Can a small Fridge be a cold smoke box?

[txflyguy]

I have a small outdoor fridge that I wish to make into a smoking box, mainly for cold smoking Salmon, and other things.
Can this be done, and how difficult is it to do?
I would need to cut a hole in the side for the smoke entrance, and then add a short stack on top for the smoke to escape.
Any thoughts, or ideas?
Has anyone done this before?

 

[mike243]

I have a small outdoor fridge that I wish to make into a smoking box, mainly for cold smoking Salmon, and other things.
Can this be done, and how difficult is it to do?
I would need to cut a hole in the side for the smoke entrance, and then add a short stack on top for the smoke to escape.
Any thoughts, or ideas?
Has anyone done this before?

Quick answer is no,the compressor will get hot and shut off on limit,they don't have much of a recovery rate and no external condenser most of the time,2-3 cases of warm water and drinks will cause most of them to trip the compressor temp relay,I'm not sure how much heat 1 of the small smoke generators make but a 18 cubic fridge would be a better option with the freezer loaded with frozen water bottles to use as a heat sink,good luck

 

[txflyguy]

I guess my post was not clear. The fridge box would simply be used as a place to hold smoke, which would come from an external source. The compressor and all associated parts are non-functional.

A flex tube would be run into the side of the fridge box, with a short chimney on top for the smoke exit point.

With the multiple racks it seems an ideal way to smoke a large number of ribs, roasts, salmon, cheese, etc. But it would be limited to cold smoking, as very little heat would enter the fridge.

 

[SmokinAl]

For a cold smoke box, you can use anything, even a large cardboard box will work.
Al

 

[indaswamp]

Yep, It'll work. But I recommend making the stack as tall as you cam for much better draft. Cold smokes need as mush draft as you can provide because there is not much heat rising in the smoker to pull fresh air in.

 

[pops6927]

I converted one several years ago and it worked great!

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/old-mini-fridge-into-an-a-maze-n-cold-smoker.96435/

I finally had to discard it; my cold smoking increased in volume, out-growing the size of the mini-fridge.

 

[dr k]

Your cold smoking duration will be longer if you cold smoke in anything not insulated. But should work just fine. If you smoke cheese and don't want it to sweat you may stop cold smoking when the box gets to 80*f and continue the next day if it gets too warm.