Vertical Offset Smoker

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Built this last week for a customer.  Dimensions for it was 24"x24"x36" for the smoke chamber and 24"x24"x18" for the firebox.  The first order of business was to draft a precise blueprint to scale and price the materials:
Reply:I am double flanging the door on the smoke chamber. Lost a little cooking area but it ought to seal nicely.The door is tack welded to it's opening in 5 spots, makes lining it up for hinges way easier5 rack slides in as well as the slide for the tubing plates.  Last edited by Slumpbuster36; 05-02-2015 at 02:04 PM.
Reply:Firebox almost doneBox is all welded up, did a quick mockup of how it's gonna fit together.
Reply:Hinges and flat strap on the doorGot the rack slides tacked in on the back, I won't weld them up until we've got racks and can confirm the meat ain't gonna slide off the side! Also got the spring handle on.The door is trying to bow on the top and bottom on me, but I got somethin for his azz
Reply:Flat strap and the strap for the dampers on the firebox doorLined em up and stuck em togetherDrew up and cut the holes for the exhaust. Going with a little more exhaust and intake than what the formula called for in case he wants to run it hot.
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Reply:My week went to **** as usual and didn't get a chance to update the thread. I'm about to give it the third and final coat of paint but here's some progress pics.Bottom frame tacked on, time to get it on the ground. It shook the shop when it finally reached the tip over point!He wanted some big pneumatic casters on it, so I slapped on these suckers. Not the cleanest look but as far as function they are awesome! They make rolling this 600 lb chunk pretty dang easy.Yesterday morning we put a fire in it to see how it sealed before finishing the knick knacks, it's got one TINY leak at the top left part of the door, other than that it's completely sealed. The grate for the firebox is 22"x22" and I ised some 1" expanded metal that's just under 1/4" thick.
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Reply:Wow, that is one nice build!!!!do you get the first slow smoked rack of ribs?..lolOf all the things I lost I miss my mind the most...I know just enough about everything to be dangerous......You cant cure stupid..only kill it...
Reply:Nice job man! That's gona make some good food. Do the exuast stacks have a piece of metal under then to catch any grease falling back down?
Reply:Thanks! I sure hope I get some BBQ out of the deal, he should be firing it up this week!No there's nothing under the exhaust stacks to catch grease, not sure I've seen anything done that way before?
Reply:Originally Posted by Slumpbuster36Thanks! I sure hope I get some BBQ out of the deal, he should be firing it up this week!No there's nothing under the exhaust stacks to catch grease, not sure I've seen anything done that way before?
Reply:Slumpb'36, nice build, clean lines and fits looks good.   I'd like to ask a basic question for anyone not familiar with this design- like me.  Why is the fire box offset?  If the heat of the smoke and exhaust of the fire box will go into and up the upper chamber(?) then won't 95% of the heat go with that flow of gas/smoke/exhaust?Obviously I don't know much about this type of cooker, but since the design goes to extreme length to get the fire box offset, pointing to a very important reason for that feature....  would you mind explaining why the entire cooker is not one vertical cabinet with some ducting or flapper valves?thanks for the post, and any time to explain the design.Cheers,Kevin MorinKenai, AK
Reply:you percentages are off. Most of the heat will get sucked into the metal above the fire box and dissipate through the metal to the outer area. More heat still will escape through the exhaust before it has any affect on the items being cooked. Most off set smokers will cook at low heat, where as a smoker with the fire box below the cook chamber will cook at a much higher heat without some sort of baffling/reverse flow set up. Or they will require a much smaller fire to cook at lower temperatures. Managing a smaller fire is 1, more difficult, and 2, more time consuming. You're in and out of the fire box more often to add fuel, each time you add fuel, you add air which in turn makes the fire burn faster increasing the heat. The offset allows for larger fuel to be burned thus allowing the cook to set and forget for longer. The less times you've got to open a smoker the better. when it comes to long smokes.A high heat smoke (200*+) it's not a crucial to keep the entire thing sealed up. but for low and slow you want to leave it alone as much as possible.There are no problems. There are only solutions. It's your duty to determine the right one.Hobart Handler 210Airco 225 Amp MSM Stinger
Reply:Badass smoker!!! Makes me want to start eating meat again.Millermatic 211Miller Syncrowave 350lx with cooler and tigrunner Thermal Dynamics cutmaster 811955 National Cylinder Gas O/A setup with original patina
Reply:Thorshm'rthanks for the heads up, I see what the goal is now. All the work makes sense, I knew there had to be a good reason for all that effort just didn't know what it was? I appreciate your time to 'splain me'.Cheers,Kevin MorinKenai, AK
Reply:Nice build.  There is a lot of work that goes into a smoker.
Reply:Real Nice!Heavy Metal Fabricationhttp://heavymetalfabrication.comhttps://www.facebook.com/heavymetalfabrication