Test Firing

About six weeks after beginning the project, I was ready to test fire the smoker. I started out with a very low flame and gradually increased the gas and eased it into the smoking temperature range of 225-250 F. I was pleased with the stability of the temperature and ease of control. I used a digital thermometer to verify the accuracy of the smoker's dial thermometer...I found the dial thermometer's accuracy lacking, but deviation from actual temperature was consistent, so it is useful for managing temperature of the smoker by converting (200 F on the dial is about 225 F inside the smoker, 225 F on the dial is about 250 F inside the smoker, etc.).

Finishing Touches

A couple of finishing touches included a large dial thermometer and a lift handle for the lid. I placed the thermometer in the lid, with the probe at the level meat will rest on the upper rack of the smoker. The handle was easy to find at my local hardware store. The thermometer was ordered from amazon.com.

Insides Complete

With racks and burner in place, the remaining internal component was a water bath / drip pan. I struggled to find a pan of adequate diameter, so settled on a Behrens 3 gallon steel utility pan that is 16-1/4" diameter and 4" deep. Angle brackets bolted together to form a "U" shape and screwed to the inside of the barrel made for perfect mounting of the water bath / drip pan.

These photos show all internal components installed, including the juice can for holding wood chips that sits directly on the burner.

Controlling Air Flow

Holes in the burner pan allow ample airflow into the smoker. To regulate the amount of air flowing through the smoker, I installed a couple of circular air dampers on the lid.

I ordered these from amazon.com and installation was simple. I drilled holes aligning with those in the damper, plus one in the center for the mounting bolt. The dampers came with mounting bolts, but I had to purchase longer bolts to pass through the thick wood of the barrel head. I also cut the resistance springs to shorter length so that I could use a shorter bolt.

Mounting and Piping the Burner

I fabricated four metal brackets from flat bar to attach the burner pan to the barrel. The hole I cut for the burner pan was of larger diameter than the pan to provide an air gap of about one inch between the pan and barrel to protect the wood from the heat of the burner. The sheet metal "doughnut" I placed in the bottom of the barrel covered the gap, ensuring the inside of the smoker had a solid metal bottom. Cutting the large hole in the bottom of the barrel weakened the barrel head, so I also screwed two pieces of flat bar across the bottom to reinforce the joints between each section of the barrel head.

After piping up the gas, I used flat bar and some scrap metal brackets to build a couple of guards around the gas piping. This prevents the piping from being damaged when rolling the smoker along an uneven surface.

Remember how casters mounted to the bottom of the barrel created a tipping hazard? This photo shows my solution of legs constructed with 2x4's. The legs extend further out from the barrel on the back side to support the lid when opened and prevent tipping. Note also the gas line is routed to the back of the smoker, which allows the propane cylinder to be positioned out of the way, behind the smoker, when cooking.

I attached a hook to the rear of the barrel to hang the gas line and regular from when transporting the smoker. Note also the round aluminum cover I placed over the bung hole. A lot of people find a creative use for the bung hole in constructing their smoker, but I simply covered it.

Burner Installation

The thought of using charcoal or wood chips in a smoker constructed of wood makes me nervous. Therefore, I selected a propane burner and use a juice can to contain the smoking chips.

I purchased a "Mini-V" propane burner from Ed at Alabama Metal Products Co. He was very helpful in providing guidance on setting up the burner in a wine barrel smoker.

Alabama Metal Products Gas Smoker Website

The burner pan came with holes in the bottom to provide combustion air, I simply needed to cut a hole in the bottom of the barrel to accomodate the burner assembly.

As an additional measure of safety, I lined the bottom of the barrel with sheet metal to reduce risk of fire should a spark or ember escape the juice can and land in the bottom of the barrel.

Fitting the Racks

Amazon.com turned out to be the best resource for finding round wire grates that precisely matched the size of the barrel. I chose to install two grates in the smoker for increased cooking capacity. I found conduit straps to be the best way to hang the grates inside the barrel. They were easily screwed into the barrel staves.

Crafting the Hinge Assembly

When researching my design, I found the most common complaint of wine barrel smoker owners was instability of the hinged lid. Therefore, I put a lot of effort into creating a robust attachment of the lid to the smoker.

To create a solid hinge, I extended the width of the hinge assembly along a plane tangent to the barrel's edge. I accomplished this by carving upper and lower plates of wood that matched the contour of the barrel along both sides of the opening.

I then screwed the wood plates to the barrel with large wood screws, using a countersink drill bit to recess screw heads below the faces of hinges to be attached.

Once the wood plates were firmly secured, I attached three cabinet middle hinges to create a solid connection between the lid and main body.

With the hinge assembly completed, I attached decorative chain on both sides of the barrel to hold the lid in place when opened.

More Isn't Always Better

I thought steel casters would look cool since all the hardware was galvanized metal. I started with three, but could tell the barrel was going to easily tip. To solve the problem I added three more for a total of six. This design also eventually failed because the barrel was at risk of tipping when the heavy lid was open. The final solution was to construct extended legs with 2x4's to position the casters far enough out from the barrel's base to prevent tipping.

Working from the Bottom Up

After removing the top of the barrel, I decided to start working "from the bottom up." Near the bottom of the barrel, an access door is needed for controlling the source of heat, adding wood chips, etc.

I recommend spending some time thinking about the location of this door. Planning to have a propane burner, I wanted to be able to reach into the barrel with a lighter while simultaneously turning the gas valve on the propane tank. With the propane tank to be positioned behind the smoker, this led me to locate the door on the side, with hinges positioned for the door to swing toward the front of the smoker, out of the way when I'm working with the burner and propane tank valve.

To create an access door of sufficient size, I had to cut through one of the barrel hoops, changing from a wood cutting blade to a metal cutting blade when cutting through the hoop. I drilled pilot holes at the four corners of planned access door, then used a jigsaw to make the cuts. I lined up the vertical cuts with the cracks between the barrel staves; a cut was still required to provide a gap of sufficient width for the door to open and close. The horizontal cuts, along the top and bottom edges of the door, were each made along the edge of a barrel hoop as a guide for the saw.

Once the door was cut and removed from barrel, I used zinc-plated flat bar to reinforce the top and bottom edges of the door. This presented a considerable challenge since the taper of the barrel made it impossible to bend the flat bar into an arc that would lie flush against the door edge. I overcame this by shimming the bar with washers where I inserted screws to attach it to the door. Strap hinges and a barrel bolt latch enable the door to swing freely and latch into place. It took some adjustments and additional cutting, sanding and filing to get the door to operate smoothly.

While constructing the door I kept the barrel on its side, held stable in cradle created by an old wool blanket draped over four concrete blocks.

Cutting the Lid

The most challenging part of the project is getting a smooth cut all the way around the barrel for the lid. I debated between using a circular saw, a reciprocating saw or a jigsaw. I decided to start with a jigsaw, and if it proved inadequate I would come up with a Plan B. I drilled a pilot hole, inserted the blade and started the cut, using a hoop as my guide to ensure a straight line (but also had a pencil mark on the barrel to ensure the blade stayed right where I wanted.

The jigsaw worked well, I just had to take it slow to avoid the blade running at an angle in the hard oak wood. When I removed the top of the barrel, there was a still a small puddle of wine in the bottom and the garage was filled with the vibrant aroma of Merlot.

Reinforcing the Barrel

Before making any cuts, the staves must be screwed to the hoops, otherwise the barrel will fall apart.

The barrel's wood was moist with staves fitting tightly, making it difficult to distinguish between staves. Instead of attempting to place a screw in the center of each stave, I equally spaced screws around each hoop at an interval that would assure each stave received at least one screw. After scribing a line along the center of each hoop, I used a spring loaded center punch to mark the desired location of each screw. Self-drilling hex head screws (#10 x 1 inch) and an electric drill helped the work go quickly -- I used 320 screws to complete the reinforcement.

Finding a Barrel

To get started, you must have a wine barrel in relatively good condition. With the town of Woodinville touting 100 wineries within five miles of my home, I expected to have no problem finding a used barrel. The search turned out to be more challenging than expected. I was finally able to get a furniture store selling handmade pieces from barrel staves to reluctantly put me in touch with their supplier.

Woodinville Wine Country Map

You should be able to find a good barrel for around $100, but depending on your location may need to pay for shipping. I ended up driving past all those Woodinville wineries on a 100 mile round trip to pick up a barrel.

Barrels come in a variety of sizes. A 225L to 228L barrel is a good size for a home smoker. The location of the barrel hoops should be considered in selecting a barrel, since they will influence the size and depth of the smoker's lid.

Nadalie USA Wine Barrel Sizes

Researching My Design

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery - Charles Caleb Colton

I'm a firm believer you shouldn't reinvent the wheel, so I wanted to learn what others had done in constructing wine barrel smokers. These blogs feature designs I really liked and imitated:

Ryan Bon's Wine Barrel Smoker

Christopher King's Very Cool Barrel Smoker

I also found these videos on YouTube to be very informative:

Wine Barrel Smoker

Vic Bourassa's Wine Barrel Smoker

How I Got the Bug

Living 2500 miles away from my hometown in the South, I experienced barbecue cravings difficult to satisfy through local eateries of the Pacific Northwest. During a business lunch with consultants in January 2015, conversation led to their construction of home smokers made of wine barrels. I had to have one. The El Nino winter was making for a lousy ski season, so I had Saturdays to fill. I started working on my design right away.

This blog shares the design and construction of my smoker, including sourcing of parts and references I found valuable in the process, along with some recipes I believe have been successful.

If thinking of creating your own wine barrel smoker, I hope you find this information useful.