# Cold smoke generator ?'s



## nunantal (Aug 27, 2015)

In my crude picture, is the distance between the two red lines critical?  Does it depend on the  size of the pellet/chip 

container?  If I use 1/2" copper tubing for the venturi and 1/4" for the  air supply and a 1 gallon paint can do you think

it will work.













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__ nunantal
__ Aug 27, 2015






Thanks,


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## bmaddox (Aug 28, 2015)

What are you trying to build here?

I haven't seen many people go for the venturi setup.

The mailbox mod with an AMNPS seems to be the most popular cold smoker.


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## nunantal (Aug 28, 2015)

I was going for the venturi type of smoker.  I already had a lot of the components lying around so I thought it would be cheaper overall for me to go that way. Most of what I've seen here and on youtube appears to show that they do work.  If that really isn't the case, then maybe I'll have to go another route.


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## bmaddox (Aug 28, 2015)

What is the end use you are looking for? Do you want to hook it up to a smoker or are you going to be building a cold smoking chamber? I can tell you from experience that trying to make your own cold smoker/chip burner is not worth the effort. After messing around with mine I gave in and bought an AMNPS. I liked it so much I know of an AMNTS to go with it.


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## daveomak (Aug 28, 2015)

Smoldering pellets in the AMNPS has no moving parts...   works perfect...   Todd has sales on here periodically...    http://www.amazenproducts.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=12















PelletsinMB mod.jpg



__ daveomak
__ Aug 28, 2015


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## nunantal (Aug 29, 2015)

I have built a smoke house for cold smoking dried sausage and plan on trying to use it for hot smoking as well.


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## dingo007 (Aug 29, 2015)

In answer to your question...Yes it does..however it isn't critical. As long as you are past the vertical pipe coming from the burn chamber.

Personally...i agree that the Amazen tray or tube are the way to go. I built the CSG below...it worked fine, but had limited run time and the creosote build up was a pest! I'm using the Amazen Tube's now...they are awesome....long burn time, simple and all the flavors of pellets you could ever want. Plus Todd's service is second to none.













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## muralboy (Aug 29, 2015)

I have the Big Kahuna cold smoker from Smoke Daddy attached to my grill.  Uses lump charcoal for fuel and wood chunks/chips for smoke.  Lid comes off to add more fuel/wood.

Used it to smoke cheese and add supplemental smoke for ribs.  Worked great.













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__ muralboy
__ Aug 29, 2015


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## doctord1955 (Aug 29, 2015)

I found when i built mine using same principle that u could draw more smoke out of chamber by having shorter 1/4 pipe but i also went with 3/16 copper pipe also! Then i control amount of smoke by screwing pipe cap on end with different size holes!


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## nunantal (Sep 1, 2015)

Sorry for not getting back to this sooner.  Had to go out of town. What causes the smoke to enter the smoke house when using the mailbox mod? Does the mailbox have  to be open at the door end and have wind blowing or is there a suction fan in the smoke house?   I see that the 5 x 8 AMNPS is supposed to supply 11 hours of smoke.  How would that compare to a 1 gallon venturi CSG?


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## dirtsailor2003 (Sep 1, 2015)

nunantal said:


> Sorry for not getting back to this sooner.  Had to go out of town. What causes the smoke to enter the smoke house when using the mailbox mod? Does the mailbox have  to be open at the door end and have wind blowing or is there a suction fan in the smoke house?   I see that the 5 x 8 AMNPS is supposed to supply 11 hours of smoke.  How would that compare to a 1 gallon venturi CSG?


Typically there is a hole, or holes in the lower portion of the mailbox door. Heat rises so if the mailbox is lower than the exhaust vent on your smoker, the smoke is drawn into the smoke chamber. My mailbox mod has one hole, I use the AMNTS tube smokers in mine.













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## daveomak (Sep 1, 2015)

The smoker needs a small amount of heat to start a convection current...   the meat should be at ambient temp or it may cause a cold dam...   then the smoke generator should continue the convection current...   if not, periodically turn on some heat....     I recently put 3 slabs of bacon in my MES 30 and it was about 45 deg. F....  it caused a cold dam and I had to give the MES some heat to get the air flowing again..    I tried to keep the smoker about 75...  ambient was 70....


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## nunantal (Sep 2, 2015)

Can the AMNPS be used inside a hot smoking chamber or does it have to have access to a greater amount of air flow than would be provided by vents in the smoke house?


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## bmaddox (Sep 2, 2015)

nunantal said:


> Can the AMNPS be used inside a hot smoking chamber or does it have to have access to a greater amount of air flow than would be provided by vents in the smoke house?


It depends on the setup. The AMNPS with pellets is rated for hot smoking but does need a constant air flow to work. It seems to be used the most in electric smokers. In low oxygen environments (i.e. propane smokers or charcoal smokers) they recommend the tube smoker (AMNTS).


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## nunantal (Sep 10, 2015)

I have found that Cabelas sells the AMNTS and there is one just down the road from me.  I'll be picking up one of those this weekend.  In the meantime, since I  already had the parts, I went ahead and built a venturi style.  I only ran it for about 15 or 20 minutes and WoW... the creosote really does accumulate.  I tried to compare the smoke generated in mine to some I saw on Youtube but wondered if you folks though it looked about right?  I picked up the bag of pellets at a local  Academy Sports and Outdoors.













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__ nunantal
__ Sep 10, 2015


















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__ nunantal
__ Sep 10, 2015


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## bmaddox (Sep 10, 2015)

That might not be too much smoke. It just depends on the size of the smoker and how well the smoke vents out of it. You should do a test run with no food in it and see what happens.


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## phrett (Oct 10, 2015)

The paint can cold smoker is cheap and works very well.   It's easy to attach to just about anything.  A metal strainer with pellets also works in a pinch.


http://www.nakedwhiz.com/coldsmokingcan/coldsmokingcan.htm
















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## goliath (Oct 11, 2015)

i started with the venturie smoke set up BUT it creosotes up very fast and needs regular cleaning. went to the mail box mod and ran the AMNPS, and now i even have a couple of the tubes. welded 2 tubes together and they fit in the bottom of my smoker... great for overnight and longer smokes.
GOOD LUCK

Goliath


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## oscuba (Oct 25, 2015)

I agree with the A-Maze-N products. I have the 12" tube and rarely need it half full for my kettle and it stays at ambient temp (fall is perfect for cold smoked salmon). The larger A-Maze-N products and little fan or a Party-Q type product works great to move smoke in larger units. Simple!


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## twissted (Oct 25, 2015)

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## oregon smoker (Oct 27, 2015)

DaveOmak said:


> Smoldering pellets in the AMNPS has no moving parts... works perfect... Todd has sales on here periodically... http://www.amazenproducts.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=12
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Dave,

in this view is that a 3" pipe? I have used the AMNPS directly in the MES 40 and the creosote seems to be too much so next step is the mailbox mod. would you now if most drill and mount thru the back of the MES or going in thru the chip tray filler once removed?

Thanks,

Tom


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## daveomak (Oct 27, 2015)

This is how I did mine.....














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## oregon smoker (Oct 27, 2015)

Dave,

your interior is different than mine. the port on the side you are using is in my case where the chip filler tube goes in. it is below a drip tray, where as your tray appears to be below . my opening is 2 - 21/2" diameter (have not measured yet). in these pics it looks like you are using a 4" tube.. my thought is how would changing to a 3" pipe effect the efficiency of this proven mod?

Thanks,

Tom


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## daveomak (Oct 27, 2015)

All 3".....   I removed the chip filler tube and ALL related stuff....  The chip tray is on the heating element for thermal mass....


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## oregon smoker (Oct 28, 2015)

DaveOmak said:


> All 3"..... I removed the chip filler tube and ALL related stuff.... The chip tray is on the heating element for thermal mass....


Dave,

Thanks!

Tom


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