Belshaw donut/ Smoker

That is going to make a really nice smoker!!!

Good evening Smokinmad, Thought I would shoot you a pic and a description of my smoker and what I made it out of. My smoker is an old discarded food warmer from a local school dist.

It has an electrical heating element in it with a water pan thing for keeping food moist. I left the electrical heating element in mine and I use it for whan I do cold smokes such as cheese and bacon, works great.

I also drilled through the side and installed a propane valve from an old barbcue and bought a corresponding gas burner at Home Depot and installed that in the bottom of the cabinet, I use it for hot smoking.

I cut a 4 inch by 10 inch rectangle hole in the lower section of the door and used a floor house type furnace register for an air inlet vent, I also cut the same size hole and put a register in the top of the cabinet for my exhaust vent, With the registers I can open or close in any amount I want to.

Additionally, I did what I saw here on SMF and did a mailbox mod, for using my amzn-p smoke generator.

I would suggest you leave the electric heating element in and use it for cold smoking, With mine its a snap to control low temps needed for chees and I do all my bacon with it doing it cold.

Here is a picture of mine with the mail box mod,  if you are interested, I will post or send you additional pictures of it and of it in operation.


Rich-

good Morning Smokinmad, I will post the pictures and try to describe each one as they go in order.


Inside smoker as I use it, some times I put chips in that cast iron frying pan, below it is the propane burner.


This is the propane burner, it sits atop the original water pan that I never use, there are 2 electric heat elements, 1 is to heat that water pan, the other stands upright in the back. They are all in one unit tho with separate controls which can be seen lower frnt.


Propane valve I scavenged from an old barbecue. The 3'" elbow can be seen for my mail box mod in the upper left of this picture.


View of the door, showing the lower air inlet vent


Close up of inlet vent, it is a 4" X 10" furnace wall register. It has the control to open or close as wanted


This is the top of the cabinet showing the 4" X 10" floor furnace register.

This cabinet is all aluminum, the walls and top are 1" thick with insulation, It is on large casters, so when I smoke, I roll it outside under my roofed area.

As said before, I use the electric elements for heat when I am cold smoking, I set the thermostat on the heat unit and let her go. The electric will only heat to about 160 degrees or so outside, so when I want to smoke ribs etc. I light up the propane burner and then I control the heat with a combination of the gas valve and the vents.


Pork belley, brined and ready for smoking


Bellies hanging in the smoker


Nice TBS and bellies taken on color


All smoked and resting before slicing

NICE!  Great smoker, and beautiful results.