The idea was to build as cheaply as possible a BBQ smoker. I wanted something that I could do a whole hog on or just cook some weekend goodies. I also wanted something unique, different, conversation piece, but functional. My material hunt started with finding a tank to make the cooker out of. It didn't take long and I found one. The next step was to build a firebox to heat this tank. I soon discovered steel prices were approaching gold prices :-) Plan B was now in effect. I had to find another tank to make a firebox out of. After several weeks I found one for sale and bought it for about 1/10 the cost of steel to build one. Once I got it home and started looking at what I had I came up with an idea. I would mount one horizontal and one vertical. Part of the vertical would be the firebox and part would be a vertical cooker. So, now I had both the cook chamber and a firebox for far less than buying new steel and I recycled. The only thing left to do was to start building it.
Here I am about to start sampling some goodies off the smoker.
First a safety warning. I used old propane tanks for my cook chamber and firebox. Propane is VERY dangerous. You should seek a professional to render the tank safe for construction. Do not attempt this yourself.
Here I am about to start sampling some goodies off the smoker.
First a safety warning. I used old propane tanks for my cook chamber and firebox. Propane is VERY dangerous. You should seek a professional to render the tank safe for construction. Do not attempt this yourself.
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Signing UpStep 1: Door cut outs
After you get your tank back from the professional who rendered it safe, you should mark and cut out your doors. Measure around the tank and divide by 4 to get the dimension for 1/4 of the tank. You will want to mark and cut your doors to be approximately 1/4 th of the tank. This will give you a good opening for your cook racks. Mark the door/doors with a colored Sharpie using a level as required to get a nice straight and level line at top and bottom. I use a fabric tape for drawing the vertical lines for the door as it will wrap around the curvature of the tank.
The door/doors design is a personal choice. Mark and cut whatever you feel will work best for you. I elected to make two larger doors with the little door in the middle (shown cut out in this pic) so that my cook racks could be one piece, slide out, and I would have room to place a whole hog in it without fighting to wiggle it in and around a center piece.
A word of warning here. Don't be surprised if when you cut the tank things warp a bit. This is normal and not your fault. There are ways of correcting this that I won't go into now.
Once you have your doors marked you can cut them out with and acetylene torch, plasma cutter, hand grinder with cut-off wheels, or a sawzall with metal cutting blades. I have also known people to cut them out with a circular saw with a metal cutting blade. I prefer to cut with a some sort of saw as the gap is less in the cut and I don't cut a very straight line with a torch and can't afford a plasma cutter.
Another tip is to not completely cut out your door. Leave some materiel in the corners and middle of the top and bottom of the doors to keep the tank in alignment for as long as possible. You will go back and make the final cut outs later.
The door/doors design is a personal choice. Mark and cut whatever you feel will work best for you. I elected to make two larger doors with the little door in the middle (shown cut out in this pic) so that my cook racks could be one piece, slide out, and I would have room to place a whole hog in it without fighting to wiggle it in and around a center piece.
A word of warning here. Don't be surprised if when you cut the tank things warp a bit. This is normal and not your fault. There are ways of correcting this that I won't go into now.
Once you have your doors marked you can cut them out with and acetylene torch, plasma cutter, hand grinder with cut-off wheels, or a sawzall with metal cutting blades. I have also known people to cut them out with a circular saw with a metal cutting blade. I prefer to cut with a some sort of saw as the gap is less in the cut and I don't cut a very straight line with a torch and can't afford a plasma cutter.
Another tip is to not completely cut out your door. Leave some materiel in the corners and middle of the top and bottom of the doors to keep the tank in alignment for as long as possible. You will go back and make the final cut outs later.
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I've just collected a 47kg Propane cyclinder, this one's destined for a biodiesel reactor, but the next couple will definitely be used for one of these.
Thanks so much for sharing this project and making it so clear, it's a real inspiration.
What's approximate thickness for propane canisters? My subdivision here in the Philippines is converting to Maynilad (City) Water by the end of the year.
Lots o' stainless tanks could be had on the cheap, methinks.
My perverse sense of humor seems to insist on naming the cylinders on this sort of incendiary device "Fat Man" and "Little Boy"
Clearly the combined apparatus would earn the moniker "Enola Gay" :D
I am serious about the stats on propane cylinders, though. I don't anticipate finding a salvageable LP cylinder easily, but the water tank could really rock..
Cheers,
Matthew Z
Thanks very much for taking the time and trouble.
Don't think water will avoid the explosion all together...Depends what is involved...Some products actually react with water.
My old employer back in RI told me once he removed the lid of a tank he supposed to weld an the tank was filled with water. He said the explosion made him almost crap on his pants when he landed on the floor on his but...When in doubt with unknown substances wash the tank well before doing stuff like like this and be very careful.
This tank welding procedure reminds me of another accident that resulted in the dead of the welder in a industrial setting in Portugal... the welder died when he was welding the lid of a bigger tank used to store a chemical component.
The explosion pushed the lid and the welder against the ceiling and the welder was crushed in the process....
Not sure if he had some common sense, but the truth is people sometimes get seriously injured and worse doing something that does not look dangerous.
Be very very careful girls and lads!!!!
1) You would need to create a least few hundred PSI to even trigger the pressure relief valve. All propane tanks have them. It's the law
2) Speaking of laws, look up "Charles's Law". You'll need a bonfire get a sealed tank, this size, full of air at zero-PSI to explode. .
3) Even if after pouring the water out, you screwed the plug back in the tank...
I'm pretty sure the hole you are cutting in the tank might let expanded air escape.