I have an old SS commercial fridge I want to make into a large smoker, Inside measurements are about 60"x26"x26". Was going to put a Bradley puck burner for the smoke but undecided on the heat source 110 or 220. Any recommendations ?
The inside is all ss except fpor the back of the door which looks like hard plastic, should I replace that with metal?
Thanks
Others with far more experience should be along shortly with their thoughts, I would replace anything plastic inside with SS and make sure the insulation won't react badly when heat is applied. As for the Bradley smoke generator it will certainly produce enough smoke but you will need an additional heat source. You can also use one of the smoke tubes available on the internet.
Can't wait to hear from the experts, need to get this done................
Hi Bundy
Hers a coupl of large smokers that I built a few years ago. They're still puffing away. I would go 220 with the size.
http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=16075.0
This one started as two separate circuits at 110 but later in the thread you'll see I changed it to 220.
http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=7616.0
Mike
I built mine almost the same as Mr. Walleye's in this post. http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=16075.0
This set up rocks! I used a 240v oven broiler element, 5500w and followed Mike's PID set up. I also added a convection fan. The fan really speeds up sausage making, no need for hot water baths. If you go this route you wont be sorry. Mike helped me get everything going and is a great guy to bounce ideas off. If I can be of any help send me a pm.
Tom
considering the size of the box i would use a 240 heating element in it, along with a custom built pid to control the heat, running the unit totally on 240 will help balance the electrical load to your home in that it is also a good idea...so running the new smoker on 240 is the preferred method.
for most amount of flexibility i would run the 240 volts along with a neutral and ground from your panel to a recptical to where your would be using your smoker... most likely it would be a twist lock style and continue on with a 4 conductor cord to your smoker and its control box.
if using a 5500 watt element the current draw would be 22.9 amps,,, 5500/240 = 22.91 which means a 30 anp circuit and 10 gage wire,,, you also would be better off with this size element over a smaller one taking into account heat loss through the box and lead load,,
also running a neutral to the smoker gives you the most amount of flexibility on the smoker in running the smoke generator, other devices that are 120 volts and control circuity ..
im bringing these points out to help you design and build your smoker... just take every into consideration before doing the build.. buying many of similar items is also not a good idea either as bing a waist of money and time...
good luck on the build and would love toi see pics of the build
Thank you all, will keep you posted .
Need suggestions on a door seal ( gasket ). After stripping the plastic off the door I will need to get material 1/2" thick or build the door out with metal. I can't seem to find any flat rope gaskets over 1/8" and one 1/4".
Would Normex LavaLock Gasket (http://www.bbqgaskets.com/contact_3.html) work for this project.
I think it might, thanks Hab !