has anyone done this? I'm debating between using an old oil tank (i'd have to find one) and getting sheet metal and starting from scratch.

tips? pics of successful (or unsuccessful) projects?

I'd ideally like to build one that can use gas or charcoal/wood.

5/3/2011 1:28:23 PM

weld two steel barrels together

cut in half

profit?

[Edited on May 3, 2011 at 1:31 PM. Reason : http://raleigh.craigslist.org/grd/2359558928.html]

5/3/2011 1:29:36 PM

i think a 55 gallon barrel would be a little bit small for a pig cooker. (I have a pre-made smoker of a similar size) I was thinking more along the lines of a 250 gallon barrel so i can cook a whole pig.

5/3/2011 1:33:35 PM

I hear the barrels are hard to come by...begin the process there.

5/3/2011 1:54:14 PM

If you go the 250gal route, find a decent trailer that you can mount the thing to.



[Edited on May 3, 2011 at 1:54 PM. Reason : 250gal drums are heavy. ]

5/3/2011 1:54:22 PM

yeah i would want it on a trailer so i can move it.

5/3/2011 2:00:28 PM

I'd like to make one of these one day...

[Edited on May 3, 2011 at 2:01 PM. Reason : ]

5/3/2011 2:00:52 PM

anyone have experience building one?

5/4/2011 11:43:05 AM

my dad built one.

Fabbing everything up is the easy part.

Getting your heat right is very hard. (as in, holding the heat, it would drop very fast).

He took a huge barrel and cut it in half. I can take some pics if you want.

5/4/2011 11:45:07 AM

oh really? i've read that some of the barrel pig cookers lose heat quickly because the barrels aren't that thick... i dunno.

5/4/2011 11:51:43 AM

this sounds interesting... I would like to see the process of your build if you decide to do this!

5/4/2011 11:58:09 AM

^^nah, they hold heat pretty well, especially if threre is alot of meat in there (no homo)...now, open the lid and it cools off w the quickness and takes a while to build it back up.

a thick flame guard over the over the heating element helps alot too....keeps gunk off the burners and holds/radiates heat well.

[Edited on May 4, 2011 at 12:08 PM. Reason : .]

5/4/2011 12:06:20 PM

not a barrel cooker like you're talking about, but figured i'd share...

my dad made four of these:

5/4/2011 12:51:42 PM

^damn that looks nice... do you know how much the materials cost him? did he sell them or what?

5/4/2011 2:36:21 PM

Pig cookers are like boats. It's better to be friends with someone that owns one.

5/4/2011 2:41:57 PM

dunno how much the stainless cost him...he bought it as scrap from where he worked. didn't sell them, he built them for my bro and me.

god i miss him

/sad

they are pretty much the ballin'est grills ever though.

5/4/2011 2:52:47 PM

I will buy your pig cooker for $Minnesota

5/4/2011 3:12:19 PM

wouldn't sell it for $texas

5/4/2011 3:26:31 PM

^I wouldn't either.

5/4/2011 3:44:53 PM