Cold Smoker Conversion

[Breakin"even]

I bought a Masterbuilt Sportsman Elite smoker last year and at the lowest setting
it allways got to hot. I don't remember wat temp. Thesalmon quickly had Albumin
using from the fillets and wher dried out when cooked to 140 deg. I think I should have invested in
a better smoker. I'm thinking of converting it into a cold smoker with a remote fire box. Way
back in the day my father had a hollowed out fridge and a fire box 10' away with great results.
I'm thinking of removing the propane burner and attaching a stove elbow to the bottom and
strait pipe to that for some cooling of the smoke. Hooking the pipe to some sort of fire box, with no real fire other than the propane burner and chips, I probably don't need a real fire box. Has anyone done this or
have any ideas for a cheap fire box. The other idea is seeing if I can get a smaller burner for the smoker.
I was looking on youtube and found this Guy, thats a cheap smoker.

 

[Rain City]

I use these.
https://www.amazon.com/MAZE-N-Pellet-Smoker-Smoking-Works/dp/B007ROPJ1M

 

[Breakin"even]

The pellets look easy, they show the basket or tube on a BBQ. I might look at
trying the BBQ for better heat control. That basket with holes probably smokes at lower temps. Thank's for the tip Rain City

 

[Rain City]

When I bought it 5 or 6 years ago they also sold sawdust for them. I bought 50 lbs and it works WAY better. Smokes like a cigar for 5 hours. I use two in my big dyna-glo

 

[ericl]

Cold smoking NEEDS to be done at around 70 degrees F. Use of fans for air circulation is common

 

[IronNoggin]

My over-sized Custom Smoker with it's Bradley Cold Smoke set-up:

While the pucks are a bit of a pain, this is as close to Plug & Play as you can get.

Cheers,
Nog

 

[Breakin"even]

That's a really awsome unit Nog. I can just imagine how well it works.
With all the hurting restaurants that are supposed to be going bankrupt there may
be stainless cabinets like that at auction for not too much in the future.

 

[Corey_lax]

That's a really awsome unit Nog. I can just imagine how well it works.
With all the hurting restaurants that are supposed to be going bankrupt there may
be stainless cabinets like that at auction for not too much in the future.

Find a broken dishwasher for free. All stainless inside and they seal up. Find two of them and pipe your smoke into them

 

[ericl]

My over-sized Custom Smoker with it's Bradley Cold Smoke set-up:

Nice set-up. My Bradley cold smoke kit would rarely get cold enough though, and the results were far (worse) from what a commercial outfit provides. The bigger box probably does the trick as temp will be lower; more air circulation.

 

[IronNoggin]

With all the hurting restaurants that are supposed to be going bankrupt there may
be stainless cabinets like that at auction for not too much in the future.

The original "box" was a hospital food warmer. This one from the late '60's.
3 inch thick heavy insulation all round sandwiched between real stainless sheets.
Best one I've ever converted.
And, you can still find the odd one of those boxes via government auction from time to time.

Nice set-up. My Bradley cold smoke kit would rarely get cold enough though, and the results were far (worse) from what a commercial outfit provides. The bigger box probably does the trick as temp will be lower; more air circulation.

Several things going in this one's favor:

First, I only cold smoke when it is cold outside (Jan / Feb) so ambient temperatures help keep the temp inside the smoker low.

Second, the pipe that transmits the smoke is quite flexible, and can be lengthened considerably (like four or five times what you see above). That helps cool the smoke, and if one decided to run it in somewhat warmer temps, the pipe can be surrounded by ice to further control temps downwards.

And Third of course what you noted. The area inside the box is large, providing for very good circulation with the dampers wide open.

Results are far better than any commercial outfit I have run into.

Cheers,
Nog

 

[ericl]

Results are far better than any commercial outfit I have run into.

Down here around Seattle the last good commercial outfit retired & the owner could not find a buyer who would agree to run the business like he did. Port Chatham no longer accepts fish for smoking & our yard doesn't have room for a proper smoker. My hope is my newest son-in-law who gas started hot smoking.

 

[CatchAll]

Masterbuilt has a cold smoker attachment for their electric smokers. It can use chips or pellets. It would be easy to adapt it to other smokers using flex pipe like Nog’s setup.

 

[Wild Bill]

Masterbuilt has a cold smoker attachment for their electric smokers. It can use chips or pellets. It would be easy to adapt it to other smokers using flex pipe like Nog’s setup.

I'm wondering if it has its own temperature control? I checked the website https://www.masterbuilt.com/collections/accessories/products/masterbuilt-slow-smoker-1
And not much information. It has its own element? Own temperature control or controlled by the smoker?
$69 us on website, $159 Cabellas. Must be the exchange rate lol. I was just going to do a cedar outhouse smoker and this might work perfect, or I might be enticed to just buy a Masterbuilt!

The user manual doesn't even show a power cord however you can see a switch. Can't see an element?
https://images.homedepot-static.com/catalog/pdfImages/19/19e799c6-a1ea-4c32-a032-6efb01bcafa6.pdf
Ok kinda looks like it has an unadjustable temperature control?

 

[Breakin"even]

Thank's for that Catchall, That look's like a great idea. Cabalas is allway more than other places.
I would pay that for a clean setup like that though. If you find a better price Wild Bill let me know
and I will do the same. Temp control/electric

 

[nicnat]

I made up my own extention for my bradley using about a 4 ft extention that can extend to about 8ft. using the accordian type ductiing. I haven't tried it out yet for a cold smoke, but had it on for about 6 hrs with a puck or 2 and could get the temp down to between 50 and 60 degrees. will try it soon on some fish. I sure miss the old Imperial smoke house on franklin, awesome lox from the sox and also big springs (they would do a double smoke and it was to die for).

 

[CatchAll]

The masterbuilt unit does not have a temperature control. It is just a small heat element under a hopper for the chips/pellets.

 

[Wild Bill]

The masterbuilt unit does not have a temperature control. It is just a small heat element under a hopper for the chips/pellets.

Probably uses a snap switch to cycle the element. Not easy to find real info on them and parts don't come up on the website with the model number I pulled off Amazon however they use snap switches or bi-metal switches for high limit on other smokers.