Jump to content

Looking for a small electric smoker


Bluegill

Recommended Posts

All depends what you plan on using it for. I have the basic electric front door model, 2 grills with the pan underneath for wood chips. That smoker has probably done a 1000 pounds of fish over the years, mostly salmon. On an average load, I have only needed to put in 3 pans of chips, sometimes only 2 if it was a smaller amount of meat. One thing I changed out over the years were the grills, got replacement porcelain coated ones for a BBQ. Easier to clean and almost sticky free.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

the downfall to the lighter units is keeping a consistent temp during the winter....last fall i retired my true north unit that served me well for 8 or 9 years but winter time it sucked....you can smoke on your BBQ ya know....

 

its my intention on building a large unit as soon as i find the material i require...but ill never go back to electric....food for thought ...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You could take a old electric heating element of some kind and make your own "small" smoker....you could even use a large cardboard box to do it....it's really up to your imagination if you only want a small smoker.

 

Small is limiting you too much......but I guess you need a small one for space restrictions or something....but if you can get a combo smoker/grill you are so much better off....here's just one of three of my grills on my deck and this one is also my smoker.

 

 

GrillsontheDeck003.jpg

 

SMOKED RIBS

SmokedRibs6-18-10002.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

big chief good but crappy winter and summer. 15 deg 8 hours

Centrino good but need to open door too cool so burner comes on to produce smoke in summer. also hold moisure in so I drain the tray. 145 for 8 hours I run them both if I had to pick one it would be the centrino. I have only ever smoked fish. Done it for years.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Half the fun in getting into smokers is checking out all the crazy contraptions other people come up with. I had a blast checking out the you tube videos and peoples web sites. You'll absorb a ton of information and stumble onto some good recipes.

 

I put mine together on the cheap side. A $20 electric hotplate from CTC, A 12x12 ceramic tile goes underneath it. Three $5 grills from CTC and about $40 in cedar from home depot. Probably cost me more in beer sitting in the garage having a cold one while drawing up plans and putting it together. If you do build one try and make it as air tight as possible with a smaller air exchange hole and be extra cautious with any material that can give off fumes when heating. OBS plywood is not recommended!!!

 

Mine works fine for what I do which is mainly trout. With the hot plate on medium I add a small extra cup to the chip tray with 2 lit charcoal bricks. Takes my smoker up to 170-190F mark. A $10 BBQ temp gauge sits on the door.

 

DSCF9295.jpg

 

In action

DSCF9449.jpg

 

Visit your local BBQ stores as their selection of chips and smoker accessories is growing. I have a BBQ Galore right behind me so easy to pick up my favourite Black Cherry wood chips

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Forgot to add one thing. In this version the trays are too spread out. The bottom tray gets a fair bit more heat and smoke and about every hour I switch top and bottom racks. A better design for this system would be to move the racks closer together at the top. Gonna try and get it going this weekend if I can get out Saturday

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recent Topics

    Popular Topics

    Upcoming Events


×
×
  • Create New...