bvbull200's Gravity Fed Cabinet Smoker Build Thread - Under the Tutelage of Maner

Have I mentioned how great it is going out the shop and working with @Bigdaddy4760 ? Because it's pretty great.

First thing we did today was get the gaskets put on the doors. I'm not crazy about this particular gasket, but after getting it in place and testing it out, it actually works pretty damn well. I had in my head what I'd used a replacement, but now I don't think I'll be in any hurry to do so. No pics of the gasket in place, but once we had that done, we rolled the pit just outside the shop and got ready to fire it up.

First thing was load a whole bag of charcoal:



Here is a view down the fuel chute with that whole bag in there. Could easily fit a second bag plus some. No wood mixed in this as we were mostly just wanting to get some heat in there.



I guess since Maner figured that since every other part of this build has been overkill, he might as well use an acetylene torch to light the coals



Once we got a little bit going, we closed the doors, opened the ball valve and cracked the exhaust while we went back to work to fab a few things.



Celebratory pour, of course :



This is while the smoke was still dirty, but I just *had* to peak to see how everything was going in the cook chamber. It holds on to a lot of heat and smoke!



It took a while to come up to temp, but we could/should have done the start-up procedure a little differently. Light more of the coal to start (the torch only got a small area really hot) and run it with the firebox door open for a little longer to get the fire built up. Additionally, this will eventually be running a blower which will stoke the fire and ramp up the heat quicker. No biggie for today as there was no hurry, we were learning, and we were mostly concerned with seeing how the metal reacted and if we had any gaps. Once it started building heat, we got over 200* relatively quickly.



We eventually got it up to 250* and then it just kind of stayed there. Maybe up to 255*, but it didn't react unless we wanted it to. It was really exciting to see during the first run. I still haven't figured this thing out, but it is already looking like it will be VERY forgiving. The other great thing? The bottom dial and the top dial were within about 5* of each other the whole time. I was fully expecting the lower dial, near the heat transfer tube, to be a steady 25* warmer, but the top to bottom consistency was outstanding!

We even threw a few chunks of mesquite wood in the bottom to let catch some heat from the charcoal dropping down from above. We got great, thin, blue smoke from it all. It smelled great. I think we'll get plenty of smoke on the meat with this thing.



While it was burning, we did some more fab work. The first thing was the shroud for the blower and ball-valve. No in progress pics, but you can see it in the pic of the whole pit further down. It comes out just past where the fan will be and covers from any of the top-down dripping. I'll use the electronics in a light rain, but probably not in a heavy rain, though it is reasonably protected. We'll see.

Next was putting a stop for the fuel chute door. We had an okay idea at the start, but Maner figured we could do better. This little scrap bar was cut down and lined up to catch the door at just the right spot.



It works perfectly. Once again, Maner with another great audible. This thing looks way better than the original plan.



Pad eyes were also added to the frame/feet on the lower side opposite the firebox. These will be the points that I'll attach to the winch to pull it up in the trailer or lower in a controlled manner to unload it. Discreet, but really solid.



This is basically the final state before we get after cleaning up the body for paint. You can see the little rain shield for the lower intake in this pic. Also, to the bottom right, there is a ball-valve fitted with the blower mechanism. That will make it's way on to the intake in lieu of the plain ball-valve. It is a bit taller, so it fits under the shroud nicely. The blower will be able to be removed with a little twist and the unscrewing of a bushing, meaning I can run it in manual mode very easily. As mentioned in another update, the lower dial will be 5" as well - it is on order at the moment.



Don't get me wrong, there is a LOT of bodywork to do in terms of filling small gaps in the welds, removing slag, smoothing corners, etc. That all before getting it sandblasted and wiped down. That said, we now have a functional gravity fed cabinet smoker - and a big one at that. Maner and I spent a fair bit of the late afternoon with a whiskey in hand just looking at this thing. Lots of pride for the both of us. A HELL of a lot of work, beer, brainstorming, beer, problem solving, beer, tweaking, beer, elbow grease, and beer have already gone in to this thing. It felt great seeing it run and run like a champ. We started denting this bottle in celebration .



Body work is next up, then paint. We have some work to do to get the trailer restored back to glory, which is the next project. Oh, that and lifting the Tacoma .

This thing doesn't come home until the trailer is ready and the Tacoma is squared away. We'll keep plugging away at it!

 

Could build a plexi door to cover the electronics that way rain doesn’t hurt it.

 

How long did the bag of charcoal last?

 

I might do that. Put little magnets recessed in the corners and it'd just sit there. I still need to be aware of the blower, too.

It ran for about 5 hours and there was hardly a dent in it. Felt like it was on pace for a 10+ hour burn with just that load in it. I had to leave, though. Maner is going to check it again in the morning and see if there is any heat left.

 

Nice!

 

Could use a little pup tent over that.

 

We are up having coffee and I will go check it soon.

 

Outstanding job!

when you get a minute, go ahead and build me one. Thanks.

 

@bvbull200
Pic taken at 8:40am

 

Wow. That sure is one magnificently centered dial!

That's honestly a little better than I'd expect! That's 20-1/2 hours after the torch hit and about 19 hours after coming up to temp. One bag of charcoal for that stretch and temps are still above ambient. It must have been burning a little heat not all that long ago. The rest is residual heat.

Thanks for the update!

 

Yes but how many filled in holes are behind it?

 

That's kind of the inside joke.

We had all of the extra "stuff" done and it was rolling. Maner was ready for a celebratory pour of whiskey and I looked at the dial and said "you're going to think I'm crazy, but I swear that shroud is just off-center". Maner came and took a look, but couldn't really tell. We both agreed that maybe it was off, but it depended on how you looked at it and it would be unnoticeable once all painted up. Still, I told Maner to go ahead and pour him one, I was going to cut the three welds. The eye-roll was hilarious. I think I just wasn't quite ready to be done tinkering with that thing.

Three spot welds were all that was holding it on, so I cut them and moved that shroud over maybe 1/16 of an inch? I'll put it this way, the margin was so slim, there was a better chance I'd make it worse than make it better

It's centered nicely, though.

I think....

 

any coals left?

 

I didn’t check it. Let it cool off an gonna blow it all out and move back in shop.

 

Looks like an awesome test run!

 

I get it totally. Working on the houses I’m looking at stuff going that ain’t right and my friend I do them with is going it’s fine. I’m like no I’m telling you it’s off. I have to fix it.

 

I'd be way surprised if there were any coals left after 19+ hours. It was just one bag of charcoal. I'm kind of curious how much ash built up. There will be a point where too much ash could choke off the intake, but I think that will take quite a bit. Might need a sweep every 12 hours or so? Could probably do most cooks without having to worry about ash, but will have to clean it out before each cook.

Maner has some plans for some handy tools, too.

That isn't to say that Maner doesn't have an eye for those things, too. He's had plenty where he looks and just says "I don't like _______, we need to fix that." and we've gotten to work. This thing would look like hell if it weren't for his attention to detail and problem solving skills. The little brace he put in the chute and firebox doors was awesome and made the look and fit 100% better.

I think the dial thing was more psychological to me than it was an actual flaw. I was jamming my fingers in the sides of it and saying "I swear it feels different on this side than the other!"

 

Should build some closable grate dumps. Pull the handle and ash falls out into a catcher.

Nah I wasn’t saying he doesn’t have the eye for it we can see he does by his builds. Sometimes things just look off to some people and you obsess about it (at least I will) until it’s perfect in your eyes.

 

So what you're saying is...you didn't actually measure with a measuring device to check to see if it was off?