I am putting together a setup that I can do cold smoking (or other types of things)on. The main box is actually an old smoker box that was acquired for free a long time ago. Originally it was electric but the electronics are long gone, hence that's why it was given away.
About 8 inches from the ground there is a 2.25" hole in the side of it where you are supposed to fit a little round tray with pellets. The problem is that's intended for hot smoking things as well as to run off of electric. What I did was found a piece of pipe that fit almost perfectly in there. I did some testing to see exactly how long the pipe needed to be to keep temps where I wanted them at...all of that is good now. Although it's not the intended purpose, in theory if I wanted to hot smoke something I can just use a shorter piece of pipe.
I found an old propane bottle and did the mods you see in the picture. The idea is for it to function as a sort of offset smoker box where you can use any kind of wood you want without the need for pellets. Also it can be broken down if ever needed.
Now this is the part where you guys come in...I need to make or buy a lid. Originally I was going to use the top of the propane bottle, which will be fine as a temporary solution, but now I don't think it's a good long term solution. What I actually want to do is use a piece of flat metal that I can just sit on top of there.
The propane bottle is slightly more than 12" across, so I am thinking about 14" (max) plate with two handles opposite each other on the edges. It probably could be slightly smaller than that, but I think 13" would be the minimum. How the handles get attached would play a big part in how big it needs to be. If the handles are welded in place (vs bolting them on) 13" would be fine.
It can be square but I would want the corners rounded off it so. I don't want anyone to walk by and catch one on the shin if you know what I mean. A stop sign shape would be ok, as would a circle. The bottom of the plate needs to be flat so using something like diamond plate would not be ideal.
The problem is I don't know what kind of metal I would want to use and I don't have the stuff to cut metal like that. It needs to be able to withstand a lot of heat as well as to be receptive to preferably welding the handles on. To say I am a novice welder is an understatement, that said I've had the experience of trying to weld together target stands and when trying to weld two dis-similar types of metal it became a pain the ass. I am pretty sure something 1/4" thick would be plenty sturdy but I am open for ideas. I do want the top to be somewhat rigid so I am able to put something on there if I ever wanted to. Also I think having the handles on the edges will help to mitigate some heat vs having a single handle right in the middle and right over the fire.
I want to shop for it, but I want to have some form of idea of what to shop for and how much it might cost. If anyone is interested in making something for me I am all ears too.
About 8 inches from the ground there is a 2.25" hole in the side of it where you are supposed to fit a little round tray with pellets. The problem is that's intended for hot smoking things as well as to run off of electric. What I did was found a piece of pipe that fit almost perfectly in there. I did some testing to see exactly how long the pipe needed to be to keep temps where I wanted them at...all of that is good now. Although it's not the intended purpose, in theory if I wanted to hot smoke something I can just use a shorter piece of pipe.
I found an old propane bottle and did the mods you see in the picture. The idea is for it to function as a sort of offset smoker box where you can use any kind of wood you want without the need for pellets. Also it can be broken down if ever needed.
Now this is the part where you guys come in...I need to make or buy a lid. Originally I was going to use the top of the propane bottle, which will be fine as a temporary solution, but now I don't think it's a good long term solution. What I actually want to do is use a piece of flat metal that I can just sit on top of there.
The propane bottle is slightly more than 12" across, so I am thinking about 14" (max) plate with two handles opposite each other on the edges. It probably could be slightly smaller than that, but I think 13" would be the minimum. How the handles get attached would play a big part in how big it needs to be. If the handles are welded in place (vs bolting them on) 13" would be fine.
It can be square but I would want the corners rounded off it so. I don't want anyone to walk by and catch one on the shin if you know what I mean. A stop sign shape would be ok, as would a circle. The bottom of the plate needs to be flat so using something like diamond plate would not be ideal.
The problem is I don't know what kind of metal I would want to use and I don't have the stuff to cut metal like that. It needs to be able to withstand a lot of heat as well as to be receptive to preferably welding the handles on. To say I am a novice welder is an understatement, that said I've had the experience of trying to weld together target stands and when trying to weld two dis-similar types of metal it became a pain the ass. I am pretty sure something 1/4" thick would be plenty sturdy but I am open for ideas. I do want the top to be somewhat rigid so I am able to put something on there if I ever wanted to. Also I think having the handles on the edges will help to mitigate some heat vs having a single handle right in the middle and right over the fire.
I want to shop for it, but I want to have some form of idea of what to shop for and how much it might cost. If anyone is interested in making something for me I am all ears too.
