Temporary Smokehouse Questions

[smokin218r]

Hi all. I have done some searching and digging and haven't really found an answer.
My hunting party and I have a bunch of venison to process.
Mostly going to be doing various sausages, GFB, and summer sausage.
I was thinking of a temporary smokehouse out of plywood.
4x4x8 Just hinging the plywood together vertical with a roof.
I could take it back apart and store when not in use.
Drilling holes in the bottom and top for intake and exhaust.
I have access to a bunch of ss rods to hang meat and fab a shelve for the gfb.
Thinking of using a turkey fryer burner with a heat shield and a cast iron pan for wood chunks.
I also have an 18" AMNTS I could use in there as well.
Do you think this will work??
Being in MN and about to be December, I don't know if the burner will keep up??
Will it be to hot??
We have smaller smokers, just want to be able to do a bunch at once.
Is it worth putting it together and test it out? Or am I wasting my time?
Thanks for any input!!

 

[smokin218r]

Any opinions this morning?

 

[tallbm]

I don't know if it will be effective but I like the idea. I'll let someone who smoker building experience chime in. I would just simply suggest to try and find a reference for how much heat or BTU will be needed to heat the volume of the space.

Here is a calculator to help you out:
http://www.calculator.net/btu-calculator.html

That's all I got, but I'll be watching :)

 

[smokin218r]

Thank you for the calculator!
I will probably put it together and see what kind of temps I can hold.

 

[ironhorse07]

Interesting idea. If just for sausages and lower heat stuff, you could probably screw some foil faced rigid insulation sheets to the OUTSIDE of the plywood to help hold the heat.

 

[smokin218r]

Interesting idea. If just for sausages and lower heat stuff, you could probably screw some foil faced rigid insulation sheets to the OUTSIDE of the plywood to help hold the heat.

Thanks for the input!
Might be something I'll have to try.

 

[smokin218r]

Well, it did the trick. Overall worked like I had planned except the weather.
I had a hard time getting it up above 150 after the sun was down. Temps in the 20s and teens with wind. If I asked the burner for more heat, the lp tank would start to freeze up. Some of the stuff I finished in the oven at 170. Was able to run 120-140 pretty well with perfect smoke adding one chunk of wood every hour or so. (Thanks Dave) Here are some pics.

Thanks!

 

[tallbm]

Man that is awesome, good job!

I guess you just run 2 burners in the future and you have that heat problem solved :)

 

[smokin218r]

Man that is awesome, good job!

I guess you just run 2 burners in the future and you have that heat problem solved :)

Thanks!!
Might try additional heat, and/or a little insulation as mentioned above.

 

[schwonkhead]

Im sorry I didn’t see this sooner. My friends and i made a smoker a few years back that was pretty much the same, I think the dimensions were about 3ft x 3ft x 7ft. We used a turkey fryer the first couple years and it worked great, even on a 20 or so degree February evening we were able to keep temps right around 200-225 with minimal babysitting, put out some excellent snack sticks and salami. After year 2 we noticed that the bottom rack support (made of 2x4) was starting to char pretty bad, so we began the search for another burner. Nothing else really measured up and when we decided to go back to the turkey fryer, after having the legs shortened, the damn thing didn’t work anymore. No it is just rotting away in my friends backyard.

Anyway, I’m wondering if maybe the burner on the fryer you used has a relatively low btu rating. Like stated above, you could run two of them, or you might be able to find one with a higher btu burner that can manage on its own. I would definitely go the single burner route, much easier to manage than 2.

 

[smokin218r]

Im sorry I didn’t see this sooner. My friends and i made a smoker a few years back that was pretty much the same, I think the dimensions were about 3ft x 3ft x 7ft. We used a turkey fryer the first couple years and it worked great, even on a 20 or so degree February evening we were able to keep temps right around 200-225 with minimal babysitting, put out some excellent snack sticks and salami. After year 2 we noticed that the bottom rack support (made of 2x4) was starting to char pretty bad, so we began the search for another burner. Nothing else really measured up and when we decided to go back to the turkey fryer, after having the legs shortened, the damn thing didn’t work anymore. No it is just rotting away in my friends backyard.

Anyway, I’m wondering if maybe the burner on the fryer you used has a relatively low btu rating. Like stated above, you could run two of them, or you might be able to find one with a higher btu burner that can manage on its own. I would definitely go the single burner route, much easier to manage than 2.

Thanks for the look and the input!
I want to try a little insulation on the outside of the box next time.
Not needing to really get above 180 and hopefully a little warmer outside,
might do the trick.