Anyone know how to make a smoker out of an old fridge???

[Ryan_V]

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.

[JEV]

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

[huntingislife]

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".

[ice_shack]

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.

[SilverLakeBoy]

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.

[Norsk Fisker]

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'.

[jonny_redhorse]

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