Smoker size advice please

[bridgecottage]

Hi all
I'm a keen novice and have just been given a proQ csg.
I would appreciate some advice please regarding the size of smoker I should build.
I have no idea as to what volume it should be or its relative dimensions.

Many thanks

[vagreys]

It depends on what you want to do, and other factors. Smokers and smokehouses range from very compact (Bradley, Masterbuilt) to entire buildings. They range from the simple, cardboard box, to the computer-controlled steel boxes that control heat, smoke, humidity, showering, blooming, and self-clean. While much of this is way beyond what you want to do at home, the fundamental questions still apply to your design process:

1. What do you want to do? Cold smoking is clearly part of it, based on your CSG. Do you intend to just cold smoke, or do you intend to fully cook product in the smoker? If so, what and how large? Do you want to smoke sausages and bacon, not needing to get above, say, 200°F? Or, do you want to be able to do beef brisket, pork shoulder, or poultry, where higher sustained temperatures are required, too? If both, what will the balance be - mostly hot smoking with a little cold smoke in cold weather, mostly cold smoking, some other balance?

2. How much product do you anticipate doing at a time? A few pieces? A large batch? The take from an entire hunting/fishing trip? Do you want to be able to hang sausages? Pieces of bacon? Whole cuts of back or streaky bacon? Whole hams? Whole fish? This will inform you about the potential capacity and dimensions of your smoker. Personally, I suggest you start small and simple (and inexpensive), and familiarize yourself with the process of smoking, first, and invest more in your smoker when you have a better idea of what you really want. But people do just fine jumping in with both feet. You can spend a lot or a little or anywhere in between, whether you get a pre-fabricated smoker or build one yourself.

3. What is the climate like, where you are? Will your smoker be used in 1 season, 2 or 3 seasons, year round? This could impact your design, if you need to cool the smoke because it is too warm where you live, or need insulation to keep temperatures stable.

4. Do you have space for a (semi-) permanent smoker, or does it need to be portable?

5. Do you already know what kind of fuel you want/need to use - wood, propane, electricity?

Thinking about the answers to some of these questions will help you narrow down your options. Also, I'd recommend locating a copy of Meat Smoking and Smokehouse Design by Marianski, so you can learn about what you want to look for in a smoker to meet your needs, anywhere from a cardboard box to something more sophisticated.

[bridgecottage]

Hi
Thanks for your detailed reply.
What I have is one of these ~
http://www.macsbbq.com/cold-smokers/pro ... -generator
and I want to use it for cold smoking.
I have used a hot smoker before but never a cold smoker.

My problem is that I don't know what quantity of smoke the csg will generate nor do I know what concentration of smoke is needed. I don't want to build it too small as I will waste smoking opportunity, nor do I want to build it too large in which case there will not be enough smoke to do the job.

I'll start off by building something quick and easy with a cardboard box, but long term I will build a permanent structure from wood.

I'm in the UK and plan to smoke small scale fish/meat etc
Many thanks
Tim

[GUS]

Plenty of stuff on here if you search esp pertaining to CSG, it's very comprehensively covered by the forum here, lighting it will give you the best idea on a cheese or three.

large box, bamboo skewers, & cooling racks, vented & placed away from any computers / pcbs ... done.
firing it up will answer many questions for you, those that don't are probably already listed here.

[derekmiller]

Hi BC.
If you have a look at this link, we use 1 CSG in the smaller box and 2 CSGs in the larger box.
We also cold smoke on a Weber OTP with 2 CSGs.
Derek

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set ... 52d909e873

[wheels]

Nice trout, and a couple of great examples of DIY smokers there Derek.

I use one CSG in my smoker:



It's about 500mm x 1020mm.

HTH

Phil

[derekmiller]

Thanks Phil.
Was just trying to give an idea of sizes...
To be honest, it was the missus who built them.
I had put the boxes aside, she disappeared one Saturday afternoon, came back with the doweling, racks and trays and by that night we had two cold smokers.
Plus the bonus, if I buy another bunch of flowers, I get another smoker.
Derek.

[wheels]

You've got a great wife!

Phil

[derekmiller]

Sure have Phil.