New smoke house questions

[outinsunnyco]

so I am in the planning stages of a new smoke house will have a brick firebox attached by clay chimney tile to smokehouse. I have a couple of question. The first is from Feldon's calculator will I need the firebox 1/3 of the size of the smokehouse or can I go smaller? Also if I want to be bale to use the smoker in the winter where we can dip down below freezing will I need to plan on insulating the walls? If I have to insulate thinking of 2x6 cedar and stuffing with rockwool insulation and tongue and groove cedar on the inside. Thanks for any input you have.

 

[SmokinEdge]

What temperature range are you wanting the smoker to work in?

 

[outinsunnyco]

I am thinking up to max of 200F as highest temp but down lower for say cheese even.

 

[SmokinEdge]

I am thinking up to max of 200F as highest temp but down lower for say cheese even.

That’s a good range of temp. The fire box doesn’t really determine smokehouse temp but the size of the fire does. So even if the FB is a bit big you build a smaller fire and temps are fine.
Mine is propane fired inside the smokehouse so mine is a little different set up.

 

[outinsunnyco]

With being on the western slope did you insulate so you could use your smoker year round?

 

[SmokinEdge]

With being on the western slope did you insulate so you could use your smoker year round?

I did not but if I do it will be exterior as in a silver back rolled foam type they use on metal buildings.

As you can see I used plywood construction and covered the front with rough sawn Douglas fir boards. I have not covered the other 3 sides yet so I have an opportunity to use thin insulation on the exterior under those rough sawn boards.

With the setup I have, I have smoked several winters with no issues. My biggest problem is summer smoking and keeping temps down. That’s when I installed a dedicated smoke generator, problem solved.

 

[SmokinEdge]

If you want to maintain warm smoke temps from 100F to 200F your biggest problem in winter will be the constant feeding of the fire. It will drive you nuts. That’s why I went with propane (which can have some safety concerns) but some guys insulate well and run electric burners too. This will require 220v electric to the smokehouse though.

 

[outinsunnyco]

Thank you for all the info. Will take it and work with it.

 

[pineywoods]

I personally would think about electric something like an oven burner and a PID controller. Use an Amazen smoker or something like it for smoke production. Being where you are I would insulate it.

 

[Gonna Smoke]

I did not but if I do it will be exterior as in a silver back rolled foam type they use on metal buildings.

View attachment 714550
As you can see I used plywood construction and covered the front with rough sawn Douglas fir boards. I have not covered the other 3 sides yet so I have an opportunity to use thin insulation on the exterior under those rough sawn boards.

With the setup I have, I have smoked several winters with no issues. My biggest problem is summer smoking and keeping temps down. That’s when I installed a dedicated smoke generator, problem solved.

Eric, how long will a 20 lb. bottle last?

 

[SmokinEdge]

Eric, how long will a 20 lb. bottle last?

That’s a really good question Charles. It lasts long enough that it’s generally not on my mind to need to change it. The bottle that’s on my smokehouse now I believe was changed in right around Thanksgiving and probably for sure before Christmas. I smoked for the holidays and several sausage and bacon cooks since with a 18# ham leg in there as well. I just checked the bottle and it’s low but I think I can get one more sausage smoke with it. So if I had to guess on time it would be somewhere around 40 hours burn time. Ambient temps and wind can move the number up or down a bit.