AzNuggetBob 1,344 Posted March 6, 2017 (edited) Here is a smoker/grill I built a couple years ago and just thought I'd share. Anyway I'm taking photos as I go on the build. don't get me wrong this is not going to be full scratch build, I don't have that much time on my hands and if nothing else some of the info here can give readers an idea about buying or building their next grill. Its just a camper table top BBQ/smoker. Ive been giving it some thought, I didn't want to make to many mistakes. I hate patching up all those holes. :o:) I do agree those little Keg grills work great too. Ive seen them used a lot in the past. So I ran into a pretty good deal at (greedbay) on a new small stainless charcoal/wood only barrel type BBQ. but it was missing a few small parts. but I got it cheap, no big deal I'll just make em myself. vent covers etc. that's why I like pop rivets you don't even need a welder just a cheap pop rivet gun and a drill. Its 16"X12" so your not putting a leg of lamb on this little sucker but It will smoke a nice roast, marinaded prime rib,cheese or even all the fish you can eat. I decided to just cannibalize (re-purpose) my old Coleman dual burner 1Lb. bottle propane stove for the build. the burners will be mounted to the bottom. there just sitting under it loose in the photo. The little stainless box with the holes is a smoker box for wood chips you set on the burner just to add smoke flavor to your BBQ. It keeps the chips from burning up too fast. I still need several more parts to finish this off, ignitor, SS burner cover,stainless pop/blind rivets etc.. Hi all I got some more time to work on the BBQ so this is my version of a homemade duel fuel BBQ, "wood charcoal/propane". Im going to start out by saying I'm not a big fan of charcoal lighter fluid. I see a lot of people splash lighter fluid all over their BBQ. it soaks into the soot and oil buildup inside your BBQ/smoker and if your not careful with it can can make everything you cook smell and taste bad. The key is to use a good propane/wood charcoal BBQ/smoker, and its heat plate design is very important. it keeps the ash and meat drippings off your burners. I like this because Id rather not have to wast time cleaning burners the next time I want to use it. just dump the ash and go for it. The one I chose only had the 4 slots in the corners so I drilled the other 1/2" holes down the side to help in lighting and in this case because Im using dual burners it also helps distribute the heat more evenly if your short on good cooking wood and cooking with propane only.. you can even light or re-light your charcoal,tinder,gathered wood or smoker wood blocks with the propane just by setting it along the edge were the holes are. The black layout lines in the photos are done with a sharpie pen, not to worry if your customizing a nice looking Stainless Steel BBQ and don't want the pen lines to show a little acetone (finger nail polish remover)on a rag takes them right off. As I mentioned before the burners/air mixing chambers and 1 #pound propane bottle regulators came from my old propane camp stove. I wanted the burners to sit flush with the bottom of the BBQ so no sparks or ash that may slip past the burner plate could fall through out the bottom. I drilled the burner holes with a bymetal hole saw, 1-3/8" fit well, nice and tight. I just eye ball it straight with the black layout lines and drill the first of four holes on the burner mounting bracket. installed a SS rivet and washer and then drill the other three holes and rivet them. I also use rivet washers on sheet metal it doubles the pull out strength. The lower vent air vent adjusters on the BBQ were also missing so I made two out of scrap black anodized aluminum sheet I had. I may have to add more air holes to keep temps down and supply enough air to keep the wood burning. also I like to control air from the bottom vents and I always leave the top vents open. you need a good strong chimney effect for smoking. some people even use fans on larger BBQ's. The door swing stops were also missing so I bent these out of some old s.s.kabob skewers I had. I installed an aftermarket piezo (red) push button igniter (about an 1/8" gap is best on most electrode tip spacing) and because of the heat plate the flame should and did cross over to the second burner without to much problem. I put in the temp gauge because I don't like to do a full smoke over about 200 degrees.it drys out the meat too much before its well smoked. I would have mounted it more toward the center but it has a 2" probe on the back and I didn't want it to come down on a roast or whole chicken when I close the lid. space is limited on this camping BBQ/smoker and I'm trying to make use of every inch. For regular BBQ of lets say a steak and if your like me and like them semi charred and medium rare no gauge needed the hotter the better. The manufacturer intended for this BBQ to be opened and laid flat and cooked on both half's so they supplied two grills. I got to playing with it and realized I could easily insert the second grill inside under the main grill with about 2-1/2" clearance so your not going to be able fit anything large with a regular BBQing on it but this basically doubled the smoking surface area for smaller things like fish fillets,steaks,BB-ribs,and one of my favorites sweet/hot teriyaki marinaded jerky. Ive got some split sweet Almond wood(one of my favorites for smoking)and a rack of pork ribs with a home made sweet-hot and spicy dry rub to break this BBQ/smoker in. I found the missing parts BBQ, and most of the other build parts on ebay. Total build costs about $75.00 Ive had a lot fun putting this camping BBQ together hope you enjoyed it too. Happy Grilling, AzNuggetBob I tried to put all the photo's in between the description as I went but for some reason it wouldn't allow it? Edited March 6, 2017 by AzNuggetBob 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nugget108 1,101 Posted March 7, 2017 (edited) Nice Bob. You better bring it up here this summer if you come up detecting. We can throw some home grown tri tips in it. Edited March 7, 2017 by nugget108 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AzNuggetBob 1,344 Posted March 7, 2017 Thanks Dan, sounds great. Its made for traveling. its not as purdy as it used to be but it still works great. it gets caught out in the rain sometimes but at least its not a rust pile like my old steel camping-Q. Its almost all stainless or aluminum. I'm thinking about converting it to a larger single propane tank. a lot cheaper than those disposable bottles. or get a refill adapter to refill them off a larger tank. Is it thawing out up there yet? I'm looking forward to that Nev.Gold. AzNuggetBob 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ArcticDave 1,407 Posted March 7, 2017 Oooooo....shiny! I like it. Looks like a really good job. I like to see folks building things for themselves. Some really cool stuff is the result...and usually higher quality than the stamped crap from a foreign land. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nugget108 1,101 Posted March 7, 2017 Well Bob we had that week of rain that melted all of the snow. So that made us flood like crazy. Then I went back to work for 7 days and had 2 flipping snow storms that covered all of the nice brown dirt we had. It's kind of melted in spots. But where it is melted, it is just sloppy muddy. We took the 4 wheelers up on Friday to our spot here and had a fun ride blowing through the snow drifts and mud. I had to try out the new 15 inch evolution. A few more weeks and hopefully we will dry out. Golconda summit all the way to Winnemucca and lovelock is dry though. Might go hit somewhere down there next days off. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AzNuggetBob 1,344 Posted March 7, 2017 Well maybe it will wash out more gold in the long run for this summer. I've heard a lot about that Evo coil, all good. AzNuggetBob Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nugget108 1,101 Posted March 7, 2017 It ran nice and smooth until I hit the sopping wet mineralized mud. I think it will be amazing when it dries out a bit. Did find some tiny tiny lead and cat track slivers down deep. If you make it up here, you bring the BBQ and I'll supply the beef to throw on it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TomH 2,004 Posted March 7, 2017 Nice job Bob! Very professional. Hey, bring it to the outing and I will supply the steak Tom H. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AzNuggetBob 1,344 Posted March 9, 2017 (edited) Thanks for the great comments guys. Ive got more I'm going to add to this thred when I get more time to write it. Tom thanks for your offer but I'm not sure I'll be able to make it. Carol is having some medical issues. If I do make it out there to LSD it will probably be on Saturday and I'll bring the Camping-Q. AzNuggetBob Edited March 9, 2017 by AzNuggetBob Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Relichunter2016 498 Posted March 10, 2017 Wow, that smoker looks great...........nice job..... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nugget Shooter 3,766 Posted July 20, 2017 Very cool build! Thanks for sharing it... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
