DIY bbq pit build.

[dpg481]

Got it sat on, now it's time to weld it in its new home.

[Mike D]

Now that's a lot of pig. I bet they know how to throw it down.

Yep they were pretty dang good. Cool old joint too.

[bronco611]

All I want to know is what's for dinner?

[dpg481]

All I want to know is what's for dinner?

It's still a long way from being ready to cook, but I am ready to get done. BTW, we are making burgers on the webber charcoal grill

[Ruark]

Man, THANK YOU for posting all these pictures. I have an old 250 gallon tank I'll turn into a smoker someday; I'm always thinking about how I'm going to do it.

What rods and amps are you using, by the way?

What's your philosophy of chimney placement? My thought is to put it on the end, even with the surface of the grill. I think a lot of the commercial smokers put the chimneys up way too high. But that's just my opinion.

Hope you keep us updated. It's great watching this project!

[dpg481]

Man, THANK YOU for posting all these pictures. I have an old 250 gallon tank I'll turn into a smoker someday; I'm always thinking about how I'm going to do it.

What rods and amps are you using, by the way?

What's your philosophy of chimney placement? My thought is to put it on the end, even with the surface of the grill. I think a lot of the commercial smokers put the chimneys up way too high. But that's just my opinion.

Hope you keep us updated. It's great watching this project!

I mostly use 6011 rods somewhere around 150 amps for most everything.
I had the discussion about the smoke stack with my wife yesterday. I decided it will go all the way at the end at cooking grate level. I will probably build it more like a plenum where there opening is the whole end of the tank.

I you get on youtube you will find all kinds of ideas. I really like the segments that Aaron Franklin has on the PBS website. They are full length tv shows he has. One of them showed him building one of his latest smokers, and he has lots of good ideas.

[dpg481]

I got the day off so I figured I would start on the firebox. The 24" liner I bought in garland was seriously cut crooked. So with the cutting torch I squared it up as much as possible. I went to Barnhart steel downtown greenville this morning to pick up a 3' piece of 30" for the outer section, their forklift was broken do he gave me a deal on the pipe and said he would deliver it to my house today on his way home. Very good customer service there.

[dpg481]

I got the outer section of the firebox home and cut down today, plus I ended up with a 9" section I will later make a fire ring out of.

[Chief Big Toe]

following

[dpg481]

Pix

[dpg481]

Got the pipes welded together. Man that was a monster for one man, but I did have help from the front loader on the tractor.

[JConnor95]

Any particular reason that you chose to put a liner in there like that? I can understand how it would affect the heat transfer to the exterior pipe, making it so that you didn't have to worry about accidentally leaning up against it, but is there any other reason that you chose to do it?
I've built a couple of this scale and one larger, and never even thought of doing that. Instead I built a flat top piece that sat over the pipe, allowing me extra work space, and helping to cool it down. That might be something interesting for me to try next time I get to building one.
Thanks!
Connor

[dpg481]

Any particular reason that you chose to put a liner in there like that? I can understand how it would affect the heat transfer to the exterior pipe, making it so that you didn't have to worry about accidentally leaning up against it, but is there any other reason that you chose to do it?
I've built a couple of this scale and one larger, and never even thought of doing that. Instead I built a flat top piece that sat over the pipe, allowing me extra work space, and helping to cool it down. That might be something interesting for me to try next time I get to building one.
Thanks!
Connor

The reason for the liner is to retain more heat for such a large cook chamber. From everything I've read an talking to builders, it's a great way to reduce the amount of wood the cooker consumes. But I think the heat protection is an added bonus.

[dhillis]

The reason for the liner is to retain more heat for such a large cook chamber. From everything I've read an talking to builders, it's a great way to reduce the amount of wood the cooker consumes. But I think the heat protection is an added bonus.

Gonna vacuum seal it like a yeti? Bet it would really hold some heat!!

[dpg481]

Gonna vacuum seal it like a yeti? Bet it would really hold some heat!!

I'm not sure if I'm as talented as the Chinese, lol.