1949 GE Spacemaker 10cf Build

[MrFoodScientist]

So this weekend, I pulled "the Vault" out of my garage. It has served me well during all my beverage making adventures over the past 5 years. When I was using it to cool kegs the research I did suggested it was a 10cf fridge and when I pulled it apart to replace insulation the first time, the manufacture date on the thermostat was stamped as April 1949. Due to the freon leak that has come back (fixed it once already) and my no longer having access to free R-12, it's time to move on.

So I loaded it on to the dolly to haul it around to the back porch.

No way was I going to try and scooch that thing around back any other way by myself.

I'm not sure what exactly my plan is yet. My initial plan was to get a Bradley smoke generator and a heating element. I like scooter's build with the smoke Daddy pellet pro, but my goal is a budget build. A friend is trying to convince me he gets a better smoke ring using real wood and that pellets just don't get the penetration, but i'd like to give it a go both ways to see what I like. The set and forget plan with electrics looks good to me, but one thought that crossed my mind was that if I built it right, I might be able to do dual duty and swap the smoke generator for an appropriate firebox so it can be modular depending on puck availability and preference.

There is a classified ad near me for a Bradley digital with a few boxes of pucks for $100. I thought of jumping on that to try it out, then if I like it, cannibalize it to put the internals in the fridge. And if I don't then I can re sell it and not be out a lot.

 

[MrFoodScientist]

So I missed out on the digital one for $100, but I did find an original that I offered $80.

So this was the scene Sunday

I cooked a center cut pork loin marinated in a steak and chop marinade that they gave away at work, it was some overrun product from a sister company. 40 min with alder, 1hr 40 min with mesquite, let it cook for another hour. I was surprised to see that my bowl of water was gone and that the pucks were nothing but ash.

Got a little bit of a smoke ring, but one end was kind of dry. The fattier end was great, though.

So looks like I'm good to go on the guts transplant to the fridge.
I'll probably need a second element for the larger size and a pic to control it. I'm also going to have to check how the Bradley smoke generator fits since the sidewall of the fridge is wider than the original Bradley chamber.