new guy, where do i start, lol?

[CWCW]

I have had this idea of building a trailer smoker for a while now and found this webpage while searching styles of trailer smokers and thought i would join and see if i could find some answers to some of my questions or at least get some ideas that would get me started.

First question is, how big of a cooking chamber do i need? I would use this smoker to smoke meat for my family and maybe for a family get together every now and then but im not using this to cook food for alot of people at a time. So i dont need a huge cooking chamber but i would like to have one big enough to where i can fit in a turkey or set up a beer can chicken. Im not needing one big enough to cook a whole hog in. My mother has a smoker that is ok for a small brisket, ribs or pork butts but there isnt enough height from the rack to the top of the chamber to put in a whole turkey or a beer can chicken.

Do you want the cooking rack right at half of the diameter of the cooking chamber? So if i had a 30" diameter pipe as my cooking chamber, my cooking rack would need to be half way so i would have 15 inches of vertical cooking space?
I figure if i knew how much cooking space i needed, i can figure out how big (diameter) of a cooking chamber i need.

[GreenSmoker]

Start on this.....

http://www.feldoncentral.com/bbqcalculator.html

If you have a tank/pipe do the measurements and plug them in.
_________________
GreenSmoker / Steve C.
Little Johnny says "I like the way you're thinkin'."

Homemade Offset 30 x 30
UDS
Rocket Stove
Liar #92 or is that my age or my IQ or my shoe size or the sum total for all of them?

[CWCW]

i tried the link but its not comming up. Is that one of those calculators that tells you the size of the cooking chamber vs fire box and tells you what size smoke pipe and all? I dont have a pipe yet to make my cooking chamber because i dont know how big of one i need.

I have seen calculators like that, however, i dont know how much cooking area i need to start out with to figure all that other stuff out. If i knew my cooking chamber size, then i could use calculators like that to figure out fire box size and all other stuff.

For those who smoke turkeys and beer can chicken, what is the diameter of your cook chamber?

[k.a.m.]

Welcome to the ring CWCW, looking forward to seeing some pics of your cooks.
For beer can chickens and turkeys laying in either a pan or one straight on the grate a 24" diam cooker with the grate at 3:00 position will work fine. If you plan on a beer can turkey then you will need a 30" diam cooker.
I would build the chamber at least 48" to 60" long if you go 24" and at least 60" to 72" long for the 30"
I hope this helps.
_________________
Always remember slow and steady wins the race.

Hybrid Cooker

[CWCW]

Actually that helps alot, thanks! I had pictured somewhere around 24 inches because 30 sounded too big to me. I think my mom's is a 18 in and that's why the beer can chicken doesn't work well. I think 48 inches long would do me fine as well.

Another question, with a smoker with a cooking chamber of 24" x 48" or maybe 60" and a fire box, am I looking at being ok using a trailer with a 2000 lb axle?

[k.a.m.]

CWCW, yes in my opinion a cooker that size will fit nicely on a trailer with a 2000lb. axle as long as you keep it to just the cooker and maybe a cook stove.
_________________
Always remember slow and steady wins the race.

Hybrid Cooker

[CWCW]

I have a boat trailer that held an old 16 ft fiberglass ski boat that I was going to use. The trailer frame itself is made of 4 in channel but I will have to modify the trailer frame some because of the "V" style.
The only other thing that might be on the trailer would be a wood box

[CWCW]

I want this to be a reverse flow smoker because I have read that they cook more evenly. How do you know where to put the heat plate/ channel that carries the smoke to the opposite end of the smoker? I mean, how high up in the chamber does it need to be between the bottom of the smoker and the cooking surface?

[smootz]

I say this with love brother.

You are where I was last Fall. Your questions were my questions. My advise is to read through lots of the build threads listed in the forum. Lurk, lurk, lurk, and then lurk some more. I have frequented several forums for the past few months and this one by far covers the broadest spectrum and has great builders.

I am now an addict and chances are you will become one too. Every evening I get my fix with The Smoke Ring.

Early in the winter I would go to bed knowing what I wanted. The next evening I would see something I liked better. I am now building a 500 gallon RF for my nephew. With the help of the veterans here I think it is going to be a winner. I want an upright cabinet (Stokes or Pitmaker clone) but for now am making a UDS.

So to repeat my advise - Lurk, Lurk, Lurk. There are experienced people here who will give you good short answers but you will cheat yourself if you don't do the homework.

Once you start please share your build. I'd love to see what you got.
_________________
150 gallon vertical
propane pig
180 RF

[k.a.m.]

CWCW, I use the top of my firebox as the beginning of the R/F plate. I like the plate to fall in between 1" and 5" below the top of the grate.
Make sure your opening at the opposite end of the firebox equals your firebox to cooking chamber opening so your heat/smoke does not bottle neck.
I hope this helps.
_________________
Always remember slow and steady wins the race.

Hybrid Cooker

[CWCW]

k.a.m.,
So when you say 1-5 inches from the top of the grate, you are talking about the grate the food will be setting on correct?
So if i use a 24 inch diameter pipe, i have my cooking grate at a 12 inch height and my R/F plate could be anywhere from 7-11 inches from the bottom of the cooking chamber

Ok thanks guys for the knowledge. I will try and search the forum for my other questions so i dont ask so many "rookie" oriented type questions.

But if i dont find my answers i will ask more questions.
thanks.

[k.a.m.]

[smootz]

[TrailerBuilder]

CWCW, Welcome to the Ring, your cooker build should be a fun one to follow for sure I read in a previous post where you wrote about a cooker you built some years ago. If that one worked out pretty well, you could always design off of that one and use it as a template so to speak. If it wasnt large enough, how much larger would you need it? What did you like about the cooker and what do you wish it had different or wish it had? Things like that. I know when I did my X2 build, my buddy and I looked at a lot of different cookers and took what we liked about each one and incorporated it into the build. The good thing about metal is you can always cut out and redo what you dont like, its pretty forgiving. The Ring is an awesome place for knowledge, there are some amazing fabricators here and I havent found many that are not more than happy to lend advice, direction and support when needed. Sometimes things they tell you are not always what you want to hear, but dont take it wrong, its just from a road they have already traveled and they are trying to save you the trip


Just my 2c worth...
_________________
X2 Finished Build
Disco Time
Fire Pit

[CWCW]

[CWCW]

[CWCW]

Ok, well i found the feldoncentral.com bbq calculator which is nothing short of amazing i might add.
I was doing all the math myself until i found this calculator, must say it made things much easier.
Looks like with me using a 24"x48" cooking chamber my fire box will end up being 19-3/8 x 19-3/8 x 19-3/8 inches square. Which ended up being 100.5% of the recommended 1/3 size of cooking chamber.
When figuring the chimney i first put in for a 3 in pipe but the length was going to need to be 52 inches so i put in for a 4 inch pipe and it came down to a length of 29 inches.

im undesided on which diameter of pipe i should go with, the 3 inch or the 4 inch. I know they make a 3.5 inch but i dont know how available that size would be to find.
The 3in pipe at 52 inches sounds really tall but the 4 inch pipe at 29 inches wont actually be 29 inches above the cook chamber because some of it will actually be down in the cook chamber, correct? I read that if some of your chimney pipe extends down in the chamber, it will cause the whole chamer to fill with smoke before the smoke starts to exit the chamber. So if my lowest cooking grate is at the 3 o'clock position, and 5 or 6 inches of the smoke pipe is protruding down in the cooking chamber, only 23-24 inches of pipe will be sticking up off the top of the smoker. If the wind is in your direction, you got smoke in your face the whole time. Is my logic correct? Wouldnt you want the chimney up higher than that?

[TrailerBuilder]

CWCW, I have to apologize for that I got another post on a different thread turned around. My bad

Still not a bad idea though to shop cookers with a tape measure and pad in hand and get thoughts and ideas on what your wanting for your own cooker. Along with this site, it was extremely helpful in my build.

On your 1/4" or 3/8" material thickness questions, I think most will agree that 1/4" is the desirable thickness. 3/8" is more steel to heat and more weight on the project. In my opinion, your right on with wanting your stacks a little higher. On my X2 build I did the stacks at 36" out of the chamber. I used the calculator and got my lowest height needed but went with what looked best and fit in best on the cooker. For me, they are just above head high and I have no smoke in face issues at all. As far as how far the stacks stick into the chamber, that is an ongoing topic that will never be settled. Mine are flush with the chamber and I turn out 1/4" smoke rings all day. Just a personal preference I think.

Good luck with the build.
_________________
X2 Finished Build
Disco Time
Fire Pit

[k.a.m.]

CWCW, on a 24" x 48" cooker a 3" diam. stack is not large enough. I would run at least a 4" ID stack.
You measure the entire length of the stack including what if any is in the chamber. Personally I prefer my stacks up high and not in the chamber or down the sides.
I hope this helps.
_________________
Always remember slow and steady wins the race.

Hybrid Cooker

[CWCW]

Ok, so if dropping some of the smoke stack down into the cooking chamber isnt a big difference maker then i think all 29 inches of the 4 inch pipe attached to the top of the cooking chamber should give me enought height to keep the smoke out of my face.

And im glad to hear that 1/4" cooking chamber thickness is common. Dont want any more extra weight than i have to have.

When i start, im going to have to take pictures and figure out how to post them on here so yall can see the progress.