Anyone built their own smoke house?

JTHOMP

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Has anyone here built their own smoke house? I probably won't get around to it until sometime next year, but I'd like to try to build one mainly for smoking sausage. A quick google search and there are plenty of plans for a DIY smoke house. Looking for advice on what you went with, why, what you like about it, or if you would have preferred something different.
 
I had a bro-in-law build one from an old fridge. He put it on a deck about 4ft high so that the stove (on the ground) smoke would enter through the bottom. He left all the plastic on the inside which I wouldn't have done. I don't he ever got it working the way he wanted but not surprised; that guy was a total idiot.
 
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Built this a few years back. Took a shipping container, framed the outside, insulated, paneled, ran electrical to it, cut in a window unit on the back, cut in vents on the bottoms, roof w smoke stack. On the inside I put in rails, dampers, lights, fans, n a dehumidifier. Wrks outstanding, holds temp n smoke real well; cold or hot.
 
Tried it with an old frig.,left plastic in...hauled it to the dump!Bought one from Sportsmans.:cool:
 
I've used old fridges, strip everything to metal, hole sawed openings top & bottom for air flow, got used electric fry pans from second hand stores. Make racks or hangers. Wood chips in the electric pans, and control air flow on the top. I like the magnetic seals on those fridges. Smoke a lot fish like this.
 
I built one out of wood for smoking sausage a few years back. I'll try and dig up some pics.

It is insulated with 1.5" pink foam board sandwiched in between the 1/2" plywood inside and the siding on the outside.

Heat comes from a gas turkey cooker. I put a large cast iron pan on top of the turkey cooker and add wood chunks to it for smoke.

I can fit 200 lbs of summer sausage in it at a time. Inside dimensions are about 33"x33"x60" tall.

It works absolutely fantastic for sausage and fish. I don't normally run it above 180-190 degrees, but did have it as high as 300 for a short time in testing. Being that it is made out of wood I wouldn't feel comfortable running it above 200 degrees.

It has literally had thousands of pounds of sausage smoked in it and hasn't missed a beat.
 
Found some pics. This is when it was new....it doesn't look so clean inside anymore!
 

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This is what it looks like with 100 lbs of hot sticks in it.
 

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Dogshooter I like it. Few questions....
Any reason for the second small door at the bottom?
Reason for the metal bars at the bottom and what is sitting on them?
The holders for your cross pieces, did you cut those yourself or find them in a garden section somewhere?
The inside roof, does it extend all the way and flush to the front of the box or is there a small gap for some flow to the top vent?
 
The small door is so I can open it and add wood to the pan without all the heat and smoke escaping...it works well. Only have to add wood chunks about every 2-3 hours so it wouldn't be a huge deal if you opted to just go with one big door.

I put the metal bars at the bottom just because they are closer to the flame, I set an old pizza pan on top of them to catch any drips. More so needed with fish than sausage. I was paranoid when I built it that it might catch fire so wanted to make certain that nothing would be dripping on the open flames. After using it for 5 years or so, I haven't had a single issue. I also have ceramic tile lining the bottom under the burner itself.

The holders are just 1x4" poplar that I cut a row of holes in and then ripped in half on my table saw.

The roof is pitched some, being higher in the front. More so water and snow can run off it and not just sit up there. Probably pitched 2" higher in the front than in the back. The outside of the roof is shingled with asphalt shingles.

The vents are just floor vents and are adjustable for air flow. That is usually all that is needed to control the temp, if you want it to run a little warmer, all you have to do is close up the top vent a little. Don't need to mess with the burner at all once you have it where you want it.

Any other questions, let me know. Glad to help!
 
Dogshooter very nice setup!Have a 20fx 15ft wood shed out back.Maybe,just Maybe?...Old lady NO!!!:cool:
 
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