Anyone build a smoker out of a old fridge?

[mrklean]

wondering if anyone built a smoker out of a old fridge and maybe had some pics?

[updecreek]

Lame duck cooked best makes good jerky

[updecreek]

Guess the subject says it all, but I got an old fridge of dads that died, actually didn't really die, just started shooting fire out of the motor. it is about 50 years old and in superb shape. I'm wondering what I might need to do to make it into a smoker. I have an electric smoker, but have always wanted to make one out of a fridge. it is a smaller fridge, about 4 feet tall with the motor on the bottom, so I would think it would be easy, but I've never done it before. Any help appreciated.

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#594747 - 07/21/05 08:19 AM Re: Anyone know how to make a smoker out of an old fridge??? [Re: Ryan_V]

JEV

HSOList.com Family

Registered: 01/20/04

Posts: 192

Loc: Greenbush, MN, USA

I made a smoker out of an old fridge a few years back. What I did was I gutted the fridge completely out removing all the old racking and the such. The door had a plastic lining so I removed that. I cut a round hole in the side near the top and attached a piece of chimney pipe with a damper. I also cut a hole in the bottom of the door and made a cover for that so I could control air flow. For a burner I used an old propane burner that I had laying around. I rigged the burner so that it was under a steel plate that I could rest my woodchips on. It has worked pretty well. It took a few tries to get the proper combination of heat and air to regulate the temp inside the smoker. All in all, I've been happy with the results....

JEV

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#594748 - 07/21/05 04:44 PM Re: Anyone know how to make a smoker out of an old fridge??? [Re: JEV]

huntingislife

Sr HotSpotOutdoors.com Family

Registered: 01/27/05

Posts: 713

Loc: Oak Grove, MN

My dad made one just like that but he also lined the inside with plywood. It helps keep the smoke flavor after the smoker gets "seasoned".

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#594749 - 07/22/05 10:17 AM Re: Anyone know how to make a smoker out of an old fridge??? [Re: huntingislife]

ice_shack

Sr IceLeaders.com Family

Registered: 12/31/01

Posts: 245

Loc: Hastings, MN

Perfect! about the only thing I would add is a thermometer that you can read without opening the door.

Propane is great because you can control the temp and keep it steady even in the winter. Electric heaters can't keep up as well when it's below zero outside. Charcoal you can't keep the heat constant and your always messing with it.

Edited by ice_shack (07/22/05 10:18 AM)

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#594750 - 07/22/05 10:53 AM Re: Anyone know how to make a smoker out of an old fridge??? [Re: ice_shack]

SilverLakeBoy

HSOShow.com Family

Registered: 06/17/03

Posts: 156

Loc: Silver Lake, MN

If you are going to be making any kind of sausages or hot dogs you may want to install an internal fan of some sort. It eliminates hot spots and helps dry out the casings before you put smoke to them.

I used a motor from an old oven hood vent, just exteded the shaft and ran it through the top of the smoker so just the blade is spinning inside the smoker then I built a little box on the outside to cover the motor from the elements and installed a two speed switch for high or low settings.

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#594751 - 07/22/05 01:36 PM Re: Anyone know how to make a smoker out of an old fridge??? [Re: Ryan_V]

Norsk Fisker

HSOShow.com Family

Registered: 03/05/03

Posts: 171

Loc: Hinckley, MN, USA

Mine is an old one, steel lined fridge. We used an old electric fry pan (cast), removed the handle and thermostat, and wired it direct. To control the heat we stripped a thermostat out of an old electric oven and wired in the fry pan. For added assurance, there is a light bulb wired into the cuircit to indicate when the burner cycles on and off. A piece of 3/4 inch steel conduit serves as the top vent. It is fastened through the back of the fridge near the top of the unit. A drain hole was drilled in the bottom to drain off excess water. We used an oven thermometer to verify the temp. (on and off cycles) at various settings on the stat. The original racks work well to hold the meat. Put some wood chips in the frypan, plug the unit in and you're smokin'.

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#594752 - 07/24/05 08:18 AM Re: Anyone know how to make a smoker out of an old fridge??? [Re: Ryan_V]

jonny_redhorse

Sr HSOList.com Family

Registered: 04/30/04

Posts: 2202

Loc: Hibbing MN USA

fridges work great but I've always been a little apprehensive about using em since a few years back I remember a situation where a kid crawled in one,the door shut behind him(playing hide and seek) and the little kid suffocated..that was the older kind that had an actual "latch" rather then the next generation "magnetic" door latch which is certainly safer and can be opened from the inside ....if a guy has no little kids around I guess the older fridge would be no problem....just a "heads up" and a thought to avoid a possible negative situation........johnny

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[mrklean]

Thanks but i saw that wanted to see if anyone had pics of there build or anything

[updecreek]

g o o g l e i m a g e fridge sm ok er

[atvlaska]

old "all metal inside" fridges work.

[mrklean]

I know that's what I'm gonna use

[mnorth]

This maybe a start..

http://www.theingredientstore.com/foodpreservation/refrig_smoker.htm

[mnorth]

Another source with pics..

http://www.smoked-meat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3970

[Fisherman For a Lifetime]

Yep, we sure did! Works great with 2 burners in the bottom. Put in a tray of moist wood of your type and you're good to go. Make sure you wire the door shut to keep kids from accidentally being trapped inside.

I got a mid 50's GE Fridge waiting to convert, but it won't stop working!!!

[PurpleFloyd]

When I bought the old grocery store in town after they shut the doors, they had a smoker in there that was made out of an old refrigerator. They basically had a natural gas burner on the bottom with a tray over it that held the wood chips, there was a thermometer that read the temp inside the unit, and a chimney coming out of the top that vented outside.

I don't have pictures of it anymore to help that way but it doesn't need to be all that complicated to work. In fact one of the old timers that used to be in our hunting party made his smoke house out of an old out house (after obviously removing some things that may have impacted the aroma in a negative way). Point being you need heat to raise the temperature, whether that comes from electric, gas or even solar, you need it to be tight enough to retain the heat and the smoke, you need to vent it.

[delcecchi]

I remember the episode of good eats with alton brown where he made a smoker out of a big cardboard box. Smoked salmon as I recall.

Stuck a couple dowels through the box to hold the rack, put a hotplate in the bottom, cut some vents.

Google cardboard smoker for a bunch of hits.