Here's the new 80-gallon pit I'm building

[realdocBBQ]

I've got two projects going simultaneously - depending on what I've got time for, materials for and weather and shop access for.

First, this is my 'vision' for this 80 gallon propane tank, with a 30 gallon air tank as a vertical side box and a fully insulated firebox made out of 1/4" plate, maybe a 18 or 20 inch pipe inside - if I can get one I can afford.



Started with this propane tank I picked up:



You can see all the valves, they're a pain in the buttocks. So I opened it and got all the gas out, then filled with water and Dawn dish soap:



Next, I drug it over to the gantry to get it off the ground and get those valves cut out and new patches welded over the holes:



Built a frame for it out of 11g 1½" square tubing:




Then I noticed the rust eaten deep crater was going to end up right in the middle of my door, so I scribed the door line with a grinder and cutoff wheel:


Then last night I ground that rust out with a wire cup brush and welded in some fill and ground it back down. There's still a bit of a divot, but it's a whole lot better than it was.:



Anyways, that's as far as I've gotten now, that was a lot of work for me by my lonesome, but I'm enjoying it.

I'll do an update on the monster 320 gallon pit coming up soon....

[Jerod Broussard]

Grindy.....I mean groovy. 11 gauge is my buddy.

[realdocBBQ]

I was a little concerned 11g wouldn't be strong enough, it absolutely is. I could use this 1¼ 11g for a 250 gallon if I braced things right, but I've got a good amt of 1½x2" 11g to use for my 250 projects.

[Huskee]

Wow, you're doing a great job so far!

[Spinaker]

Looks great! Can't wait to see this project come together!

[TripleB]

Very impressive. Looking forward to future pics and descriptions.

[smokin fool]

I see there'll be no makin puppies on this work site as the garden chairs are your work bench.....
Looks good so far.

[realdocBBQ]

Funny thing, those chairs are actually solid steel and about 30 lbs each. My buddy picked them up from a local Sonic, along with a similarly-built steel table. Sonic was getting rid of multiple sets that they had out in their outdoor area. Sooooo heavy. So, no garden area was deprived of furniture to implement that bench setup. lol

[Henrik]

Keep those pics coming 👌👌👌!!!

[BourBonQ]

Impressive start

[realdocBBQ]

Sorta setback last night... I'm not sure how this is going to turn out.

My build partner and I were trying to cut some excess metal off our trailer for Big Bertha, and in trying to step out over the rail, I took a fall forward over the rail - and my right foot got caught UNDER the middle support, basically causing me to fall forward while my leg was held straight - I significantly hyperextended my right knee.

I don't know if there is any real DAMAGE - I'm walking on it, though it is a little swollen and a LOT painful, stiff and this morning popping and crackling. Worried I damaged some cartilage and I know I at least strained my ACL and LCL. Hopefully it will improve quickly, but I'm pretty gimped right now. Just when I need to be mobile so we can get this damned tank mounted to the trailer.

Haven't told The Wife yet (I went to bed really early last night, in part to avoid her seeing me walk around) - she has been giving me crap lately about injuring myself every time I go out there. <sigh> Usually it's small stuff, like a small cut, abrasion or burn. Last night was more significant - I'll know more over the next few days as it (hopefully) settles down. I may take tonite off from the shop, we'll have to see how it feels after up and down and walking all over the office all day today. I'm really just praying for no significant internal derangement, as I can't afford surgery and my insurance sucks badly. I don't think it's that bad, as I'm able to walk and bear weight - albeit quite gingerly.

<sigh>

[RiverJeff]

Get those knee braces on ASAP!! Get well soon, Keep smiling!

[Draznnl]

Ouch! Hope you’re lucky and it’s not serious.

[Oak Smoke]

I hope your not hurt, especially to the point you need surgery. The small cuts, scrapes, and burns are pretty much parr for the course. There are so many things to be aware of in those situations that it’s easy to miss one. Be careful please. With a bad knee you can’t run from a mad wife.

[rlozinak]

Nice progress and I hope your knee get better soon

[realdocBBQ]

Just in case anyone is wondering - knee was pretty rough throughout the day today at the office, then I went out to the shop and did some cutting and welding, crawling around in and out of our trailer, etc., and it actually is quite a bit better this evening.

Still sore, still a bit stiff, but overall tonight it is much better than I expected. I think I may have escaped major injury.

Glory!

[Jerod Broussard]

Great to hear!!! Plenty cold packs have touched my skin in the last 3 months.

[RonB]

I hope it continues to improve.

[bardsleyque]

WOW! hope your knee keeps improving!

[realdocBBQ]

It's been a month since I updated this. UGH. Sorry.

Knee is vastly improved. Took a couple of weeks to semi-normalize, and it still gives me some aches, still a little weak and wants to give out, I still tweak it occasionally and get a bad twinge. But it's obviously something I will be able to live with, I think it will continue to improve. Overall, I'm generally functional.

So, on to this smoker project. The giant smoker has been on hold for a while pending... well... pending deciding how to tackle it. We might do some of that next week, I dunno. This little 80-gallon project is moving along a bit.

Just a reminder where I was last:


This was after welding up a frame. I liked the height, but... I noticed a few things when I mocked up the wheelios...


The wheels on axles were going to hit the frame when turning the axle left & right. And it also made the smoker too HIGH, as in too TALL. Additionally, you can see my new toy in the bottom left of that picture - not sure if I mentioned that before or not. After nearly killing myself with the 150-year old Dewalt abrasive cutoff saw next to it, I decided one trip to the ER would more than pay for a better saw. As for me, I CANNOT recommend the Evolution ENOUGH! That thing is a BEAST! It has saved me more time and heartache than any other single tool. The only thing more valuable in these projects is the welder itself. Even though I love using a plasma cutter, I CAN use a grinder and cutoff wheel to get most of the things cut if I NEED to, but the Evolution is hands' down more useful and important. Sooper dooper worth the money - every damned penny.

Anyways... I had the bright idea to extend out the front of my cart to let the wheels sit farther forward and see if that would let me keep it relatively low. So I spent one whole evening (usually have 4-6 hours during the weeknights) doing this:



Then mocked up the front wheels to get a look at it...



Sadly, you can guess my reaction. Obviously wheels rotating on a solid axle are STILL going to hit the cart with this design. <sigh> So... dammit. Time to cut it all apart and redo it.

Took some time off from the cart and let my mind clear for a few days to think about it... worked on my axles.

33" I believe, got some spindles and hubs in from trailerpartsunlimited.com, plug welded them into some 1.5"x2" tubing.



Here's the front and rear axles all ready.




Also cut out a piece of 1/4" plate and took it to my buddy with the plasma table, we worked on some designs for hinges and door handles, he cut these out for me:





Meanwhile I went up 2 weeks ago to Rolla, MO, spent a couple of days working in the shop with SmokerBuilder Frank Cox, helping him do a few things, learned a lot, really enjoyed myself. I'm actually going back up tomorrow or the next day for a couple of days again, so much fun working in his shop, soaking up the knowledge. It's about a 4½ hour drive each way, so it's not a short trip, but it's worth it for a weekend.


This gave me time to think and to better visualize what I would be working with. Came up with a slightly different idea for the cart. Follows in next post...

[realdocBBQ]

Decided to redo the cart this smoker is going to be on. Needed to be shorter, can't have the grate at 48-50" height. Needed to clear the wheels, either by width of the cart or the height.

Came up with this.




That was my celebratory beer - not sure if that was Sunday night or Monday night. Probably Monday. I spent 12h Sunday, probably 6-7 on Monday and last night I spent about 6 hours. This is after work Monday and Tuesday, though I left Monday at 3 or so, yesterday 4 or so. But it leads to 15-hour days. Today I was a zombie getting up this morning, took me halfway through the morning to get to feeling human again. Looking forward to going out tonight, though... lol.

Anyways, last night got the expanded metal laid down on the cart and the uprights cut and fitted, really mounted and welded everything up. Still a little spot welding to do on the expanded grate and then grind it down so it's not all sharp and pokey. But overall, I'm super pleased.






I need to figure out how to fill a depression in the door, which I have scribed in with a grinder line in the above pic - not sure if you can see it. The depression was from rust, and I've filled it in some and ground it back down, but it's still there. Still going to be quite noticeable when painted and finished, probably less so if I go with boiled linseed oil, but the more I go with this, the more I think I want to paint it and clear it. Which means I need to work on the finish some. My friend wants me to weld fill it some more, but it's a palm-sized depression that is pretty deep, probably 0.075" or so, definitely a large area and depth to weld fill. And I worry about heat transfer. Shoot, just reminded me, I need to get some more welding gas, too! I'm getting low, down under 300psi.

I might fill it with JB Weld, but my concern is whether it will LOOK right, either under BLO (surely won't look like surrounding metal) or under paint (probably better as long as it's finished well).

I need to address that depression, then weld hinges and cut the door, which I could do easily tonight. Also probably mount the other 30-gallon tank on the end, this will just be a cut and test fit over and over thing before fully welding it together. Gonna be a Mark I Eyeball thing. See how it looks fitting up in various positions and cut to fit and function.

Grates for both chambers will be next week, likely, since I'm going to Frank's up in Rolla again Friday and Saturday.

Then it'll be the firebox - I learned a good bit about making and fitting this up 2 weeks ago up there, helped Aaron fit up half the outside portion of a 34" firebox. Mine is going to be an 18" pipe ¼" thick I scrounged, probably.... 24-30" long(?), then 2" of insulation and a 22" rectangular sleeve around it to whatever length, also out of ¼" steel.

24" long firebox will be 25 gallons or so, probably slightly undersized for what I want. 30" would be 31 gallons. I'd like this more considering I'll have around 110 gallons of cook chamber (84 gallon tank + 30 gallon tank). I just worry 30" long firebox is going to look goofy. I wish I'd been able to get 20" pipe. I found one for a good price, but it was 20" dia and ½" steel - just overkill thickness and stupid heavy for this project, or any of the lighter smaller smoker I've got planned and too small dimensionally for the bigger smokers I have planned. And I need to buy some ¼" plate - need to wait for the tax return to come in for that - business sucks these days, so I've been broke as hell for months. Don't let anyone tell you medicine is all about the money - stupidest financial decision I've ever made. Seriously, not a joke. Broke. Anyways...

So that's where I am... about ready to mount hinges and cut the door, mount the second tank and need to address that depression in the door. Moving along, making progress, enjoying myself, but exhausting myself, too. This next two nights will not be nearly as heavy work... I shouldn't be as sore and exhausted.

It's fun! I love making progress, actually MAKING SOMETHING with MY OWN HANDS! Maybe I'm a bit stagnant in the day job. Can't afford to change careers, though, lol. I'm pretty well stuck with this for life.

[Jerod Broussard]

Dude that is baaaad. I've had two weeks of welding for 3 hours almost every night after work. Nice little personal beat down. Welding gaps is sometimes a pain. I had issues with that on the roof this weekend. My initials are JB so everything I weld is JB Weld.

[Spinaker]

This is a fun build to follow!

[CandySueQ]

Nice reconfig on the cart and I love those hinges!