New smoker from an old freezer

[BBQer]

I finally finished my freezer to smoker conversion.

Ran a load of snack sticks through it to test it out. Worked fairly well.
Now I just have to get more sausages into it, the snack sticks are all gone.

[Smokin in Korea]

That is 1 fine unit, does the refridge plant still work so as you can do total cold smoke?

[BBQer]

No it was a non-working freezer. But in testing it, the hotplate will produce smoke without going over 90F at the low end of it's range with dampers open. The top end of the temp range is just under 200F with dampers mostly closed.

If I need lower temps than 90F I'm going to rig an external smoke generator and attach it to the lower vent opening with some 4" ducting.

The other thing I'm going to test is whether I can figure out a way to keep 60-80% humidity in it for dry-curing and aging salamis.

It's all great fun experimenting.

[porker]

Really looks tidy....brill peace of work!

Best Regards,

[Smokin in Korea]

I would be interested to follow how you approach controlling the Humidity as I am also thinking of doing Salamis and Proscuitto, perhaps somebody else on the forum can steer is in the right direction.

[wittdog]

Wow that looks great...I am envious...that's on my to do list...just looking for the right freezer...a salt water soulution in the bottom of the fridge will raise the humidity up to acceptable levels...

[dougal]

The other thing I'm going to test is whether I can figure out a way to keep 60-80% humidity in it for dry-curing and aging salamis.

...a salt water soulution in the bottom of the fridge will raise the humidity up to acceptable levels...

Yes, I'd agree that the first thing to try is to use the fact of the atmoshere above a *saturated* salt solution being close to 75% RH.

However there's a balance to be struck.
A dish of *solution* won't dehumidify well, but a pile of salt hasn't got any more water to give up to humidify the atmosphere in there.

Consequently, its a question of maintaining a dish of wet salt, rather than a solution. And creating a tiny amount of air movement to even out the humidity (and temperature) without accelerating the drying.

BBQer, did you spot this recent thread on humidity control ? (it has a link to a post where I tried to explain about wet salt)
http://forum.sausagemaking.org/viewtopic.php?t=1986

[BBQer]

Dougal,
I did read it, but not being an electrical tech or engineer I got a bit lost on the electrical devices. So I was hoping to try out the salt and water in the pan idea first. I'll re-read your link to the wet salt info.

I did manage to buy a hygrometer, so I can at least take readings during my experimenting.

Wittdog,
I found my freezer on a local segment of this webgroup - http://freecycle.org/

Real neat concept. People post messages for things they have and want to get rid of and/or things they need or want. The only stipulation is it has to be free.

I posted looking for a non-working older freezer with metal inside liner. In one day I had three responses with photos. Picked one and went and picked it up.

[wittdog]

Dougal,
I did read it, but not being an electrical tech or engineer I got a bit lost on the electrical devices. So I was hoping to try out the salt and water in the pan idea first. I'll re-read your link to the wet salt info.

I did manage to buy a hygrometer, so I can at least take readings during my experimenting.

Wittdog,
I found my freezer on a local segment of this webgroup - http://freecycle.org/

Real neat concept. People post messages for things they have and want to get rid of and/or things they need or want. The only stipulation is it has to be free.

I posted looking for a non-working older freezer with metal inside liner. In one day I had three responses with photos. Picked one and went and picked it up.

That's a cool concept..I have a line on a couple of old 1940's fridges with the rounded top but they keep working.....

[Oddley]

In Britain it would be difficult to use an old freezer because we, and I believe you in the States signed the Montreal Protocol 17 years ago, banning the release of chlorofluorocarbons, which created the hole in the ozone layer. We would have to have it professionally discharged.

If you don't mind me asking did this procedure cost you much?

[BBQer]

Well, Oddley, the man told me it didn't work. I took his word on it. Then when I got the thing home I noticed that a metal line had been cut and crimped in the back. Kind of like what would happen if you were to use wire cutters. So the damage may have been done. As it is, I didn't touch the freezing system and metal lines. Didn't want to do more damage (possibly releasing remaining freon into the air).

[DarrinG]

This is a sort of thread jack here but I didn't know that I had a freecycle program in my area. Thats cool I'm joining up right now.

DarrinG

[dougal]

... I got a bit lost on the electrical devices.

I'm sorry about that.
There are simple devices that are just an electrical switch that 'switches' at a humidity level that the user sets. These are 'powered' by the humidity change itself. I paid less than �20 ($35?) for an ex-equipment one. New, that model costs 3x more, but its a 'pro' item, intended for protecting electronic equipment in outdoor enclosures.
There is a digital electronic version, but new it costs 3x as much as the mechanical version does when new.

When shopping for such a control switch its important to think which way it has to work.
An aircon thermostat has to switch 'on' when the temperature goes above the set point. A heating thermostat has to switch 'off' when the temperature rises above the set point - the opposite.
You have the same sort of thing depending on whether you are controlling a humidifier or a dehumidifier.
A switch which can control eitherwould be ideal.

Curing in a *working* fridge, where the outside temperature is higher than the curing temperature - so the fridge actually has to do some chilling - would tend to run at low humidity - because the chiller knocks out some moisture as condensation. In this situation, some form of humidifier is going to be needed.
However in your closed cabinet, the salami will raise the humidity, and I suspect that airchange (or water takeup by salt crystals) will be needed to keep the humidity low enough.

Just a note about using a fridge in an outhouse, like a garage. Outside summer in the UK, its quite likely that it may be cool enough that the chiller doesn't have to operate. So it won't de-humidify, and you're in the same situation as BBQer and the non-freezing freezer.
Strangely enough, I think the solution is to supply a little heat inside the fridge (a shielded 15w lightbulb? the rewired light already in the fridge?) - so that the chiller has to operate, and in that way dehumidify.

[pokerpete]

Well, Oddley, the man told me it didn't work. I took his word on it. Then when I got the thing home I noticed that a metal line had been cut and crimped in the back. Kind of like what would happen if you were to use wire cutters. So the damage may have been done. As it is, I didn't touch the freezing system and metal lines. Didn't want to do more damage (possibly releasing remaining freon into the air).

There is a possibility that the crimped pipe was never used anyway on that application. I've seen it many times on compressors.

[dougal]

There is a possibility that the crimped pipe was never used anyway on that application. I've seen it many times on compressors.

Yes indeedey.
If its just a single pipe 'end' that has been crimped, is most probably the original factory fill point - not exactly designed for mainenance or refilling, eh?
But if you've got two ends that look as though they once joined up, well that'd sound more like damage...