Anyone build their own smoker?

I have two smokers and I'm getting pretty good at it.  They are both Brinkman barrel-style, one is electric, the other is charcoal.  I also used to own a New Braunfels side-box traditional smoker, but sold it when I got the charcoal because it was so labor-intensive tending the fire.

I procured this thing. (picture won't load over slow internet)  It is a well water pressure/bladder tank, but for a large commercial application.  It is probably 5' tall and 30" in diameter.  I want to make it a smoker.  Help me engineer it.

Charcoal:  Pros - flavor, light it and walk away, cheap fuel.  Cons - might be hard to get the right airflow to maintain proper burn and temperature.

Electric: Pros - plug it in and walk away, ability to use a thermostat to set whatever temp I want.  Cons - expensive heat (relatively), not a "respected" fuel source for "real" smoking.

Gas: Pros - light it and walk away, ability to use a thermostat, burning propane releases plenty of water vapor, so no water pan needed.  Cons - running out of propane half way through a cook, more expensive/difficult to engineer a thermostat/pilot/ignition system.

Is it just me, or does that pros/cons list look like I need to do electric and get over the fact that it isn't "real fuel?"

If it is electric, I suppose I don't need much venting.  Maybe just a 1" hole at the top?  How much wattage of heating element will I need to have the option of going to, say, 300F?

I will do a side door instead of a removable top.  That is the big gripe I have about my Brinkmans is that you have to access the meat from the top, and the lower grate being right above the water tank doesn't get much heat or smoke.  I'll probably measure the circumference and make the door about 1/3 of it.  Then I can weld in little tabs for grates and maybe some pockets to hang rods for sausages

Here we go...

If it's like my residential well bladder tank, it's going to be too thin walled to be much use for more than an electric. Edit: ok that looks much thicker and my residential tank.

But but but Alton Brown made one with a cardboard box and a hot plate? He made a cold smoker with a cardboard box and a hot plate. Cheese, fish, bacon, not butts, brisket and ribs. 

Now if you were to insulate it, say with a welding blanket wrapped around the outside, it should hold more heat in, but I'm not sure how much. 

What are you thinking for a heat source? In my head, for a tank that size, I'm picturing an electric charcoal lighter with a heat controller in the bottom. Or using it as a chimney for a much thicker fire box, but you've related not liking taking care of the fire already. 

Oooo. I'll need to go digging around, but I think you could rig up a pellet drive to it. Not exactly the cheapest thing to do, but better flavor than an electric with chips, much easier heat control than any other option, cheap ish fuel if you DON'T buy from home depot. Rural king is the spot for pellets, $8.88/bag regular vs $20 at home depot.

Edit again: Pellet feeder link

My dream smoker has a charcoal basket with an electric element as a backup.  Start the smoke with charcoal, let the electric take over when you're tired of dealing with it.

I have one of these cheap meco electric smokers a co-worker gave me when he couldn't get it up to temp.  He had the metal plate on top of the element so the thermostat kept turning it off. 

https://express.google.com/u/0/product/6967259654833606292_6832829850812518044_5117101?utm_source=google_shopping&utm_medium=tu_cu&utm_content=eid-lsjeuxoeqt&gtim=CL6Sz4_foOzfdxDf6MTQsODC1G4YsO-ZLyIDVVNEKODv7ekFMK2puAI&utm_campaign=5117101&gclid=CjwKCAjw67XpBRBqEiwA5RCoceFvuIxListLgeCkzi2xlYRb2k3MIQA1I-02D6qbXr950L8IKUAkxBoCljcQAvD_BwE

It has a 1500 watt element.  It's just enough to get it to 275-300.  I have to insulate it if it's cold or I want to hit 300.

I close off the air, but I don't normally smoke on it, I usually start it on the charcoal and move it over later to finish it in the electric.  More air flow (and thus heat) would be needed to smoke in it.

You might have to go to 220 to heat something that big.  Maybe an old oven element?

I have an old propane stove I kept when the board went out for the oven.  I have dreams of charcoal in the warming tray, electric or propane backup, and propane burners on the top.

I've also kept the burner/thermocouple/controller from a few propane water heaters with the thought of automatic propane backup for a smoker.  They seem like they'd put out enough heat, maybe too much since they're made to run either WOT or idle.

It's pretty thick steel.  The whole thing probably weighs 150-200lbs.  I actually had two of these tanks and the other one got turned into a fire pit after an afternoon with a plasma cutter a few years ago.  After a few hundred oak and maple fires getting the belly cherry red, it is still going strong.  It certainly isn't 16 gauge or lighter like a little residential tank.  It's probably 1/16" thick steel.

I can engineer a gas burner for it by scavenging parts off a free CL grill, but I think a thermostat/pilot/ignition is more than I want to get into.  I could do it, but so many times those parts fail.  Electric is easy.  On Off through a mechanical (and cheap) thermostat from a water heater or Amazon.

Charcoal could be pretty simple if I rig up a pipe from the bottom (already has a 1" pipe fitting) to a valve to control air, but if you get it not quite right the fire could get too hot or go out.

Curtis said:

  It certainly isn't 16 gauge or lighter like a little residential tank.  It's probably 1/16" thick steel.

Near as I can tell, 16 guage steel is approximately 1/16" thick.  16 gauge is actually pretty beefy.

But seriously, is there any subject in which Curtis lacks knowledge?  He needs to go on Jeopardy.

Dead_Sled said:

My dream smoker has a charcoal basket with an electric element as a backup.  Start the smoke with charcoal, let the electric take over when you're tired of dealing with it.

 

I thought about this as well.  Dump some charcoal on top of the electric element so the element starts the charcoal.  If the charcoal burns out, the element takes over.  Only drawback I see to that is possible short element life with the charcoal burning directly on it.

So maybe a hybrid charcoal/electric.  Pipe from the bottom to a 1/4 turn ball valve to control air, small chimney with a damper, use those to control heat on charcoal, then close them down once the electric takes over.

1988RedT2 said:

Curtis said:

  It certainly isn't 16 gauge or lighter like a little residential tank.  It's probably 1/16" thick steel.

Near as I can tell, 16 guage steel is approximately 1/16" thick.  16 gauge is actually pretty beefy.

But seriously, is there any subject in which Curtis lacks knowledge?  He needs to go on Jeopardy.

Obviously I lack knowledge on how to build a smoker 

Yea, I'd build a basket to keep the coals off the element to extend it's life.

Have you seen the ugly drum smoker builds?  They're very efficient because theyre really well sealed so you can really control the air flow.  Most guys run a pipe from the charcoal basket out to a 1/4 turn valve.  Seems you could rig up a controller for that valve pretty cheap.  I know they're commercially available but I've never looked into it, I think the build interests me more than the smoking.

Strange that is exactly what I was thinking for the air inlet.

Wood stoves have door flaps that are on thermostatic coils.  As they cool down the coils pull the air door open further and vice versa.  Might be able to adapt something like that.  I'm wanting to stay as old-school as possible for simplicity.

In reply to Curtis :

I understand the desire for simplicity.  I never thought about a door or flap on a thermostatic coil, seems like the perfect solution if you can get it tuned in right.

as an aside, it’s really cool to do a good job with combustibles but if you simply like eating smoked foods and not devoting then electric is the way to go. 

My dad and I built one when I was in college.  I acquired a free 3500 lb axle, and dad sourced about 12' of 18" ID 1/4 wall metal pipe from a local recycler.  It's L shaped with an offset fire box, with a trailer hitch, lights, and perm trailer tags. 

Fire box is at the front, sits below center of the horizontal grill section, grill section is about 4' long, then at the end is the vertical smoke chamber, that's also 4-5' tall. Works pretty dang good.

I'll dig around and see if I've got any pictures somewhere.

Not sure Photobucket still works.  These are some old photos, that's a much thinner, much younger Lee in the Hawaiian shirt.

P3PPY said:

as an aside, it’s really cool to do a good job with combustibles but if you simply like eating smoked foods and not devoting then electric is the way to go. 

I'm with you in principle.  The flavor comes from the rub and the smoke (and a bit from the charcoal).  It just adds the "wow" factor for your guests if it's cooked with real fire.  I might go with the electric/charcoal hybrid.  Option to do one, both, or the other.

When I was in texas I had the New Braunfels side box smoker, and I did some wicked briskets with real Mesquite fires in the fire box, but the 9 hours of add wood, open chimney and vent to get it back to temp, then close them some and hope it's not too much, then oh crap it's suddenly 170 degrees, then you open a little and it hits 300... at the end, your guests are amazed, you're exhausted, and even when the ladies start taking off clothes and getting in the hot tub, you're like... nah.  I'ma sleep now.

In reply to bigdaddylee82 :

Nice shirt

(and the smoker rocks too)

I'm also camping beside my buddy here at the lake and he's a pretty well decorated BBQ champ.  He is taking some best overall, best brisket, and best ribs in Ottawa, Montreal, Niagara, Lake Placid, and a few others.  He's branching out to some bigger competitions and hopes to get invited to the Jack Daniels Invitational next year.

He and I get talking about building this into a smoker and then get caught up in BBQ stories and tricks of the trade.  He's part of the reason I'm half decent at the smoking craft.

Curtis said:

P3PPY said:

as an aside, it’s really cool to do a good job with combustibles but if you simply like eating smoked foods and not devoting then electric is the way to go. 

I'm with you in principle.  The flavor comes from the rub and the smoke (and a bit from the charcoal).  It just adds the "wow" factor for your guests if it's cooked with real fire.  I might go with the electric/charcoal hybrid.  Option to do one, both, or the other.

When I was in texas I had the New Braunfels side box smoker, and I did some wicked briskets with real Mesquite fires in the fire box, but the 9 hours of add wood, open chimney and vent to get it back to temp, then close them some and hope it's not too much, then oh crap it's suddenly 170 degrees, then you open a little and it hits 300... at the end, your guests are amazed, you're exhausted, and even when the ladies start taking off clothes and getting in the hot tub, you're like... nah.  I'ma sleep now.

I totally get it. Electric has almost no appeal to me. My craving to get the finesse of smoking, driving, shooting, what have you probably says volumes more about me than I care to admit - or so says the therapist wife, but electric just skips the finesse part

I think the hybrid charcoal/electric might be the way to go.  I can load it up with charcoal and stick around to make sure it's burning well, but for the days I just can't do that, plug it in and walk away.

I’m interested to see how it turns out for you

Not since college

In reply to wheelsmithy :

Being a music major, ours was a 2 liter soda bottle in a 5 gallon bucket with a 7M tuba mouthpiece. 33mm x 28mm holds a monster hit.

I built one for my buddy out of a 100 gallon (I think) air compressor tank. Very similiar in size to the tank you are using. He wanted to be able to do more than smoke. So we laid the tank on its side. I divided the bottom half in two with a baffle. One side is the fire box, the other is an open expansion chamber. On top of the baffle is a sliding plate that covers half the bottom. When you want to smoke you move the baffle over the fire pit. If you want to bbq you slide it the other way and you can cook over the fire. There is a secondary sliding plate over the first but under the grate that acts as a drip tray, and spreads the heat more evenly when smoking. He added a controller, I think a BBQ Guru that monitors the temperature, and runs a fan. It keeps the temperature inside within 20 degrees all the time. 

This is a real wood smoker. It is not nearly as much work as a regular smoker with a fire box as the controller monitors and controls your temps. You just need to feed it wood every couple hours or so. 

This was a fun project and we have made everything you can imagine. Honestly though if you want something simple, cheap, and easy I would go electric. Set it, add some wood chips the first couple of hours, not much smoke absorbs after that, and forget it til its done.

I built one out of a cardboard box. Dug a hole for a fire pit.  Then dug about a 6"long slit trench and laid a piece of corrogated metal over the trench and covered with dirt.  Dug another hole at the end of the trench and placed the big box over that. The smoke from the pit would travel through the trench up through the box. Make sure the fire pit is deeper than ther box. Used it to smoke sausage. Cheap and effective.  I guess that's probably the best "Grassroots" smoker I made.