I saw an ad on Craigslist a coupld weeks ago advertising a commercial fridge for $75. The one picture they had posted looked pretty good. It stated that the fridge was not working. My original intention was to see if I could get the fridge working on my own for a nominal cost and resell it. My backup plan was scrapping it or turning it into a smoker.
On Saturday I went and picked it up from the guy who was selling it. My first impression was what I anticipated. A good looking fridge on the outside, some oxidation on the metal on the inside, and a beat up floor panel. I got it home, and started taking it apart and inspecting. After about an hour of tinkering, I decided it wasnt fit to be a fridge anymore. The insulation on the bottom was rotted, the side walls were worn away on the bottom corners, and it just didnt seem like it should be holding food in it, in it's current shape. My mind was wandering the whole time and I finally came to the decision to turn it into a gas smoker.
I did a lot of cleaning on it today and taking out screws, bottom panel, some insulation, etc.
I think I will make it into two compartments... A left side smoker, and right side smoker. I have been playing with a bunch of ideas and may go with multipurpose... what I mean by that is, a hot smoker, cold smoker and dehydrator. The fridge had two A/C powered fans that blew air over the radiators that both worked (after putting bare ends into an extension cord). I can use those to draw air for a dehydrator, and use an electrical element for heat... I can make a smoke generator and mount on the side if I want to do a cold smoke, and a gas line with burner for hot smokes....
My next order of business is taking out the existing metal inside the fridge (I think it may be galvanized) but Im not sure and removing the existing insulation.
After that I will put in high temp insulation and most likely weld in sheet metal to seal the inside.
Next will be the heating elements and other functions... There is a decent amount of space on top of this fridge that I would like to utilize. I contemplated putting the propane tank up there but may change my mind...
Here are some pics, and I plan to update as progress is made.
Also, I need a suggestion on where to purchase the high temp insulation.
These are the guts that I took out of it. Most of it will be scrapped with the exception of the fans.... I may see if the compressor works (dont know how I would test it, any suggestions?) and if it does, turn around and sell it.
On Saturday I went and picked it up from the guy who was selling it. My first impression was what I anticipated. A good looking fridge on the outside, some oxidation on the metal on the inside, and a beat up floor panel. I got it home, and started taking it apart and inspecting. After about an hour of tinkering, I decided it wasnt fit to be a fridge anymore. The insulation on the bottom was rotted, the side walls were worn away on the bottom corners, and it just didnt seem like it should be holding food in it, in it's current shape. My mind was wandering the whole time and I finally came to the decision to turn it into a gas smoker.
I did a lot of cleaning on it today and taking out screws, bottom panel, some insulation, etc.
I think I will make it into two compartments... A left side smoker, and right side smoker. I have been playing with a bunch of ideas and may go with multipurpose... what I mean by that is, a hot smoker, cold smoker and dehydrator. The fridge had two A/C powered fans that blew air over the radiators that both worked (after putting bare ends into an extension cord). I can use those to draw air for a dehydrator, and use an electrical element for heat... I can make a smoke generator and mount on the side if I want to do a cold smoke, and a gas line with burner for hot smokes....
My next order of business is taking out the existing metal inside the fridge (I think it may be galvanized) but Im not sure and removing the existing insulation.
After that I will put in high temp insulation and most likely weld in sheet metal to seal the inside.
Next will be the heating elements and other functions... There is a decent amount of space on top of this fridge that I would like to utilize. I contemplated putting the propane tank up there but may change my mind...
Here are some pics, and I plan to update as progress is made.
Also, I need a suggestion on where to purchase the high temp insulation.
These are the guts that I took out of it. Most of it will be scrapped with the exception of the fans.... I may see if the compressor works (dont know how I would test it, any suggestions?) and if it does, turn around and sell it.
