Building a Smoker

[wallie]

I am thinking of building a smoker using a Galvanised Dustbin and would like to know if this material would be o/k.
My plan is to cut a door near the bottom and the heat source to be an electric hotplate.
Any suggestions welcome.
Thanks
wallie

[jpj]

links from here:
http://forum.sausagemaking.org/viewtopi ... 296e5084f4

but read Paul Kribs' comment halfway down page

[wboggs]

I've always herd that galvanized steel and food is a bad mix. I assume galvanized steel is the question you have.

[DarrinG]

Galvanized metal is only bad when you get to high temps. Essentially when the zinc used to galvanize metal gets too hot you get fumes. These fumes make there way into your food and you eat it and you end up with heavy metal poisoning.

From what I have read and seen if you use a dustbin that is not "hot dipped" you should be ok at low temps (200 and below)

If it were up to me I would just make a big wooden box.

DarrinG

[Big Guy]

For years I used a 45 gallon steel drum. They lasted about 5 years then I needed to replace them. I built a fire in it, let it burn down then put new wood on the coals. It worked but you really had to watch the fire didn't spark to life, very little temp control. Love my new propane smoker