Hello all, just finished my first build. I was frustrated with indirect heat sources and cold spots. Have smoked in all manner of horizontal smokers, and always had the same frustration, hot end-cold end. So I decided I wanted a vertical smoke chamber to maintain a more uniform heat, couldn't find one priced right, so I decided to build one. I was going to mainly use it for smoking fish, but wanted to be able to hit 200 plus for ribs, so the wooden smoke chamber, which I built around replacement racks for an oven, works fine. It takes about an hour, less if I build a fire on the ground and shovel in, to hit a steady 180-190, and then it will hold for 3-4 hours with minimal stoke/vent work. It is has too much cooking space for me, just cooked for a party of 30 plus and didn't fill it half way up, so I could probable cut the box in half and hit closer to 250 more easily. Being wood, just doesn't want to get much over 200, which again is fine for me because I basically only do fish and ribs. It is nice, but I am ready for spring to start a new build. Was thinking of doing another wood stove, maybe a larger version to provide a little more heat; also thinking about cutting an aluminum canoe in half, burying the wide end and building a door over the "top" of the canoe, and just having an open fire on the ground within the enclosed part. Anyway, just interested for comments on how to improve the design, and ideas for a new build. Thanks!
The last picture is the final product, the one before where it is smoking is before I trimmed it down 16 inches. Lost one rack, but sealed up much better.
The last picture is the final product, the one before where it is smoking is before I trimmed it down 16 inches. Lost one rack, but sealed up much better.
