Hey all
Winter is coming and I need to face reality. My golf club closed last Wednesday and that drove the message home loud and clear. It was something like HEY DUMMY, ITS GOING TO SNOW SOON, HOW YOU GOING TO USE THE BRADLEY IN THE SNOW
Actually I think I called myself something worse than dummy. I might be in line for some therapy. If only I lived in California...
I am thinking I need to build a "house" for my DBS. I really dont want to use the smoker in the garage as the entire house will wind up smelling like a smoke house as the garage is below the dining room and kitchen. My garage barely holds a singl;e car and its competes for space with my snow blower, lawn mower, shovels, garbage storage, tool chest etc. I could try some type of exhaust pipe / fan or vent hood thing but frankly, I am an office boy, not a technician. I am not bad with hammer and saw and screw gun so I am thinking I will try to play to my strengths.
Does anyone have a plan for "house" that a DBS could fit in? I am thinking it could even be a year round residence for my DBS. a 3 sided box with a door on the front, insulated, maybe some power outlets. That would shelter it from the rain and wind when its not snowing and blowing. I might even get energetic and puts some shelves or something below the smoker house for storage.
This is a pretty resourceful group of people here. Has anyone done anything like this? Any plans or pics?
I took the 'buy it vs build it' route. (I'm a computer geek, I don't swing a hammer for fear of mashing my fingers :D)
Let me find the post I did on my "Suncast Smoke Shed". It works great, rain or shine or freezing cold wind.
Planning:
http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=10995.0
Completion:
http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=11002.msg126849#msg126849
I put an old cabinet inside to hold my OBS, and I use it for storing pans/racks, etc. I still need to put some shelves in it.. (and some kind of exhaust vent - for now I just crack the doors open a bit)
(http://lh5.ggpht.com/_CbvAIVzmFFM/Sr-4hRvQm1I/AAAAAAAA8Fc/Yi3rxlmR8Mw/s720/0927091358-00.jpg)
(http://lh3.ggpht.com/_CbvAIVzmFFM/Sr_XQ7Zk_CI/AAAAAAAA8GE/rFL5oC8Rhg8/s720/0927091539-00.jpg)
I would suggest a place large enough for your Bradley, refridge, satelite TV, bed, shower, etc, etc ..... ;D ;D ;D
oaksmok, wish I could help you but where I live we never get any sneaux!
We're looking at a low of 15 degrees this Friday night... I need to smoke something just to monitor the temps.
Well I spoke too quick, wifie just told me it is suppose to sneaux here Friday!
I set mine up in the Garage. Our weather is colder than Oakvillesmoker's. I want to use mine year around. My garage is heated. I bought a piece of plywood to fit in the window opening. I just open the window, put the plywood in and hock everything to the top of the bradley. I ran into one small problem. It exhausts inside the window frame. No smoke in the garage but the window frame, screen frame, screen and siding are covered with smoke. It's going to take a lot of cleaning ::). I went out and bought another piece of pipe that fits into the exhaust pipe. I removed the screen from the window(won't have to worry about any bugs this time of year ;)) and that should cure the problem. Everything will get cleaned next spring when it warms up.
Just realized I have a picture in photobucket that I posted here a while back. So here it is again.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v481/candlelake/picture001.jpg)
You might be able to have a plastic 'storm window' made that is the same size as your screen.. Just cut a hole in it big enough to run the vent pipe through - that should help keep any critters out and provide a little extra insulation.
I wish I had the room (and the window) to do the same.
STC - I've been looking for something like that for mine. I tried to click on your link, but it sent me into no-mans land. Do you remember about how much it cost?
STC - Never mind, I think I found it at Sears for $135. Hoping it would have been a little cheaper. Maybe I'll find a used one somewhere.
Quote from: KevinG on December 01, 2009, 11:29:49 AM
STC - I've been looking for something like that for mine. I tried to click on your link, but it sent me into no-mans land. Do you remember about how much it cost?
It was $99 at Menards. Amazon.com carries them as well. Make sure you get the measurements first, so you know your BS will fit.
Yeah, this is the same one at Sears:
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_07169295000P?keyword=suncast
Mine was on a 'summer clearance' sale. You might be able to find one cheaper.
I took a hint from squirt and did pretty much the same thing with a plastic cabinet.
http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=11704.msg129415#msg129415
The OBS didn't fit very well. The listed dimensions sounded OK, but that was outside, not inside. The inside dimensions were quite a bit smaller.
Then it got REAL windy here last week and the cabinet got blown over. It's totaled. The top cracked and split. Luckily, the OBS wasn't in it at the time. The moral of the story is "Anchor it".
I plan on building a plywood 'outhouse' this spring.
Quote from: ArnieM on December 01, 2009, 12:29:43 PM
The moral of the story is "Anchor it".
Ditto. Mine is bolted to my fence. It would take a tornado strike to move it.
And if that happened, I would have bigger problems to worry about.
I did go out to the store and measure the inside of one of the 'floor models', just to be sure.
I have a covered deck that is enclosed on 3 sides and attached to the garage. It seems to work well in the corner. What is the minmum temps this thing will work at. I have used it for smoking at slightly below freezing, but will it make enough heat at say -15*c?? Sorry for the dirty deck, but it is winter and not used much. I have all kinds of stuff on the deck that should be in the garage, but I am rebuilding my race car in there and I am out of room.
(http://i912.photobucket.com/albums/ac321/Bears319/100_1979.jpg)
(http://i912.photobucket.com/albums/ac321/Bears319/100_1980.jpg)
Quote from: _Bear_ on December 01, 2009, 03:30:23 PM
I have an covered deck that is enclosed on 3 sides. It seems to work well in the corner. What is the minmum temps this thing will work at. I have used it for smoking at slightly below freezing, but will it make enough heet at say -15*c??
That's about 5F. I've heard it will work, especially if kept out of the wind. I haven't had mine long enough to try it yet. I'm sure others with longer term experience will chime in here.
I live in Minnesota and keep my smoker in garage. This is the first year I have owned it. My garage is not insulated but plan on using the smoker this winter. It is a 4 rack DBS. I know I have to keep the generator inside but is it going to be ok to use it in the garage to keep it out of the weather? I have a window I set it by so most of the smoke does go out there. I also have a programmable PID so am I going to have trouble keeping temps at what they are set at?
Quote from: squirtthecat on December 01, 2009, 12:03:28 PM
Quote from: KevinG on December 01, 2009, 11:29:49 AM
STC - I've been looking for something like that for mine. I tried to click on your link, but it sent me into no-mans land. Do you remember about how much it cost?
It was $99 at Menards. Amazon.com carries them as well. Make sure you get the measurements first, so you know your BS will fit.
Yea, I wanted to see one in person to get the measurements, cause I'm not sure how I'm going to do the cold smoker attachement.
Kevin,
If you're cold smoking at freezing temps, I wouldn't worry about the cold smoker attachment ;D I'm getting some cheese on next week. Gonna be pretty chilly around here.
For year round use, it sounds like a pretty big cabinet would be required, maybe 4-5 feet wide with a custom shelf arrangement; room to bring the duct from the SG to the cabinet. Or, a shed if you have any place to put it.
Quote from: ArnieM on December 01, 2009, 07:41:12 PM
Kevin,
If you're cold smoking at freezing temps, I wouldn't worry about the cold smoker attachment ;D I'm getting some cheese on next week. Gonna be pretty chilly around here.
For year round use, it sounds like a pretty big cabinet would be required, maybe 4-5 feet wide with a custom shelf arrangement; room to bring the duct from the SG to the cabinet. Or, a shed if you have any place to put it.
I'll be lucky to hit 65 degrees, night time I get a little closer usually around 45 nowhere near freezing. I was hoping I could have some way to easily switch between the cold and normal hookup without having to remove the unit from the cabinet. I have a pretty small back yard and an HOA with rules that limit the size of the shed I can have to 6' tall. Ahh the fun of other peoples rules on my property >:(
Quote from: KevinG on December 01, 2009, 07:46:10 PM
HOA with rules that limit the size of the shed I can have to 6' tall.
But how wide? 6'x6'x16' ;)
But then I'd have to lay the Bradley on its side. I think the meat might fall down. Guess I could use some clothespins. :D
I am planning to winterize my Bradley next week. The cabinet will be 115 3/4" tall, 47 1/4" wide and 24" deep allowing for a permanent cold smoke set up and lots of storage to get all my smoking / grilling accessories out of the house (Mrs. order but she has no clue of what I am planning to carry out them orders).
The steel frame is ready and will be covered by a special kind of wood that will be encased with water and snowproof resin. I plan to install a ventilator in the roof about 24" from the top of the Bradley to get the smoke out. If the weight allows it, I will be installing heavy duty wheels to make it semi mobile. Work should start as of next Moday and I will be posting pictures.
HR
Thanks all
I have considered the idea of a cupboard type thing to store it in but my deck is cedar with a glass rail system and it would probably look like hell. I am thinking by the time I bought some kind of resin cupboard the DBS would fit in, I could have probably bought the wood and created kind of a custom cabinet for the Bradley. I should have been thinking about this when the weather was still warm.
My garage is barely big enough to hold my car. I have a 13 HP snow blower that competes for accomodation with my car. Never mind all the other stuff that winds up getting stored in the garage because the house just does not have tons of storage. The easiest thing to do is probably position the DBS below the garage window and try to vent it out the side of the house and away from the window frame. The kitchen window is just above the garage window so that could present some challenges.
I am off for 2 weeks at the end of December and maybe this will become a self entertainment project. That is creating a cabinet for my DBS, now if I only had some cabinet making skills ! LOL. I am really good at watching the DIY network and using virtual tools from the couch, but actailly building something from my own design, thats another story. I am still fantasizing about smoking a turkey for Christmas and somehow I need to be operational for winter smoking by then.
Use your Bradley all year.
Outside cold and nasty
(http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o290/stlthy1/snowybrad.jpg)
(http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o290/stlthy1/smokesnow.jpg)
Inside
(http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o290/stlthy1/bshome1.jpg)
Smoke anything in it :D
(http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o290/stlthy1/DSCF4375.jpg)
nepas
NePa
I have a hot tub in my back yard too
I have been thinking about some kind of gazebo for the hot tub
Covering my DBS using the gazebo and the hot tub at the same time enhances the value proposition for the gazebo
Seems a touch extreme, but I like extreme
Maybe I could smoke while I soak... a multitasking value proposition in the works !
There is black and white in my world but I never see grey !