A few questions on a homemade smoker

[stone5674]

I have just started cold smoking in the last few days, I have been hot smoking for a long time. I have a few questions to help me get started properly.

First off, I bought a smoke generator and it is doing fine, I just need to find the right vessel to do the smoking in. I am only doing cheese for now. I bought the below generator and it says it will produce smoke for 7 hours with pellets.

It has been in the 20"s here lately so I don't know if I am better to way wait for warmer weather or keep trying. I smoked some in the grill with the smoke generator at one end and the cheese at the other. The smoke generator creates a fair amount of heat so I assume it kept the grill warm enough. The cheese came out looking good it looked good....it's still resting. I have since bought a digital temp probe and smoked some in the below contraption and the temp inside the cooler stayed around 40 but dropped to 37 a couple time. The cheese didn't show much sign of smoke or browning but the cooler was always filled with smoke when I lifted the lid.

So my questions:

1. How long, roughly, do you smoke cheese?
2. I am not getting 7 hours of smoke using apple pellets, any experience with this type of generator?
3. Does it require more time if smoking at low temps....like 40?
4. I suspect that the black tube going from the smoke box to the cooler is too small in diameter and I plan to modify that today, I'd like your thoughts?

 

[smokerjim]

I usually smoke cheese 3 to 4 hours, as long as temps in smoker are between 33 to 75 you'll be fine. My tube usually last about 4 to 5 hours. Do you have vents on top of your cooler to keep your smoke fresh , some people just use a cardboard box to cold smoke.

 

[stone5674]

I usually smoke cheese 3 to 4 hours, as long as temps in smoker are between 33 to 75 you'll be fine. My tube usually last about 4 to 5 hours. Do you have vents on top of your cooler to keep your smoke fresh , some people just use a cardboard box to cold smoke.

I am pretty sure that my vent tube on top and the hose between the firebox and cooler are too small. Today, I am trying the simplest of all methods and using an old charcoal barrel smoker with the smoke generator in the bottom. Since it is getting some warmth from the generator the temp in the smoker is staying at about 48 degrees. And it is getting good ventilation to keep the smoke fresh!

Thanks!

 

[Brokenhandle]

I'm with smokerjim, I too smoke for about 4 hours using apple pellets. Did some about a week ago and temps in smoker stayed at 42 degrees. I don't think you get as much color on the cheese at those temps as you do at say 70 degrees. As far as how long... it's a personal preference and also depends on how clean your smoke is. Dust burns cleaner with less heat than pellets.

Ryan