Fire Pit that's also a Smoker

[dayhiker]

I need some help.
I am currently putting in an exterior bench. A photo is below. In the middle I was planning on about a 30" dia hole for a fire pit. This would be flush with the ground. It then hit me I could do a stack stone pit and put it at table height. If I did this, I could throw down a 4' piece of plywood for a serving area when needed. This then led to the thought that I could turn this into a smoker.

I think if I put maybe (4) holes (1") at each quadrant down low that this would provide the oxygen. One of the 4 holes could actually be more like 6x6 to feed charcoal. About 12" below the top of the of the stone I could get a rod cast in each quadrant for some expanded metal to sit on for the meat. Above that I could have a steel lid made with adjustable air opening.

PS, clear between the fence posts is about 18' so clear between the brick columns is 14'

I can already see me bringing a TV outdoors on a Thur night and play poker with the guys while we have a fire going in the pit.

Does this sound like it would work? I'm wanting something where I can build a fire in the evenings and hang out, but why not make it also functional as a smoker?

 

[bamanut_aj]

I like the way you think.

 

[dayhiker]

I like the way you think.

Do you think it would work as a smoker though?

I think anchors about 12" above the bottom with grating for the logs to sit on then another high for the meat. Get a fabricator to cut a 36" dia piece of 1/4" plate and put 4 stops on it so it can't move. Cut a hole in the top maybe 2"x6" a slot for a wingnut to control air. Paint the thing with some industrial paint and put 2 handles. Slope the top of the stone so it'll drain. Make the top light enough so that my wife or I can lift it, but heavy enough that the kids can't.


.25"x36"dia steel weighs 72#'s.....ouch, might need to go with 1/8".

 

[bayoutider]

I watched a show on TV last night on outdoor kitchens and they built a honey. One of the things they built was a fire pit as you first suggested. They built the pit raised up as you suggested out of brick with a wide apron. Inside they first put down sand then put in two long gas rods which had controls outside the pit. The pit was then filled with lava rock and at night it looked very cool almost like a volcano. You could do some direct cooking on this but as a smoker I would say no but another idea is an outdoor fireplace and oven. In the oven you could bake bread, pizza, dutch oven dishes and if you built that right you could also smoke in it. I think that would be very attractive. What you have going on now is attractive so do something to compliment what you have started. I like it.

My son has a patio with a flat screen tv and internet. I just put a flat screen on my patio with internet also. I love it.

 

[dayhiker]

The thing that got me thinking this is that the height of a smoker is about the same height as the fire pit would be. My smoker allows maybe a 1" slot by whatever diameter (24" maybe) around the perimeter for air. If I could figure out how much I actually needed I could embed PVC pipes when they lay up the stack stone, but not mortar them in. When done, I'd remove the PVC. I sort of wonder if the stone wouldn't act something akin to an egg and hold the heat so that cook times would be reduced.

I'm building this regardless, but it hit me that if I put some thought in to it before hand I might could get a nice dual use out of it.

 

[dayhiker]

THe flat screen would be something I bring from my hearth room, to outdoors just for special events. Could be cool come football season for sure.

 

[TommyMac]

I wonder how long it'll be before the anti-smoking crowd turns their attention to outlawing grills and smokers? :conf3:

 

[dayhiker]

But 2nd hand bbq smoke smells gooood.

 

[XXL TideFan]

I wonder how long it'll be before the anti-smoking crowd turns their attention to outlawing grills and smokers? :conf3:

I think that charcoal has been a no-no for quite a while in Kalifornia.

 

[CaliforniaTide]

I think that charcoal has been a no-no for quite a while in Kalifornia.

It's more or less like the fireplace rules that we have in the winter, it's up to the air quality. If it's getting pretty bad, they'll encourage people to not use their fireplaces. My dad has always used charcoal (sometimes gas) when we BBQ food, but it wouldn't surprise me if parts of Los Angeles, San Diego, or the Bay Area do not allow charcoal.