Fridge Build Opinions

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scootermagoo

Smoking Fanatic
Original poster
May 2, 2011
341
24
Algoma, WI
I have an old fridge that was in my basement when I bought my house, an old Admiral.  It is probably from the late 40s or early 50s, just a little thing.  Maybe 15 cubic feet.  It worked for years keeping my beer cold.  Eventually, it stopped cooling and nobody would fix it (freon, damn tree huggers).  I am going to convert it into a smoker.  It has an enameled interior and inner door skin.  I stripped out all the plastic bits and freezer compartment.  I also removed the insulation, it almost looked like wool.  I currently own a CG Pro with all the standard mods and a home made PID controlled stoker.  My intent for this smoker is to automate it for the longer smokes.  So, after all considerations, I am going to convert it to a pellet smoker.  I am going to purchase the Pellet Pro burner unit from Smoke Daddy within the next few months.

I have sifted through several threads here and I am unsure on what to replace the insulation with.  I have a package of fiberglass bats that I could use right away to insulate, but there are mixed reviews on that.  It would be completely sealed between the inner and outer envelope of the fridge.  If there is any risk, I am more than willing to go to Lowe's and get some rockwool.  Any opinions on that?

Also, are there any opinions about using a pellet burner unit in the fridge?  The price, so far, is the highest hurdle I need to get over right now.  At $345.00, it's fairly steep, especially if the operational results are only so-so.

Opinions anyone?

Thanks
 
I would go with the rockwool if possible.  The pellet unit is too high for me, personally, but for you it could be just the ticket.  Another thought too would be making a curing chamber instead for fermented sausages, such as salami's, pepperoni's, etc.  There's lots of links for information both on the equipment and the process here too!  Can you ressurrect the refrigerant from using car air condioning freon, that only costs about $8 a can at Walmart.
 
No resurrecting going on here.  It has been gutted already and the exhaust is being installed as we speak.  Besides, I just bought a 25 cu. ft. fridge off of Craig's list for $85....nice.
 
Oh yeah, the sale of refrigerant for auto AC is banned in WI.  I would have to go to Upper MI to get it.  I know they sell it in MI, or at least, used to.
 
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