Total newbie

[CarneAsadaFries]

Hi all! I was given a hand-me-down smoker in need of some TLC. After some light browsing found SMF to be the best place to get some help. I've never owned a smoker, but I do enjoy eating smoked meats! I'm in Southern California.

Should I post my questions here?
EDIT: I might as well....

A friend is moving and unloading this cabinet:

There's a small tag on a bottom leg reading CL 11-3600. After a bit of Googling, I found a manual for the Great Outdoors 3600G (which initially came with a VHS TAPE instructional video).

There is no burner or control knob panel.
The handle needs replacing.
I'm guessing it's missing parts on the inside.
I'm sure the thermometer needs to be swapped out.
A fresh coat of BBQ paint is in order.

Is this worth trying to restore? I've had very little luck finding the specific burner for this model, and I'm not sure if there is a universal one.

it IS a gas smoker, right?

Thanks for any input.

 

[TNJAKE]

Welcome from Tennessee. There's definitely someone her that can help you out

 

[SmokinEdge]

Welcome from CO.
That has been gutted of the burner....... So how mechanically inclined are you? You have a great cabinet, but it is a partial build at this point.

 

[PolishDeli]

Seems like a good find.
Congrats.

Disclaimer. I've not done what im about to suggest, so maybe others will have better advice.

It does look like it was a gas smoker at some point. Since it's gutted, I'd convert it to an electric. And I'd avoid doing anything fancy.

1. Cover the hole at the bottom. layer of fire bricks or a sheet of steel (not galvanized).

2. Get a heating element. You'll need to cut a hole in the wall, somewhere toward the base. This will be your heat source.

3. Get a temperature controller. You can just drop the thermocouple down the vent.

4. Get an A-MAZE-N Smoker tray.

A-MAZE-N 5x8 in. Smoker Maze AZACC005840064 - The Home Depot

The A-MAZE-N Smoker turns ANY grill into a BBQ Smoker. Use it in charcoal, propane, or electric grills, or add it to any smoker for that extra smoke flavor! Perfect for cold or hot smoking all of your

www.homedepot.com

There you have it. A digitally controlled electric smoker with 8 hours of smoke for about $150.

 

[olaf]

Nice cabinet; cover that hole with a piece of steel, an electric heating element, cheap inkbird control, and an A-MAZE-N pellet burner and you would have something better than most box stores could offer at just north of a hundred dollars.

 

[CarneAsadaFries]

Welcome from CO.
That has been gutted of the burner....... So how mechanically inclined are you? You have a great cabinet, but it is a partial build at this point.

I was a plumber in a past life. Minus welding I would be pretty competent taking apart or installing anything I need to. I saw a post from 2016 that had a similar cabinet and they retrofit a turkey fryer burner to use, but I didn't have all the details (and I'd rather do this with as little sketchiness as possible, haha).

 

[olaf]

Nice cabinet; cover that hole with a piece of steel, an electric heating element, cheap inkbird control, and an A-MAZE-N pellet burner and you would have something better than most box stores could offer at just north of a hundred dollars.

Go figure, I pour a drink and hit post reply and now you get the same reply twice. I have done it this way and it works pretty good.

 

[CarneAsadaFries]

Nice cabinet; cover that hole with a piece of steel, an electric heating element, cheap inkbird control, and an A-MAZE-N pellet burner and you would have something better than most box stores could offer at just north of a hundred dollars.

This is

Seems like a good find.
Congrats.

Disclaimer. I've not done what im about to suggest, so maybe others will have better advice.

It does look like it was a gas smoker at some point. Since it's gutted, I'd convert it to an electric. And I'd avoid doing anything fancy.

1. Cover the hole at the bottom. layer of fire bricks or a sheet of steel (not galvanized).

2. Get a heating element. You'll need to cut a hole in the wall, somewhere toward the base. This will be your heat source.

3. Get a temperature controller. You can just drop the thermocouple down the vent.

4. Get an A-MAZE-N Smoker tray.

A-MAZE-N 5x8 in. Smoker Maze AZACC005840064 - The Home Depot

The A-MAZE-N Smoker turns ANY grill into a BBQ Smoker. Use it in charcoal, propane, or electric grills, or add it to any smoker for that extra smoke flavor! Perfect for cold or hot smoking all of your

www.homedepot.com

There you have it. A digitally controlled electric smoker with 8 hours of smoke for about $150.

This is incredible! I've got some steel I can cut down to size. Lots to research on this. Should be fun!

 

[SmokinEdge]

C CarneAsadaFries
Looks like you could be in business.
post up the restoration. That is a nice cabinet. Well worth the effort.

 

[mike243]

I have 1 just like it but all my parts are there, go buy 2 stainless steel cheap bowls, 1 to set into the hole to put charcoal and wood chinks in, another to put over the top of it for water/catch pan, you can be smoking in a few minutes without any problems. dont set on wooden deck as the bottom will get hot, no need to get a bowl that sets flat, the bigger the bowl the more charcoal it will hold but start with a smaller fire and add charcoal as needed to keep temps under control