Questions about wood smoker build

[Verbalkent]

Hopefully not silly questions but I’m planning on building this smoker...http://www.livingthecountrylife.com/country-life/food/build-smokehouse-11-easy-steps/

And I was unsure about two things. One is would it be safe to stain the outside of it? Second would it make a difference to build the roof out of wood?

Be grateful for any help with these.

 

[fivetricks]

1) Yes it would be safe to stain.

2) the biggest takeaway i had from that article was the claim to not use Galvanized. Unless you plan of having your smoker at 700-900 degrees at the roof top point, I wouldnt worry about zinc poisoning, which is why you shouldnt use Galvanized in theory. I would figure at MOST, you're roof line will be about 100 degrees higher than your target temp. So whatever you want to do will be moar than adequate ;-)

 

[daveomak]

May I recommend finding shelving material before you build it.. Size and availability of shelving steel will be a determining factor..

 

[Verbalkent]

May I recommend finding shelving material before you build it.. Size and availability of shelving steel will be a determining factor..

I was thinking of using oven racks as shelving. Would that work well?

 

[Verbalkent]

1) Yes it would be safe to stain.

2) the biggest takeaway i had from that article was the claim to not use Galvanized. Unless you plan of having your smoker at 700-900 degrees at the roof top point, I wouldnt worry about zinc poisoning, which is why you shouldnt use Galvanized in theory. I would figure at MOST, you're roof line will be about 100 degrees higher than your target temp. So whatever you want to do will be moar than adequate ;-)

Thanks for the answers! Appreciate the input. One follow-up though, how about sealing the outside? Can you use like poly on it? Or maybe something like Thompson’s?

 

[daveomak]

I was thinking of using oven racks as shelving. Would that work well?

Yep... If you can find enough racks that are the same size....
Or steel expanded sheet... Expanded steel

...

 

[fivetricks]

Thanks for the answers! Appreciate the input. One follow-up though, how about sealing the outside? Can you use like poly on it? Or maybe something like Thompson’s?

I would think so. I don't think you would transfer very high temps from the inner potion of the boards to the outer portions. Might be one of those "apply a small amount to an inconspicuous area" situations