Ok to use roof/barn metal for smokehouse walls?

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Torval

Newbie
Original poster
Apr 29, 2018
2
0
Having a hard time finding an answer to this online. I know not to use treated lumber in my smokehouse, but what about roof/barn metal? We've got some leftover from when they put a new roof on the house, and I've been eyeballing something similar to this, but with metal instead of wood as the outer framework, and probably a barrel stove for the firebox:

CedarSmokehouseOBN.jpg


A few other questions...with something setup like the above, what temperatures can you reach? Is it hot enough to "cook" food like you can with a store-bought smoker in an afternoon, or is it a much slower/lower temp process?

If you have something like the above, can you build a fire directly in the house itself to increase the heat, or is that generally frowned upon? Obviously you would need some sort of metal container in the base to contain the fire, but is that something that is done?

Thanks for any info.
 
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A smokehouse is not designed to "hot cook" food like you asked about. The store bought models are basically dual purpose. They can run at lower temps for smoking and higher temps for cooking. What is in the photo you posted is a smokehouse, not a "cooker". You could very likely get low 200-230's out of a design like that if the food chamber is insulated and that will "cook" most smoked foods just fine. But you are not going to get 275-350* out of that (I would not even try it in a wood framed smokehouse). But that design is mainly for lower temp smoking and not cooking.

I don't see why you can't use the salvaged barn metal, with a couple of cautions. The most common caution you will hear is don't use galvanized metal. In a smoke house that is less of an issue as the temps involved are no where near high enough for the zinc and other metal fumes to be an issue. Also the interior will quickly accumulate a coating of smoke further sealing the metal. "Metal fume fever" is an issue with galvanized and certain other metals exposed to much higher temps than you will ever have in a smoke house. The only place you might see those temps in a design like in the photo would be in the firebox, especially where the hots coals and burning smoke wood are in contact with the metal. But even that being said, once you burn off the coating, it's gone and you have the bare metal beneath.

If you look at the interior of all of the commercial smokers like the MES, Bradley, etc... they are all painted or powder coated. Never hear anyone voicing a concern about the paint/coating on those do you? And again, after a break in smoke, the whole interior should have a nice layer of "smoke" coating everything anyway (and it will continue to build up with use). You will even get that smoke buildup on a wood lined smokehouse.

As to pressure treated, you can still use that, but not in areas where it will be either in contact with the food on say as a lining of the food chamber or smoke path. PT framing underneath the interior lining, or PT exterior cladding should not be an issue as those areas should never see temps high enough to cause a problem and there should be no path for any off gassed fumes into the food chamber.

One other thought as to a barrel stove for a firebox. It will work, but the design in the photo has a thick brick & concrete firebox and flue to the smoke chamber. That design (as in the photo) will hold in a lot more heat than the thin metal of a barrel stove and a metal stovepipe. Again the more heat you can hold, the easier it is to maintain a steady temp and smoke. That design (the photo) should be very stable once at temp and running even. An uninsulated metal fire box and pipe will require a lot more tending, burn more fuel, and likely have higher temp swings, but it is workable. Some designs just work better than others (which is also why you see insulated fireboxes in the higher end big stick burners and other smokers - it's all about retaining heat and keeping it even and steady over time)
 
Hi there and welcome!

I don't have any exact answers for you but I know that when guys do drum smokers they will "burn out" the barrel to remove any zinc or odd coatings from the inside. I would assume that as long as your metal roof panels aren't anything weird you could do the same. I think some will tell you that a smokehouse wouldn't get hot enough to make the coatings and such melt/burn/gas out so you wouldn't have any issues. Me... I would burn it out and clean up just to make sure.

Hopefully someone can answer this question better and your other questions as well :)
 
Ok, thanks for the info. Sounds like I'm somewhat blending "smokers" like you would buy at the store (similar to grills,) and smoke-houses. I knew you could go lower and slower in a smokehouse, but wasn't sure if you could also get the same high temp cook.

Also thanks for the info on the barn metal; it will be good to re-use the leftover (new,) pieces from when they re-did the roof.

I was thinking of burying or insulating the stovepipe leading into the smokehouse (similar to the above picture,) but using the barrel stove just as a convenience. Being able to detach it and put it up to keep it out of the rain, etc. Perhaps if I get a lot of use out of it that way, I can justify building a brick firebox on it later as an improvement.

What temperature are you normally smoking at, and how long in a smokehouse like the one pictured? For say, something like a large pork loin? Just out of curiosity. Thanks. :)
 
I built my smokehouse with a wood ceiling like a house. Then used OSB on the roof with metal over it. That way the roof could be anything.

You were about to burn down a brand new smokehouse :D I didn't go for the metal fire box but built a brick one. I am thinking in a year or so of expanding the fire box and building an oven over it s part of the chimney bypass. I am still leaning back and forth on design as I haven't seen anyone else do anything like this yet.
 
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