OK...I have made sausage all my life. Italian Hot, Sweet, Kielbasa, Chorizo, etc. It is about time that I take the next step in cooking. I have smoked on my grill in the past but need to take the next step.
Thoughts going through my head:
-What type?
-It needs to be able to handle long runs of sausage
-Outdoor is not convenient but possible
-If indoor, what do I really need
-4 or 6 rack...My motto has always been bigger is better...is that true with smokers?
-will heat be the same throughout the cabinet
Thanks for being patient with a newbie.
John
Hey Rckcrwlr and welcome to the forum.
I got into sausage making/smoking a few years ago and quickly decided I wanted/needed to be able to smoke 100 lb batches. There are lots of very experienced guys here that get along just fine doing smaller loads with the 4 or 6 rack units but for me, bigger is better or at least, more convenient. I have mine built into my heated garage for added convenience. Here is a link to a couple of the larger smokers I have built using the Bradley smoke generator.
http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=7616.msg82164#msg82164 (if you scroll tot he next page you will see where I rewired it to 220)
http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=16075.0
It really comes down to the size of loads you want to be able to do. Also, for doing sausage most prefer using a PID to control the temps. It has a lot tighter tolerances for controlling the temp swings which really helps with sausage.
Mike
If you are looking to build you a smoker .... nepas is in your area and I think
he has a nice cabinet "For Sale".
OK...now that I have the right email in my profile, maybe I will get notifications... ::)
Quote from: Mr Walleye on September 14, 2010, 07:53:56 PM
Hey Rckcrwlr and welcome to the forum.
I got into sausage making/smoking a few years ago and quickly decided I wanted/needed to be able to smoke 100 lb batches. There are lots of very experienced guys here that get along just fine doing smaller loads with the 4 or 6 rack units but for me, bigger is better or at least, more convenient. I have mine built into my heated garage for added convenience. Here is a link to a couple of the larger smokers I have built using the Bradley smoke generator.
http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=7616.msg82164#msg82164 (if you scroll tot he next page you will see where I rewired it to 220)
http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=16075.0
It really comes down to the size of loads you want to be able to do. Also, for doing sausage most prefer using a PID to control the temps. It has a lot tighter tolerances for controlling the temp swings which really helps with sausage.
Mike
Wow Mike...that is incredible. But I think the wife would stick me in that smoker if I came home with it. I want to start small but can see myself doing that down the road. I have a small paint booth in my heated garage that I could easily rig to the smoker for exhaust.
I am thinking that the 6 rack would be more beneficial for me being that it has more vertical distance for hanging sausage. Are my assumptions correct???
Quote from: classicrockgriller on September 14, 2010, 08:04:52 PM
If you are looking to build you a smoker .... nepas is in your area and I think
he has a nice cabinet "For Sale".
Not looking yet but could see my addiction growing to that...I have to keep saying "baby steps, baby steps"
I like to do sausage and don't put it in the racks but prefer to hang it. I had an OBS but felt it was too short. I had to make shorter sausages. I bought a 6 rack and then added a PID. IMO temp control is crucial when making sausage. I now make my sausages 16 - 17 inches long and hang them over a piece of piece of dowling. I've also been putting a piece of tin foil over the back half of the V tray. Keeps the direct heat from the element away from the bottom of the sausage and IMO I get more even heat in the cabinet.
Rck
See all the different ideas you will get here on the forum ;D
What is a PID? I see that referenced in several threads.
I am thinking that the 6 rack is going to be my answer for now. With the understanding that it may need to be "modified" as my needs or interests grow...
Quote from: Rckcrwlr on September 15, 2010, 01:05:03 PM
What is a PID? I see that referenced in several threads.
I am thinking that the 6 rack is going to be my answer for now. With the understanding that it may need to be "modified" as my needs or interests grow...
Here is a link to Auber who sells the PID temp controller. http://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=14
I have a 6 rack with a PID. Dont use a fan or foil on my tray like others use.
I first need to get the smoker...
Is the PID mainly for delicate smoking where precise temps are needed? Are you saying that the Bradley controller is not accurate?
I just want to understand this...don't want to invest in something that is not usable.
BTW: What does PID stand for?
Well it you look it up in Wikipedia you could find it stands for "Pelvic inflammatory disease" Ouch!
But in this case it stands for "proportional–integral–derivative"
It is basically a smart temperature controller with the ability to control the cabinet's temperature to a programmed temperature using a thermocouple inside the cabinet as its feedback. In other words you can go hands off and program the PID to maintain a cabinet temperature of (say) 225 degs and no more watching a thermometer and adjusting anything to maintain the correct temp.
Disclaimer: I have the Bradley OBS (modified with the second element) and can not speak on any other model.
John
The DBS's built in controller does a fine job for things like ribs, butts, brisket, etc. They typically have a temp swing of 5 to 10 degrees each direction of the set temp. When I'm doing sausage I like to have fairly tight control of the temps which the PID typically gives you.
There are a number of members that seem to get along fine with out a PID so you could always go that route and add it at a later date if you decide you need to.
I'm like RAF128 and I prefer to hang my sausage so I use wood dowels as well. The 6 rack unit would certainly give you a little more room in this case.
Mike
Quote from: TestRocket on September 15, 2010, 04:14:39 PM
Well it you look it up in Wikipedia you could find it stands for "Pelvic inflammatory disease" Ouch!
I think I am in the wrong forum... :o
Quote from: TestRocket on September 15, 2010, 04:14:39 PM
But in this case it stands for "proportional–integral–derivative"
Shooo...you had me scared there for a minute. Thanks for the info. My job revolves around stupid acronyms...I would rather know what they really are.
Quote from: Mr Walleye on September 15, 2010, 04:53:47 PM
John
The DBS's built in controller does a fine job for things like ribs, butts, brisket, etc. They typically have a temp swing of 5 to 10 degrees each direction of the set temp. When I'm doing sausage I like to have fairly tight control of the temps which the PID typically gives you.
There are a number of members that seem to get along fine with out a PID so you could always go that route and add it at a later date if you decide you need to.
I'm like RAF128 and I prefer to hang my sausage so I use wood dowels as well. The 6 rack unit would certainly give you a little more room in this case.
Mike
Mike,
Just what I wanted to hear. I would hate to spend $600 knowing that I need to dump another $200 to make it work out of the gate. I have no issue upgrading as I feel the need or expand my interest. Guess it is time to search for the best pricing...
Thanks to all of you.
John
QuoteGuess it is time to search for the best pricing...
I havent seen anyone as low as www.yardandpatio.com. , Super fast free shipping too.
Quote from: Chili Head on September 15, 2010, 06:23:25 PM
QuoteGuess it is time to search for the best pricing...
I havent seen anyone as low as www.yardandpatio.com. , Super fast free shipping too.
That link goes to a news page...am I missing something?
John
I think Chili Head just typed the wrong link. Here ya go....
http://www.yardandpool.com/Bradley-Smokers-s/573.htm
Bryan runs Yard and Pool and is a member here on the forum. I've dealt with him in the past as well and he has excellent customer service.
Mike
Quote from: Mr Walleye on September 15, 2010, 06:47:07 PM
John
I think Chili Head just typed the wrong link. Here ya go....
http://www.yardandpool.com/Bradley-Smokers-s/573.htm
Bryan runs Yard and Pool and is a member here on the forum. I've dealt with him in the past as well and he has excellent customer service.
Mike
That works...I am always willing to support those that support the customers.
Will get the funds together and figure out what woods to start with.
I'm pumped...
What woods should I start out with?
Thinking I will be doing butts, brisket, etc. I know it is all personal taste. Should I go with a mixed pack or narrow it to a couple?
Thanks for the help...
Will be ordering today. WooHoo
Or click my blog link and it will have the Y&P Banner there ;D
Quote from: Rckcrwlr on September 16, 2010, 07:28:28 AM
What woods should I start out with?
Thinking I will be doing butts, brisket, etc. I know it is all personal taste. Should I go with a mixed pack or narrow it to a couple?
I'd get the variety pack, and some (more) Hickory, but that's my opinion.
Boom...order done
6 rack Smoker
Cover
Variety Pak Pucks
120 pak Hickory
Now I need to find a place for it.
John
You may also want 3 Bubba Pucks.
http://www.yardandpool.com/Bubba-Pucks-Bradley-Smoker-Woodsaver-p/bubbapuck-p.htm?1=1&CartID=0
He also has the Maverick ET73 Thermometers in case you need one.
Mike
Quote from: Mr Walleye on September 16, 2010, 05:32:58 PM
John
You may also want 3 Bubba Pucks.
http://www.yardandpool.com/Bubba-Pucks-Bradley-Smoker-Woodsaver-p/bubbapuck-p.htm?1=1&CartID=0
He also has the Maverick ET73 Thermometers in case you need one.
Mike
Ordered...My wife said I have to stop talking to you guys... :o
Quote from: Rckcrwlr on September 17, 2010, 04:16:41 AM
Quote from: Mr Walleye on September 16, 2010, 05:32:58 PM
John
You may also want 3 Bubba Pucks.
http://www.yardandpool.com/Bubba-Pucks-Bradley-Smoker-Woodsaver-p/bubbapuck-p.htm?1=1&CartID=0
He also has the Maverick ET73 Thermometers in case you need one.
Mike
Ordered...My wife said I have to stop talking to you guys... :o
::) ;) :D
I may try and get hold of you Sat. Morning.
Mike
Edit.... Ooops... This post was in the wrong thread... Sorry.
Well everything showed up today.
Now I want to exhaust the smoke out a vent that I currently have a small paint booth exiting.
The booth has a fan that exhausts out a glass block window.
Trying to decide if I tap into the pipe after the fan and add a small booster fan with a rheostat or just exhaust it into the booth and let the existing fan do the work.
(http://www.nwh-media.com/data/528/medium/IMAG0119.jpg)
Rckcrwlr
Hard to say without seeing it but initially I would think you would want to tie into the existing vent as opposed to venting it into your spray booth. This way your spray booth won't look like the inside of my smoker after a period of time.
Mike
Quote from: Mr Walleye on September 20, 2010, 05:31:52 PM
Rckcrwlr
Hard to say without seeing it but initially I would think you would want to tie into the existing vent as opposed to venting it into your spray booth. This way your spray booth won't look like the inside of my smoker after a period of time.
Mike
I agree with Mike on this matter.
OK so I put a flange on the top of the smoker with alum flex 4" pipe to exhaust into the paint booth (short term), to season the smoker.
It seemed to work great but could possibly been pulling the smoke out versus just moving it. May have had the pipe too close to the exhaust fan, or is that OK?
I am going to search on ways to exhaust. My issue is I cannot just let it vent. I need to have something create the draft. It will exit my glass block window through a dryer vent (not the actual dryer vent)... If I tie both into the current fan, I could put a rheostat to slow the fan down for smoke and turn it up for paint. The contraption that I would need to build to hold this would be something from Frankenstein.
I was also thinking of a inline booster fan that I could regulate the speed so not to pull the smoke but push it out.
Too many things going through my head...
He has the bait just about eaten. He's almost to the hook,(He hasn't cooked anything yet) so don't set it and start reeling just yet Larry.
I can see what you mean about the PID...
I had it set for 150 degrees. The Generator said 162 degrees. The Maverick said 174 degrees.
Wow what a difference.
It will be good for now, I will just have to manage it with the Maverick...but it is my next upgrade.
Here are some pics from my second Seasoning...
Generator Temps
(http://www.nwh-media.com/data/528/medium/IMAG0120.jpg)
Maverick Temp
(http://www.nwh-media.com/data/528/medium/IMAG0121.jpg)
Temporary set up...pipe would go through side of booth
(http://www.nwh-media.com/data/528/medium/IMAG0123.jpg)
Moved the pipe from the opening...smoke was not getting "pull" as much.
(http://www.nwh-media.com/data/528/medium/IMAG0122.jpg)
Quote from: Rckcrwlr on September 21, 2010, 09:48:20 AM
I can see what you mean about the PDI...
I had it set for 150 degrees. The Generator said 162 degrees. The Maverick said 174 degrees.
Wow what a difference.
It will be good for now, I will just have to manage it with the Maverick...but it is my next upgrade.
I can hear it now! "You want to order a WHAT??? You been talking to them guys again haven't you!?" Yes Dear :-*
Son you had better get to cooking something in that new toyool you got. Once you start giving them some good smoked food out of it they tend to relax with the questions. Trust me with all the projects I have going on. Momma just shakes her head when I come in carrying another box. She just asks me now "Is it yours, Who sent it to you, or are you testing it?"
With nothing in the smoker it will fluctuate quite a bit with the heater cycling on and off. When you put meat in there the temp will drop but everything will level out and become more stable as the meat starts to warm up and the meat temp and cabinet temps equal out.
I thought that may be the issue but didn't think that much.
I am sitting in my office and the smell is coming right in my window. I'm not sure I will get any work done if I have meat in there too...
Regarding the "packages", my wife has become numb to it.
Between the Chevy Avalanche with the 496 big Block and my Radio Control Hobby addiction...this is a welcomed expense...at least it is feeding the family... HA HA HA
Rckcrwlr
Here is how I designed my vent so it didn't draw too much heat from the cabinet.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/mmike/Fishing%20Photos/Smoker4-1.jpg)
Mike
Hi Rckcrwlr
I'm new to smoking myself (just jointed for forum a few days ago) but when I built my enclosure for the smoker I 'thought' it would be better not to vent the top of the smoker directly out my exhaust fan to not suck out the heat, but to just let the smoke go into my enclosure, and then have a bathroom exhause fan extract all the air out of the chamber to keep it from filling up with smoke. Like I said, I'm new so not sure if this is the best, but for the two times I have tried smoking so far, it worked great for me. If the weather is nice I don't put on the front cover and don't turn on the exhaust fan and the smoke just naturally comes out the front, but if it is windy or raining I put on the front and turn on the exhause fan.
This is the OBS, but I use the PID Dual probe from Auber and for me I really like it because it seems to keep the temperature steady and I just program the PID, and let it do its thing while I do other things. I like the Set-it and Forget-it Idea :)
(http://lh5.ggpht.com/_viCYvLPjPqc/TJTj08dptiI/AAAAAAAAAM0/zccgrYSNs4M/s144/DSCN0665.JPG)
(http://lh5.ggpht.com/_viCYvLPjPqc/TJTj0NTs3PI/AAAAAAAAAMw/5_ZiXWwsnCE/s144/DSCN0664.JPG)
Quote from: Mr Walleye on September 21, 2010, 03:25:32 PM
Rckcrwlr
Here is how I designed my vent so it didn't draw too much heat from the cabinet.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/mmike/Fishing%20Photos/Smoker4-1.jpg)
Mike
Mike,
I was unsure how much draw the fan would create. Still not 100% sold on the way I am doing it. I have a flange on the smoker that has a male adapter for the aluminum flex pipe. May be better off having it cut out like you do around the base to pull more air than smoke. I sat down at my local plumbing store trying to figure out the best way to tie both of these into one outlet. There was no easy way to do it without spending a ton of money.
Problem is that I need something to "push" the smoke out being that I am in the basement. Looked at booster fans, range hoods, etc and nothing really will work for what I am trying to accomplish
Quote from: wilsondg on September 21, 2010, 04:32:13 PM
Hi Rckcrwlr
I'm new to smoking myself (just jointed for forum a few days ago) but when I built my enclosure for the smoker I 'thought' it would be better not to vent the top of the smoker directly out my exhaust fan to not suck out the heat, but to just let the smoke go into my enclosure, and then have a bathroom exhause fan extract all the air out of the chamber to keep it from filling up with smoke. Like I said, I'm new so not sure if this is the best, but for the two times I have tried smoking so far, it worked great for me. If the weather is nice I don't put on the front cover and don't turn on the exhaust fan and the smoke just naturally comes out the front, but if it is windy or raining I put on the front and turn on the exhause fan.
This is the OBS, but I use the PID Dual probe from Auber and for me I really like it because it seems to keep the temperature steady and I just program the PID, and let it do its thing while I do other things. I like the Set-it and Forget-it Idea :)
That is cool. May do something next spring for it to be outside but for now it is best kept in the shop. What I have is almost a combo of yours and Mikes.
The pipe will go to a hole in the side of the paint booth. Now mind you, I use the booth maybe 5 times a year so it will be more of a smoke box that I can paint in... ::)
The hole will be far enough away from the fan, plus I am thinking of putting the fan on a dimmer so control the draw. Ideal situation, IMO would be that the paint box always has a little smoke in it. that would mean that it is not forcing a draw.
So have I total confused you guys?
So I am thinking a Turkey Breast on Friday for some great Samwiches for dinner.
Saturday Night I am going to throw a couple butts in for the Stiller's Game on Sunday.
Any suggestions?
So I have it hooked up and ready to go.
The way I have the pipe, it isn't pulling the smoke anymore. That was a big problem the way I had it the last time.
Adapter to remove pipe.
(http://www.nwh-media.com/data/528/medium/IMAG0126.jpg)
(http://www.nwh-media.com/data/528/medium/IMAG0127.jpg)
Hooked up
(http://www.nwh-media.com/data/528/medium/IMAG0128.jpg)
I'm ready to start Smokin'
(http://www.nwh-media.com/data/528/medium/IMAG0128.jpg)
(http://www.nwh-media.com/data/528/medium/IMAG0130.jpg)
Well then GET TO IT!!! Lets smoke something already!! ;D ;D Just how much self torture can one inflict on themselves?
http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=18085.0