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Cold Smoke Generator

TrickyDick

By TrickyDick
in Kitchen Consumer

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rotuts

rotuts

Posted
Posted (edited)

I use pellets in a smoke 'tube' on my weber.  they come in all sorts of wood

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=wood+pellets+for+smoking&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

 

I have a number of BBQ'rs

 

once you settle on a 'flavor of choice'  they then become much cheaper

 

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=wood+pellets+for+smoking&tag=googhydr-20&index=lawngarden&hvadid=64317782599&hvpos=1t2&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=4824986521791617896&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=e&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_2zeyntzvbf_e

 

i have this 'smoker-tube'  its very heavy duty, but $ 20

 

 

I used to use aluminum foil  which worked or a couple of aluminum disposable pie plates

 

they both work  well

 

I had a 'moment' of weakness when I got that $ 20 tube, but don't regret it now.

Edited by rotuts (log)
  • Like 2
TrickyDick

TrickyDick

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

That's pretty crazy stuff DARCH!

I am not quite sure how you can do this indoors though. Seems it must recirculate the smoke? Hard to get a grip on how everything is plumbed. I have too many projects going at the moment, but if I ever decide I need to to this I'll know who to ask.

What kinds of food do you make in that, and do you have any photos you'd care to share?

TD

radtek

radtek

Posted
Posted

Looks like the aquarium pump is a key improvement. I'll incorporate this and modify my existing setup- I've got a quart-sized can that ought to work quite well for a new generator.

 

Thanks!

TrickyDick

TrickyDick

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

Ok so the last set of pics, let me get this straight....

 

 

Tin can drilled with soldering iron poked through.

hose barb drilled and fixed into Bottom of tin can?

filter or lid from cocktail shaker between bottom of can hose input and pellets/chips/wood/sawdust where the soldering iron rests?

Aquarium pump blows air in from below and through the screen/filter and then through the output up top (stove pipe) and into smoking chamber?

 

Looks like a valve on the air pump output?  how well does it regulate output?

 

Thanks!!

Had an idea today for a quick way to use my pellet grill as a cold smoker...

 

I have a pellet grill at home.  I am thinking about taking a steel or aluminum frame the size of a grill grate which slides into various side rails at different heights above the primary grill grate.  I would use the upper most rails.  Then I would fabricate on the two sides of the frame, such that when it is inside the grill in the top position, that there are short ledges on right and left edges within the empty frame.

Then I would find an appropriate 3/16" thick angle steel stock about 1/4" - 3/16" wide on each side (solid) to serve as metal smokesticks.  Then I would tack weld some "c" shaped metal pieces onto the ledges at regular intervals along each of the side ledges to keep the smokesticks from sliding back and forth.  On those "smokesticks" I would hang the sausage links I wanted to smoke.

 

Once in position, I would take a piece of perforated or expanded metal cut to fit and lay down on top.  On this I could place some dry ice perhaps to chill down the chamber (I live in FL and it is usually 80-90 degrees.  This might not be a strict requirement however, but might necessitate curing the meat first.

 

Next, through a side hole in the grill meant for a meat probe, I could place a small caliber copper or stainless rigid pipe mated to the output of a tin-can cold smoker.  I'd probably

 

So this is my next project...

 

TD

dcarch

dcarch

Posted
Posted

That's pretty crazy stuff DARCH!

I am not quite sure how you can do this indoors though. Seems it must recirculate the smoke? Hard to get a grip on how everything is plumbed. I have too many projects going at the moment, but if I ever decide I need to to this I'll know who to ask.

What kinds of food do you make in that, and do you have any photos you'd care to share?

TD

 

My first post you will see a black tube on the top, It blows the smoke out the house thru a hole in the wall.

 

In addition to hot smoking all kinds of meat, I can cold smoke salmon and cheese on the hottest day in the summer. Rain, snow, hot, cold, nothing stops me from smoking.

 

dcarch

dcarch

dcarch

Posted
Posted

I'd like to see an interior pic of the hot/cold smoker. 

 

Please.

 

Actually, it looks about the same as Chris Hennes' " Curing Chamber Development" refrigerator. About the same size. Kind of empty inside, except mine also has this humidifier when I need to increase moisture:

 

 

dcarch

radtek

radtek

Posted
Posted

Dcarch I looked at the pic of Chris' fridge. The interior has the original lining. Assuming that yours does as well? I know certain types of plastic such as HDPE can handle high temps but this does seem worrisome concerning the upper ranges. 

 

To me its about preservation as opposed to cooking- "hot-smoking" is done at 150-165F and a "cold-smoke" is 50'ish and below. Well within the limits of a fridge's interior hopefully.

 

What's the maximum temps used with this particular unit?

dcarch

dcarch

Posted
Posted

Dcarch I looked at the pic of Chris' fridge. The interior has the original lining. Assuming that yours does as well? I know certain types of plastic such as HDPE can handle high temps but this does seem worrisome concerning the upper ranges. 

 

To me its about preservation as opposed to cooking- "hot-smoking" is done at 150-165F and a "cold-smoke" is 50'ish and below. Well within the limits of a fridge's interior hopefully.

 

What's the maximum temps used with this particular unit?

 

To make sure that everything would be OK, I poured boiling water into the refrigerator and let it sit for hours. Nothing happened.

 

For hot smoking, I don't need "the smoke ring" and "burnt ends", I don't want "bark" either, just meat at the most juicy temperature. It's like sous vide by moving hot smoky air, controlled by a PID controller. There is really no need to go over 160F. I do grill the meat after smoking, sometimes.

 

Something nice about smoking a pork butt at "TBS" smoke at 145F for 24 hours indoors when it's snowing crazy outside.

 

dcarch

  • 2 weeks later...
TrickyDick

TrickyDick

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

So I bought a aquarium pump, and tubing, and have a small hose barb to install on the soup can. Really want to see the setup Willie has going on when he replaces the can(s).

dcarch

dcarch

Posted
Posted

And my second soldering iron is dead... Why? One was relatively new, the other 30 years old

Get a router speed control, or a dimmer (high enough wattage) to plug your soldering iron in. You can lower the voltage slightly.

 

dcarch

TrickyDick

TrickyDick

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

Ok thanks! I think I have a ceiling fan speed control. Would that work? Seems that aquarium pump idea might make the pellets burn faster?? Was reading on another forum that you want only a small amount of air to permit combustion but not too much?? I like the charcoal idea too.

Thanks!

dcarch

dcarch

Posted
Posted

Dcarch, what is the source of the smoke?  

 

In my post #14, you will see a 4" dia. stainless tube, that is the burner of the system. The system works is explained in post #24. It burns pellets and chips. 

 

I am very pleased with the operation of the system.

 

dcarch

dcarch

dcarch

Posted
Posted

Ok thanks! I think I have a ceiling fan speed control. Would that work? Seems that aquarium pump idea might make the pellets burn faster?? Was reading on another forum that you want only a small amount of air to permit combustion but not too much?? I like the charcoal idea too.

Thanks!

 

I am not sure a fan speed controller can work for a soldering iron. While the wattage is about the same for a fan motor and a soldering iron, the fan control is for inductive load, and the soldering iron is a resistive load. 

 

You can, however, us a motor speed controller for a universal type of motor or DC motor, such as a router. a light dimmer can work also.

 

If you have an air pump, there will be no need for the soldering iron. you can light up the pellets or wood chips with a torch, the air pump will keep the amber going nonstop.

 

In my system, it takes a few seconds to light up the smoker, and it can keep going unattended for more than 24 hours. 

 

dcarch

  • Like 1
dcarch

dcarch

Posted
Posted

OK, thanks. I wondered because the smoke looked white like steam, rather than blue smoke, and appeared to be falling rather than rising. Is that standard for pellets?  Were the chips or pellets wet?  

In my video in post #24, that is a model to test out the various controls and to find out proper size for all components. The final stainless steel generator, with adjustable air supply, and air output, the quality and quantity of smoke is completely controllable from a blast of high density smoke to ultra thin smoke.

 

If I'm not mistaken that falling steam was the ultrasonic humidifier at work.

Indeed, in my video #35, that is my ultrasonic humidifier in operation.

 

dcarch

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