Building a smoker, inspiration needed.....
Printed From: The Fishing Website
Category: Saltwater Fishing
Forum Name: The Briny Bar
Forum Description: The place for general chat on saltwater fishing!
URL: https://www.fishing.net.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=108236
Printed Date: 08 Jun 2026 at 8:03pm
Topic: Building a smoker, inspiration needed.....
Posted By: 999bloke
Subject: Building a smoker, inspiration needed.....
Date Posted: 22 Mar 2015 at 10:48pm
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Hey fellas I'm thinking about building a hot smoker and am need of some inspiration. Anyone had any experience of building one? Do / Donts? Any plans out there? I'm thinking of having just 3 shelves 600x400mm and a couple of bars to do sausages, meat etc. Cheers |
Replies:
Posted By: lingee
Date Posted: 23 Mar 2015 at 5:54am
| nice easy way is a filling cabinet. 4 draw. cut out bottom draw for fire box and drill holes in the other draw bases. i lay a small oven grill in the to top draws to keep food up a little. buy a all steal handel one is best. burn out the box 2-3 times before placing food in. the base box is great for controling the fire i smoke mussels fish meat etc.look on trade me buy for $20-40. |
Posted By: Time_Bandit
Date Posted: 23 Mar 2015 at 6:14am
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Can you post a pic that sounds a great idea ------------- “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” |
Posted By: Steps
Date Posted: 23 Mar 2015 at 8:41am
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Friend has a 4 draw filing cabinet....racks and a ply door... lifted up with a small lpg burner underneath, cake tin for the wood chips, and a water tray (old oven tray) above that. The burner is small enough to also cold smoke.. he does hams , bacon alsorts of stuff. For vent, the door leaks just enough, works so left it like that. Yrs ago my old man had similar stand up drying cabinet converted into a smoker I was going to build the same as the filing cabinet.. but a special came up on a 4 rack cabinet gas smoker... added up the costs and worked out by the time I had set everything up.. burners trays, the retail special was only going to be a few bucks more. Found several things a problem. The door seals sucked, the exit vent too small to allow cold smoking, the burner was larger than should have been, and the lpg regulator was higher rated than needed.. way higher How I moded including extra shelves in older threads. Only suggestion I do make... set it up so can cold smoke also... later when get into it, espec on larger cuts and quantities, the end results of a cold smoke and a little tweaking of marinates , over hot smoking are dramatic Check out some of the older posts that some of the other guys are doing with stuff...amazing is an understatement... some of their home made smokers. Using the smoker for a food warmer.. eg roast veggies at a large family or club function imparts a very nice , very subtle clean background flavour |
Posted By: Contract
Date Posted: 23 Mar 2015 at 9:11am
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I built mine out of plywood. Two doors. One at the top to access the fish. One at the bottom for the gas burner and sawdust tray. Nothing special ~ but it cat take a Shi.. load of fish. The thing that I have found the most usefull ~ are my smoking racks. I went along to a security window company and got some of the "Amplimesh" (?). It is aluminium diamond pattern. I can slide these in and out of my smoker real easily. They clean up real well. If I am being super efficient ~ I wipe some vegetable oil on them before O place the fish on them. Instant "non stick" A lot cheaper than stainless and a lot less rust prone than common old oven racks. |
Posted By: Joker
Date Posted: 23 Mar 2015 at 9:19am
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Hi Mate, I made one out of a Supercheap metal toolbox stood on end years ago and its still going fine It doesn't devalue the house either. Trays are cheap cake cooling racks from the warehouse and supported by a row of self tappers 
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Posted By: Olfart
Date Posted: 23 Mar 2015 at 9:30am
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Mine is the standard gas burner smoker cabinet from Bunnings. Similar to Steps' one actually. I have added a UFO cold smoke generator to the side of mine over the past couple of days and test running indicates this should do a great job of providing smoke. I was having trouble preventing the wood chips/sawdust from catching alight in the cabinet no matter how low I turned the burner, so this looks like a good solution for me. ------------- Semper in excreta sumus, solum profundum variat.... |
Posted By: 999bloke
Date Posted: 23 Mar 2015 at 8:34pm
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Does the meat /fish taste metallic though? (My pet hate with the warehouse stainless ones....) |
Posted By: Steps
Date Posted: 24 Mar 2015 at 8:52am
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There was a recent thread where someone mentioned along these lines...think was the chip burner box... that it needed breaking in... get hot to remove any surface oils vanishes whatever. From memory when.. think was the warehouse or similar unit, mentioned recommend to break it in before cooking. This is something that maybe should be done, regardless it wood stainless galv..... burn off any access glues etc.... I rem what it was, it was something about heating it up to final cure the paint they use.. harden it up... Really like that tool box idea.... |
Posted By: lingee
Date Posted: 25 Mar 2015 at 6:57am
it pays to burn out all metal cabinets about three times . i donot use gas i like the old burn wood way. i use titree etc, sorry i have no idear how to put a photo on the site,will need to get one of the kids to show me next time they come over the filing cabinet is so easy and i get to send time drinking while smoking what ever. time out 
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Posted By: Joker
Date Posted: 25 Mar 2015 at 1:31pm
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Why stop at a smoker DIY Pizza oven - 30 mins empty on HOT turn to low and cook 5 mins - they go crunch! when you bite into them.   |
Posted By: Betty Boop
Date Posted: 25 Mar 2015 at 1:46pm
 This is what I made from 304 s/s and have since added a Smokai. It work dam fine as either a hot or cold smoker. It also collapses down to briefcase size for storage if its ever put away!...NOT ------------- Last week I joined an Anti-Social support group........They won't talk to me! Papamoa fi-Glass Viscount |
Posted By: lingee
Date Posted: 25 Mar 2015 at 6:23pm
| use wood gas not good for food with wood chips go natural, go old school more flavor |
Posted By: like_to_strike
Date Posted: 25 Mar 2015 at 8:55pm
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just put it all together yesterday. all up cost about $130 oven was free so all I needed was the ufo smoke generator. looks like it will work a treat, smoke at any temp a poor mans bradley just need to find/make some more racks and give her a run  |
Posted By: Joker
Date Posted: 26 Mar 2015 at 9:08am
And a DIY smoke generator made out of an upmarket Vodka tin, A piece of copper pipe with a T-piece inside the lid, a hollow metal tube running through the cork and an aquarium air pump.   |
Posted By: jaypeegee
Date Posted: 26 Mar 2015 at 5:16pm
I'm not too smart Could you show the inside of the tin and/or explain how the smoke is generated a bit more please? ------------- "You don't have to be smart to laugh at a fart, but you have to be stupid not to." |
Joker wrote:Posted By: Betty Boop
Date Posted: 26 Mar 2015 at 5:35pm
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Google www.smokai.Co. nz all explained  ------------- Last week I joined an Anti-Social support group........They won't talk to me! Papamoa fi-Glass Viscount |
Posted By: Unclejake
Date Posted: 26 Mar 2015 at 9:18pm
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Posted By: the angler
Date Posted: 27 Mar 2015 at 8:03am
We used to make a similar looking device in tech class at school , certainly weren't smoking fish with it though......... |
Posted By: Bradley NZ
Date Posted: 27 Mar 2015 at 9:24am
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We have them already built. Check out www.bradleysmoker.co.nz I am demonstrating the Bradley smokers in at Harvey Norman Pukekohe this Saturday (28th) Call in and I am sure we can sort something out for you. Keg. Director Bradley Smokers
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Posted By: Joker
Date Posted: 27 Mar 2015 at 10:57am
Some people have used 2 x baked bean tins taped together. A hole drilled through the lid to fit a piece of copper plumbing pipe A "T" joining pipe in the middle of the piece of copper pipe - open end pointing down A hollow smaller pipe (to fit the air tube) pushed through the cork and the other open end 1" ahead of the T section - this creates a vortex pulling smoke from behind and below and pushing it out when the air pump is going. I found a hollow crochet needle in the $2 shops. The cork is just there to plug and hold the smaller pipe. A number of 1/2" air holes at the base to light the chips - use chips rather than saw dust.
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Posted By: Joker
Date Posted: 27 Mar 2015 at 11:02am
Or ... a very quick smoker for small amounts of salmon.  |