Home Grown Gravity Feed with Flameboss 500

[Dargo]

Had to build some short racks (3 of em') to set on top of my existing smoker grate. They need a little adjustment but allow me to smoke some pepper poppers, and corn along with meat on the regular rack. Once I get my GF done, I will have many more options.
Q-view attached of tonight's dinner on the santa- maria smoker!

I want to try those corn on the cobs smoked. I think I saw an earlier post of yours explaining your method. Going to try those.


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[Big T]

Dang it, now I'm hungry!

[tinspark]

Good thing you posted those pics! We all thought you were lie’n to us about that sweet spread! Looks so good man. So hungry ...

HAHA! if you're are braggin' the pics better not be laggin" lol!

[tinspark]

Had to build some short racks (3 of em') to set on top of my existing smoker grate. They need a little adjustment but allow me to smoke some pepper poppers, and corn along with meat on the regular rack. Once I get my GF done, I will have many more options.
Q-view attached of tonight's dinner on the santa- maria smoker!

I want to try those corn on the cobs smoked. I think I saw an earlier post of yours explaining your method. Going to try those.


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Really easy to do, almost a no brainer. Most guys here on the west coast bbq and just cook em directly over the fire and almost char the outside of the husks, but the inside turns out beautiful. When we go camping, we sometimes throw em' right next to the coal bed for a bit wrapped in foil along with taters.. easy-peasy

[tinspark]

Made slight progress today on my rogue GF, til my liner plugged ( liner in Mig whip) Aarg!. Hopefully I can fish the wire out somehow,
Tuesday is a long ways out since it is labor day holiday.. Man had to happen on a Saturday and a long holiday weekedn!!!... Oh well can TIG latches til then.
Remaking the discharge stack damper outa 1/4" I have it cut out in 1/8" and seems a little light.
Since I'm keeping this, I want no regrets..

[tinspark]

few more pics from the other day. 3M #90 spray glue was my bestie when i was insulating and kept things in while I skinned teh outside..
Also I posted a shot of the transfer tube with the removable cleanout discharge cover. Hopefully this will come in handy. Its a tight fit so most convection will go to the path of least resistance. and heat my transfer tube up. Also went extra wide on the tube for (what I am hoping) a really good heat sink and even temps. I think I might rework my slide out grate above the ash pan and build another one with 1/8" x1" vertical flat bars with 3/4" OC spacing. I have read here on several posts where the OP have experienced ash bridging on their removable ash grates similar to what I built. I can simply cut the existing 3/8" wide bars out (1/2" open space existing) install the new flat bars on edge which will/ should give ash much less surface to bridge across, and plug things up. Very important to keep that open to keep combustion air to the coals. Would be able to replace 1/8" bars easily in the future as needed as well. Thoughts??

[Dargo]

Made slight progress today on my rogue GF, til my liner plugged ( liner in Mig whip) Aarg!. Hopefully I can fish the wire out somehow,
Tuesday is a long ways out since it is labor day holiday.. Man had to happen on a Saturday and a long holiday weekedn!!!... Oh well can TIG latches til then.
Remaking the discharge stack damper outa 1/4" I have it cut out in 1/8" and seems a little light.
Since I'm keeping this, I want no regrets..

Very nice my friend. Looks like after the latches all you need are the racks. Looks like you are on track for your test burn.


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[Dargo]

few more pics from the other day. 3M #90 spray glue was my bestie when i was insulating and kept things in while I skinned teh outside..
Also I posted a shot of the transfer tube with the removable cleanout discharge cover. Hopefully this will come in handy. Its a tight fit so most convection will go to the path of least resistance. and heat my transfer tube up. Also went extra wide on the tube for (what I am hoping) a really good heat sink and even temps. I think I might rework my slide out grate above the ash pan and build another one with 1/8" x1" vertical flat bars with 3/4" OC spacing. I have read here on several posts where the OP have experienced ash bridging on their removable ash grates similar to what I built. I can simply cut the existing 3/8" wide bars out (1/2" open space existing) install the new flat bars on edge which will/ should give ash much less surface to bridge across, and plug things up. Very important to keep that open to keep combustion air to the coals. Would be able to replace 1/8" bars easily in the future as needed as well. Thoughts??

We cut out 3/4” slots in the fire grate. I shook the grate the first and second cook every few hours. For the third cook I only did it once and that was a 9-10 hour cook.

Next time I will try the whole cook with shaking it and see how it goes.

Looks like you used fiberglass insulation right?

By the way your welds look clean.

Looking very good, cannot wait to see the smoke and Q View.


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[tinspark]

Thanks for that Dargo, Much appreciated
No its not fiberglass, It might be ceramic? It did not make me itch like fiberglass does. will have to read the bag. Very dense though. Roxul?
It was too thick, so I clamped a few angles to a work bench at the right spacing between teh two angles. The angles were the thickness I needed, and sacrificed a 3/4" wide x 120" bandsaw blade which I cut down and used to saw it to the insulation to the correct thickness. That was certainly fun, but actually worked better than I thought it would.
Thanks on the welds. When I was in my 20's my eyes were much better, and I think I may even was a better welder then, and held as many weld certifications that my shop needed along the way. Might struggle to pass any nowadays, but kept all of my structural certs current tho.. Now 20 plus years later (ok maybe almost 30) I need to use cheater lenses because the weld pool disappears into a bright haze. Hard to read the weld pool when you cant even see it any more!
I put a pair of cheapie 99cent readers on and its all good again.
Gotta "dance with the devils eyeball" so they say. cant dance with it if I cant see it
(That's the molten weld pool that you pull along in other words, which makes teh stack of dimes effect..) Hate gettin' old.. HA!! too young to get the killer discounts yet tho:)
I have several other projects that I am working on besides this one. But I hope to steal away some time to finish it soon.

[Pete Mazz]

One the guys used angle iron for his fire grate. He positioned it so the cross section was an inverted "V". That made a lot of sense to me. Maybe he'll chime in if he sees this.

[Big T]

[tinspark]

Have also been thinking about doing linseed oil on the exterior of my GF as a possibility in lieu of paint, then adding trim on the edges (didn't weld outside skins continuously) Also thought trim would look cool. All gaskets and latches are done. Just need the cook grates, Have all materials and will likely get them done this week,,, Hopefully!
What do you guys think about linseed oil on the exterior instead of paint on a GF? Would pre-heat metal and apply with a sponge like on the video's.
This GF is a little different looking like Dargo's because of the exposed furnace, which I think is the coolest part of the smoker (IMO)
also included a few more shots of progress as of yesterday. Only a few miles from all of the crazy- Cali wildfires. Air quality is so bad, not supposed to be outside without a N-95 mask, Fortunately I have a few welding respirators, but I do not like working too long wearing them. Feel like a fish out of water some times. About ready to sell the house and move out of this state!

[dacolson]

So cool Tinspark. Love it. Stay safe out there.

[tinspark]

Thanks Dave. We'll do our best!.

[Dargo]

Have also been thinking about doing linseed oil on the exterior of my GF as a possibility in lieu of paint, then adding trim on the edges (didn't weld outside skins continuously) Also thought trim would look cool. All gaskets and latches are done. Just need the cook grates, Have all materials and will likely get them done this week,,, Hopefully!
What do you guys think about linseed oil on the exterior instead of paint on a GF? Would pre-heat metal and apply with a sponge like on the video's.
This GF is a little different looking like Dargo's because of the exposed furnace, which I think is the coolest part of the smoker (IMO)
also included a few more shots of progress as of yesterday. Only a few miles from all of the crazy- Cali wildfires. Air quality is so bad, not supposed to be outside without a N-95 mask, Fortunately I have a few welding respirators, but I do not like working too long wearing them. Feel like a fish out of water some times. About ready to sell the house and move out of this state!

Looking very good.

Did you make your stack from square tubing?

I have recently started to coat my offset with grape seed oil. They are painted black but look good with the coating once dry. I have not tried coating the firebox yet so I am not sure if it will stand the heat.

They are painted black and so the look is probably good partly because of that. Unless you want the plain metal look you would have to paint it first. I assume the coating will keep it from rusting and preserve the plan metal look, at least the CC.

I wonder how the firebox, ashbox, and chute would hold out though with only oil though.


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[tinspark]

Thanks Dargo,
The stack was made from plate steel that I have here in stock. Cut and welded it . I can dial in the stack size by fabricating it myself.
Also, by fabricating the discharge stack from plate I do not need to to run and source a short piece of pipe from a supplier. Lazy dudes find an easier way.. Also between a round vs. square discharge, "air don't care"...so they say, ha!

My guess is that the chute, and ash box will be fine, but the fire burner chamber is a blazing inferno, and may not do so well by just a coating with linseed oil. I am convinced that with a little ingenuity, someone could turn the furnace section of a GF into a coal forge as hot as these things get. haha!! just saying..
I have a week or two to play around with this thing and figure out what I want to actually do for a finish. It will never sit out in the rain but will be parked under one of my back patios.. I have a spot out back to paint with a pain gun here on site if I go that route, or could tap into a painter buddy to help, who owes me a few favors(I think I owe him a few too) cant keep track of that!!. I might just try the linseed on the burner section and see how it holds up during my test fire this week, then decide what I wanna do, Colors aren't my thing, and is more of a struggle The building part is easier for me!!

[Dargo]

Thanks Dargo,
The stack was made from plate steel that I have here in stock. Cut and welded it . I can dial in the stack size by fabricating it myself.
Also, by fabricating the discharge stack from plate I do not need to to run and source a short piece of pipe from a supplier. Lazy dudes find an easier way.. Also between a round vs. square discharge, "air don't care"...so they say, ha!

My guess is that the chute, and ash box will be fine, but the fire burner chamber is a blazing inferno, and may not do so well by just a coating with linseed oil. I am convinced that with a little ingenuity, someone could turn the furnace section of a GF into a coal forge as hot as these things get. haha!! just saying..
I have a week or two to play around with this thing and figure out what I want to actually do for a finish. It will never sit out in the rain but will be parked under one of my back patios.. I have a spot out back to paint with a pain gun here on site if I go that route, or could tap into a painter buddy to help, who owes me a few favors(I think I owe him a few too) cant keep track of that!!. I might just try the linseed on the burner section and see how it holds up during my test fire this week, then decide what I wanna do, Colors aren't my thing, and is more of a struggle The building part is easier for me!!

I just found out how much my short piece of pipe cost, so I think you made a good move there. That is kind of why I asked. Air will definitely not care as you say, only we care because of appearance. I actually have decided which I like better.

In my eyes one of the benefit of these is that you can use automotive paint on the CC and make it look good. If you do not like color a black with clear over it will look very nice, or if you like the fly green and orange it only has to look good to you.


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[tinspark]

Thanks Dargo,
The stack was made from plate steel that I have here in stock. Cut and welded it . I can dial in the stack size by fabricating it myself.
Also, by fabricating the discharge stack from plate I do not need to to run and source a short piece of pipe from a supplier. Lazy dudes find an easier way.. Also between a round vs. square discharge, "air don't care"...so they say, ha!

My guess is that the chute, and ash box will be fine, but the fire burner chamber is a blazing inferno, and may not do so well by just a coating with linseed oil. I am convinced that with a little ingenuity, someone could turn the furnace section of a GF into a coal forge as hot as these things get. haha!! just saying..
I have a week or two to play around with this thing and figure out what I want to actually do for a finish. It will never sit out in the rain but will be parked under one of my back patios.. I have a spot out back to paint with a pain gun here on site if I go that route, or could tap into a painter buddy to help, who owes me a few favors(I think I owe him a few too) cant keep track of that!!. I might just try the linseed on the burner section and see how it holds up during my test fire this week, then decide what I wanna do, Colors aren't my thing, and is more of a struggle The building part is easier for me!!

I just found out how much my short piece of pipe cost, so I think you made a good move there. That is kind of why I asked. Air will definitely not care as you say, only we care because of appearance. I actually have decided which I like better.

In my eyes one of the benefit of these is that you can use automotive paint on the CC and make it look good. If you do not like color a black with clear over it will look very nice, or if you like the fly green and orange it only has to look good to you.


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I saw a few stick burners that had the square stack and I didn't think it looked bad, and the GF only have a short stack, most of which is tucked under the damper. It wasn't eve a question for me, especially since both work the same, and In the end, what matters is that the food comes out good, But. I have never settled for cheap over functionality.

Good food makes for good memories with family and friends, the older I get the more i appreciate that truth.
In the end good eats and good friends/ family = a little more joy in a world that can pass by without much of it. Ok that's getting deep ! haha!

[tinspark]

Dropped a chute of charcoal to check temps this afternoon and play around with this thing. I didn't install a ball valve to control air intake but made a blast gate in its place. I am adjusting the blast gate to let air in to control combustion air. I haven’t connected fan controller up yet. Just got it connected to wifi and the smartphone app. Temp probes are at top rack and 4th rack levels. Definitely takes awhile for the temps to settle after adjustments made compared to center feed RF ..still need to add a port for cables to CC, and a mount for flameboss

[Dargo]

Nice, what temp right above the fire box and outside the fire box?

I do not remember from your pics but do you have a temp gauge on your door? If you do what is the difference between that and your controller.


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[tinspark]

At the transfer tube as it enters the cc 525 Deg. F
same level working in to fire brick 245 deg F @ 4" from CC
charcoal chute crept up to 125 deg F. That reading is where the chute meets the FB, just above the fire brick.
I think once I get the fan on, it will keep this thing dialed in really good! it is holding fairly well for a first burn.
Not sure if you are planning on getting a fan/ controller , but I think it'd keep it dialed in where U want.
the Flameboss connects to a 3/4" IPS female thread... fyi, in case you go that route in the future.
I opened everything up and got it up to about 350 and climbing to start my burn.
I choked it way down and it got down to about 180 Deg F. after about 1/2 hour, but got some nasty smoke coming out of it.
I opened it up a little and played with it to get it to hold around 250 as a test. It has been fluctuating between 255-285 Deg, so it is touchy, and its taking about 1/2 hour to level out after each adjustment.

I threw a 20lb bag of Briquettes in the chute, but could have added maybe another 1/2 bag
I am working on almost 5 hours and am planning waiting up to see how long it burns.

I haven't shaken my fire grate yet, and will not do it unless I see my temps dropping.
I noticed some of the guys use lump.
any advantages of lump over briquettes in the GF??

[tinspark]

Working on over 6 hours of my first test burn and i am fluctuating now between 230 -280 degrees. Been playing with the top discharge damper a little. and the combustion air inlet blast gate as well to dial temps in during this test.
I am pretty sure my fan will do better job than I have been on my first test run. Trying to understand what's going on here today.
Don’t know what i was thinking tho by starting this test at 330 PM. Now its pushing 10pm and it seems i have over a half of a chute of fuel left.
I opened the ash compartment door and took a few pics of the blazing inferno. Inferno looks more impressive (Hot) after it is dark

[tinspark]

Ran it 11-1/2 hours on (1)20lb bag of briquette, then I had to hit the hay
pretty sure it went at least 12 hours, but at 3AM I threw in the towel.
It will hold an additional 10 lbs, so I am pretty sure I can get about 18 hours out of one full chute. I am very happy with the way it ran..very easy to increase/ decrease temps

[tinspark]

Ran it 11-1/2 hours on (1)20lb bag of briquette, then I had to hit the hay
pretty sure it ran at least 12 hours, but at 3AM I threw in the towel.
It will hold an additional 10 lbs, so I am pretty sure I can get about 18 hours out of one full chute. I am very happy with the way it ran..very easy to increase/ decrease temps

[Dargo]

Ran it 11-1/2 hours on (1)20lb bag of briquette, then I had to hit the hay
pretty sure it went at least 12 hours, but at 3AM I threw in the towel.
It will hold an additional 10 lbs, so I am pretty sure I can get about 18 hours out of one full chute. I am very happy with the way it ran..very easy to increase/ decrease temps

Sounds like it ran good. Did you put a shield for the fan under the fire grate?

I like the way that fire glows. Nice job. Sounds similar to my usage of charcoal. I think I may use a little more, I am using lump so it maybe a little different.

I originally did not want to use a fan but am considering one now. Since I have not mastered the temp control technique for this one yet.


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