Smoker Build - Trash Can Smoker

[floydmeddler]

Hi all,

I've just finished building a Trash Can Smoker. Here it is:



I bought the bin from here: http://www.dockerills.co.uk/wt911-galva ... -x-24.html

It's a large bin measuring 18 inches x 30 inches. Really sturdy too. Lid was rubbish though - really flimsy. I bought a new sturdy one for £13

Here is my charcoal box. It's a 35cm stainless steel roaster with holes on the side. It comes with a grill but I cut out slots on the bottom too. It stands on 7cm bolts. This charcoal box holds 3kg of Big K Briquettes and around 2kg of lumpwood.



Ash pan is a 70p oven tray from ASDA.



Here is the air inlet. It's a 1/2 inch ball valve. There are 2 more 1/2 inch air vents on either side of the smoker. These are simply 1/2 inch tank connectors with screw on blanks.



I used 2cm thick stove rope around the lid to create a tight seal.



Grill is from an old BBQ we had in the garden. Water pan is a baking tray we had in the kitchen. This is a pork shoulder I smoked last week. (first attempt... made a few mistakes... I don't want to talk about it...)



Chimney is a piece of piping a friend gave me.

OK... so I smoked a whole Jerk Chicken and sausages yesterday. Used 2kg of lumpwood and some oak chippings. Started a few coals up in the chimney and added them to the charcoal box. Put the lid on the smoker and added the chicken and sausages when it was at around the 180F mark. It took around 50 mins - 1 hr to reach the desired 250F mark. I plugged the 2 side vents and closed the ball valve slightly. Temp stayed between 235F - 250F for the 4 hours I was cooking for. Held temp amazingly well. After the cook, I shut all valves and chimney.

Today, I weighed the leftover coal in the charcoal box. Looks like I only burned 1kg of lump yesterday. Seems pretty good to me: 1kg lumpwood = 4 hrs of smoking.

Total cost of build is around £75. You could do it cheaper but I urge you not to cheap out on the bin. I Initially bought a cheapo bin from Ebay and it was a thin and flimsy piece of crap.

All in all, I'm over the moon with my new smoker!

P.S... about the galvanised steel thing... Zinc's melting point is 419.5 °C and its boiling point is 907 °C. My smoker will never go over 150c. I've heard that acid can lead to the zinc leeching. So... I won't be using any acid based sprays on my meats.

[kwazulu]

nice work!

[floydmeddler]

Cheers!

[Backyardsmoker]

Im suprised no one has said anything yet. I remember putting something up about using an incinerator, I was told to steer clear because galvanised metal contains zink and the heat of the fire can make the zink release and in big doses can make you sick.. I read about this on the net and there is alot of debate on this.. I wouldnt do it just to be sure... that aside nice work man

Ben

[keith157]

I think it was mentioned when the build was proposed but the arguement was it wouldn't get up to those temps. Apologies to fflloyd if it was on a different post.
Personally I'd still avoid a galvanised smoker were I ever to think of building one as avoiding acidic based is not always as easy as it seems.

[Backyardsmoker]

It came up in one of my first ever posts I think. It was one of the first incarnations of my design. Im glad I was talked out of
It tbh. After building my own and sweating over it i know how goos it feels to make your own crearion. So hats off to you mate. I wasnt trying to pee on your chips, just passing on what I was told. We're all here to help each other achive the best food possible.

Ben

[paulfire]

I think it's a fantastic build, inventive and well put together. The debate on galvanised or not will go on but it doesn't matter, I am sure if floyd gets sick he will tell us and we will then know. Meanwhile, we should applaud the creators of inventive BBQs.

[Backyardsmoker]

It is an ace design. I wasnt trying to knock it st all. Like I said I have buikt my own so I know how it feels to be proud of whst you built. I have got the taste for creation now.

[floydmeddler]

Hey lads,

Just to repeat above:

P.S... about the galvanised steel thing... Zinc's melting point is 419.5 °C and its boiling point is 907 °C. My smoker will never go over 150c. I've heard that acid can lead to the zinc leeching. So... I won't be using any acid based sprays on my meats.

I did mull over this endlessly and did lots of research. I'm 100% confident that my design is absolutely fine.

And of course... if I ever get sick I'll mention here straight away. That's not going to happen though.

I managed 10 hrs at 225f during my first smoke off. Held a steady temp pretty much all the way. Was chuffed!

Cheers for the compliments lads. Appreciate it.

[Backyardsmoker]

Dont get me wrong, I wasnt knocking you. I still have my idea down on paper as a possibility. I was going to use the incinerator for the fire and put a 45 gallon 5deum over top for the meat. Still might yet. But thar possibility of self poisoning is always there at the back of my mind. I have to think about the kids all the time.

I really like your design. Sorry if I annoyed you.


Ben