Restoring a rusty smoker

Picked up a nice home-built smoker that had some rust and deep pitting on the fire box. Power washed, media blasted, and seasoned to restore. Fun project.
#sosatsifying #restoration #diy #bbq #repair

[@thetaskmaster4860]

Looks great! I just got one off the road for free and it’s a bit rusty like yours was. This’ll definitely help me out when I try to repurpose it

[@anythingmechanical3399]

Thanks! Free is my favorite price. Best of luck!

[@ravenstokley8845]

Nice work, brotha!

[@anythingmechanical3399]

Thanks

[@CazadorTejano87]

How much media did you end up using for the entire project

[@alexisrodriguez7127]

Turned out great. I’m picking up a beastly custom built smoker tomorrow. The seller made it out of 1/2” steel and has kept in in pretty damn good condition throughout the years. Only some light surface rust on the inside of the fire box. I think it’s so minimal a wire brush and a season will take care of it

[@jordanbabcock9349]

That's ridiculously thick.

[@nurafianto3834]

What a great result. That reminds me I need to do mine. Got any info/link for the sandblaster tool by any chance?

[@yanglu8838]

Hi can you share more information in regards to your sand blaster? That grill looks amazing after all that work. Please let me know, thanks.

[@Given2Fly7173]

Do you cover this when not in use? Or does the vegetable oil film do well in weather changes?

[@anythingmechanical3399]

I don’t cover it, but I also don’t leave it out in the rain. I keep it under my covered patio. No problems with weathering. To be clear, it’s not a vegetable oil film that’s protecting it. You apply the vegetable oil and then get the smoker really hot so that the vegetable oil bakes on and turns to a protective layer of black carbon. Same as seasoning a castiron skillet

[@gebronthomasson6960]

Initial with grinder and the. Sand blast

[@empoweryou1]

Nice work. I'm curious who built this? Is it .25" steel? The fire box vent looks similar to a Lone Star but I'd bet many small builders are using this style.

[@anythingmechanical3399]

Wish I knew. Only 1/8th inch steel. Looks similar to a lot of production units, but the two lids, and the square fire box are pretty unique.

[@empoweryou1]

@@anythingmechanical3399 If it's 1/8th inch then yea, it's probably a box store unit. Still a cool find.

[@dawgsfan8321]

This is an old country stagecoach smoker. I had this same one I purchased from academy around 2010-2011. I recently sold mine within the past year and she was still going strong! Enjoy!

[@kelvinpratt89]

Thank you for the video. What size was your air compressor?

[@anythingmechanical3399]

11 gallon, 3.5cfm

[@howellc1]

Great video and job on the smoker. How much glass media did you use on this job?

[@anythingmechanical3399]

Thanks! I only used about 1/3 of the bucket, so probably 8lbs

[@mitchaiken8737]

I just got one identical to this I wish I knew what brand it is.

[@anythingmechanical3399]

Oh, crazy. I really thought this might be either home-built or at least modified. But if you found an identical one...I guess that settles it.

[@pewsician2388]

It has many of the hallmark signs of an Old Country BBQ Pits smoker. They use a larger diameter shorter length smoke stack (for shipping purposes, I would assume). And, their biggest offset, the Angus, uses that fire box design. I've never seen one with two doors and that fire box on a single smoke chamber model, though.

[@collinnicholas271]

You don’t happen to know the exact model of that sandblaster would you? Can’t find it anywhere. You still recommend?

[@anythingmechanical3399]

Hey Collin. Mine is a Central pneumatic 34 oz abrasive blast gun item 92857. They might not carry it any more because I couldn't find it on harbor freight's website. I'm sure any media blaster would work just fine.

[@daltonnetwork2532]

I am looking to do this with a Louisiana Grills pellet smoker. Do you think I can power wash around the electrical?

[@anythingmechanical3399]

Your call. I would probably do it, but I'm a bit of a risk taker

[@jeffflannery223]

Did 1 jug of media last for the entire sand blasting?

[@anythingmechanical3399]

Actually, I only used about half of the container.

[@rustylozanolpc4227]

I’d use ospho to get rid of that rust. Ospho eats rust.

[@Chris65645]

nice blaster. where did you find that?

[@anythingmechanical3399]

harbor freight

[@Chris65645]

@@anythingmechanical3399 thank you very much. Great content

[@anythingmechanical3399]

@@Chris65645 Thanks, I appreciate the comment. I've got another video in the works where I add a custom shelf to the smoker. Stay tuned

[@Chris65645]

@@anythingmechanical3399 sweet. I'll keep an eye out. I just picked up a smoker for cheap and restored it. Need to make a bevel now to distribute the heat a little more.

[@presrwash]

Specs on sand blaster?

[@wetwindowsguy8396]

Did u sand blast the inside

[@anythingmechanical3399]

Inside the firebox, but not inside the smoker.

[@wetwindowsguy8396]

@@anythingmechanical3399 so how did u get the rust out the inside.

[@anythingmechanical3399]

@@wetwindowsguy8396 I powerwashed the inside, which eliminated most of the surface rust I had on the inside. Then I smoked some meats which caused a thin layer of grease to coat the inside, effectively seasoning it and protecting it from future rust

[@wetwindowsguy8396]

@@anythingmechanical3399 ok so the inside I don't have to wry about as much im going to turbo nozzle the inside as well I have a 7-gallon a min pw hopefully this works