Built my first smoker, Help

[jbenson]

Hello everyone.  This past weekend I built my first wooden smokehouse, it measures 26 x 23 x 46.  I used car-siding so the walls do not leak as of now, we will see once everything shrinks.  I bought 2 1000 W hot plates from walgreens, one for chips and the other for additional heat.  I smoked some trout yesterday and the hottest I could get the air temp was 180 F, I have read on here about guys heating comparible units to 220 F with 300 W heating elements.  I know I lose some heat around the door as I do not have a gasket on it yet, but that is the only place smoke creeps out.  Any suggestions on why I can't get the heat higher?  The smoke house currently has to venting so I know I am not losing heat there, do you think sealing up the door could have that big of an effect.  Thanks in advance for any advice.  Take Care all.

 

[pops6927]

How do you have each plugged in?  With the original cord only or with an extension?  The longer the cord on it the more wattage you lose.  Plug into a wall outlet without extensions and you will probably solve your problems.  Just try it - just out of the unit straight in and then with your extension cord and feel the difference in heat output.

 

[jbenson]

I did have both burners running off 1 cord.  I tried running a cord to each burner but not quite reach 190.  I might take the roof off and reduce the volume of the smoker by 1/3 so I am not heating as much.  I don't make sausage or anything yet, so I dont need much space.  I would need at most space for 2 briskets, basically enough room to smoke meat for a family get together.

 

[daveomak]

JBenson, evening....  Hotplates won't work.....  they have a high temp cut off built into them.... a regular element will get over 1000 deg F.... that will melt the surrounding housing.... so the cutoff switch/thermostat is installed....  You need a bare element with a controller or dimmer switch installed to achieve higher temps......   Dave

 

[jbenson]

Thanks Dave, could I just take the guts out of the hot plates ya suppose and mount a dimmer switch on the outside of the house?  I was going to keep this as my own but I went and bought a 40" MES today, seasoning it now.  I would like to get the homemade one going as we do Xmas presents that have to be second hand or hand made, I would like to give my smoke house as a gift, only if it is functional though.  Maybe I will tear into one of the hot plates tomorrow and see if I can take the thermostat out.

Jesse

 

[daveomak]

Jesse, .... Yeah, just plug the hot plate, without all the thermostats and safety junk into the dimmer..... then you can regulate the heat like you would a gas burner on the stove top.... That is what I did to my MES 30.... works super good....    You will have to check the burner housing and see what it is made of.... or make some legs for the burner and set it on a brick or 2....  use high temp stove wire for the connections to the burner for safety sake....  and connect to the dimmer....  Dave

Need more help ?? PM me or other folks on this forum can help also....   

 

[wjordan52]

Hey Jesse. My idea would be to simply remove the element from the rest of the hotplate (if possible), and use high temp wire to connect one to the other. The element would be placed inside the smoker, and the original controls would be outside and safe from the heat.

If that won't work I don't think I'd use a dimmer. I had that idea a while back and couldn't find one that would handle enough current. My solution was to buy an "infinite switch"; the rotary switch on stoves that controls the heat of surface burners. Mounted in an old electrical box, it would vary the amount of time the current flowed to the element, thus allowing temperature control. My post with more detail can be found here: http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/forum/newestpost/123717

I love the challenge of making what I want out of what I have on hand. Good luck on the smoker build, and good for you being willing to give it away when complete!

 

[daveomak]

Jesse, here is a dimmer similar to mine..... the 1500 watt provides a little buffer on the current draw....  Dave

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pass-Seymou...ultDomain_0&hash=item1c29c5a5d3#ht_500wt_1279

 

[jbenson]

Thanks for all the input guys, I am going to try a few different options mentioned and see what happens.  I'll let youknow