Cold Smoke Build

[pugsbrew]

DISREAGARD THE FOLLOWING BABLE.  SEE REAL QUESTIONS BELOW.

So, I going to build a cold smoking unit for sausage.  I have the electric heater from an old Brinkman, and a PID.  

My question are specifically about building a COLD sausage smoker, nothing above 170 deg, sorta.

I plan on building a double plywood wall cold smoker using 2X3's and oak plywood.  Also, a MB smoke generator with an AMNPS.  i will put Hardibacker in the bottom to prevent the problem of burning my smoker up.

Questions:

1.  With a cold smoker, with a MB mod, do I need bottom vents in the smoker?  I can see the MB mod will provide enough airflow, am I wrong?

2.  I was planning on the air insulation, between the double walls in cold smoking,  being enough to hold the heat.  Any comments?

3.  If I need to put insulation in the build, what would I use?  Assuming it's between the two walls of plywood of a cold smoker.  

4.  If I wanted to bump it up as a hot smoker, the insulation needs to be able to hold the heat without failing.  So, what would insulation would I use for regular hot smoking?

5.  is there a problem with putting the AMNPS directly in the smoke shack, next to the heating element?

Thanks

 

[oregonsmoke]

A little more info might help someone answer your questions. Where are you located? so as to tell what environmental influences must be taken into consideration. How thick is the plywood you are using? How much of an air gap are you leaving between sheets?

 

[pugsbrew]

Oregonsmoke,

You are correct.  I am waffling on what exactly I want to build.  I initially wanted to just build a cold smoker, but now I'm reconsidering.  The smoker would be used in SE OH for cold smoking (170 max) in the winter months, specifically sausage and cheese.  I don't know what else to say about environments.  Now, I'm considering making it for hot smoking also.  I will use electrical items to produce the heat.

Equipment I have:  A 1500 watt heating element, a couple PID's for control (one for extra back-up), and a AMNPS for smoke generation.  Also I have restaurant quality grates that are 25 1/8" X 21".  These grates will drive a hot smoker build, not necessarily the cold smoker build.

The box max interior dimensions are, 2' X 2.2' x 5'.

For cold smoking only.  I was going to build a 3/4 ply box with a ply door.  Since I only need to get temps up to 170 MAX, I think this should be OK.  However, I think something insulated would help in heat retention and the element not having to work as hard.

For hot smoking:  I was going to build it out of 2 X 3's, using 3/4 ply on inside and outside.  I would build it with the 2 X's on edge, meaning a 1.5" air pocket between the exterior and interior ply's.  So, the real questions for a hot smoker build are:

1.  Are the 1.5" air pockets enough to provide OK insulation?

2.  If not, which insulation would you recommend that will not gas at temps for hot smoking, assuming it is between the sheets of ply?

Disregard the AMNPS, different issue.

So, bottom line, maybe I should just build it for hot smoking and it would fill both requirements.

 

[daveomak]

[h1]Cold Smoking[/h1]
Cold smoking at 52-71° F (12-22° C), from 1-14 days, applying thin smoke with occasional breaks in between, is one of the oldest preservation methods. We cannot produce cold smoke if the outside temperature is 90° F (32° C), unless we can cool it down, which is what some industrial smokers do. Cold smoking is a drying process whose purpose is to remove moisture thus preserving a product.

You will find that different sources provide different temperatures for cold smoking. In European countries where most of the cold smoking is done, the upper temperature is accepted as 86° F (30° C). The majority of Russian, Polish and German meat technology books call for 71° F (22° C), some books ask for 77° F (25° C). Fish starts to cook at 85° F (29.4° C) and if you want to make delicious cold smoked salmon that is smoked for a long time, obviously you can not exceed 86° F (30° C). Cold smoking assures us of total smoke penetration inside of the meat. The loss of moisture also is uniform in all areas and the total weight loss falls within 5-20% depending largely on the smoking time. Cold smoking is not a continuous process, it is stopped (no smoke) a few times to allow fresh air into the smoker.

 

[oregonsmoke]

So, bottom line, maybe I should just build it for hot smoking and it would fill both requirements.

This is what I'm doing. I'm no expert but you don't seem to be getting a lot of help and I know how that feels. I think what Dave is getting at is that your concept of cold smoking might be off a bit. My thought is that you will need a separate fire box to achieve true cold smoke. Check out this website if you haven't already: http://www.meatsandsausages.com It is wealth of knowledge and so are the books the guy wrote if your in to that.

 

[pugsbrew]

This is what I'm doing. I'm no expert but you don't seem to be getting a lot of help and I know how that feels. I think what Dave is getting at is that your concept of cold smoking might be off a bit. My thought is that you will need a separate fire box to achieve true cold smoke. Check out this website if you haven't already: http://www.meatsandsausages.com It is wealth of knowledge and so are the books the guy wrote if your in to that.

Yea Oregon, I'm using the wrong words.  To begin with, I just wanted a box to smoke sausage, temps no greater than 165ish deg.  This is what I was thinking of cold smoking, again wrong term.  Now I'm thinking of building a full up smoker, temps up to 250+.

Real question is to what to use for insulation between the ply interior and exterior.  Selecting an insulation is the real question.  Something that can stand the heat and not off-gas not so good by-products.

Sorry for the confusion, and thanks Dave for setting me straight.

 

[daveomak]

A straight plywood smoker will withstand the heat you are describing...

 

[pugsbrew]

Thanks Dave.  I'm looking for better heating efficiency.  Double walled with some sort of insulation, or usr airspace between ply for insulation.

 

[daveomak]

If you want to insulate it, 2 plywood layer with fiberglass bats, 2x2 between the plywood...  no paper, will do nicely....  you can peel fiberglass layers off of a thicker bat to work...

This smokehouse will last you a life time and then some...

 

[g dog]

When I built mine I used 2X4's turned sideways with 1/2" plywood on the outside.  Fiberglass bat insulation.  The interior is lined with cement board- Durock to be specific.  Then that is all covered with aluminum sheeting.  On the floor I put landscape blocks on top of the Durock.  I use the propane burner from Northern Tool to heat it and I have that hooked to a furnace valve with a termperature controller hooked to that.  I can control the temperature within 2.5 degrees of the set point, and I have smoked at termps up to 275 with no problems.  I live in Minnesota, and the only way to really control the temperature is with a well-insulated house.   

I'd go for it and build insulated house right away, you won't regret it.  And then get a heat source that you can control with a thermostat and you will feel like the smartest redneck in the world.