Insulated box smoker home build

[Pan-Up]

Hello All, I've been a silent reader for a long time, and have picked up a lot of knowledge from this site. Thank you all for your contributions!

I've been working on this for a year now. The frame is 1.5 x 3 tube, which I now believe is overkill. If I ever build another, I'll probably use angle for the frame to save weight. Everything is 1/8" wall, or closest available.







All of the circles were cut with carbide hole saws. The square for the pellet assembly was cut using a standard jig saw with a metal cutting blade. This is my first experience cutting metal with a jig saw, but it was nearly as easy as cutting wood. All of the external panels were plug welded using a 1/2 drill bit every 6 inches.



This is a look into the cavity between the inner and outer walls. I fill this with a ceramic blanket later.



The smaller whole is for the probe wires. Honestly, this was unneeded. I could have just run them through the door gasket.







I originally thought I'd lift via a bar through the chimney, but then I felt what 500 lbs feel like, so I decided to weld on some 1 inch square so chains could be used.





I know what you're thinking, because I'm now thinking the same. These door frames should have been cut at 45°, so I didn't have to cover the exposed holes. Lesson learned.





It's actually a 2 piece door. 1 is sunk into the frame. The other sits on the surface. The door is inside out in this photo.



Dremeled out some notches in the casters to install wheel locks on 2 of the wheels.



You can see the inside part of the door protruding through the frame here.



It's hard to notice, but the top hinge is crooked, even though I fully opened the door and checked for spreading while the hinges were just tack welded. I ended up cutting the top one off and re-aligning.



These edge mount handles are nice, but not made to handle a door this heavy. I have to close and latch the doors slowly, or they'll bounce out.













Since this thing is already heavy, I wanted to be able to completely empty the inside and remove the doors, in case I need to put it on a trailer. Also, this will allow me to easily replace parts in the future.



I was nervous about the welds not being water tight, but didn't have any issues.

Sticking to my plan to build a removeable water pan, I added a threaded pipe fitting. Again, I was nervous about this leaking when fire is applied to the pan. No issues here either. Not a drop.























This ash pan, the condensation diverter on the front door, and the chimney damper are the only things that are 16 gauge.



This is an insulated "plug" for the pellet tunnel square hole.













Stripped it down again to prepare for paint. I burned it in from 9am to 2pm on July 4th, and took temperature readings all around. Surprisingly, the doors were the coolest surfaces on it. There hottest spot was on the back, right behind the water pan which measured 195°. This is bondo covering the plug welds. The face, doors and chimney will be high temp rustoleum black, and the body will be burgundy.







Added additional latches to ensure the doors don't pop open during the cook. They're definitely an afterthought, but work well.



It does exceptionally well using just wood logs, but like all wood burners, works you death. Had to add 2 logs every ~40 minutes. Decided to install the Pellet Pro for cooks that don't require a smoky flavor.



Happy smoking all!

[brutus1964]

Welcome to the Smoke Ring Pan-Up. That is a very nice cooker that you have built. There was a lot of detail and thought put into it. This is a very nice post. Thanks for posting. We will be looking forward to your first cook on it.
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Chargriller
Weber Kettle
Heartland Cookers 36 x 48 Rotisserie

"If you always do what you have always done, you will always get what you have always got"- Henry Ford

[dmike25]

very impressive
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Mike

[Pan-Up]

Thank you! I'm terrible at painting, so there's some procrastination mixed in with the hot weather.

[k.a.m.]

Very nice work on your cooker Pan-Up Congratulations. The documentation is awesome.
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Always remember slow and steady wins the race.

Hybrid Cooker

[Maniac]

Great looking rig you put together! Can't wait to see some groceries on her. Nice pics .
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RF Smoker
20" disc
uds

[dhal22]

Awesome! Very well done.