Get it and I will help you with design and step by step build.
We can get other pit members to help source some of the parts etc at the best price.
Need super heavy duty 1000lb+ 6-8" casters .
Thanks Ahumadora!! I really appreciate that offer and we would likely lean heavily on your advice.
Question, what do you think of cutting it in two as suggested above, or just chopping it down 2-3 feet to make it more manageable? I know that it seems like it would take a ton of heat and time to get something that size up to cooking temps, but I've also seen some videos where people have said they were amazed at what they could achieve in temp and time very economically once they'd learned to run their fire properly and even running a big 250-gallon offset (yeah, that's not big to you, I know! lol) for a single brisket wasn't that big of a deal.
Also if you were meaning to link to some casters above, you linked a grinder instead. If we keep this as-is, we would probably build a trailer under it, or buy a used boat trailer for it.
Grinder was what you need, but if you have access to a decent plasma use that. Bring it home whole and lets see exactly what you have before cutting anything. I can send you some dxf files to get hinges and a door cut by a plasma cutting service. Maybe start a new post soley focised on the build.
Last edited by Ahumadora; October 25, 2022, 12:32 AM.
Go for it
My nephew has a source for old air compressor tanks, he’s on his 6 or 7th offset build now.
Sells them on Kijiji for $1700.
Brought a cheap plug in the wall Mig welder
and a coupla dozen new death wheel discs and got to it.
I think we may go for it, it'll be a long term project for sure.
Interesting point brought up above - CAN your smoker really be too big? I mean... that is long, and I am thinking internally it has probably about the volume of a 250-gallon propane tank. I would have thought more, but when I started researching, those 250-gallon tanks are 30" by 92", or 7 feet 8 inches long. This is definitely longer, but not a ton. And maybe slightly more volume by being flat out to the ends, but it's not a 500-gallon size.
So I don't necessarily think something like a 250-gallon is TOO big. Sure, it's a bit unwieldy, maybe cumbersome, but we put it on a nice heavy duty trailer (couple grand investment, that alone) and we can probably have some fun!
I dunno, I'm leaning toward it. I have access to a heavy equipment trailer for backhoes and such, so that oughtta work. Prolly can get someone with a front end loader to lift it. From there it's just proper planning and collecting materials and learning how to weld. Which I will probably work on, though my friends are capable welders. I would like to try my hand at it.
I would not either, by myself. But with mechanically-inclined friends, and super experienced builders willing to consult and help plan things methodically, I think it's pretty safe.
Originally posted by DogFaced PonySoldierView Post
I think we may go for it, it'll be a long term project for sure.
Interesting point brought up above - CAN your smoker really be too big?
I mean... sure. If you're always just doing 1-2 briskets etc and using 1/3 of the size, it's too big in the sense that the extra space is a waste.
BUT....
If you usually do cooks like that but do a few big parties in the summer? The volume would be great. For me, it would depend on the space I had to store it, too.
Something like this, though, the bottom line is do it if you want. It will be fun and you'll learn stuff. Also, it will be fun.
If not cooking outdoors, I am cooking on the stovetop with my 14" carbon steel wok, 12" CI skillet, or in the oven with my two Lodge CI pizza pans, or two dutch ovens. I've also got a nifty Lodge carbon steel grill pan that rocks for veggies outdoors.
Not sure, we'll probably go out sometime when the rain quits to get better measurements. I would guess it is at least 24" in diameter and around 9 feet in length.
realdocBBQ Wow! If its 9 feet long, and 24 deep, I think I would cut it down to a 6 to 7 foot cook chamber, and a 2 to 3 foot offset fire chamber, maybe mounting it partially underneath like I see on a lot of Ahumadora 's builds. That cuts the overall length down. And think about reverse flow.
If not cooking outdoors, I am cooking on the stovetop with my 14" carbon steel wok, 12" CI skillet, or in the oven with my two Lodge CI pizza pans, or two dutch ovens. I've also got a nifty Lodge carbon steel grill pan that rocks for veggies outdoors.
I personally would think about getting a cheap plasma cutter rather than using an angle grinder to make the cuts, having done both with stainless steel in the past. The cut from the plasma cutter is so much smoother. I only have the angle grinder myself, but a buddy has a plasma cutter and used it to cut the tops out of some beer kegs to turn them into "keggles" for me. It looked so much cleaner and easier than it would have been with an angle grinder.
Learning to use the cutter and a welder would be fun.
One of the guys I spent the day with on Saturday when discussing all this and smoking all the meat has his own plasma cutter, so I think we'll definitely have the ability to use that.
I say you will have a great time building it! I have done 2 and now only use 1 of them. The first is a 250 gallon tank reverse flow. 2nd 125 gallon reverse flow that I use all the time.
That's a good question... I do not know, but I know there are a lot of fab shops and such that do welding and cutting, so I bet we can find some places to scavenge for a few bucks.
Well, for those who were interested, I went and got some measurements, and I also moved my buddy's big offset over here to cook on this weekend.
This cooker has a cooking chamber 30" in diameter and 78" long - which if I have done my math right, makes it about 238 gallons. It has some things I think could be done better, the firebox sits way too high on the chamber, for one thing, and it can get quite hot right at the entrance.
So I got some official measurements of "my" new tank we are going to use - and yes, it looks like we're going to officially do this.
It is also 30" in diameter and 9'1" long, or about 108". Now, there is a lip on each end, and it is recessed a bit. So that takes away a bit, but measuring 108x pi r suared, etc., comes out to about 330 gallons. So discounting a couple inches on each side, I'm guessing it's right around 325 gallons. What a behemoth!
The steel appears to be 5/16" thick, or .3125". Additional calculations tell me an open ended pipe of that length and thickness would be about 900-950lbs. Add in the weight of end walls and the metal pipe it sits on, and I'm going to guess around 1200 lbs or so.
The obvious drain hose in the above pic and what looks like a cap designed to be opened on top (probably for filling) makes me definitely believe this was for water storage or something, not petroleum or distillates.
I think if we go with keeping most or all of the length, I will definitely want to do a reverse flow design to try to keep temps relatively even, but I'm really not sure yet. Long ways to go, we have access to a heavy trailer and 2 tractors we can use to get it loaded up. I'm hoping we might attempt that this weekend or next, I dunno.
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