The Texas BBQ Forum

Looking at a smoker online someone is selling. Price is low ($300) but my untrained eye kind of suspicious if it will work. I'm decently handy with a torch and a mig. I don't have measurements yet but may go tomorrow to look at it. Thinking definitely needs tighter fitting doors/overlaps. Worried about the size of the firebox/grill for smoking. And if the pipe between firebox and smoker is big enough.

What do y'all think? What would I do to modify it to make it work? Thanks!

Unless a glutton for extra work I would pass. It will leak like a submarine with a screen door. You/ll work yer self to death lapping all the seams and it will still leak like a chimney.

For $3-700 you can buy a decent quality old country or okie joe from Academy that probably will work better and is brand new. Not the highest quality, but certainly serviceable and pretty durable, and if you get serious later you can sell them and upgrade to a more serious smoker. And you can season and start Day One without lighting a torch.

Or can keep prowling Craigs list until something decent pops up. My cooker Rosebud was a rough weld $400 Craigs list special built by some guy somewhere who was not a great welder and the edges were all ragged, but she Is well designed though basic and can cook for sure. I brought her home, ground off all the rough spots, sandblasted and painted her up nice with a tuxedo paint job, and a few years later won a GC with her. She does leak smoke but is reasonably lapped on the gaps and actually breathes real well as a result.

https://www.academy.com/shop/browse/out ... erm=smoker

Thanks for the input! I don't mind putting a bit of work into it, can be fun even, but yeah I'm a bit worried I'll do a bunch of work and still end up with a poor smoker. I like the thick metal and the price though!

At best this thing is a grill with a side box that may keep food somewhat warm.
Unless you are ready for a massive overhaul I would pass. You will be in it for a lot more than the 300.00 to make it a smoker.

Buy it to put out for all to see. Make everyone think you can cook on that thing.

Then buy and hide a good cooker somewhere and use it.

How hard would it be to weld a lip around all the sealing areas?
If I still had my welders and torches AND a place to do the work, for that price I would be on that thing like a duck on a junebug.

Thanks for all the replies everyone! I ended up finding a different one. It needs some work too but not as much as this one.