BBQ pit pictures

[fatfrank]

Ok I've found the cord to hook my camera into my computer and I am going to attempt to post a few pic's of my BBQ's. Keep in mind I'm a rookie-hobby welder and I am not posting these to show off my great beads or wonderful fabrication skills.

With that in mind, I do welcome any and all comments/suggestions on how to improve my welding or fabrication skills.

I was dark when I took the pics of the trailer pit and I'm not the best photographer

[fatfrank]

Ok here is a verticle BBQ that I built from scratch using 1 inch square tubing and double walled with 14 gauge sheet metal. It is insulated with ceramic fiber insulation.

[arcdawg]

nice work, im getting hungry just thinking about some good ole bbq. so when are you going to make one out of stainless?

[fatfrank]

Here is one with the doors open. It holds 4 20X24 racks. It will cook atleast 8-15lb briskets which will feed 100-150 people. I have the doors sealed with a high temperature tadpole gasketing which is mounted with rivets and high temperature adhesive.

As you can see, I just got it functional and started using it. I am now in the process of grinding down the welds and sanding the rust etc. getting ready for paint.

[fatfrank]

Here is the picture for the above post. I forgot to attach it to the previous message and couldn't figure out how to edit the message to put it in.

[Trevor]

nice keep em coming you could have it sandblasted
heres the one i built

[Trevor]

oops wrong pic thats the worlds largest pit heres mine

[fatfrank]

Hey Trevor, I have seen the undisputable Cuz, it was in town for the grand opening of a home improvement store here in Wichita Falls, TX maybe 10-15 years ago. It is really impressive in person. Noticed your webber chimney starter, I have one identical.

I am just using an angle grinder with flap discs on it to get the rust off, now I just got to figure a way to get the deep swirl marks off the bare metal now.

[Trevor]

get some finer flap wheels or and 4 1/2 inch braided wire wheels work good too

[Craig S.]

How about 3M roloc scotch brite pads on a die grinder. They come in different grits, color coded. Work fast, not real cheap. A box of 25 red 3 inch pads was about $45 from the body shop supply store. They call them "surface preparation disc"

Small starter sets, with arbors are available at the home store.
BTW There are 36 grit grinding disc that fit the same arbor, great for more material removal.

[Ssouth]

here's a pic of one I built 3 years ago. it's the vertical one in the background

[Ssouth]

here is close-up with door open. We were at a local BBQ competition. The night before we cooked 2- 15# shoulders, 2- 8# butts, 1- 7# brisket, 10- chicken halves, and 10 slabs of ribs. Everything was just coming off.

[fatfrank]

Ssouth, looks like you need to build a trailer around that thing. Is it a pain in the butt to haul around. I also think going vertical is the way to go when building a BBQ pit. Not sure why you see so many people building them long and skinny. I guess everyone just likes to copy the old time oilfield worker design.

[Ssouth]

FatFrank, yes it does need to be on a trailer. It has wheels, which can't be seen in the pics. The wheels stink. I have a small trailer that I may try to mount it on the summer.

[cutter]

Mighty good looking work, Frank.
I assume you must have found a way to sell a few of those
beasts?

[fatfrank]

Cutter,

No, I haven't sold any. Thinking about selling the ones I am working on just so the wife won't gripe about me spending all her shoping money on metal and more tools. Not even real sure the best way to try and sell them. Maybe ebay?

[cutter]

Shipping is always the problem with large items on ebay, Frank.
I shy away from bulky/heavy things because of it. So I just figured you
were selling them locally, cash & carry since you seem to do so many of them.
Maybe make a deal with a local home & garden store, a nursery or some place
like that?

[Sticky]

Frank

How do you prevent ashes from getting on meat when smoking? I want to build a smoker sometime down the line this spring and would like any construction layouts for the seperation of firebox to meat side. Do you recamend any kind of screen or mesh in there, or long tube?. I currently have a cheap brinkman that is ready for the trash.

[fatfrank]

Say Sticky,

I really don't think ash is a problem, just adds a little flavor :).
I don't use any kind of mesh or tube or anything like that. I think in every barbecue pit or grill has ashes floating around in it and it doesn't adversely affect the flavor of the meat. I just try not to stir them up too much when adding more wood. Now I do have a couple of 1/4 inch plates in the bottom to hold a water pan which helps get even temperature and add moisture to the cooking chamber.

I think there may be some confusion of what your seeing in the photo. In the photo of the trialer pit, there is 2 seperate cooking chambers. One chamber has a firebox that is set down and to the right. This is the side that is pretty much finished and has the round top. The other cooking chamber is on the left side with no top on it yet. This side will not have a firebox added because I will put coals in the bottom of this section directly below the meat being cooked. If the weather ever clears, I will continue working on it and get more photos of the inside if you like.

[mcentyre]

What is the thickness of the material you are using? Any reinforcement?

[fatfrank]

Mcentyre,
The trailer pit is made of 1/4 inch plate and 1/4 in thick pipe. No, I didn't use any reinforcement.