Propane smoke house build

[tank@814]

Hi I’m building an insulated 6x6x4 smokehouse to smoke jerky could someone tell me how many btu I’ll need and it’ll a conversion burner will hold 175 degrees in the box

 

[Jonok]

Hi I’m building an insulated 6x6x4 smokehouse to smoke jerky could someone tell me how many btu I’ll need and it’ll a conversion burner will hold 175 degrees in the box

If I might make a suggestion,
Consider electric heat with a PID and a separate smoke generator. Sauna elements (120 or 240) are really cheap and readily available. PIDs and relays are available on Amazon for next to nothing.
Long slow smokes on a propane powered smoker are hard to regulate (nearly impossible automatically without a couple K of equipment) and leave a faint mercaptan taste which is unpleasant.

 

[JLeonard]

While I am a propane smoker....I have to agree with Jonok . Unless you run a needle valve and block off a lot of the orifices on the burner it will be hard to get down to where you want your temps for jerky making without losing the flame. And electric element and a tube for smoke may be your best bet.

Jim

 

[SmokinEdge]

Hi I’m building an insulated 6x6x4 smokehouse to smoke jerky could someone tell me how many btu I’ll need and it’ll a conversion burner will hold 175 degrees in the box

That’s a big smoke chamber. My smokehouse chamber is 3x3x4, I use a 35,000 btu turkey fryer burner with an inline needle valve to control flame. I place a cast iron skillet on top as a heat diffuser and a place to smolder wood chunks. This setup works very good from late fall through early spring in the mountains of Colorado. However in the warmer months I can control my temps (never higher than 175*) but cannot generate smoke through smoldering (pan is not hot enough) so I bought the Smokin-It smoke generator and that works slick.

If you really want to run propane I suggest you contact Tejas Smokers in Texas for a burner set up. It’s what they do for a living and can set you up with everything you will need. Here is a link to their site.

https://tejassmokers.com/

 

[Jonok]

My electric smoker is 7x3x2.5, it has two 240v sauna elements that cost $45 together on Amazon. It is controlled by a $25 PID which runs a $10 4 pole mechical relay. It gets to 300 degrees temp within 5 minutes of startup, and maintains temp to literally 2 degrees at all times.
I have a homebuilt smoke generator that actually burns lump charcoal and green peach wood, and does essentially nothing to disturb the temperature of the rig, but it won’t make bitter smoke.

 

[B_R_Brian]

I'm in the planning stages of a smokehouse for sausage so will need to run it up to 170* or thereabouts and just like the OP I have been wondering about BTU requirements.

How big of a chamber can I heat with an electric heat source if I only have 120v power available?

 

[Jonok]

Well, 170 with a great deal of stability shouldn’t be much of a stretch for an insulated 4x4x5 chamber with a 2000 W element.
Use a PID controller and a mechanical relay (at low voltage, they almost never fail closed, so you are less likely to burn your smokehouse down than with a SSR)

You can safely run up to 2400w total load on a 20a 120v circuit.
If you want to screw around with 240v elements on 120v, it’s safe, but you’ll only get 1/4 of the max rated output (but you’ll only be drawing 1/4 of the wattage, so the element will last a lot longer, because it’s loafing)
So, if you buy a sauna element rated at 2000w at 120v, (they are $20-30 on Amazon) you’re good, or you could theoretically buy a 240v 8000w (I’ve never seen one that big, but I’m sure they exist) and it will give you the same 2000w output on 120v.
If you’re at all handy, buy the PID and Contactor separately and build the controller yourself because if something fails, it will cost peanuts to repair.

Rock wool is your friend when it comes to insulating hot stuff.

Metal on the inside of the chamber is best, because you can keep it clean, and it won’t catch fire, but Your Mileage May Vary…

 

[B_R_Brian]

Thank you Jonak, that's useful information!

I think I've read almost every single smokehouse build thread on this forum and my plans are a bit more modest than the OP's - although I'm only in the planning stages I'm looking at a "cedar smokehouse" design on 32" tall cinderblock base (than can easily be filled in) topped by a wooden frame lined with hardie board and insulated. Interior dimensions of the smoke chamber would be approx. 32" x 32" x 48." My original plan was to heat with a propane burner fed through a needle valve, but electricity would be a significant upgrade for temperature control!

 

[JC in GB]

Here is some information if you want to do a DIY electrical control system.

PID Controller Tutorial and Build Information

Good day all. It was suggested that I start up a PID controller tutorial thread. Sounded like a good idea to me so, here I am. What is a PID in the first place? P - Proportional I - Integral D - Derivative These parameters describe gain formulas. Gain determines how fast and how hard your...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

JC

 

[HalfSmoked]

Lot of discussion here all I can say is to be safe don't build a bomb.

Warren

 

[B_R_Brian]

Lot of discussion here all I can say is to be safe don't build a bomb.

Warren

Well that's a benefit of electric that I hadn't thought of!

 

[BGKYSmoker]

I went from lpg, to electric Traeger pellet burner. Even in the North PA winters my smokehouse never went above 175*. Why would I need 500* for smoked sausages?

 

[SmokinEdge]

Lot of discussion here all I can say is to be safe don't build a bomb.

Warren

Good advice Warren. Any time you are using gas in an enclosed space there is a risk but if done thoughtfully it’s a very minimal risk. To me a propane powered smokehouse is not a set and forget, but if you want something like that then you need a PID controller and a thermocouple like this one.
https://tejassmokers.com/Gas-Thermostat-Control/536

For the most part I smolder wood chunks on a cast iron skillet to make smoke. I can watch the smokehouse and see the smoke rolling I’m ok, but if the smoke cuts way down or stops rolling all together it’s time to check the smokehouse. This is about every 20 minutes I’m over there making sure everything is good. Works just fine for me and many others here, but there are certainly safety mods that can be done.

Another reason I run gas is because of the meat loads I can run. If you put 100-150 pounds of meats in to smoke thats a huge thermal mass to overcome and LP gas can do that cheaper. The OP wants to build a 6x6x4 smokehouse, in my view his best option is LP gas but I could be wrong.

 

[BGKYSmoker]

Mine was LPG but I didnt like the tank so close to the smoker. At the time I did not have the option to run a gas line from the house tanks to the smokehouse. The Traeger hopper came in handy.