- Mar 11, 2008
- 32
- 10
I don't see a forum specifically for DIY smokers, but since what I want to do is largely electric, this seemed like a good place.
I'm a long time lurker here, even before I joined so I could view attachment images :)
I'm the kind of guy who tends to go in big on new ventures, and I tend to build what I want, instead of buying something and modifying it. My wife says I enjoy the building more than the using, which may be a fair assessment.
I want to hot smoke (I'm desperate to try a fattie), I want to cold smoke. And I'm fairly certain I want to do it all in my basement, which means proper venting (Don't worry, I'm fully aware of the ramifications of smoking indoors, it won't happen without precautions.)
It occurs to me that separating heat and smoke generation makes the most sense.
What I have in mind isn't something I've seen anyone do, so I was hoping to get some input from the masters.
My idea is to take a large metal cabinet. Something like this:
http://tinyurl.com/5cl327
If you haven't guessed by now, I'm a gigantic nerd, so all of this would be monitored by several temperature probes for both meat temp and air/smoke temp, and all computer controlled. There's really no limit to how many temp probes you can monitor, and things like heating coil and convection fan could be controlled by computer, by relay.
Is it massive overkill to do something like this when you can do the same with a cheap metal tub and some charcoal? Well, sure. But it'll be fun trying :)
My concerns right now would be:
So what am I missing? I've got smoke, I've got heat, I've got the potential for cold smoke (don't even get me started on the use of a window air conditioner unit to create truly COLD smoke :) With the right preparation of the area of my basement I would use, there could be proper ventilation for true indoor smoking (barring that, it's the garage.)
Am I crazy for wanting something that could smoke about 20 brisket at a time?
I'm a long time lurker here, even before I joined so I could view attachment images :)
I'm the kind of guy who tends to go in big on new ventures, and I tend to build what I want, instead of buying something and modifying it. My wife says I enjoy the building more than the using, which may be a fair assessment.
I want to hot smoke (I'm desperate to try a fattie), I want to cold smoke. And I'm fairly certain I want to do it all in my basement, which means proper venting (Don't worry, I'm fully aware of the ramifications of smoking indoors, it won't happen without precautions.)
It occurs to me that separating heat and smoke generation makes the most sense.
What I have in mind isn't something I've seen anyone do, so I was hoping to get some input from the masters.
My idea is to take a large metal cabinet. Something like this:
http://tinyurl.com/5cl327
- Strip the shelves out.
- Wrap the outside in heat shielding, that tar/foil type stuff
- Wrap that in Rockwool, then wrap the whole thing in something to keep it neat.
- Rig the inside for stainless grate shelves, and the ability to swap in rods and hooks for sausage hanging.
- Vent the top of the case into a round heatsafe duct that can be vented outside.
- Vent that box out the top
- Run that duct through a mechanism to cool the smoke, for cold smoking. My thought here is either long looping runs of duct, or, to get crazy, put it through several fan-cooled automobile intercoolers (new and clean, of course) which, oddly enough, are designed to drop the temperature of an air charge moving through at a fairly good speed.
- Run that vent into the bottom of the main chamber.
If you haven't guessed by now, I'm a gigantic nerd, so all of this would be monitored by several temperature probes for both meat temp and air/smoke temp, and all computer controlled. There's really no limit to how many temp probes you can monitor, and things like heating coil and convection fan could be controlled by computer, by relay.
Is it massive overkill to do something like this when you can do the same with a cheap metal tub and some charcoal? Well, sure. But it'll be fun trying :)
My concerns right now would be:
- Sealing the gaps around the doors sufficiently
- The paint on the inside of the cabinet going all toxic at heat
- The box itself being able to maintain 220+
So what am I missing? I've got smoke, I've got heat, I've got the potential for cold smoke (don't even get me started on the use of a window air conditioner unit to create truly COLD smoke :) With the right preparation of the area of my basement I would use, there could be proper ventilation for true indoor smoking (barring that, it's the garage.)
Am I crazy for wanting something that could smoke about 20 brisket at a time?