Search function found many threads about converting an oven to a smoker, but I didn't find anything about using it as a cold smoker.
We just replaced our kitchen range, and I'm thinking about trying to use the old one as a cold smoker. Because the temps are so hot here from April to October, I dont' think my UDS or SFB unit will be of much use for smoking bacon or cheese. Plus, this is a much smaller cavity than what is in the UDS, so I shouldn't need as much smoke.
I'm a pretty lazy type of guy, and figured that since the range is already partially insulated, I can just remove the elements, add a bit more insulation, put an AMNS on the bottom, and go to town.
Here's what I'm thinking--please chime in and let me know if I'm headed in the right direction or if I'm just wasting time. I'm temporarily between jobs, so I have more time than money... I'll use/reuse as much from the junk pile--oops, I mean the back yard supply depot--as possible.
The vent already in the oven should be enough exhaust for how I'm going to use it. If I need more intake, I can drill a hole in the side and add a short piece of PVC and a valve.
If it's not insulated enough to keep the temps low in hot weather, my thought is to keep an old pizza stone in the freezer, and put it in if needed.
I'll add a plywood top to make a work surface, and probably a couple of cheap HF wheels/tires so it can be moved. Somewhere around here I have a short length of steel rod (from adding whees to a CG Duo) that I can use as an axle. I have parts from an old gas grill frame I can use to make two legs opposite the two wheels. Then again, this ain't a lightweight--it may just sit in one place.
I haven't decided if I should take the glass range top off the oven to reduce weight, or leave it for structural support and just put the plywood top over it.
Do I need a special kind of insulation since this is not going to be heated? Would just plain old Johns-Manville insulation work?
Anyway, please chime in with your thoughts and/or ideas. I admit I am just a beginner and y'all are the experts.
We just replaced our kitchen range, and I'm thinking about trying to use the old one as a cold smoker. Because the temps are so hot here from April to October, I dont' think my UDS or SFB unit will be of much use for smoking bacon or cheese. Plus, this is a much smaller cavity than what is in the UDS, so I shouldn't need as much smoke.
I'm a pretty lazy type of guy, and figured that since the range is already partially insulated, I can just remove the elements, add a bit more insulation, put an AMNS on the bottom, and go to town.
Here's what I'm thinking--please chime in and let me know if I'm headed in the right direction or if I'm just wasting time. I'm temporarily between jobs, so I have more time than money... I'll use/reuse as much from the junk pile--oops, I mean the back yard supply depot--as possible.
The vent already in the oven should be enough exhaust for how I'm going to use it. If I need more intake, I can drill a hole in the side and add a short piece of PVC and a valve.
If it's not insulated enough to keep the temps low in hot weather, my thought is to keep an old pizza stone in the freezer, and put it in if needed.
I'll add a plywood top to make a work surface, and probably a couple of cheap HF wheels/tires so it can be moved. Somewhere around here I have a short length of steel rod (from adding whees to a CG Duo) that I can use as an axle. I have parts from an old gas grill frame I can use to make two legs opposite the two wheels. Then again, this ain't a lightweight--it may just sit in one place.
I haven't decided if I should take the glass range top off the oven to reduce weight, or leave it for structural support and just put the plywood top over it.
Do I need a special kind of insulation since this is not going to be heated? Would just plain old Johns-Manville insulation work?
Anyway, please chime in with your thoughts and/or ideas. I admit I am just a beginner and y'all are the experts.
