MikeM

Went for a bit of cement board and fire cement. Let’s see how that goes

Hi. It’s been a while. I have been using my homemade offset smoker up to now with reasonable success. However the last time I used it I managed to scorch the timber base. I’m looking to cut away all remaining timber on the base and replace with maybe a cement/tile board with a 4” upstand around the 4 sides sealed with an intumescent mastic. Just wanted any thoughts before proceeding?

Hi. it’s been a long time but I have finally made some mods to the smoker. I have fitted two valves. 1 in the chimney and 1 off the back of the burner before it enters the smoke chamber. I have insulated the smoke chamber and made a removable insulated pad to wrap the exposed pipe. I also got a thermometer with 2 probes. 1 at a third height and another at 2 thirds. I tried it out with a few chunks of cherry wood but only reached temp of around 92•c. should I be using wood combined with charcoal to get up to what I assume needs to around 170•c to smoke/cook ribs, brisket etc?

Hi. I was going to bbq some wings and pork belly next weekend. I have made a smoker which Is preliminarily a cold smoker. Can I smoke the meat before or after bbq’ing? I was going to brine the meat then maybe cook in the oven, Transfer into the smoker for a couple of hours and finish on the bbq? Is this a recipe for disaster or is there any other way I can make use of the smoker? I have used it a couple of times with nuts and cheese and had reasonable results.

Brilliant. Lots of little bits to sort out. Thanks for your help. have a great weekend and I’ll post some updates.

Hi Wade. Thank you so much for your helpful comments. you are quite right I was using the tray to act as a drip tray and thought it would help disperse the smoke but will change that. Could I drill lots of holes into it or should I use the mesh? I take it anything but galvanised? Would you recommend a digital thermometer or would any do? with regards to the inline valve are you suggesting I fit that on the length of straight pipe coming from back of burner and a second on the chimney? I have also use a roof and gutter sealant on the chimney which afterwards thought I shouldn’t have. I have covered with tin foil but unsure of I should try and remove.

How could I set up the burner separate for hot smoking? with regards to the exhaust could I get like a bean can lid or metal disc and put it in the chimney on a pin so I can pivot open/closed?

Hi Ice. thanks for your reply. Yes that was a typo. I think I was caught up in the romance of having a smoker but not putting much thought into what type or what I wanted to smoke. I think what I have built will only work for cold smoking. I have fired her up for the first time and think all went well. Only thing is maybe the smoke is not accumulating in the box for long enough so may have to modify. i will attach some pics and would appreciate any feedback good or bad.

Hi there. So I think I rushed in to building my first smoker. I had tried to research online but information is few and far between. I had just completed my smoker and was looking online to get started but after reading a couple of articles I have been slightly out off cold smoking meats so could be limited to nuts and cheese etc. I don’t think my smoker will reach temperatures to hot smoke.