# Cooker



## Lordbeezer (Apr 26, 2018)

Finished another cooker Monday.went to a new home Tuesday.working on a forge burner now


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## Al 1 (Apr 26, 2018)

Lordbreezer,   That is a nice looking cooker.  What kink of wood or fuel do you use? Al


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## markba633csi (Apr 26, 2018)

Great looking cooker Phil- can you make me one? 
Mark


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## Lordbeezer (Apr 26, 2018)

Wood and or charcoal.has a tray that slides out for clean out..have built a few gas but try not to..yes Mark I'll build you one if you come get it..you can't send one of your east coast relatives..haha..


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## dlane (Apr 26, 2018)

Breezer, nice cooker is that an oil tank or did you roll plate that shape 
Used to build large cookers in TX using 500 gal propane tanks on axles 20yrs ago. 
I made this one for my own use, fire box lid opens w/ counterweight  , has grate for direct heat cookin, when closed cook on top steel .
Center is indirect heat , end is smoker 


All 1/4” plate , Heavy , Put solid forklift wheels under it , pulled it around with riding mower.
Wish I kept it , I’ve been saving up material for another one some day.


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## Lordbeezer (Apr 26, 2018)

Nice cooker you built..all ways to cook are covered..I use oil tanks.drums.its hard to find good ones.best ones are painted or coated with Kool Seal..its hell to get off.heat and paint stripper.


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## dlane (Apr 27, 2018)

Ya I got carried away a little, for a home cooker, brisket, pork chops, drunk chicken was perfect . 
Heat it up really hot till paint comes off , then repair/repaint outside,and season inside.


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## Eddyde (Apr 27, 2018)

Nice cooker! I nominated it for Project of the Month.


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## Z2V (Apr 27, 2018)

Nice cooker. Perfect size for family GTG back yard BBQ.


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## dlane (Apr 27, 2018)

Z2V said:


> Nice cooker. Perfect size for family GTG back yard BBQ.


Z2V , I used to build cookers , branding irons ,gates , and whatever in Jonestown TX lived there 25yrs kinda wish I never left. Lake Travis was nice.


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## Z2V (Apr 27, 2018)

dlane said:


> Z2V , I used to build cookers , branding irons ,gates , and whatever in Jonestown TX lived there 25yrs kinda wish I never left. Lake Travis was nice.


Yes, Travis is nice and Jonestown is still a laid back small rural town.
So, you went from Texas to California, it’s usually the other way around. LOL


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## Silverbullet (Apr 27, 2018)

Great looking job. I'm planning on making a cooker out of two semi trailer rims , there heavy as heck. Figure it'll cook like the green egg cookers. I had about forty at one time but kept two of the best for the build. I like your build too.


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## dlane (Apr 27, 2018)

Can’t PM you but , went from Cali 1981 to Tucson 7yrs, to Jonestown 25yrs, to Polk Co. Arkansas 10yrs, back in Cali 2 yrs.


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## Downunder Bob (Apr 29, 2018)

A couple of nice looking cookers.

Your offset smoker style cookers are new to us here in downunder. While we have a long proud history of BBQ style cooking, it usually is direct grilling, with either hot plate or grill bars, Weber style bbq's were popular here for a while.

We like to use charcoal, but in many areas we have to use gas (propane) in the summer because of bushfire risk. It's actually illegal to have an open fire at these times. even an offset is classed as an open fire.

the offset style are rapidly becoming popular, and I recently bought a cheap chinese one (I call it the junk). Now that I have found I like it I have started to make one. Suitable gas tanks are very hard to come by here as we can't own the large ones only rent from the gas co. The largest ones we can own are 9kg (20lb) that we call bbq gas bottles. and they are too small, although ok for the offset fire box on a small cooker.

However there is a small black market in used tanks from cars, and I have managed to obtain one that is about 14"dia x 90" long, about 60 gall, a little small, but I think usable.

i guess i should take some pics and post them.


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## cg285 (Apr 30, 2018)

Downunder Bob said:


> Now that I have found I like it I have started to make one.



if you  are going to make one consider putting the stack next to the firebox. to accomplish that you need a sub floor in the tank. cooks much more evenly that way.


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## Downunder Bob (Apr 30, 2018)

cg285 said:


> if you  are going to make one consider putting the stack next to the firebox. to accomplish that you need a sub floor in the tank. cooks much more evenly that way.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I have thought of that, but I'm concerned that it's a bit small to do it that way only 14"dia. I would also have to remove floor when direct grilling which I tend to do as often if not more than smoking. If I can source a larger tank I might try one that way. It's all new to me, this is my first one.


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## Lordbeezer (Apr 30, 2018)

Pick up a hot water heater..bigger the better..


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## Downunder Bob (May 1, 2018)

Lordbeezer said:


> Pick up a hot water heater..bigger the better..



Most hot water heaters here are either copper tank or glass lined steel. The copper ones are the right shape. but not suitable, the steel ones are usually long and skinny and almost always rusted out, but keeping my eyes open, also looking for compressed air tanks some are the right shape and size but often still in use or rusted out.


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## Lordbeezer (May 1, 2018)

Most of time when a heater or air tank rust out its only a small hole.you can shorten a long tank..here we have lowboy water heaters.fits in a low area.short and fat..makes a good grill.wish I could find a copper tank..make a good "cooker".. A holding tank for a well make a good cooker after the bladder is out..


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## dlane (May 1, 2018)

Copper ? ========= still


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## Downunder Bob (May 1, 2018)

dlane said:


> Copper ? ========= still



We don't do that here. Copper is way too expensive to use as a cooker, copper hot water systems almost never fail, and if they do the copper is worth a lot even in the scrap market, so you can never get one. Scrap dealers here will not sell to the general public. Besides too hard to weld.


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## Lordbeezer (May 1, 2018)

Still....of course not...that would be illegal..


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## Old Mud (May 2, 2018)

The older Rheem oil fired units  have copper nickle tanks.


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## Downunder Bob (May 2, 2018)

Lordbeezer said:


> Still....of course not...that would be illegal..



It surely is and we don't have the moonshine culture here like in the appalachians. Had some pretty nice shine last time I was there.


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## Downunder Bob (May 2, 2018)

Old Mud said:


> The older Rheem oil fired units  have copper nickle tanks.


 we don't have them, just plain copper in gravity fed types gas or electric. also solar, and glass lined steel in mains pressure units. Most new installations are instantaneous ones with Stainless steel heat exchangers.


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## dlane (May 2, 2018)

The small one in the pic , the rounds came from a gas station canopy they were building , 
I got the cutoffs 18” Id x1/4” free
The 1/4” plate from a indoor shooting range they were tareing down , free 
The rest of the material I had laying around.


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