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B

batsonbe

Newbie
Original poster
Oct 8, 2017
3
1
Hello everyone! Ive been a deer hunter my entire life. Ive grown quite fond of venison sausage. This summer I bought all the necessary equipment to make snack sticks. I made my first 18lb batch over 100’ of 19mm collagen casing and quickly found out I didn’t have near the space needed to cook all that sausage. I enjoy wood working so I decided to start to build my own propane smoker.
I have bookmarked several builds that have caught my attention on here. I am currently waiting to get a local saw mill to cut some cedar for me.
I plan on getting the northern tool burner. Ive searched on here for some details with no luck.
I would like to know how you guys have hooked up your propane with a needle valve outside of the smoker, and a thermocouple? I have 0 experience with propane besides firing up the grill and I obviously want to be as safe as possible. Thank you!
 

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I am a sausage maker here on SMF. I built my propane smokehouse so I could smoke large batches of venison sausage that we process every season.

All the parts you will need can be found here:
https://tejassmokers.com/

One tip I will give you is to close off one row of jets on the burner when smoking sausages. This will 1/2 the BTU's so you can dial the heat down to 120-130*F and smoke the sausages slowly and step the temps. 10*F per hour. I used 4d nails, shortened them with cutters and drop them into the outer row of jets. You can dial the heat down low, yet keep it lit using one row of jets. And it will be enough heat to smoke sausages.

I also use a 16" cast iron pan on the burner as my wood pan...

I have a build thread if you use the search function...
 
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That indaswamp indaswamp guy knows what's up:emoji_point_up_2:
I think this is the link.

36cu.ft. Cypress/ Hardie board Outhouse smoker build -pics. addded

Long time lurker and new member here. I got a lot of ideas for my new smoker from some of the members here so I do thank you for that. I was going to start a pic. heavy thread but just realized I am posting from a new computer. I will have to transfer them to my new computer. I have the pictures...
www.smokingmeatforums.com www.smokingmeatforums.com
 
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One tip I will give you is to close off one row of jets on the burner when smoking sausages. This will 1/2 the BTU's so you can dial the heat down to 120-130*F and smoke the sausages slowly and step the temps. 10*F per hour. I used 4d nails, shortened them with cutters and drop them into the outer row of jets. You can dial the heat down low, yet keep it lit using one row of jets. And it will be enough heat to smoke sausages.

indaswamp indaswamp ,I have a double row banjo heater I use in my big smoker. If you plug row of holes, are the nails gonna have to be tight fitting? Is propane going to be seeping by slightly if not? I haven't ever done that, but it is tough to keep temps below 180° sometimes for doing sausage and that may certainly help. Thanks
 
Winterrider said:
indaswamp indaswamp ,I have a double row banjo heater I use in my big smoker. If you plug row of holes, are the nails gonna have to be tight fitting? Is propane going to be seeping by slightly if not? I haven't ever done that, but it is tough to keep temps below 180° sometimes for doing sausage and that may certainly help. Thanks
Click to expand...
No, the nails do not have to fit tightly. The propane/air mixture is at very low pressure once the propane leaves the venturi nozzle. As long as the head of the nail covers the jet, the weight of the nail will close off the flow. Perfectly fine if you get a little bleed through though. With 1/2 the jets, you can run the single row a little higher flame to achieve the same heat as two rows. and you can dial it down really low. I can run a 1/8" tall flame with one row and hold the smokehouse 120-130*F.

dsc02520-jpg.jpg

dsc02519-jpg.jpg
 
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Just food for thought but I have been thinking about a propane type burner and was looking at a couple of smaller BTU (10k) burners so there is more control. I have also been looking at the out door fire place valves as they have a thermocouple port and some even have a pilot port as well. These will give a measure of blow out protection but not the same cost as the internal unit ones. One can never be too careful and I would tend to want and open bottom even with the fireplace valves.
 
a FLAME OUT device is important... in the event the flame goes out, it will turn off the propane flow...

Man killed when meat smoker explodes
Colleen Kottke, The (Fond du Lac, Wis.) Reporter 4:49 p.m. EST December 15, 2014

(Photo: The (Fond du Lac, Wis.) Reporter)
TOWN of LAMARTINE, Wis. — A Wisconsin man using a homemade meat smoker to cook turkeys and chickens died when the smoker exploded, police said.
Richard L. Zabel, 55, was found dead Saturday afternoon inside a machine shed.
"The North Fond du Lac Ambulance and Lamartine first responders were called to the scene for the initial report that someone had fallen," said Lt. Cameron McGee of the Fond du Lac County Sheriff's Office. "When investigators arrived on scene, they discovered that a 55-year-old man was dead inside the building."
Zabel, a town of Lamartine man, did not live at the building's location, but lived nearby.
"Evidence indicates that the flame on the LP burner went out and as a result the gas continued to accumulate inside the smoker," McGee said. "And when (Zabel) went to relight the burner, the spark from the lighter caused the gas to explode."
McGee said the force of the explosion caused the heavy duty door of the smoker to blow open, striking Zabel in the head, killing him instantly.
"When something explodes, it's going to blow open at the weakest point which was the door, which was triple-latched," McGee said.
McGee said the smoker was larger and better constructed than most store-bought models.
"It was about 4-feet tall and about 3-feet wide and built really solid, including the door. Someone really put a lot of thought into building this thing," McGee said. "We were told that they had been using it for the past three years without any problems."
The Fond du Lac County Sheriff's Office is investigating the incident.
 
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daveomak said:
a FLAME OUT device is important... in the event the flame goes out, it will turn off the propane flow...

Man killed when meat smoker explodes
Colleen Kottke, The (Fond du Lac, Wis.) Reporter 4:49 p.m. EST December 15, 2014

(Photo: The (Fond du Lac, Wis.) Reporter)
TOWN of LAMARTINE, Wis. — A Wisconsin man using a homemade meat smoker to cook turkeys and chickens died when the smoker exploded, police said.
Richard L. Zabel, 55, was found dead Saturday afternoon inside a machine shed.
"The North Fond du Lac Ambulance and Lamartine first responders were called to the scene for the initial report that someone had fallen," said Lt. Cameron McGee of the Fond du Lac County Sheriff's Office. "When investigators arrived on scene, they discovered that a 55-year-old man was dead inside the building."
Zabel, a town of Lamartine man, did not live at the building's location, but lived nearby.
"Evidence indicates that the flame on the LP burner went out and as a result the gas continued to accumulate inside the smoker," McGee said. "And when (Zabel) went to relight the burner, the spark from the lighter caused the gas to explode."
McGee said the force of the explosion caused the heavy duty door of the smoker to blow open, striking Zabel in the head, killing him instantly.
"When something explodes, it's going to blow open at the weakest point which was the door, which was triple-latched," McGee said.
McGee said the smoker was larger and better constructed than most store-bought models.
"It was about 4-feet tall and about 3-feet wide and built really solid, including the door. Someone really put a lot of thought into building this thing," McGee said. "We were told that they had been using it for the past three years without any problems."
The Fond du Lac County Sheriff's Office is investigating the incident.
Click to expand...

i have searched a lot on this forum and the internet. I am looking for this flame out device you’re talking about because I do want to be as safe as possible. Can you provide a link please?
Thank you
 
Below is a universal flame out device.....
Propane IN...
Propane OUT....
Thermocouple.....
Needle valve goes on the port that goes to the burner..
Stop in at a propane distributor and ask them....
The thermocouple sensor is installed so it is in a flame of the burner... when it gets cold, it shuts off the propane...
It would be best to have an authorized propane guy install/assemble your burner...
SOME, burners designed for boiling crab, corn on the cob, deep frying turkeys have them installed.... They will work on a low pressure system with a needle valve, if installed correctly...

Propane lpg gas fire pit control safety valve flame failure device cooker gas heater valve with thermocouple and knob - Buy GAS SAFETY VALVE, gas heater valve, Gas Control Valve Product on Jinan Sinopts Energy Technology Inc.
 
 
 
There are a couple of builds here on SMF with the fail-safe features (as Dave has mentioned) installed...

I too TRIED propane on my first smokehouse build... Made my own pipe burner... I didn't have any fail-safe equipment installed... Had to keep flame so low to maintain low temps for sausage/snack sticks... The flame had went out a couple of times on me... Luckily I was paying attention to my thermometer remote (Thermoworks Smoke) ..

I gave up on propane and went electric... Wasn't taking anymore chances...
A pellet tube for smoke ... preset the PID controller to ramp up temps over time starting at 120`

WALK AWAY... check on it periodically for smoke...

If you must go propane... PLEASE make sure you install all safety features needed ...

If I remember correctly (if such thing still exist) ... There was a build here with gas, safety features, and PID controlled...
 
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