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I lost the part 2 post of my freezer build in the smf crash. I was going to repost and thought why not here :).
Actually it would be pretty cool if Ken could make a nice spot just for homebuilds. Just a suggestion
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I like looking at what others come up with, so here is mine :).
Started out as an old upright freezer. It has a side firebox for charcoal, a 1500W electric element and digital PID controller. Theory here is like a hybrid car, the charcoal does the primary heating. The element takes over to maintain temps as the charcoals die down. Toss more charcoal in and as the heat rises the element shuts back down again until needed. I get 3 hrs @ 240 on a basket of charcoal alone, much longer with the element helping out.
Outside dimensions are 51"H x 24"W x 24"D. The inside dimensions are 40"H x 20"W x 22"D.
5 cooking racks and 1 water pan rack. Racks are 20" x 21". This gives 2100 sqin of usable cooking area.
Aluminum interior and exterior. Got a good deal on scrap yard sheets of 3x8x.062. Everything is pretty much riveted together, 2" of fiberglass insulation all around. All the aluminum is cut with a table saw and shaped with 2x4 and hammer technology
I forgot to take a few pics before tearing into things. I did have to remove the metal liner to remove the foam, what a PITA that stuff was. Got her cleaned out and started getting the outer skin on. The scrap yard aluminum sheets are not the prettiest, but they were cheap. I ended up burning out the leftover foam residue after chunking out the bulk of it.
It was easier to build the interior first and then drop it in. Tried it out for size and it fits pretty well with a two inch gap all around.
I used 2" aluminum angle to support the interior and give me space for the insulation. I riveted smaller pieces of angle to the 2" for attaching to the box.
Filled in the walls with R13 insulation, 2" thickness. The plain old pink stuff should handle 850F according to some data sheets I found.
The electronics were getting mounted under the bottom, so ran my TC wire under the insulation before putting in the liner. I also cut some access holes for the vent stack, TC and element. Here is the liner getting shoehorned in. Had to use some scrap pieces to hold the insulation in place.
Used some 2" aluminum angle for the front gasket seal surface.
Mounted the firebox, stack and started building out the inside shelves. Brackets are 1.5" aluminum angle. Stack is a rolled and riveted scrap piece of aluminum.
Stripped out the door and rebuilt. I used some small aluminum blocks for spacers between the inner and outer door. The gasket is a soft silicon rubber cord held on with Hi-Temp Permatex gasket adhesive.
Door mounted.
I wanted the shelves easy to clean, plus I can't weld :). So I made the support brackets removable and a piece of expanded metal drops in on top. The removable cross pieces can also double as hangers if needed. The support bars drop into tab cutouts so they stay in place.
Mounted the heater and electronics. Made the pull out drip pan out of scrap aluminum and braised the corners with some Alumaloy rod. Added some drip deflectors to make sure everything ends up in the drip pan.
Adjustable damper on the stack.
Made a platform out of PT 2x4's, dressed out in aluminum and added some wheels.
Ready to go
First rib smoke on her
.
Thanks for looking at my new toy.
Actually it would be pretty cool if Ken could make a nice spot just for homebuilds. Just a suggestion
.I like looking at what others come up with, so here is mine :).
Started out as an old upright freezer. It has a side firebox for charcoal, a 1500W electric element and digital PID controller. Theory here is like a hybrid car, the charcoal does the primary heating. The element takes over to maintain temps as the charcoals die down. Toss more charcoal in and as the heat rises the element shuts back down again until needed. I get 3 hrs @ 240 on a basket of charcoal alone, much longer with the element helping out.
Outside dimensions are 51"H x 24"W x 24"D. The inside dimensions are 40"H x 20"W x 22"D.
5 cooking racks and 1 water pan rack. Racks are 20" x 21". This gives 2100 sqin of usable cooking area.
Aluminum interior and exterior. Got a good deal on scrap yard sheets of 3x8x.062. Everything is pretty much riveted together, 2" of fiberglass insulation all around. All the aluminum is cut with a table saw and shaped with 2x4 and hammer technology
I forgot to take a few pics before tearing into things. I did have to remove the metal liner to remove the foam, what a PITA that stuff was. Got her cleaned out and started getting the outer skin on. The scrap yard aluminum sheets are not the prettiest, but they were cheap. I ended up burning out the leftover foam residue after chunking out the bulk of it.
It was easier to build the interior first and then drop it in. Tried it out for size and it fits pretty well with a two inch gap all around.
I used 2" aluminum angle to support the interior and give me space for the insulation. I riveted smaller pieces of angle to the 2" for attaching to the box.
Filled in the walls with R13 insulation, 2" thickness. The plain old pink stuff should handle 850F according to some data sheets I found.
The electronics were getting mounted under the bottom, so ran my TC wire under the insulation before putting in the liner. I also cut some access holes for the vent stack, TC and element. Here is the liner getting shoehorned in. Had to use some scrap pieces to hold the insulation in place.
Used some 2" aluminum angle for the front gasket seal surface.
Mounted the firebox, stack and started building out the inside shelves. Brackets are 1.5" aluminum angle. Stack is a rolled and riveted scrap piece of aluminum.
Stripped out the door and rebuilt. I used some small aluminum blocks for spacers between the inner and outer door. The gasket is a soft silicon rubber cord held on with Hi-Temp Permatex gasket adhesive.
Door mounted.
I wanted the shelves easy to clean, plus I can't weld :). So I made the support brackets removable and a piece of expanded metal drops in on top. The removable cross pieces can also double as hangers if needed. The support bars drop into tab cutouts so they stay in place.
Mounted the heater and electronics. Made the pull out drip pan out of scrap aluminum and braised the corners with some Alumaloy rod. Added some drip deflectors to make sure everything ends up in the drip pan.
Adjustable damper on the stack.
Made a platform out of PT 2x4's, dressed out in aluminum and added some wheels.
Ready to go
First rib smoke on her
.Thanks for looking at my new toy
.
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