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.