Smoker Design: Does Steel Thickness REALLY Matter 

Thank you so much! My son and I are planning on building a insulated cabinet smoker and are parusing designes on the website. All this is so helpful

Good video! I think you are the first person I've heard mention how much more energy it takes to heat 3/8' and up steel. I saw a video the other day where someone was bragging about having a chamber that was 1/2" thick, my only thought was "why?"

Don't forget handling the material. I generally fool around with 3/16" and 1/4" got a deal on some 1/2" 24" diameter. Earned my keep that day 😂

awesome bro, you are sharing such detail, thank you so much, so i just signed up for builder u also. i was glad to see your hexagon shape smoker since here in philippines i can not find a bigger propane tank, i will probably have to buy new steel and shape it

I have had a Lang for years. Quarter inch steel throughout. I had to do a cook in cold rain, and it was rough. I am now going to build my first smoker using 1/8th inch steel. Excellent video!

Great video. The myth in the BBQ community is that 1/4" is the gold standard. If I ever make the time to build my own, I'd invest in stainless steel sheets for the cooking chamber.

What about corrosion allowance? 1/4 inch steel won’t be 1/4” for long. It doesn’t take long for 1/4” to rot out. Not everyone is going to be able to store a barbecue pit indoors or spend countless hours painting or oiling it keep it from rusting.

Toss a 3/8" plate into the bottom of the fire box as a thermal mass.

Hey bud, great information. I'm in the ideation phase of building my 1st smoker. I know you mention the cost of thicker material results in cost. I have 1/2 pipe that i got from a friend. Free. 24" by 48". Would that still be a negative on your experience. Even if it were free?

Great video and very informative. Wanted to ask I'm in the uk where the weather is mostly dreadful to be honest. I heard you say about non insulated fireboxes. Would you say to keep it non in a cold rainy setting mostly or would it improve the overall design to insulate or partial in these type of conditions. Greatly appreciate it 🙏

Is 3/8 thickness good for colder climates?

Very insightful, thanks for this. Im looking to build my second pit and this is a great resource. Also, I have a question: on my first build I made it from a 55 gallon steel drum. In fact you can see the design if you RU-vid bbq on skis (it works as a smoker but the skis part was interrupted by Covid - maybe I’ll finish it someday). I had an idea to combat the fact that it’ll cool off quickly - add soapstone as a thermal battery. Maybe slabs on top of the tuning plates (it’s a reverse flow), or somewhere else perhaps? I did end up double walling the front end to keep the returning smoke warm. While stationary the temperature difference is at about 20 degrees, if memory serves. Any feedback on the build and the soapstone idea is appreciated.

Thanks for this! I am building a 120 gallon air tank offset. The thickness is 3/16. I hope that’s going to work good. What you think?

Thanks a lot for this video and the information in it! I recently acquired two 60-gal compressor tanks for free. They are a few inches longer and larger circumference than my current Oklahoma Joe Highland offset. Once I found out they were only probably 1/8" thick, I was pretty discouraged. This vid gives me more hope. I am planning on building two smokers now with these tanks and building semi-insulated fireboxes, but I will make the fireboxes out of at least 1/4". BTW, just joined SmokerbuilderU. Thanks again.