Looking for help on how to turn this into a functioning smoker..... total newbie!!!

[fatfarmlady]

I have a propane unit that came out of a bakery.... pretty sure it is all aluminum...  It still has the propane hookups but it has been sitting outside for about  6 years so I am going to figure that the propane connections are not functioning...

I have the racks that roll into it, again made out of aluminum as well as all the shelves, baskets and some aluminum rods, which I have no idea what they were used for (I currently use them as stakes for laying out and stringing my garden for planting veges)...

As you can see by the pics this is not a small unit..... I want to turn it into a smoker but I have no idea how to proceed with it...

It does have a full door, again all aluminum which isn't shown in the picture...

My thought was to cut the door into 2 pieces.... a smaller door for the bottom to access the chips area?  That way I don't have to open the entire thing in order to keep it warm in there and let out all of the smoke....

I don't know what to use on the bottom to create my heat/smoke....

I do have an oven that we removed from the house that I was thinking of taking out the element and using that in the bottom of the smoker.... I saw a couple pics of people who have done that on this site, thanks for the idea....

I am going to put this unit on a concrete pad so it has a permanent home....its too big to be moving around.....

So remember I am a newbie to smoking so I may ask what seems like an ignorant question... please just bear with me...

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• fatfarmlady
• May 15, 2014

 

[kc5tpy]

Hello.  Welcome.  I see this is your first post.  Please take some time and swing over to Roll Call and introduce yourself so that we may give you a proper "Hello".  All info you can provide us with such as smoker type, location and so on will help us answer any questions you may have, and pictures help a bunch.  There are NO ignorant questions here, it is just knowledge waiting to be absorbed.  As for your question:  You are on the right track.  I think I might put a bottom in it but I like your ideas.  As for smoke, type "mailbox mod" in the search bar, with that you should not need to cut the door.  Also start reading through the FRIDGE/FREEZER section of SMOKER BUILDS.  That oven element will be MORE than enough for your heat source.  In that oven is also a temp sensor which causes the element to turn off and on and stay at a certain temp.  You can use that and the control from the oven in your smoker.  Will work just like a big oven.  Add the malbox mod for smoke and your off and running.  Please post picts as you go along to keep us posted.  Hope this helps.  Good luck.

Danny

 

[fatfarmlady]

Thanks for the info Danny...   am checking out the info you gave me... I hope you can see the picture I posted of the unit I am turning into a smoker....