Made my own amazin smoker

valoyda01

Newbie

Original poster

Mar 9, 2015

5

10

Krestova Cemetery Rd, British Columbia, Canada

• Mar 31, 2015

• #1

Hi everybody, I'm kinda new to this forum and have been reading lots of info smokers. I  made my own smoker years ago and have done fish and jerky. I have been working on it to make it a better smoker to do cheese, and and bigger cuts of beef. I have read a lot of threads on the amazin pellet smoker and wanted to see if I can make one out of stainless steel screen I have laying around. So I made one and tried the warming up the pellets and did a trail run and it goes out after a few inches. Any advice would be appreciated and I will try post a pic

DSCF1883.JPG

• valoyda01
• Mar 31, 2015

 

hillbillyrkstr

Master of the Pit

OTBS Member

Jun 11, 2013

2,638

822

• Mar 31, 2015

• #2

Only advice I have is buy the amazn pellet snoker. I've had one for years and it works great. Worth the $, and then you can relax and not deal with the headaches, hassles, and horse#*&^ of trying to figure out why your homemade job doesn't work correctly.

 

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bmaddox

Master of the Pit

Jan 5, 2015

1,705

144

Central FL

• Mar 31, 2015

• #3

hillbillyrkstr said:

Only advice I have is buy the amazn pellet snoker. I've had one for years and it works great. Worth the $, and then you can relax and not deal with the headaches, hassles, and horse#*&^ of trying to figure out why your homemade job doesn't work correctly.

Click to expand...

My thought exactly. The $35 dollars is cheap when you think about the time and effort spent trying to fine tune your own contraption. Todd did all the hard work so we can all smoke easier and I have no problem sending my money his way.

 

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bigd3077

Meat Mopper

Jan 29, 2015

223

17

South florida

• Mar 31, 2015

• #4

For $35 why bother? Just get the real deal.

 

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cmayna

Master of the Pit

OTBS Member

★ Lifetime Premier ★

Jun 23, 2012

3,971

1,697

SF Bay Area, CA

• Mar 31, 2015

• #5

Yup Yup

 

rgautheir20420

Master of the Pit

Jun 11, 2014

1,126

60

Crest Hill, IL (Chicagoland)

• Mar 31, 2015

• #6

Well I'm with everyone else about just getting the real deal.

With that said, there ain't nothing wrong with trying to make things yourself so I'll try to offer some advice. It's clear that you don't have an air flow issue with that material. Explain more how you "dried" the pellets before trying to get it lit. Also explain how you tried to light it (i.e. how many seconds with the torch). Lastly, where was it sitting when you tested it. Did you test it in the smoker or out in the open air?

 

wade

Master of the Pit

OTBS Member

SMF Premier Member

Apr 12, 2013

3,863

279

Kent, UK

• Mar 31, 2015

• #7

I support the above comments but in addition some practical advice regarding your question.

Firstly make sure that your pellets are dry. The easiest way to do this is to microwave them on high for 5 minutes.

Secondly you need to put in more pellets. Fill each track up to the top of the mesh. You need a critical amount of pellets in order to keep the rows smoldering.

Another consideration is altitude. I am at sea level and so don't have a problem keeping them lit. Others at altitude do.

 

bigd3077

Meat Mopper

Jan 29, 2015

223

17

South florida

• Mar 31, 2015

• #8

Well, I just ordered a amps, torch, and extra bag of pellets for $35 shipped to my door. Can't beat that price.

 

valoyda01

Newbie

Original poster

Thread starter

Mar 9, 2015

5

10

Krestova Cemetery Rd, British Columbia, Canada

• Apr 2, 2015

• #9

I appreciate all the reply's from the forum members.  

but do understand that when a individual with a limited budget and uses stuff in back yard to build something that can be successful.

CAN BE DONE...................................................

I am between jobs and have  a fridge smoker I kinda built about 20 years ago, And used only maybe a dozen times. As for the AMAZN pellet smoker -----------   --------. It will be $60+ and even more from the closest Canadian distributor. 

VAL     

 

dirtsailor2003

Epic Pitmaster

OTBS Member

Oct 4, 2012

21,947

4,224

Bend Oregon

• Apr 3, 2015

• #10

There could be an array of issues that's causing your home built pellet smoker to not work. Since its a one off its hard for us to tell you what to do or not to do to get it going. I'd suggest keep experimenting and find a method that works for you to get things going. If that fails look into getting an AMNPS when you can afford one. Or try making a tube design. I think they are more forgiving.

 

mdboatbum

Master of the Pit

OTBS Member

Apr 22, 2011

4,094

431

Washington, DC

• Apr 3, 2015

• #11

I agree with Case, take the mesh you already have and bend it into a tube about 1.5"-2" in diameter. I've made several in varying lengths and never had one go out before the pellets were all gone.

 

Last edited: Apr 3, 2015