Vents

[Mountainman88]

I live in Georgia .do I need insulation in my smokehouse? I’m gonna cold smoke.where do I put vents and how many do I need.im new to this smokehouse building

 

[dirtsailor2003]

Probably don't need to insulate unless you want to keep heat out in the summer.

For venting you need a good air source down low and good exit up high. How big kind of depends on how you plan to add your smoke. I would probably put at least 3"-4" at the bottom. That may even be light but good to start. I'd make 1" holes that way you can plug them if you want. If you have critters make sure and screen the vents. I'd even put four 1" holes on each side down low. That way if wind is blowing you can open different ones to avoid too much wind. Close the ones you don't want to use.

At the top I'd put in one 4" round vent. When smoking this you will want to have open all the time.

 

[mike243]

I don't think you will need any vents, before you go to cutting on it start a smoke going, it will probably leak enuf that xtra vents may not hold the smoke in very long and cause you to have a bigger fire. easy to add harder to patch imo

 

[dirtsailor2003]

I don't think you will need any vents, before you go to cutting on it start a smoke going, it will probably leak enuf that xtra vents may not hold the smoke in very long and cause you to have a bigger fire. easy to add harder to patch imo

You don't want to hold smoke in. The key to good smoked food is having good air flow to push the smoke over the food. A tight environment that holds smoke will create stale smoke and bitter tasting food.

 

[Winterrider]

Even simple little vents like this. As mentioned before, wouldn't hurt to have on each side top/ bottom pending wind. Someone else previously had on here ( don't recall who at this time) , cut in adjustable floor furnace registers.

 

[chef jimmyj]

All good ideas. Floor level Vents feed the Fire, if needed. So high up Exhaust Vents should be on the Opposite Side. Smoke passes over meat on the way out, rather than going straight up and out...JJ

 

[Mountainman88]

View attachment 424484
Even simple little vents like this. As mentioned before, wouldn't hurt to have on each side top/ bottom pending wind. Someone else previously had on here ( don't recall who at this time) , cut in adjustable floor furnace registers.

Where do I buy these

 

[Winterrider]

Round vents dot com, or Amazon I'm sure has similar. If you have hole saws, cut 3" thru wood, and a 4" piece out of sheet steel or aluminum attached with screw. Fully adjustable.

 

[dirtsailor2003]

Where do I buy these

Home Depot, Lowe’s, Ace Hardware, True Value, all have them.

 

[Mountainman88]

Thank you