Insulated R/F Offset Build

[overspiceddave]

For a 44 thats a bloody masterpiece.

Great job

Dave

[JRIZI]

Ok just to annoy everyone a bit more i will add more pics as i continue to adjust and tinker with my new toy, as no project is ever really "finished"
Theres always room for improvement and on that note here are my latest additions to the design
As i mentioned before i always intended on using this as a wood fired pizza oven with a baking steel instead of a stone aswell as a smoker so when i was at the metal yard last time i spotted a nice peice of steel 10mm thick that looked perfect so i got a 500x500 square of that and put it aside until now (mostly because it was rusty and i couldnt be bothered grinding it back until now haha ) So i decided to make some handles up and weld them on and grind it all back and season it while i was dry run testing the unit to see how high i could get the temp to do quick pizza.





So all welded and most of the grinding back done


Handles are on a slight up tilt to make it easier to pick up this Heavy As F*** Plate!


Second coating of oil spray while seasoning the plate


Trying out a bigger load of fuel and vents wide open to get higher temps


While i was Waiting for the temp to rise i decided to put some hooks on the back to hold some of the tools and the firebox grill grate when not in use. I just drilled holes down into the top wood paling just big enough to fit some standard steel hooks


All in all was a good run, Baffle in place and lids closed it got up to about 350*c in the main chamber with just the fire in the side firebox going but i will experiment further with maybe taking out the baffle and putting a small fire in the main chamber instead or aswell as the firebox to see how hot she will get! Hopefully some nice smokey food to come aswell! Cheers Jesse

[Commander Cody]

just keep a watch on the fire in the the cooking chamber................

you don't want a grease fire to undo all your brilliance......

really like your work................no REALLY.......

kevin

[JRIZI]

Ok cheers Kev, i'll keep that in mind if i do try it out that way

Just a quick question also, Would the fire in the side FB burn hotter if i left the FB door open or would it lose too much heat straight out that side as opposed to running through the unit?

Either way looks like its time to crank it up again this weekend for another run!
Cheers Jesse

[urbangriller]

A trial will tell you that Jesse,

But typically, you want the air to come in under the fire so it travels through the fire core and into the smoker, you get the most efficient and clean burn and that is what you are looking for.

Cheers
Chris

[Commander Cody]

i don't think that you will lose heat that way at all.

the open ( not fully ) door will draw in co2 and really get it going....

although i have read on the LANG forum, that..............to cool things down quick to open the fire box door, i cannot see how that works, because you are co2inating the fire. i would think the best way to drop your heat quick would be to open the cooking chamber and damper down.

have fun with the seasoning of a fantastic reverse flow.

kevin

[JRIZI]

Cheers Chris thats what i was thinking aswell, Just didnt want to waste a bunch of wood finding out if i could avoid it! Will let you know how it works out.

[urbangriller]

I know the butterfly is the most common firebox vent and relatively simple to build, but what I don't like about them is they let air in at the top as well as the bottom.

Chris

[JRIZI]

Yeah i had no idea about any of that i just liked the look of it So i might see if i can make up a cover for the top vent and see how much difference that makes.
The firebox door doesnt sit very flush either probably about a 3mm gap at the top but is pretty good all the rest of the way around so i might have a look at that aswell.
Cheers Jesse

[urbangriller]

I don't think it's that big a deal, nor are a few gaps.....there are millions of them built just like that!...it's just that better control comes from the incoming air being under the fire.

and sometimes, sexy is better than control!

Chris

[2browndogs]

This is such an EPIC thread

[chris25]

Just WOW you have given me so many ideas because i am looking at building one

THIS IS A WORK OF ART

[JRIZI]

Cheers lads,
Building it was one thing but learning to control it is a much harder challenge i have found.
It looks like i will be doing a few mods to it tomorrow as i have a few ideas that may help in my quest for great Que

And i think your onto something Chris, not once when i was researching firebox designs did i find info on where the vents in the door should be positioned relative to the fire grate So i Raised the grate till it was pretty close to the middle of my round vent height and used a piece of scrap metal to block off the top vent and then running with the bottom vent bits wide open i noticed a massive difference in temp stability. So i will go back to the drawing board and make some more permanent mods to it so it works perfectly. Kind of hard to describe but pics to follow soon. And btw its not like im not turning out awesome food out of this in the meantime because its like a magic black box, Put in some raw meat and pull out some of the best meats i have ever had anywhere! But i would like it to be a bit less tricky to operate if that makes sense.

[urbangriller]

And i think your onto something Chris, not once when i was researching firebox designs did i find info on where the vents in the door should be positioned relative to the fire grate So i Raised the grate till it was pretty close to the middle of my round vent height and used a piece of scrap metal to block off the top vent and then running with the bottom vent bits wide open i noticed a massive difference in temp stability. So i will go back to the drawing board and make some more permanent mods to it so it works perfectly. Kind of hard to describe but pics to follow soon. And btw its not like im not turning out awesome food out of this in the meantime because its like a magic black box, Put in some raw meat and pull out some of the best meats i have ever had anywhere! But i would like it to be a bit less tricky to operate if that makes sense.

Yes, I think it's interesting because almost all offsets are made with that butterfly design air vent (and it looks great). But when I think about a Kettle, Cabinet smoker, Kamado, rocket stove etc, they all have the air intake under the fire so the air goes through the fire from the bottom, not across the top of it..Bringing the air in from under the fire increases the control and makes the burn cleaner.

Cheers
Chris

[rotten]

Great work mate. I thought of your beast while while cooking on the uds tonight.

Mmmm, could I build one of those?

Thumbs up again for you