halo1

I am currently in the design phase of building a custon smoker similar to the design of a small backwoods smoker...Basically a well insulated 3 ft by 4 foot box with either an internal firepit or external firebox(any thoughts on external or internal are more then welcome). Im going to have heat baffles, so there hopefully wont be hot spots but my question is what gauge metal should I be using and how do I insulate it so this baby can cook low and slow for LONG extended cooks???.. I dont wont it to0 heavy because I want it to be easy for 2 people to transport to our competitions.I would like it at 130 -140pds or less.Im on a BBQ team and we are doing our 1st FBA professional bbq competition in July in Live Oak and I am not transporting my BGE that far.. .Thanks !!!

drifterfisher

I would make it with 2 fire boxes,internal and external.Is money an issue? I ask this because for longevity I would use stainless steel sheet metal,12-10ga.As for insulation I would use double walls with duroc in between.And one more tip,cook some stuff(cheap hamburger) a few times before you go to the cook off.I build smokers and grills on the side,these aren't guess's.Good luck!

One more thing a well insulated cooker won't be light...use solid wheel barrow wheels.

An external fire box will cook slower than the internal one,but when your running out of time its nice to be able to turn up the heat so to speak with the internal box.

And think over kill on breathing adjustment,you cant have to much adjustabilty.

halo1

Thanks for the info..Im wanting to keep it under 800.00..over that and the big green egg or my new 1911 will have will have to be sold.. I can even go smaller if need be.... I'm cooking either 4 butts or 6 racks of spareribs so I dont need a larger one( I would like a slightly bigger one though) also I have a digi-q to help with airflow..How much do you think it would weigh and cost aprox ?? And will this thing have any resale value when I get ready to build a bigger one ?

drifterfisher

Weight would be 250-300#'s for a 3'x3'x4' insulated.Non-insulated would be about half that.You have an egg? not much of a pitguy eh? Those things work great for lets say un professional grillers. When you have a custom smoker you can blow the doors off an egg.Nuff ribbin.
If your only cooking 4 butts OR 6 racks,you could get by with a 2x2x3,but it would be tight.And an external FB is a must when you get that small.
There is a small market for resale,it has to be in excellent condition though,and you have to wait for the right buyer.I build one or two a year.