wood stove + old fridge = smoker. Will this work?

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pollard

Newbie
Original poster
Nov 30, 2016
28
17
Missouri Ozarks
I've got a little shop I heat with a wood stove. It's an old Fisher with a 6" outlet out the back. I've got an old medium sized Frigidaire shell, no insulation. I'm wondering if there's some way I can run the stove pipe through the wall and then through the fridge to utilize the smoke.

The fridge would have to be on a raised platform so the inlet could go in the bottom with a water pan right above the inlet.

Thinking out loud here...... Maybe have the platform 8-12 feet above ground so that I get the draft yet the smoke has time to cool down. My shop's tall enough to attach a platform at 8-12 feet and attach a roof to the shop to go over the fridge/smoker. Might get a good fire going and stick a thermometer through at various heights to see what height I get the right temp before building any platform. The back side of the shop rarely gets wind from that direction so that would help with temp stability since the fridge is un-insulated.

I've been collecting hickory for a couple of years now and have plenty more to cut for the future. The majority of the trees here are oak which isn't bad either. Could burn a combo. For spring/summer/fall, I could move the stove outside during the warmer months. Something I would probably do anyway just to gain the space. It's real easy to move with my little tractor.

We also heat the house with wood so I'm trying to avoid having three fires to supply and tend at times. house/shop/smoker.

Thoughts?

Thanks, John
 
So are you planning on heating the shop to the right temp for the smoker?  Many variables would change the temp inside the smoke chamber not just height of the stack.  If you just want to use a wood stove as a firebox for a smoker, sure no problem.  If you are trying to do multiple chores (heating a space and smoking meat) I think there may be much more difficulty in keeping both items at the temps you want.
 
Well my shop's not insulated and it's drafty so the wood stove is just to take some chill off, a place to warm my hands and I keep my tools near it so they're warm enough to handle without gloves.
 
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