The little smokehouse (DONE)!

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Thanks Dexter! I'm so anxious to see TBS comin' out of the stack I can't see straight! Every time I open the door to work on it and smell the pine lumber smell I just shake my head, it should smell like smoke!

It was 65 here yesterday (I had to work) and today it's 33! It stormed like crazy here last night so its gonna be real muddy around the smoke house area unfortunately. The wind will hopefully dry it out some by the weekend.
Put one of the A-Maz-n pellett smokers in there for a couple days with some Hickory or mesquite,,, heavy smoke.. No heat just smoke...It will seal it off and season it.
 
A few comments and questions covering this thread...What temp are you looking to hold in the smokehouse?  I have been seriously considering building one also, just interested in your thinking about what your main usage will be.  As far as the treated lumber, unless it's either industrial grade or older than about 5 years, there should be no chromium or arsenic present.  The EPA pushed that through back in 2003 I believe.  Plus with it being below the floor, below the tile and the heat source, there should be no problems.  As far as using old pallets, I might recommend against that.  I am in the pallet industry and unless you know that they were used in the food industry, they possibly could have been treated with chemicals.  Most common chemicals are to prevent mold, some are sprayed on to kill insects, especially if they are going overseas.  Also, I wouldn't use them if they are not a US built pallet.  There should be a stamp on the side, with some numbers and a country of origin label.  If it says anything other than US and some number, I strongly recommend you not using it.  Just my 2 cents of knowledge... 
 
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nice job big fan of using watch ya got


yes nice looking lil smoke house im also a big fan of using what you have you most often times have more than you think

around the house and garage

i also want to build a lil smoke house i been watching the threads for ideas

i like your tile idea in the bottom and the burner nice work
 
I'm jealous! I need to make a smoke house for my buck board bacon smokes. My MES30 doesn't give me enough room to hang my slabs like a smoke house would. Can't wait to see some smoke coming out of yours. Good job!
 
Thanks guys! 

Great info, Bruno! I remember now when they sprayed everything coming out of China for bird flu. 

As far as temp, since I'm using raw pine except the floor which will be covered with tile, I don't have to worry about potential toxins being released due to high temps and I'm using fire caulk so no worries there. So if the northern tool burner will get the temps up I'm not against using it for a butt or ribs or such. If it doesn't, or if someone says hey, you shouldn't do that, then no big deal I'll use it for lower temps only. Either way, I will use it for sausage and BBB for the most part. I still have the MES and it will be more economical to use it for smaller smokes. I really think the Northern Tool burner will have no problems though. The smokehouse is small, and since its made out of 2x4's plus plywood siding over it, it will probably hold the heat in pretty well. We're gonna find out soon! 

Teeznuts - you really should build one! I'm not even done yet and I'm already wishin' I would've done it soonder!
 
Nice job Gersus,

I am looking forward to the "Q-view" of your first smoke.

Keep up the the good work, as I am following this thread with great interest
drool.gif
 
Looks good, you wont have any problems outta that NT burner. One suggestion on tuning the air mixture.....don't waste your time setting it up in the shop for proper air mixture, once its in the smokehouse with smoke rolling its not going to be right. Just open the air mix screws all the way or when its closed up in the smokehouse you will develop yellow flame. Hope this makes sense
 
A few comments and questions covering this thread...What temp are you looking to hold in the smokehouse?  I have been seriously considering building one also, just interested in your thinking about what your main usage will be.  As far as the treated lumber, unless it's either industrial grade or older than about 5 years, there should be no chromium or arsenic present.  The EPA pushed that through back in 2003 I believe.  Plus with it being below the floor, below the tile and the heat source, there should be no problems.  As far as using old pallets, I might recommend against that.  I am in the pallet industry and unless you know that they were used in the food industry, they possibly could have been treated with chemicals.  Most common chemicals are to prevent mold, some are sprayed on to kill insects, especially if they are going overseas.  Also, I wouldn't use them if they are not a US built pallet.  There should be a stamp on the side, with some numbers and a country of origin label.  If it says anything other than US and some number, I strongly recommend you not using it.  Just my 2 cents of knowledge... 


Thank you. Thats what I wanted to know. Answers my question.
 
Good to know, Onytay. I assume you mean backing out the screws underneath the burner?

It was 19 this morning when I woke up and 21 at 11:00 so there was no progress on the 'house today. It's supposed to be 54 tomorrow though, woohoo!!!

Since it was cold and I didn't want to be bored around the house I talked the wife into taking a trip to Springfield and going to Bass Pro. I was wishing for a great deal on a stuffer in the catalog outlet lol but nope.... oh well. 
 
Good to know, Onytay. I assume you mean backing out the screws underneath the burner?

It was 19 this morning when I woke up and 21 at 11:00 so there was no progress on the 'house today. It's supposed to be 54 tomorrow though, woohoo!!!

Since it was cold and I didn't want to be bored around the house I talked the wife into taking a trip to Springfield and going to Bass Pro. I was wishing for a great deal on a stuffer in the catalog outlet lol but nope.... oh well. 

Yep those are the ones, with the vent I used I'm able to look in with my smokehouse sealed up and see the flame. Once I backed the screws out I was getting a decent flame, you want as little if any yellow flame as possible. Propane is to expensive to waste!
 
It was a cool and windy day here but I managed to get some smoke rollin' in the smokehouse! 

Thanks for the tip on the burner, Onytay! I opened up the screws before I ever lit it. The flame burned nice and blue and I didn't have to do anything else! 

I had to cut out the small lower door, fit it, and install the intake vent. I did everything I needed to do to get the house smokin', then worked on other stuff. 

I bought my propane hose/regulator from Harbor Freight because it was quite a bit cheaper. I'm pleased with it, no problem. Even though the specs didn't say, its a 1 psi regulator. 

1e0783be_burner.jpg


As I mentioned earlier in this thread, I shortened the legs on the burner. I didn't see a need for the height and the lower the better IMO. 

ec9f08f6_burner2.jpg


Drilled the hole for the hose, tightened the fittings and lit 'er up. She burned nice and blue on all burners without any trouble. Like I said earlier, I opened up the screws underneath the burner almost all the way.

And here it is!

fa55f6f8_burnerflame.jpg


That pic is taken thru the intake vent with my cell camera. Gotta love cell cameras these days! Only the center burner is on in the pic. 

When I first lit it, I had the center and one other burner lit and turned fairly low. 10 minutes in I had these temps....

b2869279_temp.jpg


WOW! Sure didn't take long. I turned off one burner and left the center at a medium flame. The temp stayed very steady 170, despite the windy/gusty conditions. It was in the low 50's today here.

I lit the AMNPS full of pellets and lit both ends to get some good smoke in there. 

ac4061c2_burnerinhouse.jpg


I had considered running a steel line to the outside if the rubber hose got hot but I reached in midway thru today and the hose wasn't hot, not even warm so I'm not worried. 

2db1c412_tbs.jpg


And there it is!! That's what I've been waiting for!!! Can anyone guess what I used for a chimney pipe? I recycled as much as possible on this build.

eabd4c6b_burnerthruwindow.jpg


Easy access to the burner controls without losing much heat. 

4cff4a4c_smoke.jpg


I'm going to run rebar across to support a baffle to insure distribution of heat. Still need to mount the supports, cut the rebar for that. 

eba9f9c6_houseleft.jpg


c3eb5a8d_houseright.jpg


The door clamps from Harbor Freight are AWESOME! Very easy, works very good, and plenty of adjustment. 

The roof tin is temporary. That's all I had. I want a bigger piece to have some overhang but at least it's out of the weather. 

Still have trim to cut, paint, and some odds and ends but glad to have the burner going. Now that it's seasoned, I need to get some meat ready! Hopefully next weekend. Not sure what I'll smoke first.
 
Oh, I have tile to line the bottom foot or so of the sides. I also want to find some narrow pieces to fill the gap on the bottom. Doing that should make cleanup pretty easy.
 
Awesome! Glad everything is going good. Feels good doesn't it? I'm going to take a stab at your chimney and guess its a piece of gutter down spout? You can get a needle valve for the regulator for fine adjustments that won't require you to open the door up. Its looking good now get some meat in there!
 
2db1c412_tbs.jpg


And there it is!! That's what I've been waiting for!!! Can anyone guess what I used for a chimney pipe? I recycled as much as possible on this build.
I believe that is a white 3" x 4" downspout painted with black paint. Do I win a sample of the first Qview?
drool.gif


That's a really great build. I watched if from the start and you really took it to the next level for sure.

Looking forward to more of what you can do with it.

Thanks for posting
 
I believe that is a white 3" x 4" downspout painted with black paint. Do I win a sample of the first Qview?:drool

That's a really great build. I watched if from the start and you really took it to the next level for sure.
Looking forward to more of what you can do with it.
Thanks for posting

You better step in line for sample Qview I guessed downspout first!!!!
 
Yep, it's a downspout! Not sure what I'm gonna do for a cap. May find the right size pan like Cowgirl did and do that, or maybe put a coffee can over it!

Onytay - yeah, I forgot about the needle valve. I'm gonna go that route. I was really unsure of how steady the temps would be and thus how much babysittin' there would be.... but I'm not worried a bit now. 
 
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