daizee
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
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Off Topic Springtime is lovely for a stroll in the snark
- Thread starter daizee
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- Nov 23, 2009
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Came down with Covid last week so I've been stuck at home, but it's given me a bunch of time to bush hog and catch up on things here at the farm. After seeing the BeckerWest pics, its gotten me thinking about potentially hosting a future Becker meetup here. We have plenty of space and wooded areas, and some nice views. Anyone near this part of the country (Northern Shenandoah valley, NW Virginia) who would be interested?
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- Dec 9, 2013
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I misread mouse as moose and was making some snarky comment about wall widthAre you gonna share, because I'm already laughing
1066vik
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- Nov 28, 2009
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SWMBO told me we were going on a road trip after work yesterday afternoon.
Got this souvenir - guess I'm done holiday shopping...
The big boys say we can keep him. The middle dog is even getting used to the idea of a chew toy roughly the size of his head.
Got this souvenir - guess I'm done holiday shopping...
The big boys say we can keep him. The middle dog is even getting used to the idea of a chew toy roughly the size of his head.
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- Mar 11, 2011
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Photo I took today near Hamburg, Illinois:
Aged it a bit:
Aged it a bit:
JJ_Colt45
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Glad you are feeling well enough to be doing things. Hope you get the all clear soon!Came down with Covid last week so I've been stuck at home, but it's given me a bunch of time to bush hog and catch up on things here at the farm. After seeing the BeckerWest pics, its gotten me thinking about potentially hosting a future Becker meetup here. We have plenty of space and wooded areas, and some nice views. Anyone near this part of the country (Northern Shenandoah valley, NW Virginia) who would be interested?
JJ_Colt45
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Photo I took today near Hamburg, Illinois:
Aged it a bit:
Looks like a cool building. I've seen one similar in Missouri several years ago.
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I saw one other at Lincoln's New Salem. By the way, I know I should have removed the power lines before antiquing the photo, haha, but it takes too much time.
tanglediver
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- Sep 2, 2013
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It's all good.
Inspector man signed off on the roof job last Monday. I hope I won't be doing that again soon.
Gonna fire up the forgotten smoker tomorrow, after giving it a thorough field day. The LP burners I put in it were getting clogged. (I'm too lazy to mind a wood/charcoal fire for hours on end.) It wouldn't reach good temperatures last time I ran it. Much better now! Still, that first smoker build leaves a lot of room for improvement.
Inspector man signed off on the roof job last Monday. I hope I won't be doing that again soon.
Gonna fire up the forgotten smoker tomorrow, after giving it a thorough field day. The LP burners I put in it were getting clogged. (I'm too lazy to mind a wood/charcoal fire for hours on end.) It wouldn't reach good temperatures last time I ran it. Much better now! Still, that first smoker build leaves a lot of room for improvement.
1066vik
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- Nov 28, 2009
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fired up the smoker yesterday to cook up my latest chunk of back bacon.
since the smoker is fair sized, I also thawed out a pork shoulder and made a bacon wrapped meatloaf out of last year's bambi and a chub of sausage.
I now have more cooked meat than I should eat in the next 10 days.
since the smoker is fair sized, I also thawed out a pork shoulder and made a bacon wrapped meatloaf out of last year's bambi and a chub of sausage.
I now have more cooked meat than I should eat in the next 10 days.
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- Jan 27, 2007
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- 3,162
I about always make firing up the smoking worth it by cooking enough to eat on for a while. I about always throw in a half a chub of bologna. Cut it long ways rub it down with spicy mustard then course ground black pepper and paprika smoke it for 4-6 hours .I slice it get cool then put it in ziplock bag fry it up alongside eggs add toast with real butter makes a proper hillbilly breakfast
tanglediver
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- Sep 2, 2013
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Got up to temps, and bird loaded on the grill.
One tank change after start up, and off to the races we go.
This one will be medium well, but I bet the brine kept it juicy.
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- Mar 11, 2011
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It's that time of year when my birthday comes up, and Christmas, and I get asked the dreaded question, "What do you want?" I need nothing, and have no clue. I told my mom she can get me a bottle of Maker's Mark, and she said she would. Need another knife like I need another hole in my head.
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- Dec 9, 2013
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I'd be interested in seeing pictures of your burner set up. I haven't developed the patience to tend a good smoking wood fire.It's all good.
Inspector man signed off on the roof job last Monday. I hope I won't be doing that again soon.
Gonna fire up the forgotten smoker tomorrow, after giving it a thorough field day. The LP burners I put in it were getting clogged. (I'm too lazy to mind a wood/charcoal fire for hours on end.) It wouldn't reach good temperatures last time I ran it. Much better now! Still, that first smoker build leaves a lot of room for improvement.
tanglediver
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- Sep 2, 2013
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It is just a horizontal, offset smoker with a propane burner near the bottom of the firebox.
They sell burners for ordinary propane grills, that is what I shopped for. I found one that was oriented in a long, narrow rectangle.
All I had to do was feed it the right amount of gas, which I attempted at my own risk. The bottle and regulator are typical gas grill items, then I plumbed a ball valve inline before the burner, to act as a burner control.
The trick is to feed the burner a proper gas/air mixture. Propane requires a very, very small jet opening in front of the vented inlet of the threaded burner port. The vents allow air in to mix with the fuel jet. That fuel jet was created with my smallest drill bit and some odd piece of threaded brass plumbing fixture, which was the hardest part to locate, for me. Honestly I don't recall how I found the brass plumbing component to drill my fuel jet hole into. I might have soldered it shut first, or brazed it shut, I can't remember. I didn't find it on any shelf though. If I knew what to look for, it probably already exists. Not sure if that helps.
Trial and error results:-
I tried pumping propane straight into the burner at first. All I got was a huge flame thrower, don't do that.
Fair Warning:-
Propane inside a closed firebox is a recipe for disastrous explosions if the conditions are right. Worst case scenario might be if the flame is extinguished, but the fuel keeps pumping. Any ignition source will certainly cause an explosion. The bottom of my firebox is always wide open to dump any unburnt fuel and defeat the enclosed vessel scenario just for that reason. There are no piezo-electric ignitors involved, I use manual bbq lighters only to ignite the burner.
The ball valve does give good positive control over the flame height though, and thereby control the cook chamber temperatures. I also balance the spread of heat across the full width of the cook chamber with tuning plates under the grill, water pans on top of the tuning plates, and two adjustably damped smoke stacks, one near each end of the cook chamber.
They sell burners for ordinary propane grills, that is what I shopped for. I found one that was oriented in a long, narrow rectangle.
All I had to do was feed it the right amount of gas, which I attempted at my own risk. The bottle and regulator are typical gas grill items, then I plumbed a ball valve inline before the burner, to act as a burner control.
The trick is to feed the burner a proper gas/air mixture. Propane requires a very, very small jet opening in front of the vented inlet of the threaded burner port. The vents allow air in to mix with the fuel jet. That fuel jet was created with my smallest drill bit and some odd piece of threaded brass plumbing fixture, which was the hardest part to locate, for me. Honestly I don't recall how I found the brass plumbing component to drill my fuel jet hole into. I might have soldered it shut first, or brazed it shut, I can't remember. I didn't find it on any shelf though. If I knew what to look for, it probably already exists. Not sure if that helps.
Trial and error results:-
I tried pumping propane straight into the burner at first. All I got was a huge flame thrower, don't do that.
Fair Warning:-
Propane inside a closed firebox is a recipe for disastrous explosions if the conditions are right. Worst case scenario might be if the flame is extinguished, but the fuel keeps pumping. Any ignition source will certainly cause an explosion. The bottom of my firebox is always wide open to dump any unburnt fuel and defeat the enclosed vessel scenario just for that reason. There are no piezo-electric ignitors involved, I use manual bbq lighters only to ignite the burner.
The ball valve does give good positive control over the flame height though, and thereby control the cook chamber temperatures. I also balance the spread of heat across the full width of the cook chamber with tuning plates under the grill, water pans on top of the tuning plates, and two adjustably damped smoke stacks, one near each end of the cook chamber.
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