# propane in a cedar smoker... livin dangerously for that smoked meat.



## smokinsuds (Nov 5, 2014)

Just looking for some feedback. I'm not finished with the smoker yet, but I'm pretty certain electric hot plates arent gonna get her hot enough. Inside diameter is 3ftx4ftx7ft. My uncle seems to think I'm on the right track with propane (mainly because thats what he runs his cedar smokehouse on). Any ideas and more importantly, any do's or don't's with cedar smokehouses? Oh yeah best part, a picture of what I got goin












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## dirtsailor2003 (Nov 5, 2014)

Great looking smoker! I see you have a good exhaust, be cautious of condensation forming in your pipe and dripping on your food. What I don't see is an air intake down low to create the draft you'll want to keep the air moving so you don't get a stale smoke issue. Maybe it's there and just doesn't show up. 

There are several wood smokers running propane. You would want to line the fire box area with fire brick or other fire proof material. Then really watch it. One thing you'd need to consider for propane is your air supply. Propane requires a good amount of external air in order to keep burning. Without a good air supply if it goes out and the propane keeps running you have a very volatile scenario. 

That said the little three ring burner offered by Northern tool is what most here have used.  

What temps are you shooting for?


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## smokinsuds (Nov 5, 2014)

Mainly just doing salmon and venison jerkey but eventually summer sausage and beer dogs. Im hoping to get it up to 250. Think that would be hot enough for most anything. I may be mistaken but I figure you gotta start with a big smoke house. I just ordered a double burner that runs 30000 btu which seems like it would do the trick. Its regulated to 20 psi so I bought the parts to be able to open it up to 30 psi, not that I know ill need that much. No intake on it yet.  Still undecided on what route to go but I have some ideas. Im also trying to avoid the moisture issue as I will keep it in my shop, roll her out to smoke. I've read that those floor registers work pretty well, but I'm trying to go 100% wood so I may just build some sort of hitched opening on the back side or bottom. Definately put a fire wall inside down low though? I was thinking the heat is above the flame so it would be alright, well unless we had a gas leak :( thanks for the input boss, hope to hear more fellow smokers opinions


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## smokinsuds (Nov 5, 2014)

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Picture of the burner I plan on using


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## pit of despair (Nov 5, 2014)

SmokinSuds,

That burner may be overkill. My plywood smokehouse uses a single "turkey fryer" burner and I have no problem maintaining 225-250*.

But I do have to keep an eye on it to keep the flame from blowing out.

teddy


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## wolfman1955 (Nov 5, 2014)

SmokinSuds,
Good Mornin. The condensation that dirtsailor is referring to will occur every time you use your smoker no matter where it is stored. It is a byproduct of heating the air as it flows through the smoke house. Then that air hits your cooler exhaust stack and the moisture condenses and runs back down. You could avoid this problem with some sort of a catch pan and drain below the inlet to your exhaust stack to avoid the condensation dripping on you product.

If you don't want to fabricate your intake vents, they do sell wooden floor vents at the big box stores. I believe they even have then unfinished so you could stain them to match your smoker.

Keep Smokin!!!
Wolf


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## smokinsuds (Nov 5, 2014)

Ahhhh gotcha. I'll have to fab something up I guess. The only reason I went with that burner was because it was set on short legs, not too short not too tall kinda thing to keep it up off the floor. I have about 3 ft height for my heat source application. Still fire proof it in? I was going to put smaller ventilation holes up high on the sides where the racks are to keep the smoke moving but should still make a larger intake down low right?


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## wolfman1955 (Nov 5, 2014)

You may not need vent holes up high if you have enough below. The ones up higher would probably not pull in air but act as exhausts. Seems to me like I read somewhere that you want more intake square inches than you have exhaust just can’t remember the ratio.
IMHO I would take fresh air in at the bottom and exhaust smoke and hot air out the top.


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## smokinsuds (Nov 5, 2014)

I have some bamboo floor vents at home,  but from what I have read on here, people use the metal ones so they can damper them down and/or close them all together or is that more for an electric heating application where theyre mainly using it to clear the smoke out of the smoker as they finish they're delicasants (thats my word of the day haha) wrapping up MY Friday graveyard shift feelin a little loopy. Excited to get my smoker done on my days off hopefully


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## smokinsuds (Nov 5, 2014)

Wolfman, so you're saying my exhaust is 6 inch so ill need more flow on the intake than that? I plan on adding a damper in the top of the exhaust, which still allows air to pass by, just not as much. How would that factor into the equation?  Or should I leave the damper out?


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## wolfman1955 (Nov 5, 2014)

SmokinSuds said:


> I have some bamboo floor vents at home,  but from what I have read on here, people use the metal ones so they can damper them down and/or close them all together or is that more for an electric heating application where theyre mainly using it to clear the smoke out of the smoker as they finish they're delicasants (thats my word of the day haha) wrapping up MY Friday graveyard shift feelin a little loopy. Excited to get my smoker done on my days off hopefully



I believe the wooden floor vents I saw had the ability to be dampered down just like the metal ones. I think it was at Lowes that I saw them but I am sure all the big box stores would cary them.


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## wolfman1955 (Nov 5, 2014)

I personally have no experience with a smoke house like yours. But I do know that I as well as most people keep the exhaust on the cook chambers of smokers wide open. The idea of more in take vent than exhaust makes scence to me because you will only draft as much air as you allow in therefore dampers on intakes, and if you want to have full air flow you would need at least as much square inches in as you have going out.


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## smokinsuds (Nov 5, 2014)

Good to know. Thanks for the info Wolfman... I'm going to have to swing by my uncles house and take a little closer look to what he has goin on. He just started doing jalapeño beer dogs w/ cheddar and summer sausage this year in his cedar smoker so he may have some good pointers for me as well. Both turned out very well. I guess he tried to deepfry a partially smoked turkey that didnt have the same end result though.


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## daveomak (Nov 5, 2014)

Nice looking smoker.....
You might think about 86ing the exhaust stack and place vents in the peak, under the eaves....  that stack will form condensate that will drip back in the smoker...   Nasty stuff to get on your food....   I would use floor vents that adjust ....  You won't need much in the way of exhaust...  Smokehouses are different from Smokers with fireboxes...


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## smokinsuds (Nov 5, 2014)

Dave, nice to hear from ya. Man I dont wanna go cutting away on my progress now. I saw you had posted somewhere else this advice and to put the stack out the back if that was what route you were taking.I did make the gabled roof detachable though (boxed in) so it wouldnt be that hard to change. Other than the cost of that dang cedar needing replaced that I cut out. The material I used is a 9 inch lap sideing which has a 1 1/2 inch x 3/8 inch gap at each overlap. So there'd be 16 of those openings. Would that be enough you think? I was just going to cut in little spacers to fill em and keep the bugs out. Heres a close up of the gaps im talking about












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## smokinsuds (Nov 5, 2014)

Also, ill be cutting down the stack to just above the roof line and boxing it in as well with cedar and so it wont really be in the elements of the outdoors. Still going to be an issue with condensate? I mainly put it in to create a good air flow to clear smoke and cool when im finished smoking. My thought was put a damper on it, so it holds heat but still allows for some air flow. Would you go 1 or 2 intake vents?


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## thesmokist (Nov 5, 2014)

Yeah I also think that burner is overkill. I'd be worried about catching the thing on fire LOL! Man you did a killer job building the smoke house it looks great! I've been wanting to do one like that but a lil smaller


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## dirtsailor2003 (Nov 5, 2014)

SmokinSuds said:


> Also, ill be cutting down the stack to just above the roof line and boxing it in as well with cedar and so it wont really be in the elements of the outdoors. Still going to be an issue with condensate? I mainly put it in to create a good air flow to clear smoke and cool when im finished smoking. My thought was put a damper on it, so it holds heat but still allows for some air flow. Would you go 1 or 2 intake vents?


Yes it will still be a issue. One of the by-products of burning anything is moisture. It is even more present when burning propane or natural gas. I have to agree that the burner you have selected will be a bit overkill for the box. You may have issues getting it to regulate low enough. You could remedy that with a needle valve.

As fa as intakes and exhausts you need both. Stagnant air is not good for smoking food and produces stale smoke. Not enough air for the burner isn't good either. Having an adjustable vent low is a must for propane burners in a smoke house like yours.

Here is what most use here for they smoke houses:













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## smokinsuds (Nov 5, 2014)

Yes I know that burner very well. I almost got it then though go bigger! The one I ordered has needle valves on both burners but I bought a hose with a 10-30 psi regulator built into it. So that way I could leave the 2 wide open and regulate without having to open the door up. And to thesmokist, this one wasn't supposed to be this big, but ya start building and it happens... I was going to start with just 3 racks and this is what happened












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## daveomak (Nov 5, 2014)

SmokinSuds said:


> Dave, nice to hear from ya. Man I dont wanna go cutting away on my progress now. I saw you had posted somewhere else this advice and to put the stack out the back if that was what route you were taking.I did make the gabled roof detachable though (boxed in) so it wouldnt be that hard to change. Other than the cost of that dang cedar needing replaced that I cut out. The material I used is a 9 inch lap sideing which has a 1 1/2 inch x 3/8 inch gap at each overlap. So there'd be 16 of those openings. Would that be enough you think? I was just going to cut in little spacers to fill em and keep the bugs out. Heres a close up of the gaps im talking about
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> ...




Those gaps "should" be enough...   along with the gaps in the lap siding...  Fire it up and see what happens...  If you have smoke coming out of everywhere, that's the way our forefathers built smokers...    

I have a very similar 2 burner stove...  it should work nicely...     Don't seal up the lower door...  you will need a fair amount of make up air for combustion...  you might consider some screened holes in the floor near the stove for make up air...  If the flame goes out, and the smoker fills with propane, that would be on massive BLEVE...  probably level your house and a few of the neighbors houses...

Once you get the smokehouse "conditioned", the smoke residue "should" keep the critters away...


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## smokinsuds (Nov 5, 2014)

Well fortunately for the neighbors, we have 5 acre parcels so if that were to happen, I'd be the only homeless guy in the area. Haha well damn, im gonna have to go buy another 10 foot piece of material. Thanks for the advice DaveOmak. The door is pretty much sealed tight so I'm going to go with the hole idea. How many and how big you think?


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## daveomak (Nov 5, 2014)

I'd do with 6 or so 1" holes spread out....  you don't want a single air stream...  you want a gentle 'flow' of air  ....    AND....  Under the stove, I would put a non flammable base....  raise it up from the floor about 1/2" or so... as an air gap....  continuous heat from the stove could catch the floor on fire...   a friend laid a piece of cement board directly on the wooden floor of his smoker and the floor charred under the cement board....  Air gaps do wonders to stop heat conduction....


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## smokinsuds (Dec 1, 2014)

Alright so I ended up going with a nice cast iron floor register for air intake and kept the exhaust in the ceiling for now (if I need to bolt a catch pan on the bottom side of the exhaust pipe, I will do and thanks dave for the advice there) Haven't had much time to work on the smoker, between work and the MRS. Expecting our first child Jan 20th so I had to spend my last few weekends doing carpet, painting, trim, hauling furniture, etc (nursery for baby girl) BUT I finally got her wrapped up and ready for smokin'! Well I need a hand taking the top off so I can get her outta the garage so it will be officially ready tomorrow... Drum roll please












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## thesmokist (Dec 1, 2014)

Damn fine job boss. The exhaust cover gives it a nice touch!


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## aeroforce100 (Dec 1, 2014)

Great looking smokehouse, let us know how she does!


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## daveomak (Dec 1, 2014)

_*NICE !!!!!*_


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## smokinsuds (Dec 1, 2014)

She's up n smokin' letting her cure up n runnin a lil smoke through her gills...headed to the store to get all the ingredients for my double duty brine and be makin the first batch of smoked coho/king 













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26° out and holding 250 no problem at a medium flame... hopefully I can dial her in to around 145-150 for the salmon. Figure run it up to 100 while putting smoke to her for a few hours then crank her up for the final cookin. Just wanna say thanks for everybodies ideas and input on finishing this thing. Hopefully she'll be smokin for many years to come. If anybodies interested, I used olympic elite mountain cedar stain to give it the rustic dark look and protect the color from fading. Will post some pics of the first run of salmon.


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## wolfman1955 (Dec 2, 2014)

.LOOKING GOOD! A JOB WELL DONE!
Keep Smokin!!!
Wolf


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## azbohunter (Dec 2, 2014)

Wow, I am impressed! That is a project to be proud of for sure. Would be a nice addition to any back yard! Mine for sure...
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






If your salmon comes out as good as your build you will be a star!


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## smokinsuds (Dec 2, 2014)

Hey thanks bud. This same recipe in my old little chief did wonders so we will see. Kinda rushing it as I go back to work in the am, so brining time is getting cut back a little but it should still be good. Its a teryaki, brown sugar based recipe. I use it on my jerkeys mainly but turned out phenomenal on salmon as well. Will post pics later today of the outcome.


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## smokinsuds (Dec 2, 2014)

Back yard got a little nicer ;) almost too pretty to put outside












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## smokinsuds (Dec 4, 2014)

First batch came out pretty damned tasty I must say. Had some issues with my regulator freezing up but with a little redneck engineering, I got her workin perfectly.












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## dirtsailor2003 (Dec 4, 2014)

Tasty looking Fish! Nice smoke! I've never had a regulator freeze up, even when smoking in 20° weather.


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## azbohunter (Dec 4, 2014)

Wow, your fish looks perfect! I am really impressed with your build. Looks awesome in every aspect!

I am thinking our salmon recipes may be similar!


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## smokinsuds (Dec 4, 2014)

Well the night prior I did a test run and had no issues and it was 24° out. Filled up the tank and had problems but it was warmer outside 30°. So idk what the issue was


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## azbohunter (Dec 4, 2014)

Not sure but could it be high humidity? With both burners going on that heater you are pulling a lot of propane through the regulator. I have had frost form on my tank a time or two while camping and running the BBQ on high! Not sure that has any thing at all to do with your issue though?


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## smokinsuds (Dec 4, 2014)

Im guessing it was just condensate from getting the tank filled up and leaving the hose out in the elements disconnected for the hour or so that I was gone because like I said, had no issues the night prior. Eventually, I hope to swap over to electric just for health and safety concerns but I was impressed with how fast the propane heat got it up to temp with such a small flame. Used less than a quarter tank of fuel for a 6 hour smoke.


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