This is too cool. This conversion project would depend on the kind of fridge that you have and the materials available to you. The chimney should not be too large though, or there will be too much of an air exchange. This will be your vent that allows the smoke to exit. Depending on the construction of your fridge and how you are planning on generating smoke, it may be necessary to fireproof the bottom portion of your fridge, even though most smoke generators don't produce much heat. I hope this has been a helpful or at least interesting read and would love your feedback and tales of fridge-smoker-related activity. Fit your chimney so that it protrudes a little way into the inside of the fridge—2–4 mm would be fine—leaving enough pipe to be able to put sealant around later. It's simple and relatively inexpensive and a great smoke generator for those starting out. Always make sure to use proper safety protection when cutting anything metal. I have a smoking gun from which I have never gotten good results. Step 2 Position a metal bucket, bin or drum with a tight-fitting lid next to the fridge; 1 to 2 feet distance is ideal. Carefully choosing where you want your shelves is an important part of the process. Similarly, fresh-sourced produce will be safer to smoke and taste a lot better. A lot of useful information regarding refrigerant can be found in this helpful guide from The National Archives. well . I used two corks per hole that were about 3/4 of their original length, protruding a bit on either side so that the thermometer back was not touching the fridge door. If you plan on going down the smoke generator route, however, then it is important to take into account the dimensions of your smoke cabinet before you buy, as a fridge with a door that won't close is no good to anyone. In the bottom of the refrigerator, place a few bricks. What an amazing review! The maze-like arrangement of the mesh ensures that only a little can burn at any moment, resulting in smoke for a long period of time. Due to the nature of the project, I decided that it would be best to try to work on as low a budget as possible to keep the cost of the build well below that of models on the market that are specifically built for cold smoking. This way, you ensure level racks. source. If you have a limited budget, you can build your old fridge smoker completely out of salvaged materials. For me, this involved lining the bottom of the fridge with some sheet steel and including a raised rack to dissipate any heat. Brian Stephens from France on June 26, 2014: Very detailed procedure for turning a fridge into a cold smoker, good job. I did not have the right tool for cutting a circular hole in metal. These will protect the bottom from any excess heat. There are also several non-fruit-tree woods that are widely used and available. Sealing up the holes prevents unwanted bugs and other creatures from sneaking their way into your smoke cabinet. I achieved this by lining the hole with cork (from wine corks). . I have a refrigerator that is about to be replaced. The older the refrigerator, the better. They might also potentially harm you as well. Once you have decided how many shelves you would like and how much hanging space you want, it is time to work on the slats. The additional chemicals will get into your food and make it taste bad. Clean all of your racking and double check the cleanliness of your smoke cabinet. Place a small amount of charcoal into the metal pot. Look forward to your next great lens! If done incorrectly, it could lead to you culturing some nasty bacteria by mistake. The racks can also be used (metal only.) Making an aligning hole beneath the first hole may be tricky, but it depends on the lining of your fridge. Make sure that the notch is a little larger (though not too much larger) than the width of the metal rods that you will be using so that they are a snug fit. There is a wealth of knowledge available on curing methods and what to use where. The next few steps will detail how to achieve the design shown in the picture of this step. I am not sure I could ever manage this but it is a great resource for those who are interested in giving it a try. I then drilled the marked holes with the relevant drill bits (metal for metal and wood for wood) and attached the slats using 6 x 80 mm coach bolts with the head inside the fridge and the nut on the outside. I cut a section of pipe about 1 1/2 feet long, sanded the rust off, cleaned it and then painted it with black Hammerite (a paint for metal). Cut a 2-inch diameter hole into the top of the refrigerator with a drill and a 2-inch hole saw bit. There are a variety of curing methods, including dry curing (great for meats) or brining (soaking in salt water). Using a hacksaw (or angle grinder with a metal cutting disc), cut the metal rods to a length approximately 10–15 mm shorter than the internal width of your fridge. These include oak, hickory, maple, ash, mesquite, beech and olive, as well as other more obscure woods such as sassafras, acacia and persimmon. (I used 6 mm bits for both.). Fireproof bottom of fridge for use with smoke generator. I may know nothing about smoked meats, but you have provided a detailed how-to here for those who love them and are interested in smoking their own, if that's the right term. A close-up of the fitted chimney in its aligning hole. The normal temperature range for cold smoking tends to be 10–32 degrees Celsius (50–90 degrees Fahrenheit). PaigSr from State of Confusion on July 22, 2014: With all the used and no longer wanted fridges in the world its great to see someone find a use for them. I placed the central slat first into the position that I required. This article is a look at how I turned my old, broken fridge into a cold smoker and is intended to provide inspiration to those looking to begin (or continue) cold smoking food. I would strongly recommend reading up on the subject of cold smoking before you try anything. For best results when using your own wood, you must season it so that it is very dry. There are several types available, but I opted for two long-stem thermometers from River Country to go through my fridge door—one just above the smoke generator box portion and one slightly above center of the racked section where food would be. This will allow for smoke to pass out of the top of the cold smoker. We bought a basic cheap hot plate at a consignment shop for heating the wood chips that was placed at the bottom of the freezer, I mean, smoker. Once you have marked all the rack heights, measure the intervals between them and mark off these same intervals on the shorter slats. A rough outline of the process is as follows: Hacksaw (12-inch with metal cutting blade), Bolts — 6 mm (long enough to go through the fridge wall and slats), Wooden slats (I used a few old bed slats), Iron/steel rods — at least the width of the inside diameter of your fridge (I cut mine from an iron gate), BBQ/smoking thermometer (long stem, about 5 inches), 1–2 feet of steel pipe — 30 mm diameter (~1.5 inch), Steel sheet for fireproofing bottom (optional depending on smoke generation type). Start with the central slat, which will be the longest of the three, and draw horizontal lines (with a steel rule or setsquare) where you want the base of each notch to be. Kathryn Grace from San Francisco on June 30, 2014: Welcome to Squidoo! If you have a circular cutter of the correct dimensions for your pipe, then this should do just fine. Richard loves DIY projects and salvaging items that would've otherwise ended up in a landfill and finding new uses for them. By Using our Pellet Pro® Pellet Hopper Assembly, we have converted an old refrigerator into a pellet smoker. Happy smoking. (Don't forget the inside of the door like I did first time 'round.). Keep up the great work. Here, we show you the best way to convert your old refrigerator into an easy-to-use pellet smoker with Pellet Pro®. I used a coping saw while holding the slats in a bench vice. At this point, you should have something that is beginning to resemble a smoke cabinet. Measuring and arranging your slats properly ensures that your rods will hang straight and level. First, place the smoker outside and away from your home. After drilling the holes with a 15 mm circular cutter, I drilled a small hole into the wine corks which would allow me to pass my thermometer probe through.