Cold Weather Smoking

[Eddie Fisher]

Using a 6 rack electric BRADLEY smoker and temps are hitting the low 20's and colder here in south central Alaska. I decided to build this box to keep smoker temps up. Anyone tried this before? I'll insulate it later and make some adjustments. Throwing in a beef brisket tomorrow around noon.

A couple questions, should I vent the box. At the moment with the box door closed its pretty much fully sealed up that's why the question about venting the box.

Any feedback or recommendations will be greatly appreciated.

 

[SmokinAl]

I'm not familiar with cold weather smoking, or Bradley smokers.
But I would think you would need some type of air intake to keep the smoke flowing thru your smoker.
So I think a small vent to pull fresh air in would be needed.
But I'm sure you will get better answers from the guys up north.
Al

 

[bikerchef]

You will go through a lot of fuel in cold weather and you will need some air to burn all that fuel

 

[dirtsailor2003]

Yes you definitely will want air intakes and an exhaust.

I would put (3-4) 1" holes at the bottom of door. Vent out using the exhaust pipe you have in the photo.

 

[Rings Я Us]

That's pretty cool

 

[Eddie Fisher]

Here’s a few shots of it in the process of smoking the Brisket. Rough around the edges, but will make it all pretty later on. Lol

 

[Eddie Fisher]

Another shot!

 

[Eddie Fisher]

Yes you definitely will want air intakes and an exhaust.

I would put (3-4) 1" holes at the bottom of door. Vent out using the exhaust pipe you have in the photo.

I cut a couple 8” horizontal openings in the area of the heater assuming that the cool air would pass through the heater as it Enders the “Hot Box” as I now call it. Plus I vented the smoker through the roof like you suggested. No smoke actually enters the Hot Box since it is well sealed now.

 

[Rings Я Us]

Hehe... neat. :D

 

[pops6927]

Just the virtue of the box itself contributes to the increased protection from the cold. Much like a two-sided wind baffle you can rotate depending which way the wind is blowing. But, great job on the full box!

 

[stovebolt]

Looks good. Should work fine for you.

Chuck

 

[gmc2003]

Using a space heater in a smoke box - cool idea. You may want to screen over the holes so little critters don't claim it as their new domain. When I cook in colder weather I usually just do shorter cooks. Brisket and butts are reserved for spring, summer and fall. Checking on the WSM in 10 degree weather isn't my idea of fun.

Chris. oh yeah point to you for ingenuity.

 

[Eddie Fisher]

I apologize for not posting sooner but the brisket turned out pretty great! Should have pulled it at 200+ degrees instead of 190, marbled with a lot of fat that would have rendered more at the higher temps. Overall the hotbox works great! Thanks for the input and support. Until next time. Thank you!