My Cookshack gets a new home

[jjwdiver]

Started a pre-forum change project and although I need to do some mods to it, I got the first smoke done in it and now I can change some stuff around.

Wife said the smoker, the Weber kettle and the Weber grill on the front porch looked a bit too “trashy” for her comfort zone…so the smoker had to go! Her reasoning was that it gets used the longest at any one time and creates the biggest mess with the drippings on the concrete (which I will have to acid wash to get them off). 

I thought this looked perfectly presentable!

"Happy wife=happy life" - so I went out and purchased a Rubbermaid upright tool cabinet, which would be just the right fit for the smoker.

I removed a portion of the back panel, (which this shed was double-walled and wouldn’t compromise the integrity) and then used a piece of left-over counter top to make a shelf to hold the smoker and raise it to a more comfortable height.  Dremel Multi-tool to the rescue. Man that thing is easy to use and ripped thru everything like butter!

Got the shelf notched out, added some legs in the front and then decided to work on the roof exhaust. 

Used pvc that I had laying around and glued the inside piece to the outer coupling to create a sleeve and keep it from either falling in or letting water it. Nice tight joint!  The inside will remain un-glued to allow for the removal of the extension sleeve over the smoker exhaust hole, and thus letting me insert the probes easily. 

On the outside, I glued in a t-post with screen on both sides. T-post; to allow some air flow no matter where the wind is from and to keep rain out, the screen; to keep the bugs, bees and wasps from taking up residence.

A little caulk here and there and its ready for phase 2 – the base for it to stand on in the back yard.  Not the back deck – we don’t have one yet…so it gets a “pad” outside the basement walk-out slider.  Dug up an area, used base gravel, laid out 9 flat blocks and had a foundation.  Once I got the smoker shed there, I had to level it a bit more, so I shimmed the smoker instead of the shed. It was easier and I’m lazy!

 

guess I didnt snap a shot of the base, but here it is in the garage before heading to the back yard.

First smoke in the new home was an all-day Sunday 9lb. Brisket. 9am to7pm…pulled out at a final temp of 195.  Once I started the smoker, I realized there needs to be some changes…so I made some holders for the thermometer transmitters, then realized the shelf needs to go down to the next level. (saving that for Wednesday this week) It currently sits so high that I couldn’t get the probes in because after I shimmed the smoker to level it, I raised the top too close to the vent pipe.  Plus the fact that I’m short and fat and could hardly reach the on/off switch or the temp control knob.  Also, will add some side vents to allow more air into the shed…vents that I can close off when not in use.  Easy to just leave the door open a bit, but I also want to keep critters and curious kids away from it.

Well there you go – new home for the cook shack – now I just need to give it a name.  Smoke Shack works, but so over used.  Suggestions?

More picks of any additional mods still to come.

Thanks for looking!

John

 

[rbranstner]

Are you worried about that plastic melting at all?

 

[jjwdiver]

Not too concerned about the heat. The Cookshack is really insulated well and there are only a couple spots that I would hesitate to lean against when it's running on a smoke.  The vent at the top gives off good heat (obviously) and the pan underneath that catches the drippings gets warm but not hot.  I want to add some additional air intake to the shack to help with the venting of the smoke. Honestly, yesterday it was hotter outside than in the shack.

 

[rbranstner]

Not too concerned about the heat. The Cookshack is really insulated well and there are only a couple spots that I would hesitate to lean against when it's running on a smoke.  The vent at the top gives off good heat (obviously) and the pan underneath that catches the drippings gets warm but not hot.  I want to add some additional air intake to the shack to help with the venting of the smoke. Honestly, yesterday it was hotter outside than in the shack.

Ok I finally read the whole post. I thought orgionally that you were removing the element from your smoker and putting it into the plastic cabinet and making that into your smoke chamber. Now I see that you are just making a holder for your current smoker. Yea as long as your smoker doesn't get too hot to melt the sides you should be fine.
 

 

[jjwdiver]

Update:

After doing the first smoke in the new housing for my smoker, I decided to make a few changes.  First off I had to lower that shelf. Too high for me to get to the temp control knob and when I shimmed it...too close to the vent pipe to get the probes into the smoker. (tried the "wedged in the door" trick and it kept giving me the HHH error - must have cut off the flow!)

Before - too high

now lowered:

Here are a couple pics of how I ran the power cord through the side.  I used a small piece of pvc type pipe, ran the cord thru it then ran it thru the side of the shed...caulked it up and put a rubber grommet inside - now water-tight and bug-proof. Attached the cord to the inside of the smoker so I could easily un-plug without risk of pulling the cord thru and loosing the seal.

Inside I put some smaller versions of the pvc to use as probe holders and tool holders.  (note that these pics do have the vent pipe extension shown - it goes into the top and extends just about 1 1/2 inches above the smoker's vent hole)

here is a full view, followed by the back of the house view where it now resides:

that last pic reminds me I have some stuff to clean up in the yard - no wonder the neighbors give me weird looks!

 

[indyadmin1974]

Dude that is freakin' cool!

I'm thinking of making something for my WSMs and this gives me the motivation! - No plastic though...WSMs aren't that well insulated.

Thanks for posting!

 

[diesel]

I am impressed!  Good job, and yes Happy wife=happy life.  You got that right!

 

[glgoodwin]

Absolutley AMAZING.  That is really cool!

 

[mballi3011]

I'm still have a problem with all that plastic I know thats it's a hot mold construction. Now I know the smoker basicly just sit it this thing I should be alright I guess. Please take alot of Qview of your first smoke so we can see how this thing works.

 

[placebo]

I'm still have a problem with all that plastic I know thats it's a hot mold construction. Now I know the smoker basicly just sit it this thing I should be alright I guess. Please take alot of Qview of your first smoke so we can see how this thing works.

Those things are really well insulated as he says. I was considering getting one at one point and did a good bit of research on them.

How do you like your Cookshack? I'd love to see some q-view from it! That is a very nice setup you built. I've also been thinking about something along those lines for when I cover my patio.

 

[jjwdiver]

I did a brisket on Sunday, but the only Q-view is close up of it inside.  I have 3 chickens brining, so I'll take plenty when they get in there.  Eventually we hope to have a concrete slab and left of the smoker a deck and where the smoker is now a pergola over hear.  Then I'll move it under the deck area.  Winters here are not fun, so I want it covered for easier use.  I'll add the q-view to this thread - likely smokin the chickens tomorrow morning.  Thanks for the comments!

 

[jjwdiver]

Chickens q-view as promised - the condensed version:

brined 24 hours, rubbed with a mix of Jeff's rub and McCormick's Montreal Chicken (ground up in the magic bullet), rubbed and smoked with hickory and cherry for 3 hours at around 250-280

smoke going up the pipe, then out

The finished product will be a in a new thread in the "poultry" section!

(that is what they call in the business as "a teaser"

John