I just modified an old kettle I had for cold smoking. Still a tad high temperature, but I'm close. Any suggestions appreciated.

Here's the modification.

Thanks in advance.

Welcome to the forum, That's really . I have some questions for you. Where and how were you measuring the temps, at grate level or at the lid/dome? That hot plate setup being so far away should be very low in the heat dept and wonder if it might be very low once you put some cold meat in there. Was it in the sun and was it a hot day when testing? I know my WSM can get to over 150 sitting in the sun on a warm day. Anyway keep us posted on your progress.

I'm guessing you're getting too much direct heat from the hot plate into the grill. Check out this web page that Chris Allingham did for a cold smoker mod on a WSM and see if you can adapt some of it to your application. I think the long tubing allows the hotter air to cool a bit.

Bill

quote:

Originally posted by Bryan S:
Welcome to the forum, That's really . I have some questions for you. Where and how were you measuring the temps, at grate level or at the lid/dome? That hot plate setup being so far away should be very low in the heat dept and wonder if it might be very low once you put some cold meat in there. Was it in the sun and was it a hot day when testing? I know my WSM can get to over 150 sitting in the sun on a warm day. Anyway keep us posted on your progress.

Thanks Bryan, good to be here. Seems MUCH better than alt.food.barbecue. I measured dome temp close to the food surface using a dial type thermometer hanging into the dome vents. It was a warm day and no wind. About 80-deg outside. I suspect you might be right, I bet a little meat may absorb some heat and when it's out of the sun. The the dome temp may drop.

And, Bill - spot on. I believe in the wind free day, I was getting some heat simply rising from the hotplate into the kettle since the opening is pretty large. I'll take a look at the link, thanks. I didn't want to use any kind of offset heating with flex tube because I wanted to protect the hotplate in case it rained, but I'm just guessing what the link said. Again, I'll have to check it out.

Thanks for the feedback!

Dave, looking at your pic why not just cut a slit in the 6-1 can (love that, I'm a homemade pizza freak and those Toms rock) and make a damper so you can slide it in or out or get a top off another can attach it to some round stock drill 2 holes one on each side and make some marks for wide open 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 closed (like on a wood or coal stove) to regulate how much heat goes into the smoker. I'm guessing though with a 10 lb ham, a 12 lb turkey, some sausage, etc in there right out of the fridge you'll be switching the knob on the plate to high.
EDIT: Like one of these
Also, This is very important. Not sure if you know this or not, but Do not used galvanized anything on your smoker.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Bryan S,

Byan, checked out the link you sent to the WSM mod. Nice. The only problem I have with it, is the hotplate still burns the wood too fast to do a 24 hour burn without waking up in the middle of the night. E.g., Cookshacks (my friend has one) is a more confined enclosure and burns the wood efficiently for a LONG time. But, we're talking Webers here, Cookshacks are too frigging expensive for me.

The damper you mention is an excellent idea. I'll be thinking about your ideas and a way to fabricate one.

Also, I'm scared, why not galvanized?

quote:

Originally posted by dave_scarpetti:
Also, I'm scared, why not galvanized?

Dave, Bill sent you the link to the WSM mod.

Well if it gets too hot it gives off zinc oxide fumes which can cause flu like symptoms (metal fume fever) for several days. This is more of a welding thing but I don't mess with it in or around cookers and such. I know when I weld the stuff I'm very carefull as to not breath in any fumes.

"Typical “metal fume fever” begins about 4 hours after exposure, and full recovery occurs within 48 hours. The symptoms
include fever, chills, thirst, headache and nausea. All of these symptoms, pain and suffering, as well as lost work (and play)
time, can be avoided entirely by simply not inhaling the zinc oxide fumes. This can easily be done using any of the methods described later"

Not sure that anything we do in BBQ is going to get zinc/galvanized up to vaporization temp (1663°F), but just in terms of aesthetics, I don't think I'd use it in smoker fabrication, and I sure wouldn't let my meat touch it.

Edit: (That didn't come out quite right, did it?)

If you care to read all about it here's a good read for you. I know your not welding it but......... I just wouldn't use it around a high heat source cooking evironment, but that's just me. Welding Galvanized Steel

Significant things to consider. I might get a high temp thermocouple and place it at the hottest point I can find. I'm not entirely convinced it's not safe. Of course I could also simply replace it with the flexi-foil coil and eliminate the entire potential problem.