Old Mini Fridge into an A-Maze-N Cold Smoker!

[alelover]

I know this post is old but... I want to build a cold smoker out of a full size fridge I have. Used to be my lagering fridge but it don't fridge no more. This post is very informative but I have some comments and questions. Dry ice would sublime to quick and not give too much of a cooling affect I would think. In that small space it may though. But it wouldn't last long. You'd have to experiment. Did you ever try it? If you want the smoker devoid of O2 then dry ice would take care of that. Why didn't you remove the fan completely and use it for something else? Just curious. Seems like a waste of a fan. Unless it's fried anyway. Do the 1" tubes give enough airflow through the box? They seem small to me. It seems to me that more airflow would also keep the temp down more. Did you smoke the cheddar for 10 hours? That seems long. Sorry to make your brain go back in time 10 months but I have an inquiring mind.

 

[sean smith]

Nice conversion job, I have being playing around with the same idea. A few thoughts/ideas
1). will converting a " working" mini fridge work and plugging it in while smoking work to keep temp. Low. Problems?
2) The elbow fitting on the exhaust vent does restrict smoke movement slightly. This is now horizontal ventilation V's vertical ventilation.
3) Smoke source could be rigged up outside fridge and piped into fridge with the aid of a small fan.

Just some thoughts I'm dealing with , while pondering the best/most efficient way to convert a mini fridge. Any thoughts or opinions from fellow forum readers
Thanks, Sean

 

[tjohnson]

I would think a "Working Fridge" would work great for a cold smoker.  I keep searching Craigslist for a cheap one, but no luck so far

Intake and exhaust are very important.  A small computer fan may be a great addition to force fresh air into the fridge.

Todd

 

[alelover]

I would think a "Working Fridge" would work great for a cold smoker.  I keep searching Craigslist for a cheap one, but no luck so far

Intake and exhaust are very important.  A small computer fan may be a great addition to force fresh air into the fridge.

Todd

I've wondered that too but I think the fan in the fridge blowing the cold air around would stop spinning after it got all gunked up with smoke residue. Would definitely keep temp down though.
 

 

[Bearcarver]

In my opinion, since you need an intake & an exhaust, you'd just be sucking warm air in & letting cold air out for a few minutes. Then it would change to sucking warm air in and letting warm air out, because the fridge wouldn't be able to keep up longer than the first minute or two.

IMO---You'd be better off not plugging it in, and just have places in the fridge set aside to put ice jugs or trays with ice.

Bear

 

[tjohnson]

I tried the computer fan thing before, but the outside temps we in the 50's....OOPS Forgot That small detail!

Bear is right, blowing in warm air would not be a good thing

TJ

 

[stubborn]

I would think a "Working Fridge" would work great for a cold smoker.  I keep searching Craigslist for a cheap one, but no luck so far

Intake and exhaust are very important.  A small computer fan may be a great addition to force fresh air into the fridge.

Todd

Could you reverse the idea and have the fan pulling the air out the exhaust instead of pushing it in the intake?  You would still be force feeding air into the unit, but by pulling out of the top, it would be pulling the warmest air out.  Might be enough of a difference to matter.
 

 

[bopplayer]

I'm new to smoking, is he turning the fridge on? why do you need an air intake anyway? 

 

[smokeydez]

The A-Maze-En smoking unit needs oxygen to keep the pelets/dust lit and generating smoke. It also gives off heat that could melt the cheeses, so you also need to draft air out of the unit to keep it from overheating and melting your product.

I was thinking about this and do you guys think you could use something like the Bradley BCOLD unit? This might allow you to keep the heat out of the smoker box and draft the smoke into the unit and out the top.

 

[dragonmaster194]

Helllo Pops, I just acquired a side by side ref to turn into a cold smoker.  I like your design, and will be copying it for the air flow.  For the large size of the ref side should I go larger than the 1" pvc you used?  I will be getting one of Todd's smoking devices, haven't decided which one yet, to generate the smoke.  Thanks, Steve

 

[pops6927]

In a full size fridge you'd probably want to use an air vent on the side on the bottom, and a 4" stove pipe w/roof cap for the outtake.  The Amazen has no problem filling the unit with smoke, use it on my full size smokehouse for cold and hot smoking (see Smokehouse in my sig line).

 

[dragonmaster194]

Thanks Pops, I was thinking of 2" inlet and 2" outlet.  I will go with 4" outlet like you suggest.  Do you think 2" inlet like yours at the bottom will be sufficient?  Thanks again, Steve

 

[billy123]

You can have it repaired or change it to something else,for example,a desk.I changed my best compact refrigerator into a desk,it is great!