Starting the Smokehouse

[shrekastac]

Well aside from me having to watch the baby, work, and most of all my daughter being colic and getting over multiple infections, I saw a perfect opportunity to work on it last Wednesday but then that cold front came in and dumped a bunch of snow. At this rate it will be a year before its done lol.

 

[shrekastac]

It literally is going to be a year! Just get to where I am going to work on the SH and mother nature dumps 10 inches 2 weeks in a row and another 10-20" next weekend...

 

[buddhageek]

I feel your pain on the weather. I've been working in the garage and it got up into the teens yesterday so I got quite a bit done. Not an option for you, obviously. Hope your daughter's better soon and gets through the colic. My oldest girl was colicky and that is no fun. Good luck!

 

[shelterit]

 the smoke house looks great so far... cant wait to see how it turns out. .....

 

 

[shrekastac]

http://i844.photobucket.com/albums/ab7/shrekaic/paneled_zpsfb5835b9.jpg
Got just about all the paneling up. Hopefully I can do more once this snow nonsense goes away.
Stupid coding isn't working for some reason

 

[shrekastac]

After a lot of deliberation on what to do for a SFB, I decided on doing a UDS/smokehouse hybrid. The cost of molding my own with refractory/fireclay and brick was too expensive so I bought a practically new one off Craigslist. The drum itself is new but was used to ship new motor oil so I will have to do some major cleaning with more than a few burnouts before seasoning and ultimately smoking. I bought the barrel door kit from amazon and will pipe it in with 6 inch chimney pipe. Pictures to follow.

 

[shrekastac]

Alright I was pretty determined this past week, even to the point that I took 3 days off of work. I got the doors, roof and stain on. I really wish I would have documented the build a little better but with a 9 month old and really anxious/nosey neighbors I had to make every second count.

Got the stain on...

WP_20140729_001_zpscec8bba5.jpg

• shrekastac
• Jul 31, 2014

 The doors and roof are up.

WP_20140729_004_zps0163c6be.jpg

• shrekastac
• Jul 31, 2014

I was going to do the barrel stove kit and 55 gal drum but decided to go gas so I will have to modify slightly to accommodate for the propane. For the burner I decided to go with a Bayou Classic 12.5" Fish Fryer with built in regulator.

WP_20140731_002_zps3bae737c.jpg

• shrekastac
• Jul 31, 2014

I figure with the fish fryer (rated at around max 55K BTU's) I can also use it for its intended purpose...a fish fryer lol. 2 birds right? I was a little reluctant to go with that because it is a little out of the ordinary from what I have seen on here but with my current setup I think it will work out better as it is already elevated.

As always any advice is much appreciated. Until then here is some pictures of some future targeted smoking victims I snatched out of the Gulf of Mexico. Stay Smokey my Friends.

WP_20140705_020_zps58643095.jpg

• shrekastac
• Jul 31, 2014

 

[shrekastac]

Woops also started on the propane house.

WP_20140731_0031_zps89ef8cd2.jpg

• shrekastac
• Jul 31, 2014

 

[daveomak]

Shrek, evening.... You might find that propane burner a little much and hard to control at lower temps..... Some guys/gals use the burner pictured below... has 3 independent adjustable burners.... Dave

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_15490_15490

Propane Burner 2.jpg

• daveomak
• Jul 31, 2014

 

[shrekastac]

Yea been looking at those. I guess I will give it a shot and see what happens. I went with your idea though with a mailbox for my AMNPS. Can I use the AMNPS for all my smoke or will it not be enough?

 

[daveomak]

Yea been looking at those. I guess I will give it a shot and see what happens. I went with your idea though with a mailbox for my AMNPS. Can I use the AMNPS for all my smoke or will it not be enough?

The AMNPS should be enough smoke.... too much smoke can be bitter.... Pops uses the AMNPS in his smoker....

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/88853/found-a-burner-for-smokehouse

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/...pops6927-pat-pending-my-build-version-q-views

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/130460/cedar-smokehouse-construction

 

[jarjarchef]

Great looking build.

The burner Dave has is the one I use. If you go with it you will need a low pressure regulator and a needle valve. My smokehouse looks to be larger than yours, but my burner is in the cook chamber, I actually only use the center burner. I get too much heat with all of them going.

 

[shrekastac]

Thanks guys I ordered it this morning!

 

[bobank03]

Interesting build! Smokehouses are a new interest for me. Is there a particular reason why you went with the 40"x40" size? Also how tall is your house? I have been also wondering about the smoke leaving the smokehouse. Did you leave gaps under the eaves or what is your plan for that? I have also read that after using their smokehouses for a bit that their doors warped a bit and then added additional latching to keep them tight? 

Anyway, learning as I go and I will follow along as well! 

 

[shrekastac]

Hey bobank thanks for the response! I am fairly nee to it as well but you will find, if you haven't already that the folks on here are extremely helpful and have a lot of great ideas.

To answer your questions, what are you referencing when you say 40"x40"? The smokehouse stands about 7.5 feet tall (with concrete foundation. I do have a natural vent at the peak of the roof that runs all the way down but I also intend to install a 3 or 4" vent in the roof. For heat I am using a 3 propane burner from Northern Tools I just purchased (the link was posted by the legendary DaveOmak in this thread) and for smoke I just bought an AMNPS that I will have mounted in a mailbox to the left of the smokehouse and piped in through a 3" aluminum dryer vent through the bottom. Also as far as the door goes I built it out of 5/16" Tongue and Groove paneling so when it does expand it will have some room to wiggle. I am also installing some stove gasket all the way around for the door to butt up against. When building the door I placed 1/4" shims around it until I installed the hinges so that once the door was solid there is 1/4" all the way around of free space to alleviate expansion. I even thought about spraying the door with oven paint to deflect some of the heat away from it. Again even after a year on this site and I am still learning new things.

Stay Smokey my friends.

 

[bobank03]

Mixed up some Mortar and laid down some 4x8x16 solid block toppers just to get an even surface. Using enough mortar was key as it allowed to further get the level surface needed before constructing the CC.
 

I was referring to the outside dimensions of the smoker You are using 2.5 blocks each side which works out to 40 inches length and width?

What I am getting at more than anything is if there has to be any correlation to the height and the overall, width and length other than to make it so the racks that you are using will fit properly?

I have followed along when guys are building smokers out of air tanks and such and they are making some fairly precise calculations. That isn't needed for a smokehouse is it? 

 

[bobank03]

Hey bobank thanks for the response! I am fairly nee to it as well but you will find, if you haven't already that the folks on here are extremely helpful and have a lot of great ideas.

To answer your questions, what are you referencing when you say 40"x40"? The smokehouse stands about 7.5 feet tall (with concrete foundation. I do have a natural vent at the peak of the roof that runs all the way down but I also intend to install a 3 or 4" vent in the roof. For heat I am using a 3 propane burner from Northern Tools I just purchased (the link was posted by the legendary DaveOmak in this thread) and for smoke I just bought an AMNPS that I will have mounted in a mailbox to the left of the smokehouse and piped in through a 3" aluminum dryer vent through the bottom. Also as far as the door goes I built it out of 5/16" Tongue and Groove paneling so when it does expand it will have some room to wiggle. I am also installing some stove gasket all the way around for the door to butt up against. When building the door I placed 1/4" shims around it until I installed the hinges so that once the door was solid there is 1/4" all the way around of free space to alleviate expansion. I even thought about spraying the door with oven paint to deflect some of the heat away from it. Again even after a year on this site and I am still learning new things.

Stay Smokey my friends.

Thanks for explaining all of that, it. That makes good sense to me and I an going to PDF this thread once you get done (for future reference) I have read lots of posts from DaveOmak and you are right, his advice is solid. 

One more question, Do you have an air intake down near the bottom? Is one needed? 

I like the tongue and groove pine. I was thinking of building a New England style smokehouse with wooden shingles for the siding, but I don't know what I would build the smoker with, if I am going to cover it over with the shingles. Can't use plywood or anything like that. Anyone have any thoughts on that? 

Hate to spend $11.00 a board for tongue & groove and then cover it up with shingles. 

 

[shrekastac]

Oh my apologies lol. It confused me because I didn't go by any plans. Actually the base I just copied ATCNick and his cedar smokehouse. The best thing about building your own is do whatever you want! :) A lot of guys put precise measurements to better document their build in order to make it easier for people to copy a certain technique without doing a lot of trial and error by themselves. I am speaking off theory here as I haven't actually smoked anything in this yet but you can build any smoker however big or small you want it all boils down to controlling your air intake/exhaust, smoke, and heat. As long as you make all of that adjustable you can do whatever. The only other thing is to make sure none of your wood is treated that will come into contact with the inside of the cook chamber itself.

 

[shrekastac]

Hey bobank was just thinking you could so it out of plywood and insulate with unfaced fiberglass insulation and hardibacker. Just an option anyway. It all depends too where you live. That theory works in cold to mild climates I would think but might be too insulated for hotter climates.

 

[shrekastac]

Well not sure the paneling I put on the roof is going to cut it...after a huge rain storm a couple of boards pulled away and bowed up. I think I am going to go with my original plan and do the 1"x6" T&G on top and for the propane house.