gear very soon!

It will be interesting to see how much less wood I burn with the insulated firebox. I have a cook for a family Christmas coming up so that should make a pretty good comparison.

[Scott Spear]

Ok figured out the image posting so here's a pic of the smoker!

The projects I've done so far:
Made a damper w/rod and horse shoe handle
Moved and added a trailer jack for better stability and ability to level rig
Changed middle door handle location and door hinges (smokerbuilder hinges ftw)

There's an unfinished grill on the other side that I'm planning on making into a Santa Maria style grill, and need to add a wood storage bin and mount a 2 burner propane cooker up somewhere as well. Oh also there's a tortilla/smashburger press installed on top of the firebox which is fun to use, I'm going to remove it to do the insulated box, but I'm going to reuse it and make it so it can be used over one of the propane burners. Fresh tortillas made with smoked beef tallow rock!

[Scott Spear]

Here's a pic from right when I brought it home, she's made a decent improvement from this day already.

Forgot to mention that I removed a bunch of surface rust, removed the paint from the stack and repainted with high temp gloss black and did an axle flip so it sits about 3" or so lower than this pic. I bought the whole thing for just a little over what the guy paid in parts and I love doing projects so although I'm wanting to rework several things I think I made a good decision buying it.

[Big T]

Welcome aboard! I personally would make the fire box the recommended size just to avoid any future problems that may arise from being too small. I'm not sure how big the splits were that you were using but 2-3 splits per 45-60 mins is about average for a well-built cooker so 50 splits, depending on their size isn't too far above average for that amount of time and those temperatures.

[Scott Spear]

Yes, I've pretty much decided to extend the firebox out about 10 -12" as the calculator suggests, so that's my next project. Then I'll insulate it.

Good to know I'm not too far off with my wood use. The splits are about 16"-18" long and about 3" thick.

Just picked up enough metal to do the project so I need to get this thing started!

[Dirtytires]

That is a BIG pit...it is going to use a lot of wood.

I have an insulated firebox and love it for the safety factor (the outer skin stays a few hundred degrees cooler) but I'm not too sure I save much wood. Mine still takes 2 splits every 45-60 minutes.....

Not saying it isn't a good thing to do, just don't expect the cost in wood to offset the steel used.

[Scott Spear]

Gotcha, yeah I'm just trying to make the wood cost hurt a little less over the long run. I got a good deal on some metal to extend the firebox like I mentioned, and I got my 1/8 for the outter shell for free, some pieces in my Mom's shed she didn't mind me using. Got my roxul insulation coming soon too!

[Scott Spear]

Got my firebox extension done so now it's the correct size! I've done two cooks on it since the extension and now that I'm relearning the fire management I'm really liking it. My coal bed is bigger and I'm able to control the temp better- thanks to the smokerbuilder calculator!

[Pete Mazz]

[Barrion2018]

That thing is a beast!! Looks great!


What all did you cook, and how much?

[Dirtytires]

Sounds like another winner!

[Big T]

[SeenRed]

What a rig!

Red

[Scott Spear]

Thanks for all the kind words guys, much appreciated!

So far with the firebox extension I've done 2 cooks, one for a family Christmas party and another for my work Christmas, where I made enough for 50 people and took personal orders ahead of time so they could have the meat for their holiday get togethers. It was a lot of work but felt awesome, and I got a lot of positive feedback.

First cook was 2 briskets, pork butt, and a shank portion ham. This was me getting warmed up for the big work cook- which was my personal biggest ever at 7 prime briskets, 4 slabs of baby backs, pork butt and two pans of baked beans. Now I'm leaning into getting the wheels turning to do catering so this will be my next step. I started a facebook page for it if anybody feels like checking it out. Only a few pics up as of now.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089179741312


Upcoming on the smoker is going to be the firebox insulation project, really looking forward to it. I've got all my materials for the most part and I've started probably the trickiest part, which is making cardboard templates for the shell over the insulation. The piece that gets welded to the tank on the very end of the tank is tricky because it's not a perfect arc. I had to make 4 different templates until I arrived at one that is what I'm calling close enough. Hopefully I'll get going more on the project over this week and the weekend, and I'll update once I'm finished with it.

[Scott Spear]

This is about halfway into the cook here


Here's the briskets a little further along



I'm thinking about the possibility of adding a top rack if I get to the point of needing more room. That's just a thought for now though!

[Pete Mazz]

[Barrion2018]

Very nice! I’m impressed!!

[Scott Spear]

Thanks!!