building a smoker

[lovetosmoke]

I am in the process of building a smoker out of an old double door refrigerator. It is the old all steel type. I am looking for ideas on how to mount my fire box to the refigerator. I was thinking of adding propane to the inside for heat. But I want to make it so I don't have to rely on propane as my main heat source. I want to eventually some day enter compatitions and the ones around here you can not use propane as your heat source. Anyone have any ideas?


Thanks

 

[Dutch]

LTS-Check out this link. In it a couple of members talk about converting an old fridge into a smoker.
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=1754

 

[lovetosmoke]

Thanks for the link Dutch it will really help.

 

[makuakane]

Not sure how your old fridge looks like, but the one I used to use had it's compressor located in the bottom. After I gutted the whole thing out I was left with the upper compartment for the meat, and the bottom where the compressor used to be for the smoke box. My smoke box was an old 5 gal propane tank that I'd cut in half.
I cut a hole in the fridge floor over the firepit, placed a brick in each corner, then set a piece of sheetmetal on the bricks. The smoke had to navagate around the sheet metal on it's way up to the meat. Worked great.
I'd stretched some wires across the fridge span in rows to hang meat from.

Hope this gives you some more ideas.

 

[cheech]

Make sure you have plenty of air movement. My first go around did not and it created problems of its own

 

[coz]

If you are considering propane you shaould at least talk with the folks that sell the http://gassmoker.com/ they have a nice burner.Ask to see the fridge conversion that he is going to get on his site.It is a nice model for where to start.He is big on doing fridge conversions.Coz

 

[milleroclock]

i got an old 55gal drum drilled holes to put bolts in it to hold up the grats the grate of a webber and the lid fits to i just use lump charcole drilled some holes in one of my wifes baking pans (dont tell her)