The Texas BBQ Forum

Hello all
I just started my first build with a air compressor the size is 16 by 40..I used feldons calculator and it says fb opening size 6.04 and half moon 8.54 ..my question is if I cut my door on my cc at half way that gives me just 2" in between the grate and reverse flow plate..I really wanted to cut the door one inch bellow center which would be 7".. But then that would leave me one inch in between.. can I make my opening size like 4" then make my half moon 10.54 .. that would roughly give me 3" in between..

You can manipulate the opening anyway you need to work with the height as long as you maintain the opening size.
Anywhere between 1" and 5" will work for the height but I prefer around 4" with a 1" fall from the firebox.
Here is a calculator that will allow you to use a different opening if you choose.
http://thesmokering.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=68625

Thank you for the reply so I went to the throat calculator and I hope I did it right ..my tank is 16" did , fb is square .feldons calculator says I need 28.67 sq in and my fb widths 14"..the calculator says top of width cutout is 12.87 and height is 3.25 ..so would this be correct..I've never used this calculator and don't want to cut the wrong size ..thank you for the peply

Yes that is correct.
If you add a 1.5" grease bridge then your top cut would increase to 13.827" and the height would be 2.475".
If you use the trapezoid opening with a 1.5" grease bridge your opening would be 13.856" on the top, 9.327" on the bottom and 2.5" tall.

Thanks for the Info I appreciate it