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Just a thought. Smoking meats with wood is very popular in Texas. Consequently, there are lots of higher end smoker manufacturers. One thing that’s common among them is that they all use heavy mild steel for their pits. As mentioned, every material has some way that it will eventually fail. Mild steel is going to rust but if it’s 3/8”-1/2” thick it will take a while. An additional benefit of thicker metal is that it holds the heat and cooks with less temperature variation than thinner pits.
My pit is home built from 1/4” thick 20” casing (pipe) and 1/4” flat plate; thinner than the high end commercially built pits. The casing is 36” long and it has a 20”x20”x20” fire box hanging off of one end. Even with the “thinner” material it’s still a 500 pound smoker. I keep it covered to keep rain from collecting in it. I’m not worried about it rusting out any time soon even though I live near Houston. The fats deposited on the inside protect it from rust and the outside gets a fresh coat of grill paint every 2-3 years.
A couple of you guys say all stainless steel will fail from food seasoning to temperature changes. YES. But if the stainless metals are thick enough it will be practically a lifetime of service. Case in point, I bought a cheap charboil grill back in 2005. I rebuilt major components until it failed at the supports (wheels and burner holders) 17 years later. Should be able to take a better grill like a Webber genesis, and rebuild the weak points at a minimum