Building a smoker out of a fridge

[Combat Chuck]

I forgot to add:
Cruisercrap.com's LC bottle opener under the latch.

 

[bigndn]

You can tell the professional smoker from the rest of us by the cool crusty look of his rig..A buddy of mine in Red Lodge, Mt has one that looks just like this..
I have sampled from both and they have it down to an art....

Chuck, please post up on your build, I've been wanting to do the same thing for some time.

LOL, thanks for the compliments!!!

 

[Combat Chuck]

That's right, Bigndn, I never did get around to saying:
Your rig looks awesome, like it means business!
If I've ever up north, fraternizing with the Idahooligans, I'll definitely look you up!

 

[Combat Chuck]

Chuck, please post up on your build, I've been wanting to do the same thing for some time.

Okee Doke.

Tore the fridge completely down today. I forgot to take progress pics, or a "before" shot, however, here's a shot of one of the same model:

 

[Combat Chuck]

This thing is built, that's all I can say. When old codgers talk about "The America That Was" This is the piece of machinery they thought about. The outer skin is 18 gauge galvanized steel with a ceramic white lining outside. The inner compartment is 16 gauge that also ceramic'd Insulating these shells is four-inch deep spun-glass insulation with composite wood ribs in the back.

I will bet that the way this beast is built it's 200% more efficient at maintaining a cold temp than a modern fridge. It's beefy, highly insulated, and just thought out so not only the main compartment is chilled, but also the insulation has its own chilling lines. Why the heck did International Harvester ditch their appliances line?

There were five pieces of plastic on this thing. five total, all of them superficial, and easily removable.

I got both shells separated, and the plastic removed. I also removed some particle-board bits that sealed off the lips of the shells. I've saved them so I can have replacements cut from 18 gauge. I've also decided that this thing is going to be very overbuilt when I'm done:
the two ribs in back will be replaced with square tube, and similar pieces will be used to buttress the sides where the rackmounts will set.
The chimney will be 2" steel pipe.
Racks will be restaurant cooling racks, since the stockers were aluminum, and had freon tubes built in.
Looking like the char-griller firebox will be the easiest part.


Finally, I have a 1-month deadline on this baby. The agreement I had with my parents before it came along was: "no more crackpot projects" well...

I have no self-control

That said the agreement is, I build a working smoker, or a provable concept in a month, or it's gone. That's just enough time to spread the damage out over two pay checks. When it's done, I'm gonna whip up some ribs, or a butt, feed it to my family, and then walk Dad out to the smoker and laugh.

anyway, pictures:
1. The stripped out outer shell with the inner placed across it
2. a closer look of the inner
3. the back side of the door sans panel

 

[Combat Chuck]

The orange lines were my doing. I traced where the original ribs once hid.
1. wood scraps for templates. Later for use in the wood stove.
2. it's so fluffy! and itchy... I labeled all the pieces. R = right, L = left, F = floor, B= bottom, M = middle, T = top, C = ceiling.
3. For scale, that's a full-sized hand-truck. I could fit maybe five in the compartment. This thing is HUGE!
It's also worth mentioning that it looks like the cooling tubes are still on the inside of the shell, but they aren't, I spent an hour breaking spot-welds with my Kleins and screwdriver.

Edit: I also noticed that in the top pic I managed to get a plug for one shameless addiction inside a project relating to another. Anybody want to guess what?

 

[Combat Chuck]

Casualties, the racks. They won't work for this application. A shame, but, you play the hand you're dealt.

 

[NorCalBorn]

Nice project. I should get a pic of our really simple 55-gal smoker. Took a spare top for putting it about 1/3rd up inside from the bottom, tree's and racks go on the inside, with the screw down style top to keep everything in. Cutout flaps at top and bottom for air and smoke management..holds 200 to 250 degrees at it's hottest and slow cures around 150.

Done a turkey, chickens, sides of beef, etc in the thing..dangit, now I need to go back to the foothills to make me some, thanks Sam.

Oh yeah, almost forgot, try out some nicely sized trout too first chance you get, that and catfish done right is some unreal flavor.

 

[Combat Chuck]

cool! Thanks man!

I love fresh-caught smoked trout, nothing like it at all!

 

[Trollhole]

Maybe put one of those racks back in at the top cut some holes in the tubing and rig a pump to spray mop on your meat.

 

[beaufort-fj60]

bigged.. I'm not a fireman or whatever... but isn't it dangerous to put your gas flamed smoker a few inches from your gas meter? Your pressure reducing valve is pointing at it..

 

[bigndn]

bigged.. I'm not a fireman or whatever... but isn't it dangerous to put your gas flamed smoker a few inches from your gas meter? You pressure reducing valve is pointing at it..

I would imagine that's not the best location for it while in use. However, we just moved into our new teepee and it's in a temporary location while we unpack.

 

[Combat Chuck]

Maybe put one of those racks back in at the top cut some holes in the tubing and rig a pump to spray mop on your meat.

that's actually a really cool idea, I'll see if I can.

I really want this to be "off the grid" with no electricity or gas requirements, so I'd have to develop a hand pump

 

[Combat Chuck]

Spent much of project time today shopping.
I had the large structural elements cut at the local metals-specific hardware shop, and collected two large sheets of aluminum and some beefy casters from the scrapyard, and also ran into a guy at the scrapyard who's two weeks into ownership of an '84 Mini. He became very interested when I figured the year model off the top of my head (Solid axle was the big give away), and I recommended he pay Larry at Yodaman a visit if he needed a shop.
I love mingling my hobbies!

So I got home, and got the inside of the door skinned. I chose sheet aluminum because it's cheap at the yard, and as long as I get it well seasoned with soot and fat, and don't let it touch the meat, it shouldn't cause me trouble. Ran out of time for today, but I hope to build the platform base, and get the body of the fridge bolted on tomorrow.

Pics:

1. Front of door. Notice the absence of a garage or shop? That's right, I'm hardcore, I do my work on the gravel!
2. Rear of door How many sheetmetal screws do you count?
3. Bits. Most of the structural elements, except for the side buttresses, those will have to wait until next paycheck, and those previously mentioned beefy wheels.

 

[splitshot]

Casualties, the racks. They won't work for this application. A shame, but, you play the hand you're dealt.

If you have round stock, torch and a welder, I figure these can be fabbed to fit also..

 

[Combat Chuck]

eh, I can't weld, and I really don't want aluminum in areas in direct contact with the food.

 

[Combat Chuck]

So I've come to the conclusion that in order to install a horizontal beam to reinforce exactly behind every rackmount, I'd end up investing in 16 feet of 1X3.5" 1/8 wall tube. About 300 bucks sourced locally. That's far more coin than I would like to spend on this, which leads me to pose the following question:

What if I doubled just up the rackmounts? My plan was angle iron bolted through the skin of the fridge, but if I doubled them up, so one angle reinforces the other, and each lip of angle would have a pair of carriage bolts through both shells, do you think that would provide enough durability by distributing the weight better across more of the metal "skin"?

I believe it may.

Of course, I'm sweating bullets over this decision, but when IH built the thing, they just mounted the hooks on with sheetmetal screws, but they weren't dealing with heat...

 

[beaufort-fj60]

it's a smoker... just bolt some metal to the side and plop a rack on it.... uglier the better.

 

[Combat Chuck]

it's a smoker... just bolt some metal to the side and plop a rack on it.... uglier the better.

I think I may just do that.

 

[bigndn]

So I've come to the conclusion that in order to install a horizontal beam to reinforce exactly behind every rackmount, I'd end up investing in 16 feet of 1X3.5" 1/8 wall tube. About 300 bucks sourced locally. That's far more coin than I would like to spend on this, which leads me to pose the following question:

What if I doubled just up the rackmounts? My plan was angle iron bolted through the skin of the fridge, but if I doubled them up, so one angle reinforces the other, and each lip of angle would have a pair of carriage bolts through both shells, do you think that would provide enough durability by distributing the weight better across more of the metal "skin"?

I believe it may.

Of course, I'm sweating bullets over this decision, but when IH built the thing, they just mounted the hooks on with sheetmetal screws, but they weren't dealing with heat...

Mine has nothing but the factory posts sticking out of the interior. Did I ever mention that the top and bottom rack are fixed, the two middle ones are removeable? Why so much re-inforcement? Are you planning on smoking a whole pig at once or something?

it's a smoker... just bolt some metal to the side and plop a rack on it.... uglier the better.

Exactly, it'll be all seasoned nicely soon!