1950's Hotpoint Fridge Conversion

[Weekend Warrior]

Well here goes!!! I purchased a 1950's hotpoint frigde a few weeks back after scouring the internet for them. I got it for $500! Just kidding I paid $20 for it.

Alright here is what I have done so far and what my plans are. I have read a lot of forums regarding this process and haven taken a lot of different ideas which are now my own Please feel free to give pointers, recommendations, or just a hard time if you prefer regarding the fridge to smoker conversion.

This is my first one so I am not looking to do anything too crazy!

The Fridge...1950's Hotpoint Fridge. Looks almost exactly like the one aczeller is working on that he has posted... http://www.smoked-meat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11420

What has been done...
Removed compressor and wiring.
Removed plastic/particle board piece on the inner door.
Removed all plastic pieces.
Drilled 3 one inch holes in the side near the bottom for air flow. I am taking aluminum sheet metal and making tubes to cover the inner part of the holes. I figured it would work just as good as metal pipe. I will use magnets on the outside of the fridge to control air flow.
I drilled a whole in the bottom where the power cord will run down for the electric smoker converter I got for free from the girlfriend Gpa. I wish I could control it with a thermostat somehow, but it looks expensive to do something like that and I am trying to keep it simple!
Drilled a hole for my Big Kahuna Smoke Daddy! Liked this option better than others. This way I don't have to keep opening the door to put more wood in to smoke. Plus I can cold smoke this way too!
I took the interior piece of the door to a sheet metal place here in town to cut out the exact shape the interior piece was. Only cost me $25. 16 gauge steel.

What is left...
Put aluminum flashing to cover areas where plastic was around where the door met the fridge.
Cut a 4" hole for the smoke stack that I purchased. http://www.sausagemaker.com/41401sta...ithdamper.aspx
Put a new seal on the door. The ones at menards used for wood burning stoves. (That is what I was told to use)
Put in L brackets to hold racks.
Find racks for the smoker!
Seal it up with high temp silicone.
Fire it up and work on temp control.

I will post pics later of what it looks like currently.

[rpmorey]

Keep on it! Where are the pics??? We need pics!!! Maybe sketches?

[aczeller]

yep... we need pics. i love seeing construction pics in general, but especially of fridge conversions. maybe it's just me... something about them makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. lol

sounds like you are on a good track to get her done my man. great idea on sleeving the holes... you never know what those older fridges used for insulation. keeping the potential for insulation infiltration to a minimum is always good. if I were you, i would also use some firecaulk or high-temp RTV...

http://www.google.com/products/catal...d=0CE8Q8wIwAQ#

http://www.google.com/products/catal...d=0CE8Q8wIwAQ#

I have used both of those with great results. I would recommend the RTV for the smaller holes like screw holes and stud holes, and use the firecaulk for beads and seals around the holes you cut. if you see my stick burner thread, you can see where I used the firecaulk and where I used the RTV... the RTV is copper colored because it has copper in it for higher temp resistance, and the firecaulk is black.

another thing to keep in mind is that the RTV stays flexible, even at high temps. once the firecaulk cures, it is hard and brittle. think of thin, non-reinforced concrete.

Later,
Andy

[Richtee]

Yeah...the hi-temp silicone is more than enough temp-wise, and it's flexibility/adhesion characteristics make it a superior material for the application.

[aczeller]

oh yeah... if i could have found a caulk-gun-tube of it, rather than little tooth-paste tubes/rolls, i would have used it for everything. the stuff has the obvious consistency of being "gun-grade", and my fingers got cut one or two too many times trying to squeeze out the lest little bits. i just grabbed a tube of firecaulk from home depot and went to town... a lot quicker and since the patches won't be going anywhere, i do not have any worries about cracking or chipping.

Later,
Andy

[DangerDan]

You can also find racks at Menards or Home Depot. I believe thats where I got mine. I'm not big on watt burners although I have been known to use a hot plate once in a while. Not sure if you'll have enough air flow with only the 4 - 1" holes. Time will tell. Good price on the sheet metal. You'll have fun installing that. My advice is to start with only four screws and adjust the sheet so that the door closes. You'll see.

What high temps do you hope to achieve?

[Weekend Warrior]

You can also find racks at Menards or Home Depot. I believe thats where I got mine. I'm not big on watt burners although I have been known to use a hot plate once in a while. Not sure if you'll have enough air flow with only the 4 - 1" holes. Time will tell. Good price on the sheet metal. You'll have fun installing that. My advice is to start with only four screws and adjust the sheet so that the door closes. You'll see.

What high temps do you hope to achieve?

I saw the racks at Menards but they are pretty expensive. I am thinking I may just go to the scrap yard and pull some out of old ovens and clean them up. This is my first one so I am not trying to get too much money into it. Although I have a chapagne taste with a beer budget My next one I am going to have aczeller make me some. I still may for this one.

I am not looking to get any hotter than 225.

I am hoping the sheet metal won't be a big problem. I had it cut by them and it is the exact shape of the door insert. I am posting pics in a minute here so everyone can see!

[Weekend Warrior]

Pictures

Here are some pictures of the fridge and how far I am at this point.

[DangerDan]

While the shape of the cut (same as the door) won't be a problem, holding the corner to corner dimensions while installing the sheet may. My experience was that being off just a 1/16" or so either way and the door wouldn't close properly. I found securing the panel with a screw then adjusting the panel while closing the door seemed to give me an idea of where it needed to be set prior to driving in tek screws. This may not be a problem for you but it was on my build.

Yeah, those racks add up in price. The bad part is if your cooking a couple shoulders or briskies they have a tendency to flex a bit. I just doubled the racks

[aczeller]

i built mine out of round rod, and even they flex a bit. the ones i made for Smoke Freak will rust through, long before they bend, but they are also pretty heavy... i need to make some for my electric smoker... i have an idea for what will help keep them ridgid, but only time will tell.

Later,
Andy

[Weekend Warrior]

While the shape of the cut (same as the door) won't be a problem, holding the corner to corner dimensions while installing the sheet may. My experience was that being off just a 1/16" or so either way and the door wouldn't close properly. I found securing the panel with a screw then adjusting the panel while closing the door seemed to give me an idea of where it needed to be set prior to driving in tek screws. This may not be a problem for you but it was on my build.

Yeah, those racks add up in price. The bad part is if your cooking a couple shoulders or briskies they have a tendency to flex a bit. I just doubled the racks

Thanks for the feedback. I will be working on the door tonight. I will secure it with a screw first.

I guess I will start to worry about the racks once I get to them.

[Slanted88]

Man...I appreciate ya...can ya would ya get some better pics...This ol Cat Daddy can't squint tha good no mo! DDave can get ya goin...

[Weekend Warrior]

Man...I appreciate ya...can ya would ya get some better pics...This ol Cat Daddy can't squint tha good no mo! DDave can get ya goin...

How do I post bigger pics. It changed the size automatically when I uploaded the pics.

[aczeller]

Photobucket, Picasa... there are others too, but those are the ones I use. upload them to those websites, size them to something around 800x600 or so, and lin kthe images in. if need be, i can get a thread together on how to do it.

Later,
Andy

[Weekend Warrior]

bigger pictures

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Hope this helps the old eyes out there