My Smoker/Grill Build

[HillbillySmoker]

Im gonna designate this the HSG = "Hillbilly Smoker/Grill

The first step was to open the propane tank up, i bought this 120 Gal tank for 50.00, the propane company removed the lines and guages from the tank and purged it which left me with 4 openings close together on the topside, the tank is 52 inches from endcap weld to endcap weld, 67 inches overall with 24 inches in diameter.


I let the tank set for about a week then filled it with water and let it flow out for a little bit then let it sit another week, drained it filled it back up again letting the water flow out, then i drained 3 to 4 inches of water and cut the section out where all the connections used to be using a skillsaw with a 1/8 inch wide metal cutting blade.



I originally was gonna put the firebox right in the middle but i thought about it and said to myself, i want a cooker i can smoke and grill on so heres what i come up with. the smoker and grill will be seperated by a partition of steel.


I'll be continually posting pics throughout the whole build process step by step. Oh if for some reason i want to add an upright smoker later on, I'll add that to the left side. See pic below


Here's a Pic of me about 5 yrs ago i guess, so you have a face to go with my posts

[stevenr]

how hard was the tank to cut with the saw ?

and what kind of blade?

[HillbillySmoker]

cut better and quicker than if i wouldve used a 4 1/2 grinder with a cut off blade on it, the blade is a norton 3x metal cutting blade from home depot 7" x 1/8 thick

[HillbillySmoker]

Started on the firebox last night, got some more freebie steel today for the legs, 4 pieces of 2" pipe 3 feet long, ill post some pics Sunday evening.

[HillbillySmoker]

Can i get some feedback on my design from you longtime smokers on this project before i get to the point of no return. i only added the grill part to do burgers, steaks and whatever else. Thanks for any advice.

[HillbillySmoker]

Well I'm at the point of no return so I'm gonna go ahead with it, hope to have the firebox mounted today and get the legs welded on.

[HillbillySmoker]

Well I didn't mount the firebox or the legs today, the reason being I'm thinking of putting this on a trailer now , so my question is has anyone converted a boat trailer and put a cooker on it or should i just buy an axle and build my own trailer

[mattycamp]

I think that answer really depends on what kind of layout you want to do. Building your own will allow you to have a walk-on workspace, etc, and give you infinite freedom to do what you wanted. A boat trailer is going to have limitations in placement as well as how much other stuff you can fit on there.

Though, with the price of steel, I am guessing using an old trailer is probably going to be much cheaper.
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Matt
24x96 Lone Star Custom by Bates

[HillbillySmoker]

[Pigosaurus Rex]

Nice looking design for your cooker Hillbilly. You can buy a used trailer a lot cheaper than you can build one. I got lucky and found a 91 model camping trailer that had been wrecked. The frame was fine but the shell was destroyed got it for 300 bucks. A lot of people have campers sitting around that they don't use anymore that the roof has leaked on an rotted out all the framing. When you are driving around keep your eyes open for old campers sitting in back yards and driveways that's how i found mine. The water and sewer holding tanks are still OK on mine a i plan on using them and it's plumbed for propane already too! They also have hot water tanks and electric on them that you can use. By the way great white hunter them sure are some nice deer you got there. Are they WV deer?
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All pigs must burn

[Jeff_From_VA]

I am also planning to use a boat trailer for my build - Only because I got it free. Know a guy who does fiberglass work, and he had quite a few laying around, told me I could have one if I would get it out of his yard!!

[HillbillySmoker]

LOL great white hunter, hunting is my main passion, don't tell her that. those bucks came from Texas, little dot on the map called Juno, i won the camp buck pot with the one in the middle, 16 point non typical with 24 1/2 inch spread, scored 157 5/8 not a monster but a nice buck, between the 6 of us we pitched in a 100 dollars apiece and the biggest buck won, which was me .

I spent most of the day driving around today looking for a trailer, everything i looked at had small wheels, i want 15" wheels on mine i have a set of Chevy truck mags in the building i want to use on it. the camper idea is good i haven't thought of that, how good are the frames on those? did you have to add cross members or anything?, if i cant find a trailer i have looked at some axle kits that come with axle/springs and hangers, fenders,2 inch coupler and jack for less than $200 add another $200 for some C channel or square tubing and a little work and ill have a brand new trailer. hers a link for the axles http://www2.northerntool.com/category/166839+166843+775719.htm

Got a little bit done on the cooker today, spent to much time driving around. not to mention i don't have a shop, I'm building this thing on my back patio.

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[Pigosaurus Rex]

The camper frames are very solid in my opinion. I am not going to add any cross members or anything to mine. I should mention that the trailer i bought is 30 ft long not counting the hitch which adds almost 4 more feet to it. It also was one of those kind with a slide out on it. The hydraulic motor still works and i would like to figure out a way to use the slide out part some how. I plan on mounting the cookers on the back and building a small building on the front. I will be equipping the building with sinks and a fridge and freezer, also some cabinets and counters. More or less i plan for it to be a mobile kitchen. I got to get my cooker done first it will probably be next year before i can get all this stuff finished. My business partner has no mechanical abilities at all so i am building most of this by myself. I have one friend that will help some but he's pretty busy with his own business right now.
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All pigs must burn

[HillbillySmoker]

Wow Rex sounds like your gonna build a nice rig, cant wait to see some pics of the build. I'm not building anything that fancy i just need a small trailer maybe a 5x10 or 6x12, will probably just have my cooker on it with a rack for the wood, but who knows this build started out as just building a small cooker for the back yard and has evolved into putting it on a trailer, by the time its done I'm sure ill have to add more to it,

[Cranky Buzzard]

Starting to take some shape there Hillbilly!

Interestin plan you have, from the looks of it you should be good to go!

CB
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Cranky Buzzard BBQ FB Group

[HillbillySmoker]

[HillbillySmoker]

Starting my trailer tomorrow, picked up a 3500LB 6 lug axle today. i met a man last weekend that owns a welding shop in town and he invited me to use his shop to build the trailer, so im holding off on the cooker till i get the trailer built so i can get it mounted before it gets to heavy. if all goes well i should be able to get it built by Saturday evening.

[Cranky Buzzard]

Good plan on holding off until the trailer is done. The tank alone looks pretty heavy. Good find on the use of the shop.

Looking forward to more pics.

CB
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Cranky Buzzard BBQ FB Group

[HillbillySmoker]

Making the trailer 4x8 out of 4 inch channel, cost me a lil extra to get the 6 lug axle opposed to the 5 lug, only reason i went with the 6 is i have 4 Chevy truck aluminum mag wheels in the shed, 2 for the trailer and 2 spares , still need to buy fenders and a light kit. Hey CB what yah think of this for my firebox door http://www.usstove.com/proddetail.php?prod=BSK1000&cat=6

[Cranky Buzzard]

That should work great for the door. I forget the members name, but he built a brick pit and used doors of that design on it, and there has been at least one trailer mount with one of those.

As much trouble as my door has given me during this build I'm almost wishing I had bought one too!

CB
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Cranky Buzzard BBQ FB Group