My first fridge to smoker project

[waverider1964]

New here and looking for advice on my first try at converting a commercial fridge into an upright wood smoker. A friend in the restaurant biz is giving me a single door, stainless steel fridge from one of his locations. I'm ripping the plastic interior and existing insulation out this week and removing the compressor/mechanical stuff from the top of the unit. Once I have it down to the shell, I need to figure out where to put all the necessary elements. I plan on making this a wood fired smoker and really need some tips on temp probe/gauges type, optimal placement, insulation (Ruxol seems to be the choice from what I read here), firebox design/placement (at the bottom of the unit or connected on the side?) and should I include a gas assist for some reason?
I've really only smoked on my grill and used a probe that connected via Bluetooth to my iPhone, so any pro tips/advice I can get here could make my summer a smokin' success!:sausage:

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• waverider1964
• Apr 6, 2016

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• waverider1964
• Apr 6, 2016

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• waverider1964
• Apr 6, 2016

 

[strgzr]

Yeah, Everyone here is pushing Roxol. But who TF can afford it? I can't! The question should be what is an affordable alternative? Can't even find that crap in Phoenix! I can get vermiculite here at a reasonable price. I'm not here to get some arse rich selling rockwool rich! Lets hear an alternative! PROS?

 

[tiggyt]

You can use backer board but it's a lot heavier and you won't be able to get as tight of a fit and after you buy rtv to help hold it in you might as well use roxul. My build is probably larger than yours at 5x4x2 fully insulated and I still have half the package from Lowes.

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• tiggyt
• Apr 10, 2016

 

[strgzr]

You can use backer board but it's a lot heavier and you won't be able to get as tight of a fit and after you buy rtv to help hold it in you might as well use roxul. My build is probably larger than yours at 5x4x2 fully insulated and I still have half the package from Lowes.

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• tiggyt
• Apr 10, 2016

That's a real beauty!!
Thanks for the info. Yeah I've decided to do it right with roxul.

Heres mine 72 cubic feet. I figure about 112 sq. feet of the stuff.

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• strgzr
• Apr 4, 2016