Smoker Build

[klickman]

A friend of mine gave me an old GE freezer.  I stripped all the plastic off of it, I took out the insulation (most was water logged), and took out the inner shell.  There was a lot of rust so took it to a guy to sand blast. 

I would like to put in a little insulation.  Would Blue board be a good option?  Does it need insulation for year-round smoking?  WHat should i do for the interior of the smoker?  Plywood, cedar, etc?  The smoker is just a shell.  I thought I had better pics but can't find em.  Any suggestions are appreciated.

[swinters]

My dad built a couple from old refrigerators and they worked great for years.  He lined the second one with vertical fir fence boards to give it a level of insulation and used wire shelves.  You used to see a lot of alloy ones that looked like they were stamped from aluminum and they're poisonous when heated, even slightly, so only the wire type should be used (like the one on the floor in your picture.  All plastic must be removed, including in the door, and they say that the glues in plywood and OSB are a problem.  His first smokehouse was just the metal shell and it worked fine but did slow down the smoking when it was in the 30's but when he made the next one and lined it with wood it was great.  He used an old junk cast iron frying pan full of wood chips on a hot plate for the smoke.  Used alder chips for almost everything.  He ended up painting the smokehouse with green house paint because he got tired of people calling him and telling him his refrigerator was on fire.

[klickman]

Thanks for the suggestions. I will line it with wood planks. Time to order the racks. Can't wait to get this thing going. Its gonna be fun. 

[Kc_Kracker]

i would not line it with wood. you dont want to taste cedar in your food , plywood has glue in it, and insulation should be around it not inside where gasses and fules can leach into your food. trust me you dont want anything but a steel box. here is mine. if you need to smoke in the winter itll smoke, youll just need more heat or toss a blanket over it.

[klickman]

That is a sweet box.  Any suggestions on how to build one or where to pick one up? 

[Kc_Kracker]

craigslist, they are free all the time. I posted a ad for a great smoker doner the other day