................I've wanted one of these for a long time , it's finally coming together.
I haven't made any cheese since last spring , but should be back at it next week with a Stilton.
I have however , been busy with other projects , like this , I decided to put it here under "other artisan crafts" , as it is specific to my other crafts like baking/cooking , meat smoking/curing , and and just general outdoor living.
I traded 4 quarts of honey for this old propane "pig" , it was made in 1947 and is made of 1/4 inch steel , I have made the first cuts and have the basic structure underway , I've changed a few things in the process , finding out what works and what doesn't , like eliminating the sand heat sink , as I found some extra thick 2 1/2 inch fire brick , which should absorb a lot of heat in itself.
I've had a fire in it and it draws very well and heats up quickly , even though the chimney hasn't been installed yet , I hope to have it fired up and be using it next week as i have some time off right now.
I had an old cast iron two burner stove top that I incorporated into it , so it can be used as a stove too , with the burners and center piece removed as in the one pic , there will be a grill insert that fits into the space so it can be used as a grill , for cooking over the open fire below.
The body of the tank itself , will be built into a steel/concrete board enclosure which will then be filled with perlite insulation , it should stay hot all day once it is brought up to temps , I will update photos as I progress.
I also have a smoke generator coming , so it will be a smoker/cooker/grill/oven combination.
I have attached a basic drawing of the concept and a few pics of it up to date , I just started on it two days ago , looking forward to putting it into use.