Homemade smokers

[brockel]

Alright guys I’m thinking my next project is to build a homemade smoker. Let’s see your guys smokers and what you like about them and what you’d do different if you could do it over again

 

[dirtclod Az.]

I tried making a smoker out of an old refrigerator,
The plastic interior does not hold up to the heat!

 

[dirtclod Az.]

P.S. I asked for a smoker for my Birthday, works great!

 

[Addicting]

I’m not sure with the price point of products on the market if it’s worth trying to build one.

If I were to, I would use a pellet grill feed system into a old house fuel tank or drum that’s been burned. These pellet grills / smoker have spoiled me. Can’t believe I waited so long in life to start using them.

 

[Lilhowie83]

I built one out of a 250 gallon propane tank, with half of a hundred gallon tank as the fire box. It was a good smoker but it was to hard for me to source enough good hardwood for smoking very frequently, so I sold it to a coworker. I'm digging through my phone for pictures. I have since gone the route of the pellet smoker and have really fallen in love with the set it and forget it aspect. It's so simple that I can give my wife some simple instructions and she can at least start something for me.

 

[greatwhitebuffalo]

Trash can and $30 @ Home Depot will turn out some good meat.

 

[Nick87]

Following along I'm at the point where I need to go bigger (homemeade) or just start taking things to a processor.

 

[brockel]

Following along I'm at the point where I need to go bigger (homemeade) or just start taking things to a processor.

That’s where I’m at. Most smokers you can go buy just aren’t big enough. Plus I enjoy projects

 

[Nick87]

That’s where I’m at. Most smokers you can go buy just aren’t big enough. Plus I enjoy projects

My aunt has my grandpas old steel smoker from the farm probably 30" deep by 36" wide and about 6' tall they dont use it so I'm in the process of trying to get it and refinish it.

 

[brockel]

My aunt has my grandpas old steel smoker from the farm probably 30" deep by 36" wide and about 6' tall they dont use it so I'm in the process of trying to get it and refinish it.

About 15 years ago we built one at my uncles out of an old commercial fridge. If I had owned the place I do now back then I would have bought that thing at his estate sale

 

[BearFoot]

I've made a few with old refrigerators. Strip out the plastic and insulation. Leaving just a metal shell with magnetic door strip. Hole saw small hole in floor & top. Control air flow by sliding a piece of wood over top hole. I used electric frying pan found at thrift store for smoking wood chips. Wood strips screwed up the insides to support drying racks. Smoked a lot of salmon that way.

 

[Four22]

I had a stick burner that I built out of an old boiler tank. 46” diameter and 48” long 3/16” thick.

I ended up selling it because I had to add wood/charcoal every few hours to keep it going and not too hot. It got to the point where I wouldn’t cook because of the hassle.

I went with a treager now and absolutely love it. Set it and walk away.

I put all of this on yesterday right before baseball games and came home to this:

 

[Dakotakid]

I built mine out of a 1940s refrigerator. It is all metal.
It as been a work in process.
I errored in putting the 5000w element in the compressor area below, it doesn’t create good draw. I just need to add a couple fans but haven’t.

I built the electronic controller from a Pid. Dual relays and programmable. I think I can do 15 different step temp changes.

Runs off 220v.

 

[PAGOAT]

Mine is a 4x4x8 box with a door, use to have an actual door but it had fell apart in the weather. 2x4s on the side walls for metal rods to go across all the way up and a bunch of grates from the webstraunt store. I put a turkey burner on the floor with the hose running out the left wall to a propane tank outside. With a cast iron pan on the burner once it gets to temp i throw on some apple wood i cut off my trees or if I'm feeling lazy a hand full of pellets with a foil lid of sort.

 

[SD_Prairie_Goat]

I built one out of an old commercial freezer.

Whole thing went up in flames.

Won't be building my own again...

 

[noharleyyet]

Fire box with damper for oxy intake....tank/fabricated doors, grills, thermometer, smoke stack w/damper. Ours is 40 plus years old...oil field steel/trailer mounted. It is so dependable, bomb and fool proof. Simple prep, will cook for two or two dozen easy. Feed a few mesquite/oak/pecan splits occasionally, dial the dampers, and sip your favorite beverage. Countless holiday family meats cycled thru it.

Will get some pics hung.

 

[Addicting]

Ebay seems to have a good selection for your firebox needs.

 

[BackofBeyond]

I've built ones as big as 500 gallon propane tank, pulled on a flat bed trailer, or a 12'x12' CMU box with a concrete roof... these days I really like the simplicity of a pellet grill. My only hang up in the inability to cold smoke anything as most pellet grills have a lowest low of ~150 degrees. I'm considering building a separate "cold smoker" attachment to hook to my current pellet grill, but don't have any solid plans/ideas yet.

 

[brockel]

I’m more looking at building one for just doing jerky, bacon, and sausages

 

[illinibuckJP]

Alright guys I’m thinking my next project is to build a homemade smoker. Let’s see your guys smokers and what you like about them and what you’d do different if you could do it over again

Made one out of an old restaurant hotbox. Bought a disc smoker attachment cut the square in the bottom and fastened it to the outer wall. Worked great.