I was searching this site for different ways of building a cold smoker, and wanted something safer than a cardboard box. I may not have looked hard enough, but I didn't find anything, so I wandered the aisles at Lowes and found what I think is a good alternative to the $100 Bradley version.
Materials List:
- standard size metal mailbox ($10)
- 4" diameter aluminum dryer hose ($10)
- two 4" couplers ($2 each)
- small tube of 100% silicone caulk
- aluminum foil bread pan (5 pound size) with sides bent up
It is pretty self-explanatory how I built this based on the pictures. The most precise thing is to get the 4 1/4" hole in the right spot for the smoke generator to align perfectly. To do this, I butted the smoke generator up to the back of the mailbox on a flat surface, and with a sharpie, drew where the top of the burner plate hit. Then I cut out a 4 1/4" circle as a template and placed it precisely so the burner is in the center of the circle and traced around it with the sharpie. If you don't want sharp edges on the outside, cut the hole smaller than the drawn circle and then cut fins to the edges of the circle and bend them in (wearing gloves). The silicone I primarily used just for sealing the space next to the outlet coupler, and along the folded back metal fins on the inside to keep from getting cut and stuck each time I reach into the box.
After letting the silicone cure completely overnight, I gave it a trial run and it works awesome! The box does get hot, especially directly above the burner, but in my opinion, it's a lot safer than using a cardboard box.
There you have it...a redneck cold smoker. :)
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4040/4650634983_a5b826aa73_b.jpg)
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4072/4650635091_1266f68531_m.jpg)(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4007/4651252690_ac73286f7c_m.jpg)(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4041/4651253014_5c85f08a28_m.jpg)(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4016/4650635183_1e7b895f3d_m.jpg)
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4034/4651253126_4ddfd35bca_b.jpg)
Very ingenious!
Nice Mod - That really delivers!
Nice job, do you put the flag up when its hot? ;) ;D
Brilliant! That will haul the mail..
I love it!!!
You've got Mail!
Dang it, you guys took all of the clever lines so I'll just say that is way too cool.
First class
Welcome to the Forum!
Will you be able to get Smoke delivered on Sundays?
That is very nice. Great Job.
Ok I am stealing that idea. That is the coolest cold box I have seen. A wicked paint job would finish that off nicely. In fact I am going to make 2 of them, one for my brother. One thing for sure you can cold smoke threw wind and sleet and rain or hail with that box. :D :D :D
Wow Q you nailed mailed that one. :D
Thanks! Yeah, I need to get some racing flames painted on the side - now that the proof of concept is solid.
How about Ice cubes and penguins. ;D Kind of like this but saying Bradley or something.
(http://i1011.photobucket.com/albums/af233/quarlow/PenguinBlocks.gif)
This is one of my wifes fav games on POGO.
I tested a different design today. It is designed to cold smoke meat below 95 degrees F, that will be cooked afterward, like hamburgers etc., and additionally, fresh caught salmon after proper preparation for this cold smoking. When cold smoking is finished, salmon will be placed in a hot smoker for the final safety 160 degree stage. The smoker is built from a modified barbeque. All internal heating elements and controls are removed. The barbeque is fairly well sealed but will have gaps around the big windowed lid which will allow smoke to vent. The smoke is generated by a remounted side burner placed down low on the barbeque frame. A 8" tall stainless steel container with a lid contains the Hickory wood. The lid has a 50 cent size hole in the center and has 3" ducting elbow (swiveling) permanently mounted and a 3" ducting pipe going to the underside of the barbeque where it is joined with another swiveling elbow going up into the barbeque underside where a normal air vent is located. Todays test put a good brownish color on the TOP of the frozen patties. I need to find out why only the top got smoked. I suspect the de-thawing ice may have kept the bottom of the patties too wet, or (maybe) I need to place a diverting shield over the smoke INPUT vent to slow down the smoke velocity entering from the underside. We'll see.....
Hi precookingsmoker;
Welcome to the forum.
Sounds like an interesting project. You should start another post; either in the General Discussion or Non Bradley Equipment. A few pictures would be nice to take a look at what you built.
As for cold smoking frozen foods not only will the condensation interfere with the smoke from penetrating and adhering, but if the temperature is too cold that will also interfere with smoke penetration and adhesion.
OK Habanero.... Here are 3 pictures which might have some value to Bradley users as a cheap source of LPG generated cold smoke from discarded Barbeques using ducting. LPG has an immense energy compared to electric, natural gas, or wood fuel, so a (VERY) dense smoke is generated VERY FAST even with a minimal setting of the flame. Strange aluminium shapes are to control heat away from box and to control flame shape under Hickory loaded vessel during gusting winds. The rest of the aluminium should be obvious draft sealing. Takes less than 1/2 hour to get strong hickory flavor in these two pre-frozen(yuK!) patties for an example.
(http://i947.photobucket.com/albums/ad314/meteorized/smoker2.jpg)
(http://i947.photobucket.com/albums/ad314/meteorized/smoker1.jpg)
(http://i947.photobucket.com/albums/ad314/meteorized/smoker3.jpg)
Very unique idea. Thanks for the photos. That helps explain your setup. If I ever get around to replacing my old grill I may copy your conversion.
That's a pretty beefy tripod setup for that camera you got there, but we're going to have to get you smoking some more to put some meat on them bones. ;D
VERY cool idea, rloethen. Smart thinkin'.
OUTSTANDING!
Nice job, but how do you get you mail now ??? ??? ??? ??? ;D
Love it. I'm going to build this, this weekend. I've been looking for ideas on a cold smoke setup and this fits the bill.
So I did build this a few weeks back and it worked out great. Total price was under $30. The cold smoked cheese will be ready to sample this week to see if it is ready. I can't wait.
Thanks again for this genius idea!
I did this and it works great and for the price you can not beat it. :o