tmcmellon
Member
I acquired this tank from my work over two years ago, and decided at the beginning of this summer it was time to start building it. I had always wanted to use an air tank as they have a much thicker wall than an oil tank. This one is 5/32 thick.
I had it all drawn up in solidworks, but when a 52" square steel table showed up at work with a piece of equipment bought at an auction, the design started to be violated.
I cut the legs off and shortened the height to make the door of the cooker at the right height.
I kept to my original design to put the heat source in the rear instead of the bottom. This would require a rotisserie
I found a wood stove in my state that was the perfect size for $50. I cut the back out of it and made a duct to transition to the back of the cooking tank. I welded a 3/16 thick piece of expanded metal in the opening to prevent wood or charcoal from rolling into the cooking chamber.
I have been working on the rotisserie for the last week or so. It's all 304 Stainless. I made bronze saddles and added adjustments in all axis's so I could align the coupling after I welded the mounts in place.
The rotisserie frame will have two pieces of stainless expanded metal (not shown) on the front and back with locking screws that will hold the meat sandwiched between them.
I found a 115 v gear motor that had an output rpm of 4.1 on Craigslist for $125. I want half that, so I am doing it with the pulleys.
I am building an expanded metal box to put in the wood stove so I can use lump charcoal as a heat source which I think will be easier to control a steady heat.
This project has taken over my entire summer. It's a lot more work than it looks like. Grinding the epoxy paint off the tank took many hours to do.
I hope to finish the drive system for the rotisserie this weekend and put some heat to it to see if the rotisserie still spins when the whole mess heats up.
I have a good deal of experience cooking pigs. I lived in San Diego for almost 20 years. I had a pit in my front yard that was eight x eight x 9 ft deep. I had a steel frame around the opening with steel doors. The soil was decomposed granite and was as hard as it sounds, I have only cooked a pig once above ground and I am sure there is going to be a learning curve and or failures.
I am hoping that I can use this to cook with radiant heat or double as a smoker. I would like hear from people with more experience than me with this type of cooking.
I wish I could have found a larger tank so I could do a full size pig!!
I had it all drawn up in solidworks, but when a 52" square steel table showed up at work with a piece of equipment bought at an auction, the design started to be violated.
I cut the legs off and shortened the height to make the door of the cooker at the right height.
I kept to my original design to put the heat source in the rear instead of the bottom. This would require a rotisserie
I found a wood stove in my state that was the perfect size for $50. I cut the back out of it and made a duct to transition to the back of the cooking tank. I welded a 3/16 thick piece of expanded metal in the opening to prevent wood or charcoal from rolling into the cooking chamber.
I have been working on the rotisserie for the last week or so. It's all 304 Stainless. I made bronze saddles and added adjustments in all axis's so I could align the coupling after I welded the mounts in place.
The rotisserie frame will have two pieces of stainless expanded metal (not shown) on the front and back with locking screws that will hold the meat sandwiched between them.
I found a 115 v gear motor that had an output rpm of 4.1 on Craigslist for $125. I want half that, so I am doing it with the pulleys.
I am building an expanded metal box to put in the wood stove so I can use lump charcoal as a heat source which I think will be easier to control a steady heat.
This project has taken over my entire summer. It's a lot more work than it looks like. Grinding the epoxy paint off the tank took many hours to do.
I hope to finish the drive system for the rotisserie this weekend and put some heat to it to see if the rotisserie still spins when the whole mess heats up.
I have a good deal of experience cooking pigs. I lived in San Diego for almost 20 years. I had a pit in my front yard that was eight x eight x 9 ft deep. I had a steel frame around the opening with steel doors. The soil was decomposed granite and was as hard as it sounds, I have only cooked a pig once above ground and I am sure there is going to be a learning curve and or failures.
I am hoping that I can use this to cook with radiant heat or double as a smoker. I would like hear from people with more experience than me with this type of cooking.
I wish I could have found a larger tank so I could do a full size pig!!
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