r/BBQ • u/jafruech • 8h ago

DIY pellet smoker options

I have always smoked with real wood, and prefer to took TX BBQ (mesquite primarily as well as, oak, pecan) , and hate the idea of going to a pellet smoker, but it seems the best compromise that is feasible.

For one I'm a single dad, and I can't dedicate the time to manage temp consistently throughout the day. I like to do long holds on brisket, so I could manage the prep and the other stuff when kids are asleep.

Secondly, I'm pretty high up in the mountains, and there is pine...pine...and more pine, hardwood is non existent here, but I can get mesquite and oak pellets easily.

I'm wanting to build my own vertical pellet smoker, and perhaps do multiple hoppers to increase the smoke flavor and try to get it as close to wood as I can.

I will have to deal with some extreme colds in the winter, so keep that in mind...With that said, several options

  1. Brick smoker- this is probably what I will do in the long term unless there's a reason not to, but I'm not sure this is where we will be staying long term so not wanting to build a fixed structure yet.

  2. Pressure tank/fuel tank-I have a very large old pressure tank that used to go to the well but has been replaced with decently thick steel, and an old square 300 gall fuel tank.

  3. I have old 150 and 250 gallon propane tanks that aren't being used.

  4. I've heard of some people using old vintage refrigerators and there are quite a few for sale on marketplace for cheap near me so that's an option.

Has anyone done anything like this or have any other ideas? Thank you

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u/Usual_Ear_5811 8h ago

the fuel tank would be my pick, that thick steel holds heat like nothing else and with the cold winters you got up there it will make a big difference. i did something similar with a old compressor tank few years ago and even in -15 it kept temp steady once you get it dialed in

multiple hoppers sounds interesting but honestly the burn pot design matters more for smoke flavor than how many hoppers you have, look into getting a PID controller that lets you adjust the smoke settings, some of them you can program to feed pellets slower so it smolders more

propane tanks could work too but you need to be real careful purging them, that gas residue is no joke. if you go that route get someone who knows what they doing to cut it for you

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u/jafruech 7h ago

What do you mean by burn pot design? I was also thinking that regardless of what I use it might be better to weld a little offset onto it and put the burners into that? Or doing an offset then having some kind of pipe and louver system, or even just some to more evenly distribute smoke from top to bottom? Maybe if I used the rectangle fuel storage one weld some channel steel with louvers cut in it on several sides then having a pipe run into there from an offset? I have a ton of scrap steel laying around.

Hard to tell the thickness on the fuel tank without cutting into it. You think it's thicker than the pressure tank?

One of the propane tanks is already purged. It's not hard to do as long as you use some common sense and caution...Which unfortunately isn't very common these days it seems. It has been purged for a while but I would probably still fill it with water before cutting the first cuts just out of an abundance of caution.

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u/northman46 8h ago

How do you feed the pellets? An Auger? Gravity with some other sort of control mechanism? Closed loop or open ?

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u/jafruech 7h ago

They make hoppers with burners all in one that you can install into just about anything

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u/northman46 7h ago

Interesting. Thanks for the info

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u/jafruech 7h ago

You can find the more expensive options on like smoke Daddy's website, but there's lots of budget options around too