How to build a gravity feed smoker?

[jasoncoyle]

Hi Guys, I do a bit of hobby metalwork. Welding is mainly Mig with a little Oxy Accet. Hope to get into Tig later this year once the Tax Man gives back some of what he gouged from me during the tax year. 

Something I'm wanting to build is a low and slow gravity feed smoker and welcome any recommendations anyone might have with regards to material choice and equipment. To begin with, I'm looking at upgrading my machine to either a Unimig Viper 185  or Razor 200.

Cheers from sunny Brisbane,

Jason

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @jasoncoyle. It's a pleasure to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about creating a smoker.

Let me start by mentioning one of our bbq and smoking experts, @MoonshineBen. If you're interested in smoking meats, you'll need to check out his amazing articles on How to cook pork ribs and How to cook brisket. Let me also mention @r23on, a welding expert.

Typically you'd use mild steel for a project like this. You'll obviously want to stick away from anything that's Zinc or Gal plated. Do you have any designs for the smoker that you could share with us? If you can provide a little more information on your project, our helpful members will be better informed and able to offer useful suggestions.

Equipment-wise, your MIG should be able to complete this project easily. What type of equipment suggestions were you looking for? Why are you planning to upgrade, and are there other projects you're looking to build with the new welder? Or are you just interested in learning TIG?

I'm keen to hear more about your proposed design and assist further.

Mitchell

[r23on]

Hi I own a UNIMIG MIG Tag MMA 190 and a razor 200 AC / DC the razor i use for aluminium and is great. Unimig has now released a new machine AC /Dc mig tig and mma  all in one for about $2400 the razor 200 takes a bit of setting up and if you a new to AC machines you will have a bit of learning to do. However check out the new Unimig https://unimig.com.au/product/razor-multi-230-ac-dc-mig-tig-stick-welder/ 

However if you want to upgrade your mig to weld Aluminium with DC its a simple process

[jasoncoyle]

Cheers @r23on will check it out

[jasoncoyle]

Thanks for the intro @MitchellMc! Will definitely be giving the brisket a shot. No specific plans for the smoker as yet. Been looking all over the web and haven't been able to find anything decent, hence my post in this discussion. Welcome anything you or any other users can share.

Cheers
Jason

[EricL]

Hi @jasoncoyle

Just to add ideas to the list. Have you considered using an old expired LPG tank? I've seen some excellent designs that can be easily built. The best part is that you won't have to build the entire unit from scratch. The drawback of course is that there is not a lot of space inside that tank. I suppose it all depends on how big a unit you were planning to build. If you're planning on cooking for an average family it might be worth thinking about the number of kilos of meat you'll be smoking inside it. 

If you can tell us more about how much meat you're planning to smoke our members might be able to offer a configuration to accommodate the quantity you have in mind. 

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric