Crosley Shelvador fridge build

[slapaho_injun]

I picked up this (still working) Crosley Shelvador fridge at an estate sale last weekend, for $20. So it's gutted now and ready for the build.

 

[SmokinGame]

Looks like an ambitious project. Sorry I can't offer any advice. Just intrigued with the project. In my garage it would probable just serve as the beer cooler.

 

[slapaho_injun]

It is all stripped down now. Not a single spot of rust. Next step is to settle on a plan for the fire box. My Any ideas are welcome.

 

[old sarge]

Seems like you are on your way.

 

[SmokinAl]

Sounds like your going to have quite a nice smoker when it's done!
Al

 

[slapaho_injun]

I've been smoking from my weber grills for years. I do have a Materbuilt 30 with the temp probe.

 

[Crash94]

$20? That's awesome.

You're on the right track with your list there. I am concerned that my firebox won't be big enough so I'm thinking about adding an extra 4" in height and another 6" towards the back. I'm also thinking of having the door on the back so the front just looks like a refrigerator.

Looking forward to seeing your progress.

Jason

 

[slapaho_injun]

So I had a chance to get the thing down to my neighbor's place today and he welded 1/8" angle iron shelves inside and we got a lot better idea of what the rest of the build looks like?

 

[slapaho_injun]

Got the Roxul insulation today, still waiting for my brother to come thru with some more steel. Next will be to weld up the firebox & fit exhaust vent ( I think we are using 3" )

 

[slapaho_injun]

Rethinking the plan again and I need some input guys. Here is my latest plan. Please tell me what will not work. I'm hoping a separate firebox 22"x22" square & made of 3/16" , that the old fridge will sit on.....so no direct flames get to touch the fridge and once we burn out the firebox we can just swap it out. The drawing was a starting point.

 

[slapaho_injun]

My pal picked up 3 nice sheets of useable steel from the junkyard today. 1 @ 3/16" - 68" X 48" & 2 sheets of 14 gauge - 30" X 48" ........this will be used for the firebox and the re-lining of the inside of the door . Boys, I'm telling you, them junkyards are ridiculously profitable. I paid $112 for 3 pieces of scrap steel. 260 lbs at .40/lb......at least they loaded it for me.

 

[slapaho_injun]

$20? That's awesome.

You're on the right track with your list there. I am concerned that my firebox won't be big enough so I'm thinking about adding an extra 4" in height and another 6" towards the back. I'm also thinking of having the door on the back so the front just looks like a refrigerator.

Looking forward to seeing your progress.

Jason[/QUOTE


I am doing a separate firebox that will sit directly under the fridge. The latest plan is to make it 22x24 inches and out of 3/16" steel. Hope the firebox will be big enough then.

 

[indaswamp]

What is the total cubic ft. of internal space inside the frig?
What is the height of the smoking chamber (the box you welded the angle inside)?

This will determine the vent size. Rule of thumb is your exhaust flew needs to be double what your intake air vent is, but a little larger is better than too small. You can always close the damper, but can't open it anymore than wide open.....

 

[slapaho_injun]

What is the total cubic ft. of internal space inside the frig?
What is the height of the smoking chamber (the box you welded the angle inside)?

This will determine the vent size. Rule of thumb is your exhaust flew needs to be double what your intake air vent is, but a little larger is better than too small. You can always close the damper, but can't open it anymore than wide open.....

17" Deep X 18"W X 36" H is the cooking chamber .

The firebox will be a 22"X 22" box square and be made of 3/16" steel , sitting on iron legs up off the ground. I'm getting a 16" X 16" fire basket made for inside the firebox. It is framed with 1/8" thick 1"X1" angle iron and using 3/4" #9 expanded metal. Our food shelves inside the smoker are made of the same expanded metal.not sure if I can use the shelves alone or if they will need some framing also?

I will have a 13" tall, 6" diameter pipe to bring smoke and heat from firebox, up into the cooking chamber above. The bottom of the fridge, where the compressor was, will just have that 6" pipe running up thru it and will be insulated. A void basically.

 

[indaswamp]

So 6.375 cu. ft. in the smoking chamber.

How big will your air intakes be? Also, what is the max temp you would like the smoke chamber to run at? If you are running charcoal or logs, the air intake plays a role with heat from the fire.

 

[slapaho_injun]

So 6.375 cu. ft. in the smoking chamber.

How big will your air intakes be? Also, what is the max temp you would like the smoke chamber to run at? If you are running charcoal or logs, the air intake plays a role with heat from the fire.

I do plan to use mainly wood but may use some charcoal too? As for the intake size, I have not figured that out yet and I would be greatful for any help on figuring that as well. The exhaust pipe on the top, off the back side will be 3" pipe with a open bottom at the bend, so any drippings from exhaust will land outside the cooking chamber........at least that's what I am thinking as of today. I'd also take any advice on that as well. I'm only smoking to a max set temp of 240 on my MES so I'd guess I'd like to be able to go a little higher if needed but mostly low and slow smoking here.

 

[SonnyE]

Cool!
I had a Fridge Smoker in Northern California in the early 1980's.
Found the Fridge at the dump, porcine steel. Really nice smoker!
I merely put a hot plate in it and a #10 can for the chips. Drilled in an exhaust. Worked great.

 

[indaswamp]

A rule of thumb is that the flew vent needs to be twice the area as the air intake to allow for thermal expansion of the air. Air cycle rate comes into play as well as air flow rate...you don't want the air flow above ~3mph or you could run into problems with case hardening on sausages and hard outer shell on whole cuts.
On the other end of the spectrum, too little flow results in moisture build up and condensation on the inner walls of the smokehouse with can lead to creosote build up and dripping onto the meat.

If you plan on loading the smoker to the hilt with the maximum pounds of meat possible, I suggest over sizing the vent for moisture escape. The meat will act as a thermal mass as it heats up and will help retain smoke chamber temp. as it heats up. Large quantities of meat sweat a lot of water......

 

[slapaho_injun]

A rule of thumb is that the flew vent needs to be twice the area as the air intake to allow for thermal expansion of the air. Air cycle rate comes into play as well as air flow rate...you don't want the air flow above ~3mph or you could run into problems with case hardening on sausages and hard outer shell on whole cuts.
On the other end of the spectrum, too little flow results in moisture build up and condensation on the inner walls of the smokehouse with can lead to creosote build up and dripping onto the meat.

If you plan on loading the smoker to the hilt with the maximum pounds of meat possible, I suggest over sizing the vent for moisture escape. The meat will act as a thermal mass as it heats up and will help retain smoke chamber temp. as it heats up. Large quantities of meat sweat a lot of water......

I sort of understand part of your reply but I'll admit most of it went over my head. Could you please tell me, based on the dimensions I have listed, what your recommendations would be specifically for sizes of inlet, flew vent & exhaust pipe sizing? I was never any good at math. I would guess it will get loaded up pretty good when we do our venison and also when I do a few turkeys, pork butts, etc....

The main cooking chamber is 6.375 cu ft per your previous reply.
The firebox I have planned so far is 22" X 22" X 22"
The exhaust I was going to use is 3" pipe
The flew from FB to CC I was planning on is 6" square or round and 13" tall
Air inlets I hadn't even figured yet.


Thank you for helping me out here.

 

[indaswamp]

Were it me, I'd go for 6~7cubic inches for the intake and 12~14 cubic inches for the exhaust flew.

the area of a 2" dia, circle is ~3.1cu. inches
the area of a 3" dia. cirlce is ~7cu. inches
the area of a 4" dia. circle is ~12.5 cu. inches