The Texas BBQ Forum

hi ! my name is jimmy im from sweden,this is my first post here and im a total rookie on bbq so please have patience with meand my english i was planning to build me a UDS but i found this smoker half done at the recycling staion took it home put a door on it ,som air valves,handels cooking grates charcoalbox etc,made som ribs in it and it worked ok,

now im planning to ad a firebox below it but im not sure how big it should be? my plan is same width and lenght as the smokehouse? and 12 inch"high".then it would be 20x12(?) roughly (hope you understand what i mean my english isnt the best)and a charcoal box that is about 8x20 than i have 4 inch for airflow,and how big should the opening between the firebox and the smokehouse be?should i just open all the way and maybe leave an inch all the way around?

im thankful for all the input i can get!

sincerley jimmy

Howdy Jimmy welcome glad to have you here. I wont make fun of your English as long as you can put up with my Texan That is a nice looking Smoker. If you want to add a firebox it needs to be 1/3 the volume of the Smoke /Cooking chamber to work properly. There is a whole lot of knowledge here to learn from don't be afraid to ask for help.

Jimmy, welcome to the forum ,your English is just fine. CF

Welcome to the Forum. Your English is better than my Swedish will ever be.

Welcome Jimmy to the forum glad you found us. We have at least a couple other Scandinavians on the forum and we are happy to have y'all. Don't worry too much about your English Texans aren't known for good English I assure you.
Good looking little smoker you've got there looks like you are well on the way to good eats.

Jimmy...sweet looking little upright there. On your mods, I am not sure about a firebox per se directly under the cooker. A charcoal basket perhaps but with out a baffle system, a wood fire directly under the cooking grates will allow for a nice (not) grease fire. if you plan on a stick burning setup consider an offset fb and baffles to channel the heat and smoke into the cooking chamber. I built something similar with an offset FB and baffles and could use charcoal directly below the grates or wood for extended cooks. Good luck, looks like a good one. Pic of the offset for any ideas it may give you...

thank you all for your input!