i want to convert my smoker to electric

[wvuarmyeng]

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• wvuarmyeng
• Dec 5, 2016

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• wvuarmyeng
• Dec 5, 2016

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• wvuarmyeng
• Oct 11, 2016

I love the smoke daddt pellet hopper but I'm going to move it to a 1950-60s style fridge and want to convert this one to electric.  I have access to 220 and would also like to add a convection fan to this unit to get better heat distribution. I have some electric skills and if I don't know how to do it I can figure it out with youtube and input from all of you

smoker worked pretty good this year but I think converting it to electric and using the hopper on another project will allow for way better success.

I'm interested in any ideas.

thanks in advance guys

 

[dward51]

Do you ever use the right half or just the left?  From the photo it looks like left side only.

Here is a schematic of a McCall cabinet I bought a while back.  It has a pre-made convection channel on the right side and the heating element and fans to move the air are on top outside the main chamber (no danger of grease drippings catching fire on element).  I think this is what you are talking about.  If you don't use that right side of yours, you can make a chamber in there and do something similar with element and fan placement.

You could put a pellet tube or tray in a mailbox mod with the inlet to the chamber where the smoke daddy is now.  You already have the exhaust in place, just need to form the convection channel & louvers, add the heating element & PID control, and start smoking

warmer conversion 1.jpg

• dward51
• Aug 26, 2012

 

[wvuarmyeng]

i have seen that design dave and thought about using it but since i have a decent space in the bottom to place the heating element already. if i would build a stack with a convection fan in it coming out of the bottom up through the middle of the smoker i was wondering if that would work. i would have to lower the exhaust to the bottom of the smoke chamber.

hopefully ill have some time to research some components while im at the beach. work has been crazy

what would be the best element for me to use? my cooking chamber is roughly 4'x4' x 22' deep

 

[dward51]

Since you have access to 220v where you want the smoker, I would use that.  I would probably get 2 110v finned heating elements, each in the 1,500 watt range and wire one on each leg of the 220v circuit (in essence you are using the 220v service to deliver 2 110v circuits in the smoker).  This gives you the option of using less wattage for a low temp smoke and having 3,000 watts available when you need it to deal with a large volume of air and meat.  You could switch a single 220v 3,000 watt (or even larger) element no problem, but on lower temp smokes it may be harder to control as it's going to really want to heat up a higher wattage element fast.  I'm sure a PID & SSR can probably hand it though but I know it can handle 3,000 watts split into the two 1,500 watt 110v element and give better control at lower temps.  I just like having options.  You could run both elements from the same PID triggering output with no issues.  Just put a switch in the triggering output to one of the SSR's and you can turn it off to use a single element. Or put a switch in each triggering output line to the SSR's and you could alternate which element you used from one smoke to another to keep the element "aging" about the same (probably not really necessary though).

As to where to place the elements, I like in the upper part of the side chamber as again, no danger ever of a grease fire.  Run some ducting at the top over to a heating element box and then use ducting to put the heat back into a slotted chamber along that side to evenly distribute it in the smoke chamber. Lots of options on where to put the fans, but I would have them blowing over the heating elements (although they do not have to be in the heating element box).  You could use stainless flexible ducting (insulated with flexible rockwood or ceramic kiln insulation) and pretty much put the parts anywhere you want.  Don't they make this stuff for lining chimney's in homes and connecting to wood stoves?

 

[wvuarmyeng]

so I found this

http://www.alliedkenco.com/heatingkit-electric-5000watt.aspx

I plan on closing on the exhausts I have in use currently and extending an exhaust up from the bottom towards the top of the smoker. basically create a somewhat of a reverse flow so it has to force the exhaust back down through another pipe and out the bottom right side of the smoker....

PID wise what would yall recommend? since I'm dumping another $300 for the heating unit I would like to keep it somewhat simple and cheaper then the prebuilt ones. would like to possibly have 2 air temp probs

 

[dward51]

PID does not matter as compared to the element size.  All the PID does is provide a control signal to the SSR.  The SSR will matter and it needs to be sized for the maximum load (and add a little more for safety margin).  So for a 5kw element at 240v that is 21 amps.  SO I would go with at least a 30amp SSR.  Also the heat sink for the SSR needs to be adequately sized (oversized is better).  So you can get PID's with a 2nd channel for pit and meat monitoring, or I would go with a dedicated PID with multi-step programming capability for the pit, and some of the small single channel PID units to be used as meat probe displays (they run $30 each).  I like the Auber Instrument modes for both, but you can save money with eBay MyPIN (cheap china models).  But you get what you pay for and Auber stands behind their products both in quality and excellent tech support after the sale.

I would be concerned that 5kw is a lot of heat.  If the cabinet is insulated, once it's up to temp, that higher wattage element is way over kill and may be hard to hold the desired temp.  It may tend to quickly overshoot even with a pulsing PID/SSR control unit.

 

[wvuarmyeng]

thanks. I wasn't sure if there was a particular PID that people preferred or what.

we use this mainly in the winter months. its kinda shielded from the elements (in a shed/lean-to) but this past winter we experience some nice 10 degree nights and it was a struggle to keep a decent temp. my unit is insulated ok but not he greatest (first time building errors lol) we are going to get electric run out there by the end of the summer

 

[dward51]

That is why I liked the idea of two smaller elements, say in the 2,000 watt to 2,500 watt range each.  For initial and quick heating, run them both.  If you install a manual switch in the line from the SSR to one of the elements, you can flip that off and run on a single element as well.

 

[wvuarmyeng]

Ok I see your point. I will still have to install at the bottom of the smoker. I don't have the time to tear it apart this year and build it with heat from the top.

My temp range will be 165-170s. We mainly make sticks and Bologna. I have other units for my butts and ribs

 

[wvuarmyeng]

Those fined heaters have me concerned I could burn them up if I don't have enough air flow

 

[dward51]

Ok, then don't go with finned elements.  They make solid elements sort of like what you find in a kitchen oven.  They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes and there is no reason to to use one salvaged from an old oven (inexpensive). No moving parts, just a resistive heating element.  Sort of like a light bulb, it's good unless the element is burnt out inside the outer housing (which is sort of rare).