One Big Ball!!!

[cnote]

Well here she is! Aint she a beauty!!!

I was looking for a tank to make a smoker out of,,and ran across this. For $75.00 I figured what the heck! Its 42" in diameter,, way too big for my needs. So just slappin a firebox on her and calling it done is not an option.
All ive ever used was a vertical smoker, a New Braunfels Bandera. So i think i wanna go vertical with it. The dilema is how to convert this big egg into a reverse flow vertical smoker. Ive got a concept in mind,,,but ill need y'alls help to make sure it works,,,,or to just simply tell me im out of my mind!
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[Richtee]

Hmmm looks familiar...

http://www.smoked-meat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1548

[Mark R]

Well, you are out of your mind....but so what! Get after it!
Yea gunny started one of those, don't know what happened or if!

[Meat Hunter]

Man there is a guy down the road here with 3 of them, just sitting there. And he won't part with them.

It's just too cool not to make it into a smoker or grill.

Or, fill it with gun powder and a fuse, paint it red and save it for the 4th
I think Rich can make you up a special "Powder Cocktail" for it.....

[Richtee]

Or, fill it with gun powder and a fuse, paint it red and save it for the 4th
I think Rich can make you up a special "Powder Cocktail" for it.....

HEY! That was the formerly known as pyrotechnologist "Rich". Now known as "NO"

(Jeez, THAT would attract some attention. In the next county.)

[Mark R]

HEY! That was the formerly known as pyrotechnologist "Rich". Now known as "NO"

(Jeez, THAT would attract some attention. In the next State.)

[cnote]

It's just too cool not to make it into a smoker or grill.

I couldnt agree more,,,that why when I saw it I just had to have it. At the time I didnt have a clue how to turn it into a smoker. Heck,,,,Im still not sure
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[Slanted88]

Man...Get it all jacked up & get after it! Dern sure a butt/chicken gettin rig!

[Mark R]

Like this (from Gunny's thread)

[cnote]

Well, what i had in mind might be a bit more complicated than that. I realized early on that a 42" diameter smoker would have way too much square inches of rack space for me. Here's what my initial concepts looked like. Ive got a bit of a bad back,,,so I tried to raise the cooking chamber and door up so i dont have to bend over.



I thought maybe i could divide the body of the thing,,and make half of it a warming oven,,but eh,,,,just not into it i guess.



So im looking at this pic (apologies to the poster, i cant recall the name) of the vertical smoker concept. I never even heard of the reverse flow idea untill i joined this site. It just makes a whole lot of sense to me.

((((((EDIT:credit to BBQ Engineer for the vertical reverse flow drawing below)))))))






But could i make this big ball fit that concept? (Bear with me on this part.)So heres what ive come up with. Imagine if i were to cut out say an 18" vertical strip from the center of the ball,,then weld the two halves together,,,,lop off a section for the door,, and set that on top of a 16" piece of pipe as a base and firebox. Now ive got something like this.






At the very least ive got some rework to do on the opening for the door,,,,but we'll deal with that later. This gives me about a 24" depth from front to back. Much better. Now on to the reverse flow stuff. This is where i need you guys to keep me in check. What if i use the middle section that i removed from the ball, and used it to form ductwork inside the ball. With only a 24" depth,,,and the ductwork taking some of the width away,,, would something like this actually work???





So Mark R,,,do you still think im out of my mind??????

[Richtee]

I think it would work. That's one wild looking set-up for sure :{)

[Whisky Fish]

First off, do you know what it was used for originally? Remember Gasoline and diesle can go boom, even after they've been cleaned. Looks like it could've been an LPG but can't see any valves in your pic. Be careful makin sparks around that thing until you know it's safe. Looks like a fun project and your concept is very interesting.

[Richtee]

Looks like a fun project and your concept is very interesting.

Might have to call it the "Smokin' Eye" or something eh?

[Whisky Fish]

Might have to call it the "Smokin' Eye" or something eh?

Yeah Wasn't that the thing they dropped on Japan?
Maybe call it "The Nuke"

[cnote]

I appreciate your concern Whisky Fish, but i checked with the wife and my life insurance is paid up, so we're good. It was a propane tank,,still had some in it when i got it. Valves have been removed. I filled it full with water and drained that out. Ive read some stuff about cleaning it out with a bottle of dishsoap,,,but have also read that that will only mask the smell. Thats one topic we'll need to discuss more. Ive done alot of stupid things in my life,,,but rest assured ill be taking all the precautions i can on this one.

So far Richtee is the frontrunner in the "name this smoker" contest! Not to mention your emphatic "it might work" comment. Kinda like this guy>> Just kidding,,,, im considering that a positive vote. I wont even pretend to think im an expert at designing nor cooking. Negative comments wont hurt me,,,however spending a lot of time and effort on this thing only to produce charcoal or mush will suck the wind out of my sails pretty quickly.
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