Robotodd
Assistant Cook
Hello bbq/smoking folks,
I'm an avid griller and budding smoker and I've just joined this forum so I thought I'd share my first attempt at building a smoker with you all.
I'm a metal artist in Michigan and was given a 50 g. air compressor a few years back. It didn't work so I stripped it down and then it sat in storage for 3 years without a purpose. Finally, after trying a simple terracotta pot smoker, its purpose became clear.
I fabricated the door, hinges, latch, chimney, and baffle. The zig-zag in the chiney is really just for fun. Access to a plasma-cutting table was pretty key to cutting the name in the door. The flames were something I had already had as well. The grills and exterior rack where mostly made of old grill racks. I used high-heat engine paint for the red and high-heat Rustoleum for the black parts. I left the wheels, front feet, and handle untouched from when it was an air compressor.
I'm using a hacked electric hot plate as my heat source. I put a pan of water-soaked wood chunks in a pan directly on the burner. Every hour or so I tossed in a few fresh chunks. It maintained an almost perfectly steady 210 degrees and my first pork butt came out beautifully albeit a bit tough to shred after 10 hours.
Because I already had every single part and piece of metal I needed, I have no idea what this would cost to build from scratch.
I didn't document the steps to building it but here are some photos of the burnout and it's final appearance.
Constructive criticism appreciated! Please let me know if I did anything wrong too.
I'm an avid griller and budding smoker and I've just joined this forum so I thought I'd share my first attempt at building a smoker with you all.
I'm a metal artist in Michigan and was given a 50 g. air compressor a few years back. It didn't work so I stripped it down and then it sat in storage for 3 years without a purpose. Finally, after trying a simple terracotta pot smoker, its purpose became clear.
I fabricated the door, hinges, latch, chimney, and baffle. The zig-zag in the chiney is really just for fun. Access to a plasma-cutting table was pretty key to cutting the name in the door. The flames were something I had already had as well. The grills and exterior rack where mostly made of old grill racks. I used high-heat engine paint for the red and high-heat Rustoleum for the black parts. I left the wheels, front feet, and handle untouched from when it was an air compressor.
I'm using a hacked electric hot plate as my heat source. I put a pan of water-soaked wood chunks in a pan directly on the burner. Every hour or so I tossed in a few fresh chunks. It maintained an almost perfectly steady 210 degrees and my first pork butt came out beautifully albeit a bit tough to shred after 10 hours.
Because I already had every single part and piece of metal I needed, I have no idea what this would cost to build from scratch.
I didn't document the steps to building it but here are some photos of the burnout and it's final appearance.
Constructive criticism appreciated! Please let me know if I did anything wrong too.