Turning old Woods Upright Freezer into smoker

[maxtor]

  Hi guys, new here and after doing a bunch of reading here I decided I wanted to build a smoker. I've picked up an old Woods Upright Freezer that I'm hoping will do the trick but have some questions that I'm turning to you guys for advice.

Here are some pics of the freezer I got:

IMG_8183_zpsd5c37974.jpg

• maxtor
• Jan 13, 2013

I plain on repainting it so I assume that a High Heat Paint would be what I want to use. Like Krylon BBQ and Stove Paint?

Door:

IMG_8182_zps74c7a077.jpg

• maxtor
• Jan 13, 2013

   With this door, would I be able to just leave it the way it is, or would I have to take it apart and cover it with metal or something?

Inside/Shelves

IMG_8181_zps980ba527.jpg

• maxtor
• Jan 13, 2013

IMG_8180_zpsd813c3c8.jpg

• maxtor
• Jan 13, 2013

I didn't realize until I got it home that the shelves have the freon tubing running through the center of all the shelves. The freon has already been removed by the person that gave me the freezer. Would I still be able to use these shelves or would I have to get new ones?

      I'd also like to know what you guys recommend for my heat source, Propane, Electric coils? 

   Thanks in advance for any advice and tips you could give me. Looking forward to this project

 

[roger shoaf]

[color= rgb(24, 24, 24)]" With this door, would I be able to just leave it the way it is, or would I have to take it apart and cover it with metal or something?[/color]

I didn't realize until I got it home that the shelves have the freon tubing running through the center of all the shelves. The freon has already been removed by the person that gave me the freezer. Would I still be able to use these shelves or would I have to get new ones?"

If you were only cold smoking you could probably get away with leaving the interior as is.  I am bot sure but I think the styrene will not melt or off gas anything funky if it stayed below 100F.

If however you are going to be heating the box, you need to gut the interior as you will melt and or burn the plastic.

You also might have foam insulation that could be a problem also.

The shelves with the tubing will not likely cause any grief unless there is some refrigeration oil in the tubing, but that could be flushed out.

The real reason to loose the tubing would be so you could adjust your shelving to suit your food.

 

[maxtor]

Thanks for the reply Roger. 

        If I were to gut the inside and remove the plastic, and say it is foam insulation, would it still be a problem if covered with metal? 

The shelves with the tubing shouldn't be a big deal as once the tubes are cut away, the shelves would be adjustable. Now I'm starting to wonder if I should scrap this freezer and look for something else, like an old fridge

 

[roger shoaf]

        If I were to gut the inside and remove the plastic, and say it is foam insulation, would it still be a problem if covered with metal? 

The shelves with the tubing shouldn't be a big deal as once the tubes are cut away, the shelves would be adjustable. Now I'm starting to wonder if I should scrap this freezer and look for something else, like an old fridge

You could handle foam insulation in one of two ways, first remove it and replace it with fiberglass or fiber-ceramic insulation, or alternatively you could accept a size reduction in your interior and line the foam with the fiberglass, then line the interior with sheet metal.  The only gutting you would then have to do is around the penetrations and near the hot zones.

I would not use a box like this for anything other than cold smoke.  I think you will be far ahead of the game to keep searching for the old fridge that has the porcelain interior and the fiber glass insulation already in place.  

One idea would be to convert an oven.  They already have great insulation (especially the self cleaning models) and high temp door gaskets.  I think to mod one of these I might be tempted to make the door side swing, remove the stove top and control section and place the box on a pedestal with wheels.  Fabricate a nice little roof to replace the stove top.

In the lower section that originally housed the storage drawer, I would make the drawer face hinge down (perhaps using the oven's original hinges) and in that section house the smoke generator and the controller for the smoker. 

 

[pignout013]

http://www.netcomposites.com/guide/polyurethane-foams/83

 

[maxtor]

http://www.netcomposites.com/guide/polyurethane-foams/83

You'll have to forgive me pignout but by providing that link, are you saying the foam that would be in this freezer would be okay to keep in there, or would not be safe? Or, replace it with what is mentioned in the link? 

        I'm not really a foam expert    ;)

 

[pignout013]

Nor am I. I have asked the same question more then several times with the same answer. No one seams to know for sure. I have ask more then a couple people that deal with the stuff, Including factory techs that said the same thing, it will be fine if kept under 275. I was also told if it is that big of concern caulk all joints with an appropriate silicone. I BBQ turkeys at 260 so I'm going to give it a try. I will give it a trial run for 24hrs to season and to check it out before I cook anything .  this is just a web site that also states the same thing

 

[maxtor]

  Think I'm going to just check the crap yard for an old fridge and see if they would swap me the fridge for the freezer     :)

         I don't have good luck so chances are the foam would cause issues for me