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DIY Smoke Generator

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Forum Name: The Kitchen - Seafood Recipes
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URL: https://www.fishing.net.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=62918
Printed Date: 29 Mar 2024 at 11:57pm


Topic: DIY Smoke Generator
Posted By: H8_4DS
Subject: DIY Smoke Generator
Date Posted: 10 Feb 2011 at 8:51pm
So i decided to try my luck at making a home made smoke generator for my biltong box.

just a cheaper form of a smoke generator till i can afford a Bradley one.

So i started off with the following supplies.



then i drilled a hole thru the lid as so and fitted a brass fitting. i worked out that the brass fitting was not needed in this tin as it has a lid with a second insert, but put it in so it was more rigid.





then made up the smoke spout. this was made out of a 15mm copper 'T' section and a couple of pieces of 15mm copper pipe. one end of the copper pipe had a venturi pipe put in it to produce the vaacum for the smoke box and top tube.



Put 3 holes in the base of the tin (the ones in the middle). these are for air flow into the tin. the other 3 are for bolts to go thru to hold the tin off of the ground.



also i put a hole in the side at the bottom for lighting the saw dust inside the tin. installed the bolts in the bottom of the tin and installed the smoke spout. ( even tho there are no feet on it here)



Air hose from pump goes in the end with the silver pipe.

I first used a small aquarium air pump and it only pumped about 160 litres of air an hour. was not powerful enough. I now have a pump which pumps out 400 litres an hour and has high, medium, and low settings for air flow.

I start the pump on high and turn it to medium once the smoke flow is flowing.

This works well enough to fill a 44 gallon drum up with thick smoke in about 1 minute.






Replies:
Posted By: smizz
Date Posted: 10 Feb 2011 at 9:08pm
looks mean... i made 1 a similar size....made the mistake of buying a smaller pump like the first you used.. have you given it a full burn?how long does it last?

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Posted By: H8_4DS
Date Posted: 10 Feb 2011 at 9:16pm
i ran the tin about 1/5th full and it lasted well over an hour. i did some mussels and they were delicious.

Would of only been maybe 3 handfuls of manuka in the tin max


Posted By: tas-tackle
Date Posted: 10 Feb 2011 at 9:28pm
Hey Blair...  great ingenuity made from a few simple parts... I have a stainless steel smoker similar in size to a bradley which uses gas heat under a cast iron hot box to produce the smoke... It works well but I want to produce a lot more smoke so want to make a similar device as yours and drill a hole in the side and mount/bolt it on it externally..  Give me the best of both worlds... heat and more smoke...

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Posted By: H8_4DS
Date Posted: 10 Feb 2011 at 9:38pm
Hey John,

I have a mate that came round tonight who is a stainless welder. He is gonna make me up a sample the same design as the "smoke cannon" from trademe. but a bit different so i dont get in trouble hahaha.

When its made up i could flick it up to you for testing if you want. Then he could make some more for me as well. I will check that it works first tho as this one i have already built took a bit of fine tuning to get running right




Posted By: Screaming Reels
Date Posted: 10 Feb 2011 at 10:00pm
Originally posted by nvmyvl nvmyvl wrote:

Hey John,

I have a mate that came round tonight who is a stainless welder. He is gonna make me up a sample the same design as the "smoke cannon" from trademe. but a bit different so i dont get in trouble hahaha.

When its made up i could flick it up to you for testing if you want. Then he could make some more for me as well. I will check that it works first tho as this one i have already built took a bit of fine tuning to get running right


I made a copy of the 1 of Trade Me also kinda works you need a venturi in the outlet tube which you dont see in the photos. Hope that little bit of advice helps.

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The Car Doctor Mangakino


Posted By: tas-tackle
Date Posted: 10 Feb 2011 at 10:40pm
magic.. Thumbs Up  save me a heap of work.. Yes if the design was slightly different there shouldn't be a problem..  when ya coming up for a fish Big smile ??  chuck a few soft baits around...


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Posted By: Double Shot
Date Posted: 11 Feb 2011 at 8:37pm
Hey John
 
Mate I've got the smoke cannon and she pumps so much smoke it's scarey, put it this way the smokehouse is 1m x 1m x 2m....I've got the same pump as in the picture, vari speed is good...


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70ml of 90deg C water pressurised through 13g of roasted finely ground tamped coffee for 25sec's to make a distinguishing sensory hit called a Double Shot    


Posted By: tas-tackle
Date Posted: 14 Feb 2011 at 5:03pm
Craig.. there were two smoke cannons originally, a small and a larger model,Which do you have and are you using only one...??...
You've seen my smoker which is 600 x 600 x 1200 so a smaller unit would suffice for it...
Plans are afoot as you can see so I can produce smoke and heat from the cast iron unit over the gas fire and I can produce  more smoke as required using both the units..  Will soon get the right combination with some experimentation...  Yup.... vari speed will be used...  just looking for one now...  learn from other folks experimentation's     Big smile


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Posted By: Tagit
Date Posted: 14 Feb 2011 at 5:19pm
Originally posted by nvmyvl nvmyvl wrote:



then made up the smoke spout. this was made out of a 15mm copper 'T' section and a couple of pieces of 15mm copper pipe. one end of the copper pipe had a venturi pipe put in it to produce the vaacum for the smoke box and top tube.

 

Cool post. Can you explain about the venturi tube fitting please (where is it fitted) and where did you source the air pump please?


Posted By: H8_4DS
Date Posted: 14 Feb 2011 at 8:39pm
I will pull it apart tomorrow and post some photos of the setup.

My mate came around tonight and we had a good talk about how to build a new setup that would work better. Have come up with an idea in which the smoke cannon and pump are all in one unit. will see how the design comes out once the proto type is built.

Screaming Reels - what does the inside of the smoke cannon that you have look like? does the venturi tube just blow straight down like the exterior pipe suggests it does? is there anything that stops the embers from falling into the base base tube?


Posted By: Screaming Reels
Date Posted: 14 Feb 2011 at 8:54pm
I just took photos of the 1 on TM and made a copy. Mine works just but needs a venturi down the outlet pipe. I aint yet put a venturi in mine just been to busy and it still in boot of the car. I am sure if we all put our heads together we should get 1 that pumps out heaps.
I have come to the conclusion that the air pump works best when aimed at outlet pipe seems to draw more suction that is why it needs a venturi in outlet pipe.
I will get mine out at work tomorrow and take some photos.


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The Car Doctor Mangakino


Posted By: Screaming Reels
Date Posted: 14 Feb 2011 at 8:55pm
Tagit i just went to a fish shop and got me a aqaurium pump about $15.00 from memory

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The Car Doctor Mangakino


Posted By: Screaming Reels
Date Posted: 14 Feb 2011 at 9:00pm


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The Car Doctor Mangakino


Posted By: tas-tackle
Date Posted: 16 Feb 2011 at 4:56pm
Better more simple design...

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/4931058/smoke_cannon_cyclone_smoke_generator/ - http://www.metacafe.com/watch/4931058/smoke_cannon_cyclone_smoke_generator/


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Posted By: H8_4DS
Date Posted: 17 Feb 2011 at 1:25pm
Ok here goes

Tagit, the theory behind the venturi, is that it will produce a vacuum there fore increase the airflow. this air comes from behind the venturi tip. Because the air comes from inside the tin where the wood chips are smouldering, then smoke is pulled from the tin. also the vacuum creats an airflow thru the holes in the bottom of the tin and keeps the chips smouldering.

Here are some photos of the final venturi tube and setup for the top of the tin. I will be getting my mate to weld up a new chamber as this old coffee tin is a but light weight. The new one will be made from stainless tube.

These are all the parts. As you can see there is not alot to it.


This is the venturi tube that I turned up from brass.


Venturi tube pressed into the "T" Section


This is the back side of the venturi tube. the hole is just big enough to push a standard clear pvc tube that comes with the air pump into.


This shows how far out the venturi tube comes past the bottom section of the "T". I had a bit of trouble with smoke flow so shortened it to this length. To long and the vacuum is produced to far away from the "T" section and will not suck the smoke out. to short and it will cause the airflow to go back into the tin and cause flames to come out the bottom of the tin instead.


Here it is all put together.


And sitting in the tin ready to hook up the air pump and light to produce smoke.




And since then I have been working on a new design. This one is more like the ones that have been for sale on Trademe. Made out of 40 X 40 ali SHS at the moment, but I am waiting on a Stainless one that will be 75 X 75 SHS.


Started off by cutting the tube and folding one of the sides over so that it made the base for the tube. Drilled 2 holes for lighting the wood chips. 1 larger hole for the smoke tube and a small hole for the venturi tube.


Then made up a venturi tube to screw into the back of the tube


Screwed it into place. Here you can see that the end of the venturi. There is about 12mm sticking out. Any shorter and i found that i was getting wood chips being blown out the smoke tube. Worst part was that they were still glowing.


Then put the smoke tube in.


And all ready for use. I have found that the brass hose tail on the venturi gets bloody hot. The standard pvc hose softens up to much and comes off sometimes. I will fix this problem by using silicone hose, which can be bought at the pet shop as well.


Here are some video's that i took of the square tube smoke generator.

Smoke flow is great. It was quite windy when i took these video's

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haVwqiH5L4M - Smoker 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haVwgiH5L4M -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0P66d8OuQgY - Smoker 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0P66d8OuQgY -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lNmSoLMPbI - Smoker 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lNmSoLMPbI -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1dXdOZZIDI - Smoker 4

In the smoker 3 video, you will notice that it backfires near the start. I think this was caused by the Short Venturi tube i had in there. And also the wind blowing past the end of the smoke tube would of been pushing back into the embers causing the flame to pop out the ignition hole.


And here it is filling a cabinet up with smoke. This was about 1 minute of smoke

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pknR9NwO648 - Smoker Cabinet





Posted By: got no boat
Date Posted: 21 Feb 2011 at 11:24am
Originally posted by *fisher* *fisher* wrote:

Better more simple design...

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/4931058/smoke_cannon_cyclone_smoke_generator/ - http://www.metacafe.com/watch/4931058/smoke_cannon_cyclone_smoke_generator/
 
Have been watching this topic for awhile now and decided its time to give it a go myself. I have got a Milo tin for holding the wood chips and planning to do something similar to the vid above. Any extra tips or advice you can give me? I know that because the milo tin is going to be a lot wider than the container in the vid so was wondering if I will need an extra air hold to allow draft through it to get all the wood chips burning.
Here is a sample of the tin I will use
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=355265169 - http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=355265169
 


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If a 6 was a nine... I don't mind


Posted By: Tagit
Date Posted: 21 Feb 2011 at 12:29pm
Thanks for that nvmyvl. Will have to have a play with the tools and see how I get on.


Posted By: tas-tackle
Date Posted: 21 Feb 2011 at 12:29pm
got no boat...  
Just use a can opener (triangle part) and put three holes in the side at the bottom...
Can be lit from these holes..   The venturi sucks air and smoke out of the tin keeping the embers burning...  As its a wide tin, just add more as needed if it doesn't work properly

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Posted By: got no boat
Date Posted: 02 Mar 2011 at 8:43am
QUOTE||Then made up a venturi tube to screw into the back of the tube

Is there any chance you guys could let me know where to get my hands on one of these? Have had a look and proving to be harder than I thought.

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If a 6 was a nine... I don't mind


Posted By: H8_4DS
Date Posted: 02 Mar 2011 at 2:52pm
the tube part is just an ali tube i cut down. the brass fitting came from my spares box at work. you should be able to pick them up from most engineering shops. Blackwood paykels etc


Posted By: got no boat
Date Posted: 02 Mar 2011 at 2:57pm
Ok thanks, Have had a look today at 6 different places with no luck. I was told to try Bunnings so might give that ago as I con only get there after work. Hoping to get it up and running before the weekend since the Mrs is going away I'm just going to smoke sh%t all weekendLOL

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If a 6 was a nine... I don't mind


Posted By: H8_4DS
Date Posted: 02 Mar 2011 at 6:08pm
i will see what i have at work if no luck mate.

Otherwise i can grab you one from over the road and courier it to you. 

What size tube is it going into? my one was 40mm x 40mm square ali.




Posted By: Tagit
Date Posted: 02 Mar 2011 at 6:18pm
Auckland Engineering Supplies (AES) on Beaumont St in Westhaven have a huge range of fittings and will probably have something like you need. I can probably find you a short length of 1/4" copper tube if needed and we are just above AES. PM me if you want me to have a quick look in AES tomorrow for you.


Posted By: got no boat
Date Posted: 03 Mar 2011 at 8:27am
Originally posted by Tagit Tagit wrote:

Auckland Engineering Supplies (AES) on Beaumont St in Westhaven have a huge range of fittings and will probably have something like you need. I can probably find you a short length of 1/4" copper tube if needed and we are just above AES. PM me if you want me to have a quick look in AES tomorrow for you.
Originally posted by nvmyvl nvmyvl wrote:

i will see what i have at work if no luck mate.

Otherwise i can grab you one from over the road and courier it to you. 

What size tube is it going into? my one was 40mm x 40mm square ali.
 
Hi guys thanks for this generosity I might give it one more go at looking today and if no luck will have to take you up on the offer. Might be able to get off work at 4.30 to have a look see. Is it just the pipe I am using cause I have tried about 7 places in total now? I am using the generic pipe that comes with the fish air pump which I think is 4mm??? Not 100% on that though. The pump I bought is the Aqua One SR-9500.


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If a 6 was a nine... I don't mind


Posted By: H8_4DS
Date Posted: 03 Mar 2011 at 10:17am
You will need to buy a hose barb to suit 6mm id hose. then use hot water to soften the hose and push it over. the hose will pop off cause of the heat made when it the smoker is alight if you use a smaller hose barb.
 
the ali tube i had was the nozzel off of an air duster gun i had lying about.


Posted By: got no boat
Date Posted: 03 Mar 2011 at 10:32am
Cheers for the tip nvmyvl. Would a trusty cabel tie help to stop it falling off? Sucks that I got a desk job and dont have those kind of things lying aroundAngry Might have to takew the case off a computer and see what I can salvage out of thereBig smile

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If a 6 was a nine... I don't mind


Posted By: H8_4DS
Date Posted: 03 Mar 2011 at 12:26pm

yeah a cable tie would work well.



Posted By: FarmerBrowne
Date Posted: 05 Mar 2011 at 9:05pm
I got to say I like the concept of a cold smoke generator and the ideas in this thread.
 
Got a pig (Mrs Piggy) down in the yards that we hope to convert into bacon & ham soon.
 
 
So rainy day project this evening was to knock one of these smoke generators together.
 
I had an old aquarium pump down in the shed plus some hose for it
 
Found a piece of alloy pipe that had a hole drilled into it and a smaller diameter bit of steel pipe.  The internal diameter of the steel pipe is similar to the external diamerter of the pump hose.
 
Found a tin.
 
Drilled a hole in one side for the alloy pipe and a smaller one on the other side for the steel pipe.
 
Added a couple of holes at the bottom for the fire.
 
Hooked it all up and kicked it in the guts and suprise suprise, it works
 
 
 
The pipes are just sitting snug in their respective holes and can be adjusted.  I found that by sliding the intake pipe in further it pumped out more smoke.
 
I will let it run for an hour or two tonight and then hook it up to the smoker this week and see how it goes.
 
 


Posted By: tas-tackle
Date Posted: 06 Mar 2011 at 5:02pm
Farmerbrowne...   Looks good...  from the pics it looks like ya need a stronger air pump... which will belt the smoke out like this....  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1dXdOZZIDI - Smoker 4

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Posted By: FarmerBrowne
Date Posted: 06 Mar 2011 at 9:58pm
field test today and it seemed to go OK
 
Increase air flow helps and I will also increase size of hole for burn so ash falls out easier.
 
Also noted a build up of humidity in the tin.
 
May also try another tin with the pipes at the bottom, near the heat and no lid, just sawdust and see how it goes - should be less humidity.
 


Posted By: tas-tackle
Date Posted: 06 Mar 2011 at 11:22pm
FarmerBrowne... what sort of heat source have you got inside the smoker unit..??
Trying to figure out what you were smoking in the middle rack..??


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Posted By: FarmerBrowne
Date Posted: 07 Mar 2011 at 7:23am
Originally posted by *fisher* *fisher* wrote:

FarmerBrowne... what sort of heat source have you got inside the smoker unit..??
Trying to figure out what you were smoking in the middle rack..??
no heat source - just doing a cold smoke of cheese, garlic, sausages (pre cooked) and eggs.
 
just a test of the smoking making unit


Posted By: biggear
Date Posted: 07 Mar 2011 at 10:04am
Looking good Ron.

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Posted By: got no boat
Date Posted: 08 Mar 2011 at 12:14pm
Got mine up and cranking last night after a bit of persuasion. I only managed about 30 mins of burn time maybe 45 but kept going out. I looked inside and the tin had so much moisture in it. It was surprising how long it lasted. I had them sitting in the hotwater cupboard for a few hours before the smoke but mayeb it was not enough. How do you guys prepare the wood chips before a smoke? The chips I am using are these ones here. Are they wrong??? http://www.trademe.co.nz/Business-farming-industry/Retail-hospitality/Kitchen-equipment-supplies/Other/auction-359742563.htm - http://www.trademe.co.nz/Business-farming-industry/Retail-hospitality/Kitchen-equipment-supplies/Other/auction-359742563.htm


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If a 6 was a nine... I don't mind


Posted By: H8_4DS
Date Posted: 08 Mar 2011 at 8:32pm
i have never had a problem with my wood chips going out. my wood chips in the movie clips i made had been sitting for 2 or 3 years in my garage that is as damp as a wet winter.

maybe your venturi tube is to long or to short.  can you post up pics of your setup.



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Formally Known as nvmyvl


Posted By: got no boat
Date Posted: 08 Mar 2011 at 9:23pm
I will have to get them up in a few days as my camera has sh&t itsself but will do as soon as I can. Yeah I didn't think the wood chips would be a problem. What about the moisture in the tin during burning? It coated all the walls and was driping off the lip when I took it off.

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If a 6 was a nine... I don't mind


Posted By: H8_4DS
Date Posted: 14 Mar 2011 at 8:34am
Well My Mate and I made a new smoker and failed miserably.
 
I thinj i was trying to be to greedy and use a too bigger tube to hold the wood chips. I grabbed a piece of 100mm dia stainless and found that the chips will smoulder and a small amount of smoke will come out, but i think the excess chips between the smouldering ones and the venturi was cutting down the air flow to much.
 
I will get some 63mm or 2 1/2 inch pipe to try next.
 
Apart from that the one we made yesterday definately looked the part hahaha. will try and get some photo's up when i get home.
 
Blair
 


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Formally Known as nvmyvl


Posted By: got no boat
Date Posted: 18 Mar 2011 at 11:55am
I have managed to get a new tin for smoking so instead of giving you pics of my epic fail attempt I might put up pics or dimensions of the new tin to see what your thoughts are on what the best design will be. If you have a similar sized tin or ideas then measurements would be great thanks cause i'm not sure if I will be able to get a new tin anytime soon and I am really want to get this up and going. Pics or dimensions to follow later tonightSmile

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If a 6 was a nine... I don't mind


Posted By: Standard Deluxe
Date Posted: 18 Mar 2011 at 1:01pm
Photos of the one what failed would be handy too mate, this is a top thread btw.


Posted By: got no boat
Date Posted: 18 Mar 2011 at 1:48pm
Haha ok maybe I lied and i had epic fails with 2. I think the main problem could be due to a bourbon error while making them. Might try Rum next time to see how that one is. I will try to get pics of them some stage this weekend.

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If a 6 was a nine... I don't mind


Posted By: Standard Deluxe
Date Posted: 18 Mar 2011 at 2:03pm
haha I know of a similar error, took me three years to design and build my brewery due to unforeseen errors which happened to corrospond with hangovers and late nights :p


Posted By: FarmerBrowne
Date Posted: 18 Mar 2011 at 7:45pm
I have modified my original tin.  It seemed to get to humid and damp inside.
 
Version#4 = pet food can with inflow and out flow pipe at base of can with one burning hole.
Also made a baffle out of the lid to keep wood chips of the pipe
 
 
An hour later it had burn't a fair amount of the wood chips and needed a top up
I then hooked it up to the smoker to see if it made enough smoke to fill it
Seemed to supply plenty enough smoke
 
I will now try this concept with a similar diameter can that is longer (taller) which should hold more wood chips and require less frequent refilling.


Posted By: got no boat
Date Posted: 19 Mar 2011 at 3:27pm

So here are the measurement of my new tin. Any ideas on how to get this puppy up and running would be greately appreciated. Height : 250mm diameter: 105mm. It is actually a Chivas Regal tin. Similar to the one here

http://cgi.ebay.com.sg/Chivas-Regal-TIN-BOTTLE-HOLDER-collectible-whisky-BAR-/280470826302 - http://cgi.ebay.com.sg/Chivas-Regal-TIN-BOTTLE-HOLDER-collectible-whisky-BAR-/280470826302
 I have a air pump that pumps 400 liters per hour with an inflow pipe(copper) looks like 6mm with an outflow pipe(copper) looks like 15mm. I dont have my calipers so using a ruler to measure.  


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If a 6 was a nine... I don't mind


Posted By: Standard Deluxe
Date Posted: 19 Mar 2011 at 7:37pm
Farmer Brown - why not use the same tin and just make a hopper that will hold more to sit on top?


Posted By: FarmerBrowne
Date Posted: 19 Mar 2011 at 9:32pm
Originally posted by Standard Deluxe Standard Deluxe wrote:

Farmer Brown - why not use the same tin and just make a hopper that will hold more to sit on top?
Definitely could be the go - will try it out on some kingfish & trout later in the week.


Posted By: FarmerBrowne
Date Posted: 24 Mar 2011 at 9:32pm
Tried a hopper on the cat food tin today.
 
Butchered a pig this morning and smoked up the residual pork bones.
 
Initially gave the bones a 20 minute cook with some meths under a biscuit tin with tea tree chips.
 
Then hooked up the smoke maker whoddacky with the additional tin acting as a hopper.
 
 
 
 
Left is alone for a couple of hours and it just keep on smoking and used up close to a tin of tea tree chip.  When I came came back and gave it all another 15 minutes of heat with meths.
 
 
seemed to work good
 


Posted By: Telecaster
Date Posted: 24 Mar 2011 at 10:59pm
drooling Thumbs Up


Posted By: Standard Deluxe
Date Posted: 25 Mar 2011 at 11:20am
Drooling too!  Love that you just butchered a pig instead of heading down to the butchers :)
What did you do with the jowls?
have a try at curing them and making guancial - really nice and pretty easy to make!


Posted By: FarmerBrowne
Date Posted: 25 Mar 2011 at 12:07pm
Originally posted by Standard Deluxe Standard Deluxe wrote:

Drooling too!  Love that you just butchered a pig instead of heading down to the butchers :)
What did you do with the jowls?
have a try at curing them and making guancial - really nice and pretty easy to make!
Jowls plus fat around the head + venison trim = venison sausages


Posted By: PDSquid
Date Posted: 25 Mar 2011 at 7:27pm
ohohohoho thats the good stuff


Posted By: Kezza
Date Posted: 25 Mar 2011 at 7:37pm
Get some bones/ribs Squid.....a few hours in the ProQ....finger licking good!

Looking good FB...nice

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Posted By: Tex
Date Posted: 25 Mar 2011 at 9:03pm
Awesome guys. I have just bought a wee while back one of those Brinkman smokers off One Day & was a wonderin how to set up a cold smoke on her...Now i can have a crack at setting one up. Big smile
Will have to give it a go & let ya know SmileTongueLOL


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Posted By: Standard Deluxe
Date Posted: 27 Mar 2011 at 11:53am
... is waiting for the invite to come and taste the venison sausages FB...  Sounds like your living the dream there mate haha!



Posted By: FarmerBrowne
Date Posted: 27 Mar 2011 at 2:37pm
I have made a short video on how I made the smoke generator
 
http://www.youtube.com/user/Ruffasgutz#p/u/12/SpNYaDGkMPw - http://www.youtube.com/user/Ruffasgutz#p/u/12/SpNYaDGkMPw


Posted By: got no boat
Date Posted: 13 Apr 2011 at 12:20pm
Still trying to sort out the teething issues with the DIY Smoke Generator. I can get a good amount of smoke coming out of it for Aprox 15-20mins. Sometimes more sometimes less. Best was a few hours but that was it. Can anyone let me know why it is stopping to smoke? I will try to post pics of it tonight.

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If a 6 was a nine... I don't mind


Posted By: FarmerBrowne
Date Posted: 13 Apr 2011 at 8:11pm
I find that with the one I made out of pet food cans it is important that the fire hole is in a position that permits the ash to fall away from the can.  If the burnt ash builds up it prevents additional ash from falling out of the can and stops the smoking.
 
I have the can elevated so the burn hole is well off the ground and ash build up is not possible outside of the hole.
 
I also adjust the distance the inlet pipe is into the oulet pipe to get the optimum smoke output.
 
I also find that there is a build up of tar inside the can after 10-15 hours of smoking and have a spare can made up so I can replace the clogged up can as required.
 
Did some bacon last week and had the smoker working for 30 odd hours with a couple of stops overnight as the woodchips burnt down in the cans.
 
I think the amount of airflow also affects the smoke generating ability of the smoke generator.
 
My advise would be to play around and adjust things until you get it going well.


Posted By: Smokemate
Date Posted: 16 Apr 2011 at 9:52am
How about a genuine VENTURA cold smoke generator.This will save you having to reinvent something that I have all ready done for you.
If you need a top class smoke gen email me and I"ll sort a good deal.


Click on the following link to view my videos.

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Ventura+cold+smoke+generator&aq=f - http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Ventura+cold+smoke+generator&aq=f

or visit my blog

http://smokemate.blogspot.com/ - http://smokemate.blogspot.com/


Posted By: Olfart
Date Posted: 16 Apr 2011 at 4:50pm
Any one used one of these?  Looks like it will fit nicely in the bottom of a Brinkman smoker...




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Semper in excreta sumus, solum profundum variat....





Posted By: Smokemate
Date Posted: 16 Apr 2011 at 7:08pm
I have used one of those and they work well, a real good slow burn however to big and takes up too much room.What I also found is that if the smoker has a circulation fan the turbulence can send the ash flying.The unit also needs to cleaned after every smoke for best results.
Have a read up on the description at the video link .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUsnyVcd05g&feature=fvsr - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUsnyVcd05g&feature=fvsr  


Posted By: got no boat
Date Posted: 18 Apr 2011 at 12:10pm

Made a modification to my problematic smoker which may have fixed it. I stole farmer Browns idea of the baffle and pulled apart an old siv. Then I wrapped it around the inlet and outlet pipe of the smoke generator so there is a gap in the wood chips and it worked well, allowing you to adjust the pipes without pushing woodchips in and blocking them. Will have to give it a test this weekend to see how long it will burn for. Ran it for about an hour last night not probs.



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If a 6 was a nine... I don't mind


Posted By: MikeP
Date Posted: 11 May 2011 at 11:04pm
This is a cool topic.  I had a go at makin a DIY smoker myself and I can tell you about a few of the
pitfalls.
Here's a photo of the smoke generator and the air pump.
Smoker and air pump
 
Here's another looking down the hopper.  There's a stainless mesh in the bottom and the hopper is about 60mm diameter.  You light it from underneath.
Looking down the hopper
The blue air line is 6mm diameter and the jet tube for the venturi is about 4mm diameter.
The smoker worked well for an hour or so and then the screen in the bottom clogged up with ash.
The smoke pipe also clogs up with tar and ash and needs to be cleaned between runs.
The efficiency of the venturi depends a lot on the relative diameter of the jet pipe and the outer pipe.  The inside hole in my jet pipe is only about 2mm diameter and the inside of the venturi pipe is about 15mm. 
So lessons learned so far:
You have to be able to get it apart for cleaning
You have to have somewhere for the ash to go
The diameters of the jet and venturi pipes matter more than the position but neither are that critical.
You can't turn it off so make it easy to remove from the smoker and tip the sawdust out.
The smoke may be cold but the smoke generator gets hot enough to burn you. take care!
Some ash comes out of the pipe so put the smoke generator at the bottom and don't put fish or flamable materials where the ash will blow onto it.
Alec's smoke canon is excellent value for money but how can you put a price on the satisfaction of doing it yourself!
 
Here are some photos of the smoker box I made.  It is made from 1 sheet of untreated 9mm ply and 40x18mm timber.  The dimensions were chosen to fit some racks I got from an old oven at the tip.  Because this is used with a cold smoke generator the heat required to cook the food comes from the top of one of those benchtop convection cookers.  These have a thermostat and a circulating fan and this one I picked up at the tip the same day I found the oven racks.  There is a tray that goes in the bottom to catch the drips (I bought the tray)
I have a digital thermometer that I use to watch the temperature.  I aim for around an hour at 90-100°C to cook a snapper or Kahawai.  I also have one of those wireless meat thermometer probes that I can stick inside the thickest part of the fish.  The fish is cooked when the internal temperature reaches 70°C.  But once you've done it a few times you don't need to bother with that. The last thing I cooked was 5 Kahawai at about 2kg each.  I brined them overnight in a 1/16 brine.  (2 cup salt, 2 cup brown sugar to 8 litres water)
 
 
 


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"Sumfin Fishy"
Lotus 1900 (19 ft) with 135HP Mercury O/B
"My greatest fear is that, when I die, my wife will sell all my toys for what I said I paid for them".


Posted By: tas-tackle
Date Posted: 12 May 2011 at 2:17am
Nice unit Mikep.... Nice project well done...and great innovation using the cooker unit...
Dont have the gear to weld so have one of Alec's units to put into a Kiwi smoker, which uses gas at the bottom for a heat source and a cast box to hold the sawdust... Bit of a pain doing a longer smoke having to open the door and work within the heat to replenish sawdust ...
I like the idea of my water bowl to cool the heat as it rises and with the new smoke generator, I should be able to set it up now and leave it for the duration... It works well as it is but I think it will simply work better now...  Will take pics when I have installed it...


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http://postimage.org/" rel="nofollow">
http://www.tas-tackle.co.nz


Posted By: got no boat
Date Posted: 12 May 2011 at 11:18am
Nice looking unit MikeP. Anyone know where I can get a stainless hopper like that from? I am using an old tin that is looking abit sad and wouldn't mind flashing it up a bit.

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If a 6 was a nine... I don't mind


Posted By: MikeP
Date Posted: 12 May 2011 at 2:07pm
Someone asked in a PM for details of where I got materials.
 
You can buy untreated ply at placemakers or Mitre 10 or any building materials supplier.  It is nothing special just CD grade.  The other timber is just 40x20mm pine, also from Placemakers.  I glued and screwed it with Gorilla glue and some stainless 6gx20 screws.
If you want something nicer looking then plyman or timpan have marine hardwood plywoods that have nice knot free appearance both sides and are not chemically treated.
The smoker shouldn't be going over 120°C and the ply handles those temperatures without any problems.
I ran it for a few hours with no food in it to "condition" it.

I made the hopper myself. If you haven't got the tools to make something like this then you should get the smoke cannon from  Alec (see earlier post) his price is very down to earth.
Cheers,
Mike


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"Sumfin Fishy"
Lotus 1900 (19 ft) with 135HP Mercury O/B
"My greatest fear is that, when I die, my wife will sell all my toys for what I said I paid for them".


Posted By: H8_4DS
Date Posted: 12 May 2011 at 5:02pm
WOW that smoker cabinet is great.

I think i will be building one at one stage. i already have one of those convection ovens in my spare room not doing much.

Do you think there would be enough heat produced from the motor to heat a bigger smoker> thinking at least twice the size

Cheers
Blair.


Also what size is the mesh in the bottom of your smoke cannon? If it was a bigger mesh size would it work any better?

I have one that my mate made up and it has a bowl on the base of it to catch the embers and ash.


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Formally Known as nvmyvl


Posted By: got no boat
Date Posted: 12 May 2011 at 5:05pm
It takes the fun out of it if you buy one. I have made one that works pretty well. Last smoke I did was about 8 hours of solid smoke but it doesn't look as nice as I would like due to not being able to get a propper hopper(cylinder) I have all the other parts but my hopper is actually a chivas regal tin.

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If a 6 was a nine... I don't mind


Posted By: MikeP
Date Posted: 13 May 2011 at 9:28pm
The mesh is a 12x12 mesh (12 wires per inch) or about 2mm pitch


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"Sumfin Fishy"
Lotus 1900 (19 ft) with 135HP Mercury O/B
"My greatest fear is that, when I die, my wife will sell all my toys for what I said I paid for them".


Posted By: MikeP
Date Posted: 13 May 2011 at 9:36pm
The convection oven is supposed to be 1100W.  It is fine for the size of my smokehouse.  It should be big enough for a plywood smoker twice the size provided you don't have too many air gaps.  One of the nice things about plywood is it is a poor heat conductor compared to a metal box.  at 100° the outside is barely warm to the touch.  So it takes much less power to heat it than a metal box would.  It's also safer where kids are running around.


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"Sumfin Fishy"
Lotus 1900 (19 ft) with 135HP Mercury O/B
"My greatest fear is that, when I die, my wife will sell all my toys for what I said I paid for them".


Posted By: Coochdog
Date Posted: 15 May 2011 at 3:26pm
I eventualy bought a smoke generator off Alec after making my own.Had to constanly moniter my DIY unit as it would clog up with tar and stop burning.Alecs generator is awesome its done 3 smokes at about 6 hours each and only got a slight build up of tar.
Anyway what do you guys use to remove the tar build up??
Have tryed cleaning it with turps and a small brush what did not work.
Any ideas??


Posted By: tas-tackle
Date Posted: 16 May 2011 at 12:02am
Havent used mine yet but what about trying BBQ cleaner or oven cleaner...... spray on and then use small brush... wash with warm soapy water ....

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http://postimage.org/" rel="nofollow">
http://www.tas-tackle.co.nz


Posted By: POWERSPELL
Date Posted: 22 May 2011 at 7:44pm
Originally posted by H8_4DS H8_4DS wrote:

WOW that smoker cabinet is great.

I think i will be building one at one stage. i already have one of those convection ovens in my spare room not doing much.

Do you think there would be enough heat produced from the motor to heat a bigger smoker> thinking at least twice the size

Cheers
Blair.


Also what size is the mesh in the bottom of your smoke cannon? If it was a bigger mesh size would it work any better?

I have one that my mate made up and it has a bowl on the base of it to catch the embers and ash.
 
 
 
COULD JUST GO GET A BRADLEY AND START SMOKINGWink OH BUT U DONT GET KEPPERS ON MULLET ANY WAY SO DOESNT MATTER HA HA HA GO THE SOFTYSLOL


Posted By: H8_4DS
Date Posted: 22 May 2011 at 7:47pm
Mullet is where its at.

And cant afford a Bradley, not with my major fuel bill on my boat


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Formally Known as nvmyvl


Posted By: POWERSPELL
Date Posted: 22 May 2011 at 8:01pm
Originally posted by H8_4DS H8_4DS wrote:

Mullet is where its at.

And cant afford a Bradley, not with my major fuel bill on my boat
 
NEED A FOURSTROKE DUDE WE GET OUT TO THE NOISES AND FURTHER ON MY BROS NEW RIG FOR 12 LITRES THERE AND BACK 5M SENATOR CENTRE CONSOLE AND A 70 HP MERC WE DONE TIARUA PINS FISHING FOR KINGS 3 WEEKS AGO PUT 6 HRS ON IT 37 NMILES FOR 27LITES RUNNING ALL DAY TURN OFF ONCE FOR LUNCH WICKED BUT 55 BUCKSClap


Posted By: H8_4DS
Date Posted: 22 May 2011 at 8:35pm
Leave Maraetai ramp and to the Hole in Sargent. Back to the boat house at omana and back to the ramp is 23 litres. mind you we are doing just over 45 knots most of the time. only problem is that the hull dont like the chop to much. gotta be dead flat to do that sort of speed.


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Formally Known as nvmyvl


Posted By: H8_4DS
Date Posted: 29 May 2011 at 4:23pm
Ok, so i had half an hour free on Thursday at work, so i decided to rummage thru my Steel collection(which is not that big, as i work for a plastics company) and found a few bits and pieces to make another smoke generator.

This was designed along the lines of a design, that John (*fisher*) emailed me. Thanks mate cause this one has worked the best so far.

Hopper is a bit of 2.5" chrome tube from an umbrella stand. Thick wall so it gets real hot once its been going for a while. The smoke tube is 32mm od pipe with a 9mm stainless venturi tube. Bottom of the hopper has a steel plate welded on with 10 or so holes so it can breathe.

Here are the pics of it.





And a couple of quick videos of it running. Was recorded at night so the video isnt that clear, but you can get the driftBig smile

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sazc5sL6L-o - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sazc5sL6L-o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYSpCjWbfis - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYSpCjWbfis

The second video is showing how much air there is being pulled thru the smoker. There is not alot of wood chips left in the hopper. The hopper is approx 350 mm long and it lasted about 1.5 hours when filled approx 2/3 full. Never had a problem of it going out either.

I started the air pump before i put the wood chips in. And lit it with a propane torch rather than a normal ciggie lighter or match. I think this gives it a bigger smouldering pile of chips rather than just a few on the outside.


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Formally Known as nvmyvl


Posted By: tas-tackle
Date Posted: 30 May 2011 at 1:04am
Yup Mate, I use a Butane torch unit just for this job....  good wee investment and can refill from cans from the supermarket...
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Antiques-collectables/Tobacco-related/Lighters/auction-380017728.htm
Nice one, and ya can keep the rain off at the same time... LOL




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http://www.tas-tackle.co.nz


Posted By: BritSteve
Date Posted: 24 Jun 2011 at 11:01pm
Hi guys.

Sorry for posting on this thread from the UK as a first post but I have been following it as a guest. All my searching for a smoker like the one in the h8_4ds photos has left me with some simple but important questions. If anyone who has built one with a right angled air to smoke tube connection can answer these I would be grateful.

How are the two smaller tubes connected. Is the air tube just inserted into the smoke tube or is it shaped. How far does it extend into the tube. I don't see how it can suck from the fuel end and blow out the open end. There doesn't appear to be anywhere for a venturi effect to work.

Judging from the photos I assume the smoke tube does not pass far into the fuel tube. Is that correct?

Steve


Posted By: H8_4DS
Date Posted: 25 Jun 2011 at 11:06am
Hey Steve.

The air tube is blocked off at one end and a hole is drilled thru the side wall.


                       Air in from pump

                          [    ]
                          [    ]
                          [    ]
                          [    ]
---------------------[    ]------------------------------------------------------------------
                          [    ]                                                             Smoke-------------
                          [    ]                                                             Smoke------------------
                          [                                                                 Smoke-------------
                          [      Hole in air tube                                  Smoke-------------                                       
                          [    ]                                                             Smoke-------------
                          [    ]                                                             Smoke-------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thats the most difficult thing to draw on my cellphone.


Basically the air goes thru the tube and out the hole and causes a vacuum and pulls the air and smoke past the air tube. then the smoke goes out the end and into your smoker.

Only thing i can say is make the air tube hole reassonably large. IE 4mm or so. I used a 2mm drill and have found that the resin from the wood smouldering, blocks the air hole and then you get a very poor amount of air flow.

Hope this helps

Blair






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Formally Known as nvmyvl


Posted By: BritSteve
Date Posted: 26 Jun 2011 at 7:48am
Thanks for the reply. It all makes sense now. The diagram is impressive if you did that on a phone and is appreciated.

Steve


Posted By: Titahi
Date Posted: 27 Jun 2011 at 4:35pm
My mates new ( last night) house smoker. He uses Rimu, Matai and Kahikutea.... Not sure how well it will sell, but the mobile smoking van could be a go!



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"I love standing by the ocean and just knowing what its for"


Posted By: MATTOO
Date Posted: 29 Jun 2011 at 2:58pm
Well I was inspired by you guys and sick of using my large outdoor smoker. Needed something closer to home.
Took a leaf from Farmer Browns and started with tin cans.
Final effort gives a great result.
Hopper from a S/S toilet brush holder, S/S pipe with an internal pipe from a car aerial also S/S and a pump I bought from the Boat show for a live bait tank that runs on 2 D batteries for $5.00 bucks.
Works a treat, Sorry no photos not savy enough yet.
Thanks again guys.Big smile


Posted By: xsspeed
Date Posted: 07 Jul 2011 at 2:38pm
After some half starts and stops, I have decided to make rather than buy,
 
Is this the general idea of the 'venturi', to induce air from the hopper?
 


Posted By: xsspeed
Date Posted: 07 Jul 2011 at 3:29pm
Agh, I drew that before looking back over page 4 dammit


Posted By: tas-tackle
Date Posted: 15 Jul 2011 at 7:48pm
Hole for ash / ignition needs to be more central and higher...  One on each side...
Pipe from air pump needs to go directly to bottom of venturi pipe...  A 4mm hole drilled facing outwards is all that's required....
The wood chip bin needs to be about 75 x 75....


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http://www.tas-tackle.co.nz


Posted By: got no boat
Date Posted: 16 Jul 2011 at 10:17am
Does anyone have a nice looking pipe that I can buy of them? Same size as mentioned above. Would want pics to look at before I buy. I want something that looks nice as I already have a working setup, just want to bling it out a bit.

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If a 6 was a nine... I don't mind


Posted By: H8_4DS
Date Posted: 01 Aug 2011 at 7:23pm
got no boat - you dont need pretty looking tube. Any tube will do. Just paint it like i have doneWink

From this -



to this -





$10 for a spray can of high heat Matt Black exhaust paint.

The plate bolts to the side of the smoker to help with weight despersion of the smoker and pump. the pump also gets fixed to the plate, so its an all in one setup. I have to go buy another pump cause my one is being used on the bloody fish tank now LOL




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Formally Known as nvmyvl


Posted By: Joker
Date Posted: 22 Aug 2011 at 5:22pm
sounds like a lot of guys blowing smoke up each others arse


Posted By: Joker
Date Posted: 24 Aug 2011 at 11:07am
I had a go at making one that doesn't need an engineering workshop or much materials. I used an upmarket Vodka container as the burning chamber but basically anything with a lid will do. This thing really produces a lot of smoke.

 

Basically, it is a copper tube through the top of the vodka container with a couple of ½” holes towards the rear of the pipe. A champagne cork was drilled/gouged out to fit the main pipe into. Then the whole cork was drilled to fit a much smaller tube (I used a crochet knitting needle which has a hole about the size of a matchstick) This tube mouth was about ½” ahead of the holes in the main tube to create a vortex with a vacuum behind which sucks the smoke out of the burning chamber. An air bubbler (the kind you use to keep live baits alive in a bucket or an aquarium bubbler) is attached to the outside end of the smaller tube as it protrudes from the cork. A 1” diameter air hole is made in the side of the can at the bottom to be able to ignite the saw dust..

 

Half fill with saw dust and ignite with the air pump turned on and away she goes. I ran for 2 hours last night on a couple of handfuls of saw dust.

 
 



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