New smoker build questions

[Blacktail Sniper]

Howdy All,

Have a few freezer conversion to smoker questions.  Last year I had big plans for a cedar smoker build, but other things that took higher priority (read lots of money) got in the way and put that on the back burner.

Now that winter is hopefully winding down, it is looking like I can get back on that project.  So tonight I went and picked-up a big, homestyle, upright freezer I found on craigslist.  Not going to be as fancy as the T/G cedar one I had planned, but for the $20.00 the fellow was asking...I can live with that!

My plans are mainly smoked meats...jerky, sausage, ribs, etc., at this point, and it will have a propane buner heat source. 

Now on to the questions.  It is an older model and has the metal lined interior, with the only plastic being the door mounted shelving, which will be coming out for sure.  Having researched here for ideas, tips, and such, when I was planning the cedar one, I remember some mention of the wall insulation in fridges & freezers and to remove it because of potential fire hazard??

Question: I can see that being a potential hazard with the newer ones with all plastic interiors, but is this a concern with this model's metal interior walls?

Question: Will I need to add replacement insulation to the door or is it better to leave it bare metal to help keep temps down?

I am using a propane style burner I already have as the heat source, and to set the freezer body up elevated above the heat source  to avoid having to open the door to add wood during the smoking to help keep temps stable.   My thought is to build a wooden stand attached to the bottom that is enclosed on 3 sides and a door for access, along with a vent for fresh air intake.  I have several 2x4's and sheeting from a tearout on hand, so going to use it for this, again because I already have it handy.

I going to insulate the firebox with that type of fireproof insulation (the silver, blanket kind), for wood stoves, inside the walls of the fire box, which brings me to the freezer's floor.

Question:  Should I cut it completely out, or just cut some strips out or put holes in it to help disperse the heat?  Keeping in mind that I will be isulating the heat box's interior.

One last question for now, the door has the rubber seal that has hardened over the years, should I remove and replace it with something like the braided rope seals for wood stoves, remove it and not worry about replacing it, or just leave it be? 

Any thoughts, ideas, or how-to's will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Kc_Kracker]

BTS, good thinking

--yes first of remove ALL plastic.
--i have heard different arguments on insulation, but i have had it catch fire, singe, smell etc so remove that too. i have never needed it, personally i keep a very old comfortor handy in case i need some heat in the winter to toss over mine.
-- for elevation a dryer stand works well or a home brew one. NO NO NO NO WOOD STANDS!! no wood at all, trust me on this really please just dont  or a free old bedframe on cl will make a great stand for steel.
--if its going to have a firebox, there will be NO need for insulation at all, itll hit 450 easy
-- rubber seal go bye bye, itll just melt with fire heat. you can get a cheap screw down material used for wood stoves
--

[Blacktail Sniper]

Thanks KC, appreciate all the info.

The firebox BTW, isn't for holding burning logs if that was what I made it sound like, here is a picture of what I have for the heat source. 

Somewhere on here in the last couple years, was a really cool all wood smoker that a fellow built using a heat source kinda like mine and it was enclosed in the wooden bottom area, vented of course.  Does this clear up any possible confusion and make the wood stand usable?

Have to spend some time cleaning it up and taking care of some surface rust, so I will give you shout when it comes time to start putting it back together.

Thanks again, it has literally been decades since I last played around with smoking meats and fish, looking forward to getting back into it!

[Kc_Kracker]

i wouldnt use that, i have used it, and its a very big VERY HOT and grossly inefficient on fuel, just way overkill. you will have a VERY hard time smoking most stuff which is around 90-130 degrees, that will push 500 + easily and fast, on low i fought to get under 200.

i have a much better idea for you $30, and its got 3 separate burners for different heat ranges not just high to low  its in the smoker budget build thread.

[Kc_Kracker]

here it is

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_15490_15490

[Blacktail Sniper]

Cool   

[Blacktail Sniper]

Sooooo    does that mean the wood stand/firebox is okay?

[Kc_Kracker]

i like your plan to line the lower or all of it with firebox plates, if thats the case id just put this inside on the floor, really your only gonna lose 6" of space, if its not that tall a freezer on its side then i would use the stand a stand and firebox below, but, it really is a PITA to do by the time you cut out the floor, build a stand, enclose it, and make a flue going into the smoker. i cant wait to see it 

[Kc_Kracker]

google freezer smokers and youll see many many ideas for placement 

[Kc_Kracker]

FYI a recent acquaintance just bought this double burner and he said "this frickin rocks!!" 

[Blacktail Sniper]

Cool, good to know.  Have the freezer shell finally stripped of all the spray-in foam insulation...that was a chore!!  Now waiting to get down to my buddies house in the next couple weeks or so, so he can sandblast it inside & out to clean-up the rust.   Looks bad now, but when he is done it will be nice, clean metal.   

[Kc_Kracker]

meh, one good smoke and that rust will be gone anyways

[Heredoggydoggy]

meh, one good smoke and that rust will be gone anyways

   That thing looks pristine, compared to my new Cajun Injector smoker after 7 or 8 uses!   

[Austrian Hunter]

  meh, smoke will take care of it!!  I like that!!

[Kc_Kracker]

blast it and there will be worse rust

[Carp Commander]

Sounds like Blacktail Sniper and I are working on a similar project. I was giving an upright fridge by a friend after it quit working. I took all the wiring, motors and trim out of it. It is gutted down to the interior metal lining. I planned on lining it with cedar. Sounds like I should strip it down further and take out the lining and insulation. Is this necessary if i am already planning on covering the inside with cedar?

Any suggestions on placement of the air inteke and thermometer?

I was thinking about a charcoal/wood burning pan in the bottom. I didn't want to rely upon LP gas.

Thanks

[billythekidrock]

i wouldnt use that, i have used it, and its a very big VERY HOT and grossly inefficient on fuel, just way overkill. you will have a VERY hard time smoking most stuff which is around 90-130 degrees, that will push 500 + easily and fast, on low i fought to get under 200.

i have a much better idea for you $30, and its got 3 separate burners for different heat ranges not just high to low  its in the smoker budget build thread.

I agree. I have used the crab cooker type burners for years and it is a pain to stay on top of the temp fluctuations. I primarily us it in the fall and can very seldom use it in the summer due to the warmer temps and I have burned up a couple of pans.

A few months ago I bought the same one pictured from Northern Tool and hope to use it soon. In my tests it is a lot easier to regulate the flame. The only issue I had was the foam packing that got lodged in the line from shipping. I was aware that this could be a problem from reading online reviews and was able to clear them easy enough.

[Carp Commander]

Finally down to metal again. Any suggestions on how to get the remaining film of the metal? I was thinking aceton and a brush.

[Carp Commander]

I was surprised at how much insulation there is.

[Kc_Kracker]

very nice  NOW you got something that wont smell like melted foam when you smoke  what kind of heat source you going to use

[Carp Commander]

The rebuild is finally done.

I haven't made a decision on the heat source yet.

[Blacklab]

Very nice!
Looks like it could hold a pound or two 

[dogtuk]

I would line the floor with some sheet metal and use an oven element and thermostat for heat should heat it up nice looking smoker

[Hangfire]

A lot of the old time smoke houses used cold smoke. The smoke house sets up the hill and the fire and smoke source is down hill as much as 50 feet. The smoke travels to the smoke house by a metal stove pipe. It enters the bottom of the smoke house. I am assuming there is some type of vent at the top to get a flow going. The stove pipe is often buried underground to cool. The brine with salt curies the meat. The indian smoke salmon I had that was cold smoked was the best I ever ate. It takes several days to two weeks  to smoke. I was told the smoking done by the Little chief or similar units is actually kippered meat. I was told by several old timers about the cold smoking method when I lived in the Shelton area. My granddad told me that is how they used to smoke hams in the south.

[HUNTINCOUPLE]

Looks real good! Get that bad boy seasoned up!!!

[Carp Commander]

Racks are in and it had it's first smoke pouring out of it last night. Hoping to running a batch of hickory through it every night this week followed by chicken and ribs this weekend!

[Hangfire]

That is about as nice of looking refer converted to smoker I have ever seen.  Report on how it works, after running some meat through it.

[Kc_Kracker]

if your doing a low temp smoke like sausage or fish great, if youll have poultry or fire, then the cedar might be an issue  looks good 

[Kc_Kracker]

I haven't made a decision on the heat source yet.

with wood lining you cannot go fire, your food will taste sour of cedar and will catch fire. if you want the cedar for low temp make the walls removable  cedar is generally used for COLD smoking, meaning smoke only no heat.

[swinters]

I built one pretty close to this for a friend up in Alaska and it works great, though used some old fence boards.  I built an external firebox and plumbed it so the chimney of the firebox went into the bottom rear of the smoker and had the chimney of the smoker at the top center towards the front.  His patio had a 2 foot wall and a hill behind it so the firebox is at patio level and the smoker is at the level of the top of the patio wall.  Uses an electric hot plate with a Chinese piece of junk cast iron frying pan for the wood chips.  I also ended up drilling a hole at the top center and putting in hooks anchored to an external bar so we could hang large slabs of meat.  Used part of an old water tank from a well for the firebox and set it in concrete blocks, then surrounded it with sand to hold heat.  Made a latch that was basically a hook on the outside that turned on a shaft that went thru and had a handle on the inside so that it was legal.  Fridges and freezers not in use are generally required by law to have the door removed unless there is an internal latch release and we didn't want the risk or liability of not having one.  I'll send my friend a note and see if I can get some pictures.

[Kc_Kracker]

Fridges and freezers not in use are generally required by law to have the door removed unless there is an internal latch release and we didn't want the risk or liability of not having one.  I'll send my friend a note and see if I can get some pictures.

nope no law on this, just common sense on the older latch style