i had posted this over on the barter board, and it was suggested i put it up here, so here it is , in case someone needs to know how to build a cheap and fairly simple smoker , out of an old fridge
supply list
old fridge,
3-4 old oven grates
bottom of old grill, or sheet of steel(24x24 in)
12-16 L brackets (depends on how many grates/racks you have)
4 3 inch hinges
enough bolts to hold L brackets & hinges
4 pieces of sheet metal , or wood for doors about 6 in x18 in
taking an old refrigerator, remove all plastic interiors, this actually works best if you can get hold of a REALLLY old fridge,one with only one compartment since you wont need the mechanisms , it doesnt matter if it works,
junkyard should have one for you
**
if you have several to choose from , you might want to try to find one with the freezer on the bottom , it works better for checking the coals but you do lose a bit of capacity for smoking , however, since you dont lose temp, by opening the door, it speeds up smoking a bit, and it does reduce flare ups
ok , as i said, remove the old inside,plastic and any of the insullation,(this is honestly the hardest part, but if you happen to have a teen male, they love this part) since youre not saving it , you just need the metal shell, you dont have to worry about much getting "ruined"
drill 5 1 inch holes in the bottom, on each side, left and right , looking at it screw a hinge , with a metal flap , for the door, over each section of holes,(actually i have used wood for these flap doors too, and that works ok, you may need to replace it after a few years though , and of course NEVER use treated wood !)
** to maintain temperature
purchase an oven temp gage, you will need this to know what to maintain your temp inside , should be about 3-5 bucks at wally world, if you want to get fancy, you can cut a hole in the door,about 3/4 of the way up and mount it there, depends on your skill.
drill 5 more holes on the very top of the smoker, or alternately along the top, on both sides ( i like this better, then if its windy, i can still use it )and install another set of doors over that
build a fire on the inside, this is where an old grill works best, or old cast iron pot, ,otherwise if you have a spare sheet of steel lay that on the floor of the fridge before burning this will help to maintian the frige walls,
using charcoal , and a goodly amount of starter fluid, build up a largish fire inside, this will take out the bits of insullation , and what not left behind from gutting it
after its cleaned out, scrub the inside with a wire brush
aand sweep out any junk left over
then build yet another fire inside
sweep and clean it out again
then it should be ready to use ,
save two or three of the metal grates , and heat them with it , unless you have old oven grates, in which case use them
to mount them to be removeable , use L brackets, and heat treated bolts
i usually put in 3 sets of brackets, one up near the top for hanging meats , and hams , one in the middle and one down low to use as a grill/quick smoker
you can put in 4 racks , or even 5 , but you need to remember the more racks you put in the less you have air movement, so you need to be carefull not to over fill the racks if you bend up the inside ends of the l brackets, it helps a bit to hold the grate in place, in case you have a large piece of meat that wants to roll, or is hard to get to stay centered on the rack
normally to smoke say a 6 lb pork roast , it takes about 2 1/2 hours on the low grill with interor temps maintained at 300-325 degrees
good luck , i have built 3 of these, and im just a little ol girl without much talent lol, actually it sounds a heck of a lot harder than it is ........
if you found a fridge, with about 10-15.00 bucks you can have a great smoker, ive even done bacon and hams in it . it takes some time and practice to get
used to regulating temps and what not in it ...
but its not too hard, and its a great outdoor smoker
with 4 or 5 racks in it , you can smoke about 30-40 lbs of meat, great for a family bbq....or when you butcher the family animal smoked goat is pretty good, by the way...
good luck !!
if you start this week , you will have one ready for hubby for daddys day
Beth
