My new smokehouse

[alexqc]

Hello everyone,

A few months ago, my parents asked me what i wanted for my birthday.

I told them...i want a smoker!

So, a few days ago, i got my birthday present.

Here it is :

View media item 419125
I got a beautifull smoke house made by my father. It looks really great! He did a really good job.

Here are some other pictures :

IMG_20150816_105019.jpg

• alexqc
• Aug 19, 2015

Inside of it :

IMG_20150816_105026.jpg

• alexqc
• Aug 19, 2015

There is some wood stick so i can hang some pork belly in it.

IMG_20150816_105048.jpg

• alexqc
• Aug 19, 2015

IMG_20150816_105121.jpg

• alexqc
• Aug 19, 2015

So far, i have tried to make some smoked trout. They turned out really great!

IMG_20150816_145733.jpg

• alexqc
• Aug 19, 2015

But i have a few questions for you.

I would like to pimp up my smokehouse a little bit.

Let me explain.

I am using that amaze N tool to make the smoke. It works really great. But when i use it at the same time as my burner, i get alot less smoke out of it. Would it be because i dont have enough air going in my smoke house?

Also, i found out that the smoke goes out by the door, and not by the hole he made on the top of the smoker (right side).

Anything i could add to the door that would help me keep the smoke Inside?

Thanks alot everyone!

 

[flyfishjeep]

Probably drafting different which is pulling the smoke out other places.  You can get some fireplace rope and line the edge of your door so it creates a tight fit. 

also try playing with your vents so you can learn the quirks of your new toy!

Looks amazing and I'm sure you will have many years of great food coming out of it!

 

[talan64]

That smoke house looks amazing!!

Did he design it himself, or use plans from someone else?
If he used plans, I sure would love to get a copy, or at least where he got them, that is the exact type of smoke house I want to build, I just need pre-made plans, since I'm not one to draw something like that up.

 

[bmaddox]

That looks really good. The reason the AMNPS doesn't work as well when hot smoking in that smoker is the burner hogs the oxygen and starves out the AMNPS. There is tube smoker from amazen products that works better in low oxygen environments. 

 

[pit of despair]

AlexQc,

Your father is very talented tell him thank you for a wonderful gift.  It looks perfect.

I am a BBQ pimp so here is my  2 cents worth,

1) Save your a-maze-n for cold smoking, get a cast iron pan with a lid and drill holes in the lid.  Place over your burner.

     Add your favorite wood chunks (one at a time) smoke away.

2) Your father has the talent, cut a square in the door of the fire box to fit a floor register,

     remove the thumb-wheel controlled  fins (max  air flow in) at the level of your burner.

3) Make your "chimney" hole to fit a floor register, leave the fins and thumb wheel this is for temperature control

     (open=cooler  closed=hotter)

4) Move your water pan to the bottom level grate, fill with play sand and cover with aluminium foil.

    This will maintain your heat in the box when you open the door. 

I incorporated these in my smokehouse and have used it for years making good Q.  Enjoy your smokehouse and learn it's ins and outs.  Keep us posted with pictures.

Teddy

 

[alexqc]

Thanks everyone for the reply.

1st of all, my father didnt use any plan. He tought about everything.

About the cast iron pan, i used one twice, each time the wood chunks took fire. But i gotta say that i didnt use any lid. Also, with a pan, temp doesnt get that high. Also, with the wood chunks, they only smoke about 30mins...anything i could do wrong?

About the air flow, i use this :

IMG_20150824_180850.jpg

• alexqc
• Aug 24, 2015

At the beginning there was one on the bottom and one at top. But we just added a 2nd one at the bottom on the other side. So there is one on amnps side and one on burner side.

Teddy, i really like the sand idea! Will definatly use it!!

Thanks everyone!

 

[foamheart]

That's a classy smoker, I am envious!

 

[muralboy]

That is one amazing smoke house - should be sold in the Nieman Marcus Christmas catalog.

 

[alexqc]

Hey guys, i've done some more test tonight.

I had trouble getting smoke in the smokehouse while my AMNPS was doing great smoke. I had my burner to the maximum it could get. The smoke seemed to be attracted by the burner.

When i reduced the heat of the burner, smoke began to get in the top of the smokehouse again.

What am i doing wrong?

I was thinking about doing some chicken legs quarter this weekend. But if i cant smoke and have my burner high...at the same time,i wont make them.

Thanks for the help

 

[bmaddox]

Check out this link. You probably need an tube smoker instead of the tray.

http://www.amazenproducts.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=AMNTS

 

[trippy]

I would take the fire out of your smoke house and have it feed the heat and smoke into it. For some reason I can see this house if not watched closely becoming like this picture.

wood smoke house.JPG

• trippy
• Sep 7, 2015
• 1

 

[rabbithutch]

That is a beautiful smoke house. Your father did you and himself proud!

I don't have a smoke house so you can make of this post what you will.

I think you don't have enough airflow. I could not tell from the pics where the top (outlet) vent is located nor what size it is. All of the smoke houses I've seen have had a vent pipe coming out of the side wall of the chamber near the top and an elbow and vent stack rising a foot or so above the top of the smoker. Some I've seen had the old-fashioned flue damper; others had a cap that could be swung shut. I should think that the typical 3" gas vent piping would be just about right for a smoke house the size of yours.

I agree that the AMNPS is not getting enough air. When you raise the temp of the gas burner, it will overpower the draw of air and take it away from the pellets. Perhaps you need something like the "mailbox mod" - a place for the pellets to do their work outside the smoke chamber. While I think this was primarily designed for cold smoking, I don't know why it wouldn't work for low 'n slow smoking. I've read others post about having problems with being unable to draw the smoke from the mailbox into the smoke/heat chamber. I should think that a small fan of relatively low power could be placed to blow air to the pellets or the draw smoke and air from them and blow it into the cooking chamber.

Maybe Dave Omak will see this thread and chime in here with his knowledge and experience with the mailbox mod. I haven't done it - yet - but will consider placing a fan in the outlet side of the box.

 

[alelover]

Looks like the inlet is not large enough.

About the air flow, i use this :

IMG_20150824_180850.jpg

• alexqc
• Aug 24, 2015

At the beginning there was one on the bottom and one at top. But we just added a 2nd one at the bottom on the other side. So there is one on amnps side and one on burner side.

Teddy, i really like the sand idea! Will definatly use it!!

Thanks everyone!