Question about wood siding

[cjordan]

I keep going back and forth between a reverse flow or a smoke house.
I know there can't be an all in one smoker, but on limited funds, and time I'd rather try to get by with just building one for now, if possible.

I keep looking at the little smoke houses on cinder blocks (houses about 4'x4'x4'tall sitting on three rows of cinder blocks with the fire box about 2'-3' behind them or off to the side of them.

I would like to build one going off of this style with about the same measurements, but not for sure if it'll work, or burn down.

I think I have access to some 1"x6" pecan boards for the siding, and building the fire box using 18-24" pipe how ever long it needs to be.

I will only be hot smoking "smoked sausage, brisket, shoulders, hams"

I need something that can handle 200-300 deg, for how ever long it could take to cook a big brisket "several hours" plan on keeping it around 200-250deg but I know it'll get away from me every once in a while.

At these temps what do y'all think my odds are of burning the house down?

I would love to have something like this sitting in the back yard, but would hate to put the money and time in it, just to watch it go up in smoke " the structure that is lol"

I know I have seen where some guys have reported back on their cedar building getting up to 300-350 deg and everything was fine, but I don't know that they let it sit that hot for hours on end, like I would need to.

Thank you all for any help or advice.

 

[daveomak]

It appears, from looking at charts, the flashpoint of different woods starts somewhere around 550 deg. F...   depends on type, %  moisture....  

It's not the wood that is the problem...  It's dripping fat / grease that's the problem...    I burned up 300+ #'s of salmon, in a block smokehouse... The fat and brown sugar caught fire...      Have your smokehouse "air tight available" so you can close dampers and snuff out the flames...  maybe saving the meat..  or some of it....  I had the fire out in about 15 seconds...  I was standing there when the "rumble" of a raging fire started...    slammed all the dampers shut but the 1000 deg. or so fire took it's toll....  Not a pretty sight when it's your friends fish....

Sugar burns really hot....

The white stuff we know as sugar is sucrose, a molecule composed of 12 atoms of carbon, 22 atoms of hydrogen, and 11 atoms of oxygen (C12H22O11). Like all compounds made from these three elements, sugar is a carbohydrate.

 

[cjordan]

Thank you Mr.Dave for that response. Which that brings up another question.
If we are worried more about the fat and sugar, than the wood, are we worried about their flash point, or the drippings hitting open flames, or a hot pipe?

 

[pit of despair]

cjordan,

I built my first smokehouse out of 3/4" plywood, and I've had the temps get away from me but no damage and no food loss.

If you build it with a detached firebox the odds are low that it would get hot enough to ignite the wood.  As Dave pointed out your main

concern would be from "drippings".  If you plan your smokehouse to use deflector hoods or plates you should be able to hot/cold smoke just about anything. 

Teddy

 

[daveomak]

...   Teddy knows

 

[cjordan]

Thanks guys. I'm going to start getting everything gathered up and brought to the house, so when the weather decides to get better I can start on it. Least this will give me time to get it somewhat planed out in my head, although I'm sure once I start it'll change a few times