Do you have a smoker off season

[border city pit]

If you are like me and live in Northern Alberta we pretty much get 4 months of seasonable warm weather which is ideal for smoking.  As I look outside it is only -13, but there is a 50 km\hr wind which kills the smoker.  So how do you cope with the smoker off season or do you keep on smoking through the dark days of winter?  

 

[cdn offroader]

I did a brisket here in similar conditions for boxing day. I was able to keep temps up using a piece of plywood as a wind break and a couple fire bricks along the lower end of the smoker to help funnel more heat upwards. Once the sun went down though had to finish in the oven. Just got to cold....

I've seen a couple guys mention an enclosure for the smoker that can double as a cold smoke box when needed, sounds like an interesting idea...

 

[eh1bbq]

I am going to build myself an outhouse style shed for my WSM and buy a digiQ. Should keep the wind out. From what I've read, it is a surefire way to keep your temps up.

 

[cadmentr]

I saw somewhere in another forum, that someone had used plywood, which he then covered with a metallic hot water tank blanket to create the wind break and keep the heat in.

I think the idea of a small garden shed for the smoker (8'x4') is the best yet. You can close the door, keeping the wind out which should help with keeping the temps up.

I can put mine in my hard top gazebo during the winter. I've got a couple of fans in there, but am trying to come up with a dryer vent type of smoke exhaust through one of the windows for smoking during the winter.

Ever since I did my first turkey in my Bradley, turkey done in the oven just doesn't cut it anymore.

Here's to a smoked turkey for Christmas dinner!

 

[smokermacdonald]

I am fortunate enough to now live in Surrey, BC, where I can smoke pretty much any day of the year. And, I must admit, I am completely spoiled. It's great! And I completely agree, what a great Christmas dinner a smoked Turkey makes!

 

[goliath]

I keep my smoker in my shop on a dolly, can move it around as i need to. when its real cold i heat up the wood stove in the shop, easier to keep temps that way. it is vented out my shop door with some 3" heat duct.

this pic is from when it was brand spanking new, its jet black now, no white and i have done a mail box mod and AMNPS for my smoke gen....
im up in Terrace BC so we can get some cold here also..
good luck

Goliath

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• goliath
• Oct 24, 2014

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• goliath
• Oct 24, 2014

 

[goliath]

i also had an MES 30 prior to building this larger unit and i was tossing around the idea of a hood and bathroom fan vented out my shop door. im not imune to boring holes to keep the smoke on. a man can go into sheer panic when the bacon supply is running low.

Goliath

 

[cadmentr]

Thanks for the photos of your smoke venting.  I picked up a couple of pieces of the 4" dryer vent piping, and 8 feet of the metallic heavy duty dryer vent hose.

I have some of the Styrofoam that I saved from the packing that came with my Bradley, and plan to put one of the pipes through the Styrofoam and then add the dryer hose to that.

I'll have to clip the other pipe so that I can lay the cuts out flat and then "duct tape" that piece to the top of the smoker and add the other end of the hose. I will also tape the smoker vent before the piping goes on so that it's about 1/3 the way open.

I can cut the Styrofoam to fit my gazebo windows and then just drop the window down on top of it to hold it in place.

I'll get a couple of 750W-1500W heaters and that way I can heat the gazebo to help keep the temps up. It was darn cold last winter here in Ontario, but since I'm starting to make my own bacon, I'll persevere, snow or cold. The first batch of pork belly goes in this weekend.

 

[blue hill]

Nice looking rig Goliath. I like your smoke generator. Is that 4" steel square tubing? I have a piece of 5" that I was figuring on using for the same thing. Not because I think bigger is better, it just happens to be what I have laying around.