Smoker

[flandersander]

So... I'm thinking of building a new smoker. I've got an old fridge that I think will work. So far I've made a hole in between the freezer part, and the fridge part. The freezer part is on the bottom. So I'll put my heat source in the freezer, and the meat in the fridge. All i've really gotta do is bleach the inside (might have been mice in it) and figure out a way to put racks inside. What do you think? Any other smoker ideas? I pondered with using a steel trum, but I lack the tools now that my ice shach burned down with most of them inside.

[randyt]

when I was a kid our smokehouse was made from wood with a tin roof. it was set up higher than the stove that was used to produce the smoke. the stove pipe came up underneath the house and the smoke pipe came up through the floor. that concept should work with about anything.

[Rick]

I don't know what the inside of the fridge is coated with but if it's plastic I'd be concerned that 1. The lower unit could melt and 2. how the smoke would react with the plastic.

[oldtrap59]

I have to agree with Rick. I know that a buddy helped me make a smoker several years ago out of an old frig something he had done many times. First thing he insisted on was gutting the liner out. When he did his take on the smoker all he used of the frig was the outer metal box. Every thing else went. Inside liner, insulation, the whole works. Most of the inside of the frig doesn't deal well with heat so it has to go. Hot insulation and plastic don't do much for the taste of meat or fish. Find some old oven racks for your shelves. Imo they work the best.

Oldtrap

[rebel]

I'd gut the plastic and insulation. Bolt on some angle iron for the rack supports. Make some racks and use an indirect fire / smoker box.

[Rick]

I think I'd want the firebox outside, too. I might be wrong but I think it would be easier to control the temperature that way. Don't forget that all that meat is going to be giving up grease in the process and that will be dripping down so you probable want a catch pan in the bottom just to make clean up easier. You could certainly put a pan on the bottom rack.

[RunsWithDeer]

I made my smoker out of an old refrigerator and it works great. Mine had a steel liner, so it was fine as is, no plastic to deal with. I set mine up with an external fire pit, with a metal duct to route the heat and smoke into the smoker. I didn't care for the metal racks that were in the refrigerator, so I made new ones out of expanded metal.