# My 25$ smoke generator



## grilldad

I saw how to build one of these on youtube and had to make one for myself. I got the aquarium air pump at petco  for 21$ and picked up some copper fittings at Lowes. I already had some copper pipe and the cocktail shaker. I drilled a hole on the top and bottom of the shaker. Top hole was sized to fit the copper pipe through and the bottom hole is to light your chips and allow just enough air to get a good smoke. the venturi part at the top was simple, just a hole drilled in a pipe cap and small brass tube soldered inside so it clears the "T" and is centered inside the outer pipe. I left the back removable so I can play with the inner tube length to see what works best. With this pump I can control the output volume to get the right amount of smoke. I'm going to smoke some pepper jack and cheddar cheese tonight!













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Ran both outlets into one for more output













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Venturi nozzle













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lighting hole













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On low













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On high













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## grilldad

Doing a tester batch, Lets see if it works! I went all out on the cold smoker....The box is staying around 68 degrees.













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## mneeley490

Nice! That is worthy of Scrap Iron Chef!


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## grilldad

well The smoke generator pumped out smoke for over 4 hours but I took my cheese out after only 2. The cheese had a nice color to it and after it sets for a bit in the chill box I'll try it. Should be tasty though I used apple chips... If its good stuff I will make lots more for the holidays.


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## wade

That looks very effective. What do you have inside the cocktail shaker? Do the pellets rest on a mesh or go straight to the bottom?


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## jarjarchef

I must say that is very cool!!!! I have a couple smoke guns and they throw way too much smoke and have too small of a bowl for the chips to last very long.

I too am curious about the set up inside the shaker. Is there a way you can show it more detailed. Does the wood chips sit on anything? Do you think you could use pellets?

In your lighting hole picture it looks like there is another hole on the side of the shaker. Is that for more air flow?







This is just way to cool not to make one!!!!


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## grilldad

There is nothing inside the shaker. Just toss the chips in and light it up. I haven't tried pellets but I think it would work even better. The holes on the sides are for more air if you sit it on the ground the bottom hole will be covered up.


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## smokinhusker

Great job!


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## fwismoker

Love it!  Try Wood chips with some lump charcoal.. It's my favorite recipe.


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## link

Ok, here is more than likely a dumb question but what is the Venturi nozzle? Is this something you can buy at Lowes along with the rest of the copper pipe?


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## grilldad

link said:


> Ok, here is more than likely a dumb question but what is the Venturi nozzle? Is this something you can buy at Lowes along with the rest of the copper pipe?


The venturi nozzle is no more than a pipe fittings that you can get in the pluming section of any home improvement store. Just a pipe inside a pipe, moving air through the inner pipe will create a suction.


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## link

GrillDad said:


> The venture nozzle is no more than a pipe fittings that you can get in the pluming section of any home improvement store. Just a pipe inside a pipe, moving air through the inner pipe will create a suction.


Thanks, that's what I was hoping. It would be a fun project to make one of these.


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## fwismoker

Some have a pin size opening


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## jarjarchef

I made one last night for work. It cost a bit more due to not having some of the parts already, but still not too hard on the pocket....

Thank you for sharing this!!!


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## themule69

Looks like it will do a fine job. I may have to build one. i have a bunch of scrap laying around.....Infact maybe everything.

Happy smoken.

David


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## chef willie

hmmmmmm, looks very interesting. So simple I might be able to do this....gotta love the YouTube


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## turnandburn

have to hand it to ya there bud. thats creativity at its finest. especially love the Fisher-Price sponsored smoke chamber! lol. awesome!


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## dj mishima

Very nice!


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## grilldad

Thanks. ..I wish I would have used the box from my daughters new Barbie jeep to make a big cheese smoke house but she wanted a play house instead. This little smoke generator will put out some smoke! I ran it on low and still Had to kink the airline a bit for this little box. But after the cheese was in for two hours I removed them and opened up the generator to see how long it would run wide open and it went for about 4.5 hours!


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## driedstick

great job


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## webowabo

welp... there goes my shaker tin... never use it anyways :) I got plenty of copper, and I have alot of pumps for my mini splits installs....

 would be great for any of the smokers.. except the file cabinet.. the AMNPS has made its home forever in the corner of it :) 

Thanks for a detailed post, no need to even switch over to YouTube tonight :)

Mike


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## fwismoker

Did you fit some expanded steel toward the bottom of the shaker so the ash can drop?


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## fwismoker

How many air holes did you drill besides the small one and the lighting hole?


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## grilldad

I didn't get much ash... some embers dropped out the bottom hole but when I opened the shaker the chips where just gone. I would gues a 3/8" hole on the bottom and 1/4" around the sides 4- of those. Play with the design and post the performance.


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## JckDanls 07

GrillDad said:


> Thanks. ..I wish I would have used the box from my daughters new Barbie jeep to make a big cheese smoke house but she wanted a play house instead. This little smoke generator will put out some smoke!* I ran it on low and still Had to kink the airline *a bit for this little box. But after the cheese was in for two hours I removed them and opened up the generator to see how long it would run wide open and it went for about 4.5 hours!



next time try to run just one hose instead of both T'd to one...  let the other one blow wild.. do not cap it off that will force more air into the single hose....   worth a try


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## jeffegg2

The air valves are cheap in the aquarium store.Jeff.





GrillDad said:


> Thanks. ..I wish I would have used the box from my daughters new Barbie jeep to make a big cheese smoke house but she wanted a play house instead. This little smoke generator will put out some smoke! I ran it on low and still Had to kink the airline a bit for this little box. But after the cheese was in for two hours I removed them and opened up the generator to see how long it would run wide open and it went for about 4.5 hours!


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## thomas phillips

At first glance at the pictures it looked like a mini whiskey still, lol!


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## africanmeat

niceeeeeee  it looks very nice


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## jarjarchef

Like I said before this was to awesome to not make and try it out. Thank You GrillDad for putting this out there!

I had fun playing around with the one I made yesterday. The other Chefs were looking at me like I was on crack or something when I explained I was going to use a potato chip box and this contraption to make a cold smoker. Then when it started up they were actually impressed with how well it worked. To a point too well, it kicked out a lot of smoke!!!

So here is a list of what I used based on GrillDad's pictures and directions....

Lowes Shopping List:

1 ea     2' x 1/2" copper pipe

1ea      1/2" copper "T" connection

1ea      1/2" copper end cap

1ea      3/16" brass tube (found in the hardware section in the craft drawer)

Pet Store Shopping List:

1ea        Air Pump (I got one for a 20 gallon tank, single output)

1ea         Air Tube (length is up to you. I got the 10' package)

1ea         Air Regulator (looks like a needle valve) Don't lose it like I did!!!

Walmart Shopping List:

1ea         Stainless Steel Cocktail Shaker (I found one at work, but they have them at Walmart as well.)

Tools:

Pipe Cutter

File or Sandpaper (for the edges of the pipe)

Drill

3/16" Drill Bit

5/8 Drill Bit

Small Hammer

Solder, Flux and Torch

Small Bit of Aluminum Foil

Drill a 5/8" hole into the bottom of the shaker and the top.

Drill 2-4 3/16" holes around the bottom of the shaker about 1/2"-1" from the bottom. I only put 2 to start with.

Drill 1 3/16" hole centered in the copper end cap.

Cut 2 ea pieces of 1/2" copper pipe at 2 1/2" length. Sand or file the edges.

Cut 1 ea piece of 1/2" copper pipe at 10" length. Sand or file the edges. This is really up to you on how long.

Place the end cap on a hard surface open end down. Gently tap the 3/16" brass tube into the hole. Should be snug. If not you will need to solder it into place when done.

Place one of the shorter copper pipes onto the end cap. Push the brass tube almost all the way through, leave about 1" from the end so you can pull it back. I wrapped the small brass tube with the foil to form a spacer to keep centered and then slid it back into the small copper tube.

Place the brass and copper tube assemble into one of the top spots of the "T" fitting. Adjust the brass tube to go about 1/4"-1/2" past the bottom fitting hole. I found it need to be past the hole or it can push the smoke out of the wrong end.

With a hammer if needed put the other small copper pipe into the top of the shaker and then into the bottom of the "T" fitting.

Add the last copper pipe to the last fitting hole.

Put one end of the air hose onto the brass pipe. Depending on where you want the air controller valve, cut the air hose and place it into the line, then connect the air hose to the air pump.

Place some dry wood chips into the shaker, place the lid on, turn on pump and light the wood chips with a small torch from the bottom. Careful the container will get hot, so I would use a dry towel or something to hold it with. Make sure you have a good flow of smoke before adjusting the air flow and placing into the hole for the smoke chamber. Whatever you choose to place the cocktail shaker on, make sure it is heat resistant.

I have not soldered mine together yet. Everything was tight and I wanted to be able to make changes if needed. Once I get things into place i may solder it if needed. At this point I don't see a reason too.

I did see a lot of liquid/resin come from the cherry wood I was using. If you allow the smoker to cool it can be very challenging to take apart. I also cleaned mine with some vodka to remove this residue from it as well.


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## link

Thanks for the build list jarjarchef, this is great. This may be my Sunday project if I can get the time to do it.


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## ravenclan

I think you need POINTS for this !!!!


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## cam-b-q

NICE WORK!!!   Think I will have to make one to include in my UDS build!


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## 6cylturbo

I so love this forum. Thank you guys for all your ingenuity and one day I will try something new and post what I end up with. If its any good.


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## doctord1955

I found that if you take some 1/8 hardware cloth and roll it up in a tube about half in in dia and stand it up over the bottom hole in the smoke generator then add sawdust and light from the bottom sawdust will work!


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## frosty

I like it!!! Especially the cocktail shaker. Hope the home boss won't happen to notice it being gone from the kitchen.


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## grilldad

Frosty said:


> I like it!!! Especially the cocktail shaker. Hope the home boss won't happen to notice it being gone from the kitchen.


Yah it was the shaker or her flower tin. and we had two shakers that we have for ever and never used!


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## cannondale4321

I made one a few weeks ago as well but for use with my ProQ Excel. It produces wonderful smoke but I'm only getting burning around the air holes. The creosote is condensing inside the pot (probaly a good thing from a flavour point of view) but it sticks the chips together so they don't drop down.

Inside there is a "chute" at about 45 degrees to help the chips to slide but it turns into one big sticky mess.

Any suggestions?













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## dcarch

link said:


> Ok, here is more than likely a dumb question but what is the Venturi nozzle? Is this something you can buy at Lowes along with the rest of the copper pipe?


Venturi nozzle is a nozzle designed to take advantage of the Venturi effect of aerodynamics. It is related to the "Static Regain" concept of air flow.

If you take a piece of tissue paper and blow on top of it, the paper will rise up to the air flow. Faster air flow will create a negative pressure and draw air around  with it. 

Paint sprayers use that effect sometimes. Vintage pump insect spray uses the Venturi effect to draw and atomized liquid from a can. 

Not a dumb question. 

dcarch


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## dcarch

Cannondale4321 said:


> "------------------ The creosote is condensing inside the pot (probaly a good thing from a flavour point of view) but it sticks the chips together so they don't drop down.
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> Inside there is a "chute" at about 45 degrees to help the chips to slide but it turns into one big sticky mess."
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> Any suggestions?
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> 20130909_103524_resized.jpg
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> __ cannondale4321
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That can be minimized by drawing smoke from below the burn. Basically that's my smoker design. In my design, the creosote is condensed and collected in a separate bottle.

dcarch


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## ledslinger29

I just made mine, can't wait to try it out...however, is there no concern for the lead in the solder contaminating the cheese? Just asking, as it occured to me while I was sweating the pipes...


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## ifitsdeadsmokeit

why wouldnt you use lead free solder like you use when sweating water lines?


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## ledslinger29

That didnt occur to me. Staring ocer


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## ledslinger29

Thanks for the writeup, smoked some cheese this weekend


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## cam orgaard

This looks great. I just built one too, but was having trouble getting the smoke to work once I put a hose on the output end. thought it was too much back pressure created. But by looking at your and the pump you are using, I think my issue is not having a good enough seal in my in the burning unit. Thanks for the pics.


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## goliath

dcarch has a pretty advanced unit. not something just anybody is going to toss together

i have done the gauntlet of smoke gens and have settled with the mailbox mod with 2 AMNPS units in it. i have a large freezer build and do cold smoke bacon, sausage, butts... pretty much anything. i use 2 AMNPS units so i can have good smoke for 11 plus hours and not worry about baby sitting. i also used a cheap turkey roaster as there are no mail boxes available here where i live.

its all trial and error.

my 1st smoke gen was the venturi with the aquarium pump. would work for a few hours but after some creosote build up the chips, or sawdust wouldnt fall down. also the smoke pipe into the smoker would creosote up quite badley and needed cleaning regularly after long smokes.

even the smoke daddy talks about this problem and about the regular cleaning.

I AM SOLD ON THE AMNPS.

good luck


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## link

I have been wanting to make one of these for a bit and finally got the parts together so here it is.


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## jarjarchef

Looks good. Nice flow of smoke. Mine puts out too much. I have not tried to use it in some time, been busy at work.


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## aceoky

Very interesting and great job !


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## jaredmausteller

My neighbor is saying having that copper over the heat is bad and will poison you.....
What is your guys opinion on this???
I built a similar device and used copper for the air tube. He says I will be poisoning myself with the fumes from the copper...


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## jaredmausteller

My neighbor says using copper on a device like this is poisonous... I built one very similar and used copper tube for the air tube coming across the t fitting..... he says I will be poisoning myself from the fumes that will be getting let of from The copper tube...
What's your thoughts on this....???
I say if it's true then how can we drink moonshine from a copper still, or (not saying anyone would want to do this)drink hot water
from the tap (copper water lines), or be able to cook from copper pots and stuff...


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## sigmo

Being in the water treatment business, I am reasonably familiar with the EPA's "lead and copper rule", and the whole Flint, Michigan debacle.

Lead can leach from lead pipes and lead solder, and copper can leach from copper pipe or tube if the pH and corrosivity of the water are bad.


But in our case, for these smoke generators, we are not even dealing with corrosion or leaching.  So it is simpler to understand. 

All we need to do is keep copper or lead from vaporizing.  If they don't vaporize, they cannot leave the surfaces and contaminate the air/smoke mixture.

So keeping the temperatures below those where the vapor pressures of the materials in question become high enough that they vaporize to a dangerous degree is all we have to do to be safe.

Fortunately,  the temperatures at which lead and copper vaporize to a dangerous degree are rather high.

Can you put your hand on the copper pipes of these generators when they are running?  I would guess so.

And the inner venturi tubes are constantly cooled by the air from the compressor or air pump.  So we know they stay cool, as well.

I serously doubt that much copper or lead are vaporizing into the smoke/air stream in these designs.

Stll, why not use lead-free plumbing solder just to make handling the unit a bit safer.  Most people are not very sensitive to copper.  The MCL (maximum contaminant level) for copper in drinking water was set, in part, to accommodate people with Wilson's Disease.

The only thing that comes to mind as a route by which we could poison ourselves with these gadgets (with lead or copper) is if water vapor condenses on the lead or copper, corrodes it, then drips down onto the wood chips or pellets, carrying the dissolved lead or copper, and is then raised to a high temperature as the wood burns.  That might vaporize some of that lead or copper.

That seems pretty far fetched.  But I guess anything is possible.


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## jaredmausteller

I told him that the Temps for gasses to leach out are pretty high with copper (and I did spring for the lead free solder,lol)... he's using the old theory that smoking from a brass or copper pipe will give you lock jaw.... 
The t fitting that the copper pipe goes through doesn't get over 90 degrees.... still holdable by bare hands... like you said also the cold air from the compressor cools the copper down a little so the copper tube temp is probably lower yet....
Just kind of funny how some people are just set in thier ways and how some actually research before popping off at the mouth...hahahaha


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## sigmo

dcarch said:


> That can be minimized by drawing smoke from below the burn. Basically that's my smoker design. In my design, the creosote is condensed and collected in a separate bottle.
> 
> dcarch



I would love to know more about that design!  this is all fascinating, and I have been thinking of building a little smoke generator of this type so any design ideas are greatly appreciated!





jaredmausteller said:


> I told him that the Temps for gasses to leach out are pretty high with copper (and I did spring for the lead free solder,lol)... he's using the old theory that smoking from a brass or copper pipe will give you lock jaw....
> The t fitting that the copper pipe goes through doesn't get over 90 degrees.... still holdable by bare hands... like you said also the cold air from the compressor cools the copper down a little so the copper tube temp is probably lower yet....
> Just kind of funny how some people are just set in thier ways and how some actually research before popping off at the mouth...hahahaha



Yes.  I agree.

But I am always open to any explanations of how or why something like this could be hazardous.  There's no sense ignoring good thoughts on the matter.

I just think that the temperatures involved mean that any copper or other metal vapors will be extremely low, and since we're not scraping or abrading things, production of dust particles will also be non-existent.  And if things are designed right, no corrosive water condensation should form and then drip back down onto the burning wood, so that potential route shouldn't be an issue, either.  But there could be something I'm not thinking of!


I'd like to come up with a system that allows me to hold a lot of the combustion variables constant so that I can smoke in any weather and get consistent results.  This type of smoke generator might be part of a system like that.


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## jaredmausteller

I'd like to see the creosote catcher...

I love this little cooker setup...
It's 58 degrees out today with a slight breeze and it's holding a temp right around 54 degrees...
From what Ive seen with these little cookers is you can control your heat via the air being introduced.... if it's not hot enough, turn your air up just a little.... it will get the chip burn hotter and you can get you box temp right where you want it... if it starts to rise a little too much just turn the air down and give it a minute...
I've only smoked with it about 2 times so far but it's so controlable.... I'm really diggin the setup...


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## jaredmausteller

I'm open to explanations as well... but all hes got is the copper will give you lockjaw/and or make you sick.....lol


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## dcarch

>





Sigmo said:


> I would love to know more about that design! this is all fascinating, and I have been thinking of building a little smoke generator of this type so any design ideas are greatly appreciated!
> Yes. I agree.


Do a search "dcarch" here.

I have posted my design sometime ago.

dcarch


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## Wayne Single Shot

cannondale4321 said:


> I made one a few weeks ago as well but for use with my ProQ Excel. It produces wonderful smoke but I'm only getting burning around the air holes. The creosote is condensing inside the pot (probaly a good thing from a flavour point of view) but it sticks the chips together so they don't drop down.
> 
> Inside there is a "chute" at about 45 degrees to help the chips to slide but it turns into one big sticky mess.
> 
> Any suggestions?
> 
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> 
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> 
> 20130909_103524_resized.jpg
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> __ cannondale4321
> __ Sep 9, 2013


I've been looking at these builds on youtube; the Europeans seem to mostly having the venture towards the bottom. I don't know what issues they may have with creosote, since they all talk languages I don't understand. I was wanting to build one with the low nozzle design to fit to my Big Chief smoker and not have to put the smoker on a stand. Still researching and wishing I spoke a few other languages.


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## SonnyE

jaredmausteller said:


> My neighbor says using copper on a device like this is poisonous... I built one very similar and used copper tube for the air tube coming across the t fitting..... he says I will be poisoning myself from the fumes that will be getting let of from The copper tube...
> What's your thoughts on this....???
> I say if it's true then how can we drink moonshine from a copper still, or (not saying anyone would want to do this)drink hot water
> from the tap (copper water lines), or be able to cook from copper pots and stuff...



Your neighbor watches too much of The Chew. Babbling brooks with slanted views.
I get occasional blurbs from my wife about my adventures in my shop. Particularly my casting bullets.
__________________________________________________________________________

My only concern was the cocktail shaker, but saw reading through it's stainless steel.
All the rest is very elementary to me.
But I'm torn. I like this big one. 
But I'm thinking the accessories might be nice to have.
You know, an ash paddle, use the strainer as a base to set the chamber in, fill the measure with some Fireball Whiskey to sip out by the smoker....

:rolleyes:


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