Big Chief smoker mods

[CanuckBob]

Just picked up my new Big Chief. First things I did was add a thermometer, a daisy wheel vent and a chimney. I live in Mexico where the BC runs too hot. Increased air flow helps to cool it down.

 

[daveomak]

They are a great smoker.... Nice mods...

 

[Hank R]

I used my Little and Big Chief for over 30 years had great smokes with them

 

[CanuckBob]

I forgot to say I also added a rheostat to the power cord to enable me to turn down the temp on the element.

 

[CanuckBob]

Smoking 14lbs of Salmon today.

 

[CanuckBob]

Does anyone add to water to the drip pan to increase the humidty and possibly keep it cooler?

 

[daveomak]

Condensate on the meat makes for "acid rain" on the meat... Condensate is not good.... It also dissolves the pellicle....
Use a SCR to control the heat... Same principle as a rheostat.... Silicon Controlled Rectifier...

 

[cmayna]

CanuckBob,
What temps are you running the smoker at for Salmon? I would consider using a Auber PID controller which allows you to set desired temps with desired times. That's what I use with my Big Chief.

Oh and welcome to SMF.

 

[CanuckBob]

Around the 125f to 150f.

 

[cmayna]

How did the Salmon smoke turn out? How long did you brine it and then how long to smoke it? Pics of finish product? What wood flavor did you use?

 

[Hank R]

Not trying to hi jack this thread but this, is what I used and liked it. when I was using the big chief.
Topic #10 is a excellent video.

First time getting ready to smoke???

Hi I am really new to smoking like never done it. I have been trying for several years with my gas BBQ, Napoleon Prestige with a cast Iron Charcoal/ Smoker tray. For 3 years I have not been happy with results so that is why I am here. I dug out my Big Chief and cleaned up and want to try...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

 

[cmayna]

Another idea to consider, especially when you do a lot of meat and when the ambient temp is a little on the low side, is to install a higher rated heating element. I believe the stock element is 400 watts. I installed an element from a Proctor Silex stove top which is rated 1000w.
You might also consider wrapping the Chief with a insulated wrap or blanket since it is not insulated.

 

[CanuckBob]

I ran it without water in the pan as advised above. Made sense. I smoked at 125 to 150 for 5 hours. I gave it 4 pans of applewood. Turned out perfect. Better job than my old smoker for sure.

 

[CanuckBob]

I sell my salmon. Here is a pic after vacuum sealing.

 

[daveomak]

This has seen several mods.. including the burner....



Burner with the thermostat installed ..
The Red light lets me know when the burner
kicks on and off.....

 

[CanuckBob]

Cool. Looks like that has seen a few miles. My problem here in Mexico is it runs too hot. From the factory I did a test burn and it was nearly 250f. After the mods I can keep it around 125 to 150 with the added air flow and the rheostat on the power cord

 

[daveomak]

Well, I installed the 1000 Watt+ burner when I moved to Eastern Washington... I tried smoking Columbia River salmon at -20F... Hold my beer while I fix this smoker....
They smoke fish better than any smoker I've tried... It's over 30 years old...
I even hauled it to Alaska to use on the Purse Seiner I fished on... Smoked lots of fresh Alaska salmon...

 

[bill1]

...Use a SCR to control the heat...

I recognize that unit DaveOmak!...I've bought a couple of those on ebay myself! They're OK but they do tend to be quite "aggressively" spec'ed and need quite a bit of air cooling to reach even a fraction of their rated power. But still much cheaper than a rheostat of the same rating.

Love hearing your stories about Alaska and smoking in -20F weather.

 

[daveomak]

Yes, aggressively spec'd... I use the 4,000 watt unit to control ~1,000 watt appliances.... Been in use for 3-4 years and still working... Main use for me is... Controlling electric cookware... I have an elec. deep fryer I use for slow cooking and control the element so it doesn't come on full blast to raise the temp 5 deg. when the stat calls for it... NICE !!!!

 

[bill1]

... in use for 3-4 years and still working...

That's pretty good. I think they're basically the circuitry of a 600W rotary wall dimmer switch but with better cooling (ie cooling fin and holes in chassis) while being a couple bucks cheaper.
And I see that for the princely sum of $13 the same unit can now be had, shipped to your door, with a fairly nicely integrated muffin fan. Still rated 4000W, implying you needed at least that amount of forced air cooling to achieve anywhere near the claimed specs before. For someone wanting a simple (non-thermostatic) control of a 1500W element on a 120V/15A circuit, it's hard to beat the price and simplicity.