Custom smoker build. NEED SHELF RACK ADVICE IDEAS.

[welderdan]

Hey guys. Have an old food warmer cabinet ive been working on. At the point where i need to put shelves in. Just installed 16 guage 304 stainless sheetmetal interior. What type of racks are you all using. I weld for a living so building something is not an issue. Also if you use anything to keep drippings off your elements ill take whatever advice you have. Thanks. DAN

Have a two year old sleeping next to me and a 8 month old sleeping on top of me so i will get some pics up next time.

 

[old sarge]

My racks are the stock stainless steel racks from Smokin-it. As for keeping the drippings off the element, again taken care of by the design of the Smokin-it.  A wood box slides over the element. Both Smokin-it and Cookshack sell parts.  You may be able to adapt.  Or maybe buy a ready built (not as satisfying as building it yourself but the food is good).  Links below.

http://www.smokin-it.com

http://www.cookshack.com/store/Residential-Parts

 

[welderdan]

old sarge,   thanks for the websites. i spent some time looking at both the websites. They appear to be excellent products. My smoker is basically a custom version of a combination of the two of the smokin it and cookshacks. I enjoy a project that I can take pride in once its done and this website is an excellent resource for building my smoker. The racks on those sites and a few of their designs gave me some other ideas. Whats our review on the wood box and smoke that you get from your setup. What do you burn for smoke. 

I've thought about a wood box above my element, but didn"t want to take a chance of wood flaring up. Do you have any issues with fires. I have cooked on the cheaper propane smokers that have a wood box above the flame and have had a flame up that made a high end brisket a piece of charcoal.

Thanks for the info.   

 

[old sarge]

Welderdan -  The smokers from Cookshask and Smokin-it are very air tight. There is a small hole in the floor of the smoker for drippings/grease to flow through into a pan (and to allow air in creating a draft) and a small hole in the top for smoke to vent out. It is really just enough airflow to keep the wood chunks smoldering. Flare-up?  I have had a couple of belches when there was sufficient accumulation of combustible gases for the wood to ignite rather violently. More like a boom.  The first time it happened startled me. But the fire died quickly and smoke resumed.  The wood box on both smokers is fairly substantial.  On the Cookshack, it is an open top box as the roof/lid is welded in place to the back wall of the smoker.  On the Smokin-it the box has its lid hinged and it slides out as a complete unit.  There are holes along the sides and the bottom to allow for airing and smoke out.

I burn only chunks in the 4 to 6 ounce range for my smokes.  I use mostly hickory, no bark.  I do have some other woods but mostly use hickory. I cut and weigh them to get the weight I want. Just one chunk at the beginning of a smoke. Having come from a stick burning offset and gaining much wisdom from other sites regarding the desired smoke ring, it was generally agreed that the smoke and compounds producing the ring only penetrate the meat a short distance and for a short period of time. Once the meat reaches a temp of 140 degrees or so it can no longer absorb the smoke compounds producing the ring. Two to three hours of smoke, for me, is plenty of flavor.  Early on I did open the smoker and add wood when the smoke died out. I was so used to feeding fuel in the stick burner throughout a cook that I employed my old habits to electric.  I produced nothing more than a bitter lump of creosote infused pork butt. All that happened was the smoke just kept layering up on the surface of the meat.   Inedible. So one good size chunk at the start and nothing added.

 

[marctrees]

Make racks from "Expanded Metal", the flattened kind.

Regular steel is fine and super common in many smokers and BBQ's, get Stainless material if you can afford it.

Marc

 

[ab canuck]

 I am not sure if this will help or the interior size of your smoker, I am toying with a rack(s) that will hinge / pivot at wall and fold directly up or down so that i can use them for fish, cheese etc. when I need. Then pin or fold up/down so I can do my sausage, bacon, ham or whatever I am hanging. Being a welder that should be fairly easy for you if it is an option you like. Good luck let us know how it goes. Charlie