- Feb 2, 2017
- 30
- 11
Hi Guys
Its been a while since i last posted.
At the moment i have a simple small cold smoker. Small fire box with maze pellet smoker linked to a 3ft x4ft wooden smoking chamber.
It works well but, like everyone the summer temperatures can make it tricky. So i thought i would have a go at designing my own smoker unit.
Firebox
We have trouble buying large post boxes in the uk so i decided on one of these.
https://www.homebase.co.uk/texas-round-portable-bbq_p496550
My thought is that i will either take the smoke pipe from the centre (where the handle is) or where the current air vent is.
The lid clips on so it should provide a nice tight seal.
Fire box questions:
Would it benefit the smokebox to have some vent holes cut into the side? bottom? or both?
What size smoke pipe would work best? Ideally I would like between 2-4" .
Smoking chamber.
I had this idea of using a standard domestic fridge. There are plenty that don't get cool enough ( 10-20 deg c) which would be fine for cold smoking. There seems to be some who say you need to strip out the plastic and others who say its fine if you just cold smoke.
Then i had the thought of a commercial fridge as the inside will be stainless steel
Again i would buy a faulty one that only cools to 10-20 deg c
My final idea was to buy a wine cooler which only has a working range of 7-18 deg c (so could be used to cure meat as well .
The fridges would be about 6ft tall and the cooler about 4ft
Any thoughts on which would be better?
Build
So my plan is to cut a hole at the bottom for the smoke pipe. cut a hole in the top for a chimney (I am hoping that 3 inch would be sufficient as i have a spare 2ft of 3" copper pipe.
Would this work?
I could foresee a problem with the warm(ish ) smoke sinking to the bottom due to the cold air in the fridge.
So i thought that putting a small fan in the fridge would prevent that. Would the fan be best in the fridge to just blow the air around? or put it on the chimney to drag the air out?
I will use a temperature sensor to control the fridge and bypass the thermostat. if the temp gets to cool it will switch the fridge off and if it gets too warm.
Before i start cutting away at things i would really appreciate your thoughts and advice.
Many thanks
Its been a while since i last posted.
At the moment i have a simple small cold smoker. Small fire box with maze pellet smoker linked to a 3ft x4ft wooden smoking chamber.
It works well but, like everyone the summer temperatures can make it tricky. So i thought i would have a go at designing my own smoker unit.
Firebox
We have trouble buying large post boxes in the uk so i decided on one of these.
https://www.homebase.co.uk/texas-round-portable-bbq_p496550
My thought is that i will either take the smoke pipe from the centre (where the handle is) or where the current air vent is.
The lid clips on so it should provide a nice tight seal.
Fire box questions:
Would it benefit the smokebox to have some vent holes cut into the side? bottom? or both?
What size smoke pipe would work best? Ideally I would like between 2-4" .
Smoking chamber.
I had this idea of using a standard domestic fridge. There are plenty that don't get cool enough ( 10-20 deg c) which would be fine for cold smoking. There seems to be some who say you need to strip out the plastic and others who say its fine if you just cold smoke.
Then i had the thought of a commercial fridge as the inside will be stainless steel
Again i would buy a faulty one that only cools to 10-20 deg c
My final idea was to buy a wine cooler which only has a working range of 7-18 deg c (so could be used to cure meat as well .
The fridges would be about 6ft tall and the cooler about 4ft
Any thoughts on which would be better?
Build
So my plan is to cut a hole at the bottom for the smoke pipe. cut a hole in the top for a chimney (I am hoping that 3 inch would be sufficient as i have a spare 2ft of 3" copper pipe.
Would this work?
I could foresee a problem with the warm(ish ) smoke sinking to the bottom due to the cold air in the fridge.
So i thought that putting a small fan in the fridge would prevent that. Would the fan be best in the fridge to just blow the air around? or put it on the chimney to drag the air out?
I will use a temperature sensor to control the fridge and bypass the thermostat. if the temp gets to cool it will switch the fridge off and if it gets too warm.
Before i start cutting away at things i would really appreciate your thoughts and advice.
Many thanks