hi all.
I am thinking of buying / building a shed for cold smoking and keeping the Bradley for the hot stuff.
Can anyone see any reason why I should not go down to my local DIY and but a shed from them, drill a few holes, seal a few more holes and get on with it?
I suppose one reason would be the wood will be treated but if you are cold smoking how much does that matter?
I was thinking of putting a wood liner in it but there again if I used a hardboard theis is just wood glued together anyway - is it not?
Sorry questions questions ??? I know but if you have the answers I sure would like to hear them - thanks in advance.
Cheers WW
I don't know why you shouldn't, but these would be my concerns. It would depend what was used to treat the wood. I would ask the manufacturer, or retailer what it is treated with, then ask for the MSDS sheet(s), or go on line and look them up. Also I would ask if you can order one without a finish.
Wood treatment is poisoness and I would not recommend using it for any food preperation in any manner. The Bradleys are real easy to convert to cold smoking but if you like to build, then ....
cca is nasty deadly stuff. Not sure it is still sold but i still see green treated lumber.
If you are not into a larger volume for cold smoking just use your bradley. OR Keep your new smoke shed off the ground moisture with a bit of a roof and there is no issue with wood smoke houses - They treat just like anything else ... you just dont want moisture / mold.
First one needs to know what the wood is treated with. There are many wood treatments that can be use for incidental and full food contact. That is why it is important to find out what the manufacturer has has used, and to request, or you can look up on line the MSDS for the product.
There are several retailers in my area that sell shed, barns and gazebos, and they do not use any pressure treated wood in the building of their sheds or barns.
Quite a few of the sheds at B+Q for example are described as "untreated" and they expect people to treat (and pay for) them themselves so maybe that is worth a try?
Other way is to contact a manufacturer directly and ask for an untreated one as someone else suggested. I went to a smokehouse in Suffolk a while ago and their smoking shed looking very like part of an old larchlap shed!! ;) :D
I hang game, occasional hams and herbs to dry in my B+Q larchlap shed without worry, IMHO cold smoking would not be a problem because if the wood treatment caused potential health issues at the sort of temperatures used in cold smoking they would not be allowed to sell them in the first place as it would be too dangerous for people to even set foot in them!!
Hot smoking may be another issue but for cold smoking I very much doubt there would be a problem.
What is larchlap? Is that a lumber where you are? CCA is an issue when you cut it. The shed at my Grampa's i dont think was treated anything - sat on concrete blocks - stood as long as i remember and probably had to be torn down.
There are lots of web pages that have plans and descriptions for building.
Bradley likes old fridges with the metal insides.
Thanks all that was very interesting and some very good points were made.
The reason I need to go bigger than a Bradley is because demand outstrips supply at the moment and it makes me cry - a lot - when I have to only smoke one or possibly two salmon in the smoker because that is the end of the order
Cheers WW
I looked up larchlap. I wish they made it like the do over here.
Manxman;
Sad to say, over here in the states they do things a little different. It seems we pay less attention to what toxic materials they use in building homes. I have a niece who is purchasing a modular home, and she had to sign a form stating that she was made aware of the possible build of of chemical fumes used in the materials of the home.
QuoteWhat is larchlap?
Larchlap is actually the name of a garden supply company and they have a particular style of shed (that others have emulated) whereby the lengths of timber slightly overlap the one below hence rain doesn't get in...... probably the cheapest of all wooden sheds available but good nonetheless.
http://www.larchlap.co.uk/ (ftp://http://www.larchlap.co.uk/)
HS:
I have noticed several times when buying things in the US a comment something along the lines of "the State of California" and a reference to carcinogens but there seems to be very little that the State of California does not think was carcinogenic!! I bought a new outboard engne recently here in the UK that is made in Japan and obviously for sale worldwide and that had a similar comment on although the risk in this instance seems to be negligable.
The reference to your niece is more concerning and seems to put the emphasis on the purchaser, not the manufacturer/supplier regarding safety!!
Giz is right. Stay away from plywoods cuz they use glues with formaldehyde or dont use treated wood. Use hard wood planks if you can get them 1x8 or 1x10 oak tongue & groove. I have seen pine planked smokers also.
(http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o290/stlthy1/myproject.jpg)
(http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o290/stlthy1/woohoo.gif)
nepas
Super job Nepas! I like that.
Nice shed!!!
8)
That is a very nice smoke house NePa. Reminds me of the other types of houses more common in the old days but with no moon window. Did you design it yourself?
Nice set up Nepas. ;)
Hi Nepas and thanks for the post
What you have there is exactly what I want here, it looks the dogs dangly bits. Fancy coming over for dinner and bringing your saw?
excuse my total ignorance but there seems to be quite a gap around the door is that sealed from the inside or is enough smoke generated that it dosent matter. Thanks WW
Hey gang
Forgive me for not being more attentive on the posting of the shed. The photo is not of my smoke shed. However it is what i am building at the moment. The photo is a pine plank smoker shed. My shed i am building is along the same as the photo but with a run of blocks at the bottom. If some of you remember back in the winter i posted i was working on a project this is it.
Again sorry for not posting with the photo that it was not mine.
nepas
PS mine is better than the posted photo ;D
Yep, old fridges are pretty popular with the do-it-yourself crowd. Here's one my friend built and he turns out some some amazing products.
(http://bowyersedge.com/images/Sausage/sausage2.jpg)
I was actually going to build a similar one until I found the OBS and realized I could cold smoke with it with a little modification.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v85/halbleib/smokedalmonds2.jpg)
I don't need any more space than the OBS offers, as of now, but if you need more room, this is not a bad way to go.
-Brian
Nice clean set up Stickbow. Looks like your little helper approves too!!! :D ;D ;)
I like your setup Brian and the pic of your helper is absolutely priceless. My little 6 year old daughter (who could probably make Jesus cuss) is a big reason I'm getting into smoking. She absolutely loves smoked foods.
Brian, how did you seal that box, or do you need to?
Does anyone know how big an area a Bradley smoke generator will fill? The reason I'm asking is I build a smokehouse years ago and am thinking about using it for smoking my cheeses. I would like to do at least 50 pounds at a time and the Bradley is way too small. Right now I use a small propane burner in the smokehouse but only used it gor sausage and turkeys because it gets too hot for cheese. If the smoke generator will fill a 3 foot by 3 foot by six foot tall shed it might do just what I am thinking about. I'll try to show a picture of the smokehouse when it was first built, its much much darker inside now after using it for years.
(http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh46/pensrock/DCP01078.jpg)
(http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh46/pensrock/DCP01075.jpg)
IceMan uses the smoke generator on his home built units and I would say his are every bit as big as yours. Hopefully he will be along and post a comment.
Mike
Pensrock
Here is a thread that has some pictures of Pat's (Iceman) home built set up.
http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=4808.0
Mike
Wow, the Iceman's units look great! Mine looks like an old outhouse... lol. But as long as it makes great product, that's all I care about. I would say if the generator works on his smokers it should do the job on mine, I'll have to make up a cold smoker conversion box and adapt it into my BDS as well as the outhouse smoker. Can you tell me how you connect the flexable vent hose into the Bradley?
Nothing special to make it fit. It's the aluminium 4 inch flexible vent and it fits snugly in place. Some guys use a little bit of the foil type tape for ducts on it but mine is just stuck into the tower and I slightly flared it from the inside.
The Iceman's set up is very sweet! He's the king of smoke for sure! 8)
Mike
Bradley website propaganda claims the smoke generator is adaquate for up to 50 cubic feet. I have no reason to doubt it at all.
Nice set up pensrock. The generator will handle that size smoker no problem. The only thing I notice between using the big smoker instead of the Bradley is I have to smoke longer to get the same color/taste to equal the Bradley smoked food. I think it's a combo of more food and the larger area that causes this. Also you'll find out that the condensation is less in the bigger smoker which is good for salmon and jerky. Looks like you don't have to worry about outside temps dropping to low where your at so pre heating shouldn't be an issue. It takes a good 2 hours up here to warm mine up in the winter. You should be able to mount the generator on a small wood box and run a hose to the smoker for cold smoking cheese. I'm in the middle of building a heated shed to keep the chill off when it gets below zero so I can smoke year round and keep my rum and coke from freezing :o :D
Get some food in that thing and send us some pictures!! ;D
If I need heat you can see the propane burner in the bottom of the smoker. When I do cheese now it takes from 2-6 hours depending on the kind of cheese. Swiss smokes real fast where american and others take longer. I have not tried it in the Bradley yet, I'm expecting to knock an hour or so off the total time using the Bradley.
I have not done cheese in the big smoker you see in the pics, that was mainly used for sausages and poultry. I would try to keep it around 150-160 F. My sausages all have cure in them and the birds are brined so the cold smoking works well. Everything still needs cooked after smoking.
I made a cold smoker out of an old gas grill and duct the smoke into it from a hot plate, but even using this the outside temp needs to be below 40 F. If I use the smoke generator in the big smoker and it takes longer than the Bradley that is not a problem because I can probably do 3-4 times more product in the big smoker.
As for the outside temps dropping low check out the pic.
(http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh46/pensrock/smoker.jpg)
Well at least you have some snow cover. Shoot all the snow was blown away up here and all we have now is freezing rain and ice every where. Man I can see pipes breaking all over Anchorage when it snaps down to -20 or -30 soon :o ;D
We do not have snow now, that picture was from a couple years ago. We rarely get as cold as you mention. Normally only a few days each winter are we below zero. Occasionally we do get a week or so of really cold days, ranging from -10 to -20 or so. Your right though, real cold weather without snow cover is really bad for the water lines, it just drives the frost deeper into the ground. Good luck and keep warm this winter!