# Advice needed for smoker build before purchasing materials



## MacFly (Apr 16, 2020)

Hello all! Noobie smoker here, o as the title says I'd like to make sure I'm not wasting my time and money before I buy more material.  I don't want to outgrow this thing in a year and have to try and build something bigger/better on a shoestring budget.

What I want: A shed style smoker capable of cold and hot smoking. Not being terribly knowledgeable about hot smoking, I mainly mean things like jerky, fish, bacon, and poultry which as far as I understand means my max temps would be in the low/mid 200s? It would be nice if it could do EVERYTHING including things at higher temps, but I'm fine with having to apply higher heat for things like brisket or whatever in a different way if that's too much to ask of a single smoker. I also want it to be big, as in, I could turn essentially an entire deer or other large critter into jerky in one go (piercing and hanging strips from dowels to maximize space). I also need this thing to be as cheap as is reasonably possible, considering the financial climate at the moment. I'm a carpenter, so tools and such are no worry. I also want weather to not matter, I should be using it in Colorado or the Boise Idaho area, so my plan is to make it double walled with insulation to keep things cool in summer and warm in winter. 

What I have: To keep cost down, I'd like to use as many materials as I can that are already laying around, mainly a large pile of unused but weathered cedar fencing and new pine 2x4s. 

My rough plan at the moment is to go with a sloped roof from front to back with tin roofing over plywood, and use the cedar fence planks for the exterior walls, I'm going to shiplap the edges and run them horizontally. The interior walls will be untreated plywood, but I'm not sure of what thickness. Ideally to keep weight and cost down, I'd like to go with 3/8" (this will get disassembled and moved with me to Idaho, hence the preference for light-ish weight). That being said, is there any reason 3/8" ply wouldn't work, other than insulation value since it's going to be double walled and insulated that way? I'm also not sure of overall dimensions, I'm thinking 3'x4'x6'ish, but want to know if I should just up it to 4'x4' to be safe? I'm going to rip my 2x4s in half and use those for framing to make material go farther, so I'll have a 1 3/4" void to insulate. That being said, I need advice on what type of insulation to use in the walls; I've seen some folks use foam board, others fiberglass, and others say rockwool. Whichever insulation I go with will be COMPLETELY sealed between the walls, I have no desire to get any particles or fumes in my food. Is a cheap foam board ok for 200 degree ranges, or should I opt for fiberglass/rockwool and thicker plywood to make this thing usable for higher heats like 300's? If higher temps are feasible, I'd be adding crete board and or tin inside for heat shielding of course. For the heat source I imagine I'll mainly be using a propane burner with cast iron wood pan, but in a worse case scenario I'm positive I could rig up a natural fire heat source, and it wouldn't be hard to have an external firebox if need be. That part I think I can figure out, it's mainly the materials and dimensions that I want to nail down before I get to nailin'! As for airflow, I was going to cut rectangular holes through the walls, and have sliding wooden doors that I can adjust as needed; I'm thinking 1 on each side at top and bottom, so 8 vents total, each vent somewhere around 3"x8" in size with metal window screening to keep the bugs out. I'll make them well enough so that I could completely seal off the ones not in use. Any help y'all can give me before I buy the plywood and start cutting would be VERY much appreciated. Thanks!


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## SmokinEdge (Apr 16, 2020)

Use the search option and search “smoke house”. Lots of good ideas there.
As far as foam board insulation, It’s not good for higher temps. In the low to mid 200’s range will work, but beyond that is a no go. Best of luck with your project.


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## MacFly (Apr 17, 2020)

SmokinEdge said:


> Use the search option and search “smoke house”. Lots of good ideas there.
> As far as foam board insulation, It’s not good for higher temps. In the low to mid 200’s range will work, but beyond that is a no go. Best of luck with your project.


Appreciate it!  I've been combing over build threads for about 2 days before I decided to make an account.  That's where I got a lot of my design ideas, but I haven't found all the answers I'm looking for just yet.


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## mike243 (Apr 17, 2020)

You know plywood is glued together? ,  better research some more before building so you will have something that wont give off bad tastes or worse . I would do some searches to find traditional shed styles , lot of nice plans out there.


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## MacFly (Apr 17, 2020)

mike243 said:


> You know plywood is glued together? ,  better research some more before building so you will have something that wont give off bad tastes or worse . I would do some searches to find traditional shed styles , lot of nice plans out there.


Really? As a carpenter I'd always thought they used fairy farts to stick it together!  Joking aside, there are a lot of builds on here using plywood that have garnered a lot of praise from other members like the one pops6927 built, including a few used in the 300 degree range I think. Some folks say plywood is bad, then some folks say pine is bad, then some folks say certain kinds of cedar are bad (hence why I'm using the cedar fencing for the exterior siding), and just as many people say they're fine, it's quite confusing. I would love nothing more than to have a solid wood smoker, but that's just not in the budget for me I'm afraid. I can get a sheet of 3/8" for under $20, or worse case 3/4" for around $35 a sheet, I don't know of anything else that cheap per sq. ft.. I was planning on several runs hot and empty with heavy smoke a few hours at a time to encourage off-gassing and seasoning, and then spray the interior with a few coats of Linseed oil (food grade, not BLO) to help seal things even further. As I said, this will mainly be used on the cooler end of hot smoking, it would just be nice to have a one trick pony that could do everything but if that's not feasible then so be it.


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## Winterrider (Apr 17, 2020)

My propane smoker 3' x 3' x 7'
3/ 8" plywood  ( no insulation )
	

		
			
		

		
	











Have hung 100 + lbs of deer sausage.
Use bayou classic burner under steel plate. Sawdust on top of plate.
Have never done it yet, but if higher temps were desired a piece of sheet steel on second rack to help contain heat.


			Bayou Classic Store - Banjo Cooker


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## MacFly (Apr 17, 2020)

Winterrider said:


> My propane smoker 3' x 3' x 7'
> 3/ 8" plywood  ( no insulation )
> 
> 
> ...






Fantastic!  What temps are you usually using in there?


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## Winterrider (Apr 17, 2020)

Normally about 160 - 180° for sausages. Did hang a couple turkeys many years ago. I think we maintained about 235°


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## MacFly (Apr 19, 2020)

So, nobody has more input on this?  Any opinions on a 3'x4' vs 4'x4' at around 7' at the high point, dropping down 6" or 12" at the lower end?  I'm itching to get this thing built before the meat shortage...


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## SheepDog320 (Apr 22, 2020)

I just finished a build out of plywood. Mine is 4x6, front is 8ft tall back is 7 ft. I’m going to run a test run on Friday and I’ll let you know how it goes.


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## MacFly (Apr 22, 2020)

SheepDog320 said:


> I just finished a build out of plywood. Mine is 4x6, front is 8ft tall back is 7 ft. I’m going to run a test run on Friday and I’ll let you know how it goes.


Nice work!  Please do, let me know how it works for you.  I got tired of waiting for replies so I started cutting already, but I'm still game for advice.  Going with 4'x4'x8' at the front, 7' at the back.


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## SheepDog320 (Apr 26, 2020)

MacFly said:


> Nice work!  Please do, let me know how it works for you.  I got tired of waiting for replies so I started cutting already, but I'm still game for advice.  Going with 4'x4'x8' at the front, 7' at the back.


Sorry for the delay, I ran a test run Friday smoked about 8 hrs at 160 degrees. Had to try three different burners to find one that would hold temps that low. I just put about 80lbs of sausage on it we will see how
She does.


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