Metal inside fridge Paint Use as is or scrap

smokedeer30 · Apr 8, 2014

New to the forum and jumping into a Fridge smoker build.. Will be a Hot Smoker for bbq meats. I have a '54 IH fridge that I have gotten started on and getting project going. Question this inside of fridge is Metal but is I ""Think"" painted and wondering if this will be ok to still use for smoking meats??? Or should I need to sand and buff down to no paint and do something different with this??

smoke54b.jpg

smokedeer30
Apr 8, 2014

This is pic of the build so far. Just a work in progess

goliath · Apr 8, 2014

is it paint or enamel ? mine was enamel and was fine. i dont know about paint though. easy enough to tell the difference. enamel is tough as hell and when you hit it with a center punch it shatters, doesnt just leave a point.

good luck with the build

smokedeer30 · Apr 11, 2014

Hope to get to do some work this weekend. Inside is Enamel so I'm good to go there. Question about from taking out the screws from plastic trays, could you use pop rivets to seal up the holes for this?

goliath · Apr 11, 2014

i used bolts and washers on my build where needed, depends how big the holes are. put the screws back in if you can. i sealed everything up with some food grade silicon too.

GOOD LUCK

smokedeer30 · Apr 11, 2014

Thanks for the info that helps.. Some of screws were rusty and then also putting in channel for rack so the bolts, washer and nuts will work great.

goliath · Apr 11, 2014

i bolted all my rack supports in place before i put the tub back into the fridge. also my tub had nylon spacers between the tub and the outer fridge. toss them out

ya dont need them getting hot and giving off toxic gas ... lol

heres my build http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/151047/coldspot-freezer-build

i got some real good ideas on this site and made a top drawer rig. i ended up doing a bunch of smoke gens and now i have a mail box mod with an AMPS, 2 actually so i can get alot of smoke if i want.

the door gasket i used is also awesome stuff and not that expensive. the thing is if you are going to one do it all the way.... its lousy saying ya shoulda done this or that. i wish i had more supports for racks. i have put some in with self tappers but it was an ugly job to do compared to drilling and bolting on a bench.

PM me if ya want more pics and web sites etc

AND DONT FORGET TO GET ALL THE TAR OUT OF THE INSIDE ... THATS DEADLY STUFF !!!!

glad i can help

GOLIATH

smokedeer30 · Apr 14, 2014

Thanks for the info GOLIATH.. I've got the black stuff in mine, but not as bad as what you had.. On redoing the door panel, since one that was in was plastic wondering what can use to cover it up, Thinking sheet metal but unsure of what gauge to use on this. And does it need to be stainless steal sheet metal or what??

I've been thinking on the smoke generator and thinking about running the Mailbox way since it looks easier.

goliath · Apr 14, 2014

mail box mod was my 3rd kick at the cat and is the best way i have found for my unit. just buy an AMNPS from Todd or wherever and you are winning already. can do long smokes without baby sitting and very economical on pellets.

as far as lighting them i saw a thread on here awhile back where the fella lit them with a torch and then hit them with a hot air paint stripper, as i had one already for peeling the tar outta my fridge i tried it. the flame takes off and starts roaring like a jet engine ... LOL.... i just blow it out and toss it in my turkey roaster and away we go. a hair dryer would also work well if ya have an old one laying around.

i dont know what your plans are but i really enjoy having my rig on a dolly with casters so i can move it around.

now for the door, i just used really light gauge aluminum, screwed it in with some small self tapper screws, and for the door gasket i used the stuff from this thread

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/138430/door-gasket-questions

scroll down and you will see a pic of the invoice. just punch those numbers into Mcmaster-Carr and the stuff will show up. you need a commercial address to ship it to, they told me no domestic shipping but everyone knows someone with some kind of shop :0)

i put it on my door, not the fridge, and laid the door on a couple saw horses, then used high temp silicon to hold it in place and masking tape across every few inches. then laid a piece of plywood on it and loaded it with a bunch of weight, what ever is handy to keep it down over night. next day i did nice beads along both sides of the seal and it works very well. not as pricey as one would think !!!

HOPE THIS HELPS...

GOOD LUCK

GOLIATH

chezey · Apr 14, 2014

Just adding my two cents. GOLIATH gave me a lot of advice on mine. He knows what he is talking about. The only thing I can add is about the door seal material. McMaster-Carr did ship the material I ordered to me. Maybe if you don't live in the united states you have to have it shipped to a buisness address but when I called them they said they sell to the general public. Im in Missouri and they shipped out of Chicago. Only took two or three days to get it. I attatched it with high temp silicone as he said and it worked great.

goliath · Apr 15, 2014

yah ... they wouldnt ship it to me in Canada... :(

AND THANKS CHEZEY FOR THE VOTE OF CONFIDENCE !!!!!
not sure i know that much ... BUT i know what i know. and its all from this site and help from others on it. i kept track of my build and what tricks and tips i would use next time. i PM'd with folks on here and everyone always had time to help.

I THINK THATS WHAT THIS PLACE IS ALL ABOUT.

GOLIATH

smokedeer30 · Apr 15, 2014

Well looks like I'm going to get a 3 day weekend to work on this project.. Got my girl's kids coming over maybe I will get some help out of them on this. Will post pics and hope to get few things done, looking like getting BLACK Crap cleaned out, roxwool going in, and what ever else I can do to get good jump on it..

goliath · Apr 15, 2014

i used a heat gun and putty knife to wrestle that crap out, and then varsol or paint thinner to finish off the job. then i washed the rig out with a good dish soap that will cut the grease and residue left behind. my buddies in the machine shop actually use "sunlite" brand dish soap ... LOL

good luck

smokedeer30 · Apr 21, 2014

Well had a great weekend on the smoker. Did get all the black CRAP for *&^%$%^^%$ out of the fridge. Didn't get much pics, since was mostly sanding and grinding wire wheel on the outside. Did get 2 holes done for Fresh air intake, hole cut out for the Mailbox smoke mod and the exhaust hole cut.. Also my neighbor was throwing away his oven/stove which he cracked the Glass top stove. Had the idea of using the oven heating elements to use as heat in smoker and turns out they were to big to use. Well went to the next best thing and thought heck why can't I just use 2 of the stove top heating elements. Tore oven apart and have got the part needed for Heating element, Going to do a test wire and make sure will work the way I want them to work. Did get some of the outside of fridge prime and almost ready for Paint, thinking of working on metal for the inside door this week and have it cut and ready to fit. Then can hopefully get insul done on the inside and get the outside painted up and then all metal put in place. Coming along nicely,

goliath · Apr 21, 2014

moving right along arnt ya.... can almost smell smoke !!!!!

i actually have 1 big element from a 110v hotplate in my smoker and the brinkman 1500 watt. the brinkman is hooked up to my Auberins PID and the other has its own control and is fed from another source. didnt wanna blow any breakers..

i found it wasnt coming up to temp quick enough for my liking so i wired in the 2nd burner and its great now. i just turn down burner #2 and let the PID take over. something to think about if you have some trouble with heat. sounds like you are going 220v so you will be fine but watch out for the load on the burner so ya dont fry your PID, i dont know what your plan is but the plug and play ones with the dual probes from Auberins only go to 1800watts and its not recommended to run them at full capacity for more than a certain amount of time. they have great tech support there so ya can always make a call and talk to Frank. he was very helpful with me.

HAVE FUN WITH THE BUILD AND LETS SEE SOME PICS

GOLIATH

smokedeer30 · Apr 21, 2014

Stupid question time,,, Heard all about PID and things and I'm completely LOST.. I have all the control knob assembly, wires and stuff, now can I reuse this?? Was going to run 220 outlet near where smoker will be set up. Make enclosed box and house the 2 control assembly and then run wire to the stove/heat element. Will this work or am I back to square one?? Which I had alot of that this weekend and went back to the drawing board on several things. Which right now if I have to go the PID route I'm @ a point to where I can do that, since not got rack system idea done yet and have not got insulation done yet. Thanks for all the help, This place has helped me so much I can't thank the people here who help.

madman mike · Apr 22, 2014

Go with he aubrins du controller. I ordered one for my build rather than wire one together and it's definitely worth it. Especially if you want to set and forget.
They allow multiple temp and time functions and monitoring of the house tempas well aas the internal food temp. Set to cook at what ever temp for however long and when the internal food temp hits a specific temp it can either shut the smoker down or drop to a holding temp.
Use it 120v or 240v

chezey · Apr 22, 2014

Sent you a message with the pictures you requested.

smokedeer30 · Apr 23, 2014

Got it Chezey and thanks for the pictures and closer view and the links, I've got a idea of how to do the racks system a little bit better now, so my brain won't turn it into rocket science. LoL..

Thanks for the info on the PID controller, that is how my masterbuilt smoker is done, just set it and forget it.

smokedeer30 · Apr 25, 2014

Well got sometime to work on smoker last night, since got off work early. Still got to do a few light coats of sanding and primer on metal. But moving right along.

Here is 1/2 of the rack support that I'm putting inside for racks.

smoke2.4.24.jpg

smokedeer30
Apr 25, 2014

Outside picture of outside of smoker.

smoke1.4.24.jpg

smokedeer30
Apr 25, 2014

goliath · Apr 25, 2014

thats a great rack set up, if (when) i do another build that will be the way i do it !!!
NICE JOB..

as for racks themselves..... i have some real nice custom fit full size racks for my smoker the only thing was they were a B&*%CH to clean. the wife got tired of me soaking them in the bath tub real quick ... ha haha.

so i now have some smaller racks that i sit on cross bars. real easy to clean up as i can soak them in the laundry tub. after doing some chickens, ribs, or pork there is always some GOOEY GOODNESS left on the racks. as my smoker doesnt get super hot to burn this off it is important for me to clean them up.

just my 2 cents but like with my smoke generator, took me a few trial and errors to get my racks where i liked them too.

HAPPY BUILDING

can hardley wait to see that baby puffing smoke

Goliath

Metal inside fridge Paint Use as is or scrap

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