The response to that heat management post was incredible – thank you. Many of you asked about my builds, so here's the 250-gallon reverse flow that started it all.
Few years back, shopping for a new smoker. Nothing had exactly what I wanted after 40+ years of cooking. Found a 250-gallon propane tank on Marketplace. Drove 3 hours to get it. Started building exactly what I wanted. I got some additional pics up now – here https://postimg.cc/gallery/SctVLNn
What makes this different:
- Main Chamber 250 Gallon Tank – Firebox is 30 x 24 x 24 with 1" insulation – 2nd cook chamber 30 x 24 x 42 with removable shelfs, Sausage hooks, Live Fire if I want to do a hotter cook at the same time and damper from main chamber for smoke.
- 1" firebox insulation – Northeast winters don't mess around
- Removable ash trays (16ga) – Slide out, dump, done
- Dual stacks with dampers – Full throttle when lighting, controlled when cooking
- Quarter-inch plate throughout – Holds 225-230 rock steady
- Live Fire / Smoke Oven over the Firebox
- Counterweight doors – Full access for massive cooks
- 3500# Axle sitting on 15" Wheels
I've built my entire life. The welder was just another tool to master. Every weld is solid.
First cook blew my mind: 8 pork butts, 12 racks of ribs, 100+ jalapeño poppers, mac and cheese, baked beans. Fed a huge crowd. Temperature never wavered.
That cook changed everything. When your equipment works WITH you instead of against you, you can focus on what matters – the food, the people, the experience. I'm out there every weekend now, trying new techniques, pushing what this thing can do.
I purposely ordered an extra sheet of steel. That became a Santa Maria grill that completely changed how I approach live fire. Follow along – that story is next.
What's the one thing your current smoker makes you fight with?
by nybbqguys
12 Comments
Build photos and cook shots coming. Happy to answer questions about specific features or the build process. Here you go – these should work – good start. [https://postimg.cc/gallery/SctVLNn](https://postimg.cc/gallery/SctVLNn)
What I wouldn’t do for a Smoker like that. That is a thing of beauty man!
Very nice and congrats a something that looks very well built!
Fantastic build my man. I have a 500 gallon tank that I bought a couple years ago that has sat while I figure out the time and space to build it out. Life gets in the way, but I’m determined to get to it.
(On a side note, a 500 gallon propane tank is a HUGE pita to move around. It pulls a cherry picker over (that was a fun night). I had to build a gantry crane just to handle the thing.)
U could half scale that entire rig and it would be absolutely perfect for us backyard peeps. That thing is sized for like a professional catering rig! I’d love a pic of it fully loaded and chugging along!
Thanks for the love on my heat management post!
Check the album [https://postimg.cc/gallery/SctVLNn] – pic 3 shows a simple ash tray mod ANYONE can do, pic 5 is what consistent 225°F gets you.
Here’s the thing – we ALL fight temperature swings. I learned the hard way that steel thickness matters, but there are workarounds for ANY setup.
What’s the worst thing your rig throws at you?
I like it! Well Done.
I would move that lower smoke stack to the far left and paint that thing to look like a steam locomotive but I really like steam engines. 🤣
What’s with all the hyphens? This looks very cool, I hope its not more AI
That is a thing of beauty!
And here I sit with a 2/3 done UDS sitting in my garage for 2+ years…I should wrap that thing up! (And free up quite a bit of garage space…)
That is a thing of beauty.
Damn that is sweet
Epic. There was a time in my life where I would have been so jealous. I just don’t cook for that many people anymore. Really awesome rig