Cold smoker dust pan

[DangerDan]

No... not that kind of dust pan...

The mind wanders.... As I sit and toil with the wonders of bridge building my mind constantly seems to be on other things.

As usual my contemplations are of the smoking variety. Heres what I've come up with. I'll fabricate a small hopper say 8"x8" using 16ga. sheet metal and at the bottom of the hopper have an opening of say 2x2" and mount it to a cookie sheet. I'll fill this hopper with saw dust or pellets and at the bottom where the pellets dribble down I'll affix a heating element for a water heater that will attach to a bracket tack welded to the pan and be held directly under the dribblin part. Sounds pretty simple eh? As the pellets burn and give way to ashes more pellets will fall to make more smoke... Theoretically anyways. I'll wire this element to a suitable rheostat and create a simple cold smoking pan for my ole geezer freezer.

Problem solved! Now that wasn't so hard was it.

[Kingudaroad]

Or you could just put a pan on an electric hotplate.

[DangerDan]

No..... Thats too simple man. True smoking is much more complicated.

[DDave]

Or you could just put a pan on an electric hotplate.

Not if he's truly an engineer, he can't.

No..... Thats too simple man.

Told ya!!

Just kidding, Dan.

But wouldn't you need something at the bottom of the chute to keep the fuel from bridging or to control the rate of "dribbling"?

Dave

[DangerDan]

But wouldn't you need something at the bottom of the chute to keep the fuel from bridging or to control the rate of "dribbling"?

First, I'm NOT an engineer! I work for a living!

Once the pellets dribble to the top of the pile or bottom of the hopper the dribblin stops until more room is available. Much like the flux delivery for a sub arc welder? hard to explain

Maybe large a collindar full of sawdust. The reason I can't use a burner is because it will give off too much heat. This smoker has to maintain a temp under 90*F.

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/items/2E046?Pid=search

This is the element I'm considering. Back a while I had a fridge smoker that smoked perfect with of all things, a tool tray from an old toolbox as a dust pan. I'd just get a couple coals started and dump a pile of sawdust on top. It would just smoke away for 10 hours or so nice & cool.

Thing is, I have some dead weight in the garage.





I was going to use this for a curing chamber but I have a unit much larger and more suitable for what I'm doing. Hence, my ongoing project. I'm just really apprehensive about cutting any holes in it. Alas, either it gets working or it has to go! My only other alternative is a smoke shack and I'm far too busy to get into that this year.

Funny, I've cut plenty of holes in my boat....

[Walking Dude]

do what king said using this method..........

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/coldsmoker.html

it can be coverted to fit what ever setup you choose!

[DangerDan]

Thats more like what I'm considering cept a little more permanent.

[Walking Dude]

Thats more like what I'm considering cept a little more permanent.

after the first of the year, going to do summin LIKE this, but more permanent. like a sturdy box made of wood, with enuff varnish to protect from the weather.

[curious aardvark]

so the smouldering wood is in contact with the non-smouldering wood and it's just pressure on ash that lets more wood down ?
won't the wood in contact with the heating element ignite the wood in the hopper ?
That could be nasty.

[DangerDan]

won't the wood in contact with the heating element ignite the wood in the hopper ?

With a proper rheostat no more than a pan of dust as in the pic posted.

Nevertheless, I think I'm leaning toward the inevetable.