DIY BBQ Smokers - whos done em

[ThrottleThrow]

i really want to make a good DIY bbq smoker.

using the big drums does nothing as the steel has no heat retention.

anyone built any smokers that actually hold in the heat (sort of like the big green eggs or kamando bbq)

 

[frekeyguy]

ive seen the ones on tv be built with clay and brick....but they are used more like a oven/smoker though

 

[ThrottleThrow]

ya i want something portable. atleast able to move around the backyard

 

[crankcall]

there are literally hundreds of free designs on the interweb, we have built a half dozen at various times for amusement, the girls arent usually amused.
You dont need a big heat sink, thats why commercial smokers are just a sheet metal, its a slow cook over low heat with smoke.
My best was two clay flower pots with a grill shelf stuck in between, checking the product was really hard, I have one thats a 30gal steel trash can, its awesome, punched some holes and set rebar in to support the racks, the heater is a single burner hot plate from CTC for $18 that has a tin can of wood chips on it and a can of rum to infuse a great taste/smell, its totally getto, thats the appeal.
We made one out of an old refridgerator, it was huge and stupid, but the project cost $6.00 and we made 60lbs of ribs in one go.

simple is good, dont oversmoke the product, think flavour not ashtray. Its really hard to wreck a decent pork roast, start cheap and work your way up.

 

[RetroGrouch]

I've used my Weber Kettle to smoke and slow cook with very good results. Trick is to put the charcoals to one side and the meat on the other. Add wet cherry or apple wood smoke foil packets over charcoal for slower smoke release. Cover with top and let cook for hours.

 

[Dan Dubeau]

Here's mine



It's portable....If you've got a tractor.....

Next step is to build a trailer for it, but for now, it works great and nobody asks to borrow it.

 

[RockerGuy]

Here's mine



It's portable....If you've got a tractor.....

Next step is to build a trailer for it, but for now, it works great and nobody asks to borrow it.

That tractor must have some serious HP, look at the rear wheel on that thing :shock:

 

[Dan Dubeau]

That tractor must have some serious HP, look at the rear wheel on that thing :shock:

She's actually a relative lightweight in the tractor world. A 1963 Massey Ferguson MF35. Only 35 hp, and a really lightweight loader/slow hydraulics. I'm looking to replace her with something a little bigger/newer, as I'm starting to run into her limitations quite a bit now. Good tractor for plowing snow, cutting grass, and lifting the odd thing around here though.

 

[RockerGuy]

She's actually a relative lightweight in the tractor world. A 1963 Massey Ferguson MF35. Only 35 hp, and a really lightweight loader/slow hydraulics. I'm looking to replace her with something a little bigger/newer, as I'm starting to run into her limitations quite a bit now. Good tractor for plowing snow, cutting grass, and lifting the odd thing around here though.

how much torque?

 

[Dan Dubeau]

I googled a couple sites and came up with roughly 100ft/lbs at the crank. I don't know the accuracy of that #, but it sounds about right.

 

[RockerGuy]

I googled a couple sites and came up with roughly 100ft/lbs at the crank. I don't know the accuracy of that #, but it sounds about right.

I always thought they had more than that

 

[loyal.uvf]

MF274 with a MF236 loader is my vote for your next tractor..

 

[DaveOke]

She's actually a relative lightweight in the tractor world. A 1963 Massey Ferguson MF35. Only 35 hp, and a really lightweight loader/slow hydraulics. I'm looking to replace her with something a little bigger/newer, as I'm starting to run into her limitations quite a bit now. Good tractor for plowing snow, cutting grass, and lifting the odd thing around here though.

I have a 2011 Cash IH Farmall 80. Nice little tractor that pretty much does everything and a cab with air conditioning is nice. It's not overly expensive either. Highly recommended.

 

[Dan Dubeau]

MF274 with a MF236 loader is my vote for your next tractor..

Ya, that'd work. The 4WD would really come in handy in the winter, and the loader, well, it would get put to good use.

I have a 2011 Cash IH Farmall 80. Nice little tractor that pretty much does everything and a cab with air conditioning is nice. It's not overly expensive either. Highly recommended.

Pretty sure anything built in my lifetime is out of my price range at the moment. I'm relegated to older junk, and a cab would actually be a big hindrance to me when i'm bush hogging.

I like the little massey for bush hogging, as I've got a pretty hilly property and it's nice and stable, but I really need something with a good loader/bucket. I've been going round and round thinking about building my own loader for it, but at the end of the day the hydraulics just aren't up to it, and I don't want to go with a PTO pump, or front mount.

Also toying with the idea of keeping the massey and getting a loader/backhoe.