cold smoker design with proQ cold smoke generator and old fr

sambal badjak · Post by **sambal badjak** » Fri Jul 19, 2013 14:04

Hi All,
I am pretty new at all this. I have done some warm smoking with a stove top smoker, but never any cold smoking.
I have just ordered a proQ cold smoke generator and it should be here early August.
I a, thinking in placing the proQ inside a fridge. I have an old one with a glass door (so I can see what happens) and it has no more gas or anything inside the cooling system, so it should be fairly safe.
Would this work?
And would I need to make air vents in/near the bottom of the fridge to regulate the air intake? Do I need air outlets as well?
I have been reading a lot of interesting designs, but not all of them suitable for me.
Another consideration is that I live in a very hot climate and I need to cool the whole thing down (except during winter nights), and I saw someone using frozen water bottles in their set-up, which seems like a great idea to me

Any hints/tips/other things I should look out for?

And another question: when cold smoking: what is be the easiest thing to start of with? Least likely to be messed up by me

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Fri Jul 19, 2013 15:16

You will need air flow. Therefore air in and air out or smoke in and smoke out. I think that you should consider the most affordable for cold smoking until you are comfortable with your method. I find that bacon is very tolerant of smoking conditions. I am presently drying some chilis and in the sun the temperature inside my smoker exceeds 50°C . That temperature would exclude cold smoking fish.

crustyo44 · Post by **crustyo44** » Fri Jul 19, 2013 20:51

Hi Sambal,
An old fridge would be great for cold smoking if you remove anything plastic from the inside.
Yours sound like a commercial type fridge which should be metal lined inside.
Where I live in Australia, cold smoking is near impossible in the summer unless you have a refrigerated set up. I only cold smoke in winter.
Have look at Snagman's posts, he built a cold smoker with a purpose built refrigeration unit cooling it on hot days.
This works very well and might give you some ideas.
All smokers need ventilation,with adjustable vents in the bottom and the top.
Smoke must only be delayed a short time otherwise you will finish up with sooty end results.
A Pro Q is great but you are still generating heat inside your smoker, especially where you live.
After a lot of trial and error I finally decided that a venturi style smoking attachment suited me the best for our hot climate. Just google it or see them working on You Tube. Easy to make as well.
Good Luck,
Jan.

sambal badjak · Post by **sambal badjak** » Sat Jul 20, 2013 07:40

Thanks guys,
I am resigned to the fact that i can only cold smoke in wintertime, but it is still winter, so I might just have one or two chances to experiment, after that:it will be warm smoking!

The fridge is an old drinks display fridge and the refrigerator unit is unrepairable, so I may as well drill some holes in it for ventilation. There is bit of a hick-up as the guy who was going to check if it was repairable apparently gave it away to someone else. Let's see how that all pans out.

Alternatively, I will use my fake weber braai, maybe make it a bit higher by placing roofing sheet around it, and use that formy first trials. Or maybe that card board box idea.
Still keen on my fridge though and can't wait to start experimenting!

I will have look at the venturi style generators as well

By the way, we do have a fairly well equipped workshop here, so a bit of DIY is no problem.

LeonardHoff · Post by **LeonardHoff** » Thu Sep 12, 2013 12:18

I am also using it for the first time and I am also facing many difficulties in constructuin.

Chuckwagon · Post by **Chuckwagon** » Thu Sep 12, 2013 13:13

Hi Folks,
If you are COLD smoking, please, please, read Stan Marianski's safety instructions at this link:
http://www.meatsandsausages.com/meat-smoking
Also, you might wish to view: http://www.meatsandsausages.com/meat-sm ... ld-smoking
If you are confused about "hot" smoking issues, be sure to read: http://www.meatsandsausages.com/meat-sm ... ot-smoking
Be safe folks. Use sodium nitrite and good sense when you use a smoker. Clostridium Botulinum isn't frequently found although there is one other thing you should know about it... it is invariably fatal!

Don't let anyone tell you that sodium nitrite (in recommended amounts), is bad for you. They just don't know what they are talking about.

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

Chuckwagon · Post by **Chuckwagon** » Thu Sep 12, 2013 13:23

Sambal Badjak and LeonardHoff, you may like to review Stan's smokehouse plans at this link:
http://www.meatsandsausages.com/smokehouse-plans
When the page comes up, place your cursor over the red outlined letters at the top right, reading "Smoke Houses". It will give you a choice of many more topics.

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

sambal badjak · Post by **sambal badjak** » Fri Sep 13, 2013 09:02

Hey guys,
I changed my design radically and it is now a drum smoker, loosely based on Marianski design for a metal sheet smoker. Definitely not light weight though!
I am not sure if I posted a picture yet, but I will put one at the bottom of this post anyway

@chuck:
I appreciate your concers, but, don't worry, I am realising the dangers of botulism and am using sodium nitrite because of it. Sometimes I think it is easier to hot smoke (over 75 oC), but I like the taste of cold smoked

As a top I use the lid of a webber braai.