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Ugh, I Did It Again, Restoring Another Smoker

WeberWho
WeberWho Posts: 11,527
edited September 2021 in EggHead Forum
***Disclaimer*** Big Green Egg is the best and this smoker below sucks. Don't buy it. Only buy Big Green Eggs. Now onto the post and keeping the Buffalo happy with the disclaimer.  ;)

Yep, I'm an idiot. I picked up yet another smoker that needs to be restored. This GIF pretty much sums it up....



Fortunately this smoker didn't require an 18 hour round trip this time.



The smoker is called Backyard Bomber BBQ. It's a vertical fed smoker that was made in Cannon Falls, MN. Unfortunately the business isn't around anymore. I'd imagine it's a tough business to be in given the area. A neat connection being from MN nonetheless. I believe it's the Bomber model which was a limited run. I've read the cost in material and time didn't offset much of the purchase price.

I found this particular smoker on Craigslist. The previous owner had his daughter list the ad for him so she became the middle man for questions. I didn't want to bother her much but I did ask how the overall condition of the smoker was. She mentioned it was good condition. Good enough for me...or so I thought. I didn't have much of a chance to look it over as the owner had it strapped up on his utility tractor ready to be dropped in the back of my truck. This was helpful as rain was on the way, so we made it quick and had a nice short chat.

When getting it home and unloading it, I noticed the condition of the smoker wasn't as nice as I might have imagined it. Not the end of the world with it only being cosmetic but I really wasn't hoping for another restoration. Here are a few pictures of the smoker:



I noticed the powder coat started peeling towards the bottom lip on the lower left side which I knew that was going to be an issue. 



The other issue or time consuming thing was the inside of the smoker being rusty. I wasn't able to look over the inside of the smoker as he had it ready to be loaded, which was maybe a good thing, as it may have dampened my mood or purchase. It was priced very, very much in my favor even with these issues. 



My friends stopped over here a few weeks back for fantasy football. Since I had them over here, I took the advantage and had them help me lay down the smoker to see what was going on under it. Kind of what I expected when I noticed paint flaking on the bottom lip. 



So I went to work. 



Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the bottom after priming and painting. I did take the opportunity to clean up the casters and soak them in WD-40 and run some grease through the zerk fittings. I also took the opportunity to sand whatever I could before getting it back upright. I had the guys back over last week for the Vikings game. It took all four of us to lift it back up. The smoker is a beast. 

Here is the smoker all taped up, sanded, and waiting to be primed. 



I had a chance to spray some primer on it yesterday. 



Too hot and windy to paint today but figured I'd post some pics of the process of the restoration for anyone who might be interested....
"The pig is an amazing animal. You feed a pig an apple and it makes bacon. Let's see Michael Phelps do that" - Jim Gaffigan

Minnesota
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«13

Comments

  • Canugghead
    Canugghead Posts: 13,707
    Sucker for smokers! jk
    Good to see it coming back to its former glory. Any chance it's some sort of gravity feed?
    canuckland
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  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 36,778
    Another great restoration project.  You have an enviable skill set and equipment to enjoy your recovery projects.  Waiting for the finish and test run.  
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period. CHEETO (aka Agent Orange) makes Nixon look like a saint.  
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  • WeberWho
    WeberWho Posts: 11,527
    Canugghead said:
    Sucker for smokers! jk
    Good to see it coming back to its former glory. Any chance it's some sort of gravity feed?

    You nailed it. I'm a sucker for cheap smokers. Ha! Gravity fed smokers have always intrigued me. I'm interested to see how close the flavor profile might be with a stick burner if you can fully ignite chunks of wood below the lump/charcoal. 
    "The pig is an amazing animal. You feed a pig an apple and it makes bacon. Let's see Michael Phelps do that" - Jim Gaffigan

    Minnesota
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  • WeberWho
    WeberWho Posts: 11,527
    edited September 2021
    lousubcap said:
    Another great restoration project.  You have an enviable skill set and equipment to enjoy your recovery projects.  Waiting for the finish and test run.  

    Thanks much! When I messaged you about the brisket and the offset I kept thinking to myself if I only had this freaking smoker finished!!!  =)
    "The pig is an amazing animal. You feed a pig an apple and it makes bacon. Let's see Michael Phelps do that" - Jim Gaffigan

    Minnesota
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  • Photo Egg
    Photo Egg Posts: 12,137
    I’m really anxious to see your results cooking on this!
    Thank you,
    Darian

    Galveston Texas
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  • dbCooper
    dbCooper Posts: 2,678
    Nice!  Will be waiting for the finished pics and cook.
    Now, what about that 63 Chevy in the first picture.   :)
    LBGE, LBGE-PTR, 22" Weber, Coleman 413G
    Great Plains, USA
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  • WeberWho
    WeberWho Posts: 11,527
    edited September 2021
    Photo Egg said:
    I’m really anxious to see your results cooking on this!
    Thanks! This was one of the main reasons why I was so gung-ho about getting that smaller offset to run on sticks!
    "The pig is an amazing animal. You feed a pig an apple and it makes bacon. Let's see Michael Phelps do that" - Jim Gaffigan

    Minnesota
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  • WeberWho
    WeberWho Posts: 11,527
    dbCooper said:
    Nice!  Will be waiting for the finished pics and cook.
    Now, what about that 63 Chevy in the first picture.   :)
    Thanks! Good question about the Chevy. It's a friend's neighbors house. It's a roller. I'm not sure if it's going to be a parts car or something that's going to be restored. I know he has a nicer Impala inside the garage that I've never seen moved. So it's hard to tell what's going to happen to the one outside. It might just be a parts car for the other Impala. He also has an old GTO in the garage. I've seen him drive that one. 
    "The pig is an amazing animal. You feed a pig an apple and it makes bacon. Let's see Michael Phelps do that" - Jim Gaffigan

    Minnesota
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  • GrateEggspectations
    GrateEggspectations Posts: 11,589
    She’s gonna be a beaut. I can feel it. 
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  • WeberWho
    WeberWho Posts: 11,527
    GrateEggspectations said:
    She’s gonna be a beaut. I can feel it. 
    Hey thanks. It's not going to look pretty once done but that's going to be somewhat international. It will make a little more sense hopefully a little bit later this week once I get a chance to paint it.
    "The pig is an amazing animal. You feed a pig an apple and it makes bacon. Let's see Michael Phelps do that" - Jim Gaffigan

    Minnesota
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  • alaskanassasin
    alaskanassasin Posts: 8,930
    Give it a cool color like yellow or lime green…
    South of Columbus, Ohio.


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  • WeberWho
    WeberWho Posts: 11,527
    alaskanassasin said:
    Give it a cool color like yellow or lime green…

    You're not too far off with the lime green comment.  ;)
    "The pig is an amazing animal. You feed a pig an apple and it makes bacon. Let's see Michael Phelps do that" - Jim Gaffigan

    Minnesota
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  • alaskanassasin
    alaskanassasin Posts: 8,930
    … give it the @WeberWho touch
    South of Columbus, Ohio.


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  • Foghorn
    Foghorn Posts: 10,227
    Chartreuse.  Or magenta.  Either would be great.  

    XXL BGE, Karebecue, Klose BYC, Chargiller Akorn Kamado, Weber Smokey Mountain, Grand Turbo gasser, Weber Smoky Joe, and the wheelbarrow that my grandfather used to cook steaks from his cattle

    San Antonio, TX

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  • RRP
    RRP Posts: 26,454
    Cool that you are into such retro projects! 

    Gotta ask since I haven’t read about your earlier projects…do you keep them or resell them?
    Re-gasketing the USA one yard at a time 
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  • WeberWho
    WeberWho Posts: 11,527
    RRP said:
    Cool that you are into such retro projects! 

    Gotta ask since I haven’t read about your earlier projects…do you keep them or resell them?

    Thanks! @RRP I put a couple links below on the couple other smoker restorations I've done. Probably not worth reading through it all but the pictures might peek your interest. 

    I sold my first smoker restoration project. I had no intention of selling it once completing the rehab on it but I came across another smoker that I had to jump on.

    https://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1204817/refurbishing-an-offset-smoker-updates/p1


    My second smoker restoration I completed earlier this year and I had no intention on selling it but it might find a new home next spring since I'm having no luck with running this small of smoker strictly on wood splits alone. 

    https://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1223446/restoring-another-offset-smoker-and-pork-butts/p1
    "The pig is an amazing animal. You feed a pig an apple and it makes bacon. Let's see Michael Phelps do that" - Jim Gaffigan

    Minnesota
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  • RRP
    RRP Posts: 26,454
    WeberWho said:
    RRP said:
    Cool that you are into such retro projects! 

    Gotta ask since I haven’t read about your earlier projects…do you keep them or resell them?

    Thanks! @RRP I put a couple links below on the couple other smoker restorations I've done. Probably not worth reading through it all but the pictures might peek your interest. 

    I sold my first smoker restoration project. I had no intention of selling it once completing the rehab on it but I came across another smoker that I had to jump on.

    https://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1204817/refurbishing-an-offset-smoker-updates/p1


    My second smoker restoration I completed earlier this year and I had no intention on selling it but it might find a new home next spring since I'm having no luck with running this small of smoker strictly on wood splits alone. 

    https://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1223446/restoring-another-offset-smoker-and-pork-butts/p1
    You “da rehab man”!
    Re-gasketing the USA one yard at a time 
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  • nolaegghead
    nolaegghead Posts: 42,109
    Awesome!
    ______________________________________________
    I love lamp..
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  • lkapigian
    lkapigian Posts: 11,549
    Awesome find, you will live the gravity feed
    Visalia, Ca @lkapigian
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  • WeberWho
    WeberWho Posts: 11,527
    lkapigian said:
    Awesome find, you will live the gravity feed
    Thanks! It's no Stumps XL but I'm looking forward to trying out the gravity feed and see how they work.  ;)
    "The pig is an amazing animal. You feed a pig an apple and it makes bacon. Let's see Michael Phelps do that" - Jim Gaffigan

    Minnesota
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  • caliking
    caliking Posts: 19,780
    Very much above my pay grade, but I am jealous, nonetheless. We can tell you're already enjoying your new acquisition :)

    #1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February  2013 • #3 Mini May 2013
    A happy BGE family in Houston, TX.
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  • WeberWho
    WeberWho Posts: 11,527
    caliking said:
    Very much above my pay grade, but I am jealous, nonetheless. We can tell you're already enjoying your new acquisition :)
    Hey thanks for the kind words but none of this is going to make my food look as good as yours! 
    "The pig is an amazing animal. You feed a pig an apple and it makes bacon. Let's see Michael Phelps do that" - Jim Gaffigan

    Minnesota
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  • stv8r
    stv8r Posts: 1,127
    Enjoying this thread very much!  Looking forward to finished pics and cooks

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  • EGGjlmh
    EGGjlmh Posts: 823
    You should send some pics to the people you bought it from when finished. I'm sure they would like to see it!

    1MBGE 2006, 1LBGE 2010, 1 Mini Max, Fathers Day 2015

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  • BeerMike
    BeerMike Posts: 317
    Nice find and great job on the restoration! 
    I think it's time for another beer!
    BGEing since 2003
    2 Large BGEs 
    Sold small BGE, 3rd and 4th large BGEs and XL BGE (at wife's "request"....sad face)
    Living the dream in Wisconsin
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  • alaskanassasin
    alaskanassasin Posts: 8,930
    Nailed it! Next level restoration 
    South of Columbus, Ohio.


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  • Photo Egg
    Photo Egg Posts: 12,137
    Way Coooool…….
    Thank you,
    Darian

    Galveston Texas
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  • Eggdicted_Dawgfan
    Eggdicted_Dawgfan Posts: 1,912
    Awesome job!
    Snellville, GA


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