Traulsen Commercial Refrigerator build

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nevrsummr

Meat Mopper
Original poster
Dec 15, 2015
223
22
North Idaho
Well, starting the next build, and hopefully this one is a keeper. Picked up a 2 door Traulsen and went to work. It will be a watt burner again. With PID controller. The SMD 100 from Auber. Trying to keep it cheap as possible but it's already getting expensive.
 
Decided to cut off the top portion which housed the compressor and stuff. No sense in an extra foot of wasted height. I thought about flipping it upside down, but the doors would be a problem. I found a lot of polyurethane spray in insulation. In fact it's what holds everything together. The only way to remove it would be to cut the outside off or inside out. I spoke with traulsen, the insulation is the same as what they use in their heated cabinets. Good to 210. Took a piece of insulation and put it in the oven at 250 to start. Then 275. No degredation, no odor. Made the choice to keep the insulation in the walls, and replace it everywhere I can get to. The top and bottom will be roxul, which is where most of the heat will be concentrated.
 
I bought this baking rack for my shelving, little pricey, but I like the adaptability. Regular angle iron wasn't going to work because the inside cavity is bigger than the door opening. Plus, any bakery racks or pans will fit, so should be easy to find some.
 
I used the stainless I cut off the top to make a raised heat deflector for the bottom. The pictured element will actually be protected underneath and the heat will vent out the left and right sides. The burner pan will be cut in to the left front side so I can add pellets with the door only part way open. The front burner will be only for the smoke process.
 
At this point I would like to ask for some help in the idea department. Because of the volume and height I feel a fan is necessary but I have no clue what to use or where to put it. Also, I am building this with the intention of sausage among other things. Anyone have a good system for hanging and spacing sausage? It's funny I love the vertical double door setup because I can make adjustments without letting all the heat out, however that divider is going to make sausage more difficult I'm afraid.
 
you baking rack is also larger than the opening,

what is the unit you are building into a smoker? Is that a heating cabinet, fridge or freezer? It looks like it should have shelves in it to start, where are they?
 
It is a refrigerator. The baking rack is the same size as the inside of the cabinet so with the thickness of the framework it ends up about flush with the door. The racks will slide in and out it didn't come with shelving unfortunately. There are screw in pins that the existing shelving was supported with, which only worked for stationary shelves. Obviously I need slide in. I also need help figuring the intake and exhaust sizes.
 
Correction, I just found 3 racks that came with it. They are stainless. I forgot about them already. The bakery cart came with 1 so I have a total of 4. For a total of 550 sq inches of rack area.
 
if that's a fridge then the spray foam polystyrene will need to be removed unless it will be strictly a cold smoking unit.

it will not hold up to smoker temps and runs the risk of the polystyrene shrinking or meiltng and catching on fire inside the walls.
 
I would suggest not using a fan in your smoker. I assume you were hoping that it would move the heat or even out the heat?

The bad thing is the fan will dry out what ever you have in the smoker. Basically you would have a big dehydrator. I guess ideal if you want to smoke jerky and dried goods. Not good if you want to smoke other items.

If you need more heat then you may need to upgrade to a 220 element.
 
Good to know, thanks for the advice. Yes I was hoping to even heat and smoke. I have it set up 240V already. There will be more heat capability than what I need. Or what the fridge can stand. (Wrong insulation )
 
Yea, well I would be happier without spray foam at all, but I guess it will do. I think I will just have to cap the temp around 210* the pid will help
 
Finally got a chance to work on it today. the bakery rack is now installed inside the smoker, the shelf supports pop in and out up and down with ease. Also got the existing holes in the ceiling patched and cut in a oven light. However now I can see that the oven light is too tall :( .
 
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Some help with the intake/exhaust would be appreciated. I would like to use 2" because I have a 2" ball valve I picked up for free, but I'm worried it may be too small. Do watt burners need much exhaust? Intake?
 
All you need is enough air to create a draft so that the smoke will exit and to provide enough air to keep the smoke going. That's assuming you will not be using an eternal smoke generator and piping the smoke in. Start with your 2" for the intake. I'd probably go at least 3" for the exhaust. If it's not working adequately add another intake.
 
For intake I was thinking about multiple 3/4 or 1" pipes with caps so I can cap some off to control air flow. Maybe 3 per side of the smoker. Is it better to pipe the intake close to the burner or is just barely through the wall enough?
 
You want your intakes low and your exhaust high. To avoid condensation drips I'd put the exhaust out the back or side as high as possible. Your exhaust needs to be open all the time when smoking.
 
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