Flower pot smoker

[Eric]

Hi all

Thought I'd put up a thread about the FPS I decided to make. It got the green light where the UDS did not. I've wanted to get into BBQ for a while now (since I read about the UDS) and this seemed like a good way to start.

I started with 2 17" terracotta pots quickly followed by a 40cm grate (pretty heavy duty). I got a 1500W hot plate from eBay and a router speed controller too.

I dismantled the hotplate, it was all quite nice and "unscrewable" so I didn't have to break anything. I added a couple of nuts and bolts legs to the plate that sits under the hotplate and then put the hot plate back on top. I cut off the existing connectors on the power cable and crimped on some new female spade connectors.

The stack inside consists of, hotplate on legs, small cast iron pan to hold wood chips, small grate, terracotta saucer (as heat deflector and water pan), main cooking grill.

The heating element was cast into a solid plate, rather than the spiral rings seen in most builds.


Dismantled hotplate


Some legs for the plate that holds the hotplate


New spade connectors


Hotplate in the bottom of the pot


Lower grill and waterpan


In place and warming up


It's currently set to half heat and is at 95C after about an hour and a half.

To be updated

[Eric]

I lied, it was set on 3/10 and had stopped rising at 90C. I've increased it to 4/10 and hopefully that should take me to where it needs to be (aiming for 220F / 105C). I've got a PID controller that I might add to the mix tomorrow when I do my first cook (pork shoulder). I'd like to find the setting that takes it to approximately where I want it to be and then add the PID controller for extra precision.

[robgunby]

Great work Eric! Looks pretty neat, and larger than I had imagined. Shold easily fit a pork shoulder on there with room to spare for some ribs or some chicken legs.....

You might be better off with a larger clay saucer for your baffle, also you shouldn't need any water in there, the clay saucer on its own will do fine.

Check how your PID controller does before committing to food. If kept well sheltered from the elements you may find it is surplus to requirements anyway, what with the consistent heat the hotplate will kick out.

Well done sir!

[Eric]

Yeah, the clay saucer was the only one available lower than 35cm, I would like to replace it with something larger.

The smoker is up above the desired temperature now, I'm reducing the best to try and find where it holds at 104C. There is some wind but it is tucked in a corner.

I think I'd initially run it hotter to get it up to temp and then turn it down. The clay seems to be storing up a lot of heat as time goes on.

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[robgunby]

You can use any heatproof dish filled with sand as a heat baffle, if indeed you need one. Wrap it in foil if you want to keep it clean from drips and smoke.

It may well be easier to catch the temperature on the way up, because once that terracotta gets hot I would have thought it would hold the heat quite well, and if you overheat it you'll be impatiently waiting for it to cool to put the meat on

[Eric]

Bah, I wrote a reply and tappatalk killed it. Was just saying I've got some 23cm foil pie trays that I could full with sand to replace the clay saucer.

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[robgunby]

Either would do. To be honest, I think given the low heat output of a hotplate, you are really needing it to act as a drip pan more than a baffle.

[Eric]

I went with sand in a pie tray, figured the sand would absorb the drips well. One thing that I've struggled with is keeping a constant level of smoke. I was given small bucket of apple wood chips which I started with this morning. I put a handful on the cast iron pan, lots of smoke straight away, very pleasing. Unfortunately they were gone pretty quickly. Now I wonder if that's why some people say you need to soak them. I tried putting them on in foil packets balanced on the lip of the pan, ie less direct contact, they did a bit better but still only lasted maybe 30 mins. It seemed that they were OK until a certain temperature and then they go up pretty quickly in smoke. This is why I wonder if soaking them actually helps, as it would seem that the moisture would simple delay that point, unless they smoked a bit while they dried out. Now I've gone and put a single chunk of oak on the pan. I have a few old, untreated bits of oak sleeper from a project about 6 years ago. So I cut off a piece approx 1"x3"x3" and stood it on a thin end. This seems to be giving me a steadier smoke production.

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[robgunby]

This is an issue with chips, even when soaked they burn up pretty quick. I find wrapping in foil has about the same effect as soaking.

Could you get away with larger, dry chips / chunks or would they just go out? How is the single piece of oak fairing?

If that's no good, you might have to think about making a hopper of sorts.....or just build a charcoal smoker and get a divorce

[robgunby]

PS unless you want to use fresh sand every time, cover the sand with foil to catch drips. That sand is gonna be pretty manky after a cook!