the making of "El Commodore Smoker" aka ECS

BamsBBQ · Mar 15, 2009

I bought an old Commodore filing cabinet tonight. the idea here is to make a low budget smoker that will turn out some good smoked food.

the plans for ECS are:

1. to be able to use charcoal,propane and electric all in one smoker(not at the same time of course..lol)
2. either going to add an electric burner(the easy way) or an old stove element(the hard way) and turn it into 220 instead of 110
3. propane heat will come via an old side burner from a propane bbq
4. chrome smoke stack
5. thermometers placed somewhere
6. charcoal basket
7. all plans are not final

more pics to follow tomorrow

Keltin · Mar 15, 2009

Are you going to use a water pan? You could have heat in bottom drawer, water in 2nd drawer, and meat in 3rd and 4th. I wonder how well it will maintain the heat? Sound like fun.

Are you just going to drill a bunch of holes in the floors of the drawers to let heat and smoke rise?

BamsBBQ · Mar 15, 2009

Keltin said:
Are you going to use a water pan? You could have heat in bottom drawer, water in 2nd drawer, and meat in 3rd and 4th. I wonder how well it will maintain the heat? Sound like fun.

Are you just going to drill a bunch of holes in the floors of the drawers to let heat and smoke rise?

havent decided about the waterpan yet but most likely(i use to use the waterpan in my smoker but i have figured out my q's quirks and generally dont use it.)i really havent decided where i am going to put it either.

the heat will come from the 4th drawer. am going to be cutting a round hole and making a plate the will be interchangable(sp) for both propane and electric heat.

i am going to cut out the bottoms of the 1st-3rd drawers, add some expanded steel for shelving.

i may even just make it like this one

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AI0EFJEfgBw[/ame]

Keltin · Mar 16, 2009

BamsBBQ said:
havent decided about the waterpan yet but most likely(i use to use the waterpan in my smoker but i have figured out my q's quirks and generally dont use it.)i really havent decided where i am going to put it either.

the heat will come from the 4th drawer. am going to be cutting a round hole and making a plate the will be interchangable(sp) for both propane and electric heat.

i am going to cut out the bottoms of the 1st-3rd drawers, add some expanded steel for shelving.

i may even just make it like this one

That is a nice rig!!! I like it! I love finding ways to turn unsuspecting objects into smokers! Too cool!

High Cheese · Mar 16, 2009

Sweet! I could put one in my office.

BamsBBQ · Mar 17, 2009

Day 2

didnt get alot done today but went looking around for parts

went to Restore/Habitat for Humanity Store and picked up a chimney of sorts

totals so far

$17.50 for the cabinet(it was from a relative so i paid way too much)
$3.25 for the chimney

heres some progress pics

the chimney

bottom ring cut off and ready to cut hole in top of cabinet

cutting hole with a pair of tinsnips

chimney installed

on the agenda tomorrow..figuring out what i am going to use for cooking racks
http://i42.tinypic.com/2r5svn7.jpg

Keltin · Mar 17, 2009

Sweet! Go Bam, go Bam, go Bam! I'm loving this work in progress, so don't stop updating!!! :clap:

BamsBBQ · Mar 17, 2009

Day 3

went to a second hand store down the street and bought an old indoor grill

indoor grill fits perfectly inside of the bottom drawer of ECS

drawer also closes with no modifications needed :wink:

couldnt wait any longer..had to try it out and see if i could bet smoke going through the exhaust... hard to see but there is smoke coming up..success

updates to be continued......

High Cheese · Mar 17, 2009

Well, if it doesn't work you can just smash it with the loader.....that's always fun.

BamsBBQ · Mar 17, 2009

High Cheese said:
Well, if it doesn't work you can just smash it with the loader.....that's always fun.

i thought of that but the cabinet saved itself within 5-10 minutes by giving me smoke..lol

BamsBBQ · Mar 18, 2009

DAY 4

not much progress today but enough that i can use it as a cooker right now.

i cut out the bottom of the drawer of the first shelf, drilled holes in the bottom of the second drawer and on the third one i cut the center out of it(seeing if i can use it as a baffle of sorts)

since i was going to test how long a pan of chips would last today the way it was set up, i decided to not waste that beautiful smoke.

brats

brats in the smoker - smoking with a mix of alder and cherry wood

GrillinFool · Mar 18, 2009

That indoor grill was a great score. Looks like it was tailor made for this!?!?!

BamsBBQ · Mar 18, 2009

yes it was a score to find that indoor grill but after a test smoke today, i need to come up with a bigger wattage burner, this one will do great come deer hunting season for making sausages. it will also work for cold smoking or for hot smoking fish

todays maiden voyage is complete. these brats taste great, nice light smoke flavor and juicy.

updates to be continued tomorrow

GrillinFool · Mar 18, 2009

BamsBBQ said:
yes it was a score to find that indoor grill but after a test smoke today, i need to come up with a bigger wattage burner, this one will do great come deer hunting season for making sausages. it will also work for cold smoking or for hot smoking fish

Sucks that it doesn't put out that much heat. Seemed tailor made for that space....

JoeV · Mar 18, 2009

How about moving the heat up to the next drawer? This would effectively reduce the cubic volume to be heated by 25% until you can get a higher wattage element. As long as you're just smoking on the grate, you don't need the additional volume inside the cabinet right now. Also, see about putting a damper plate in the flue pipe to reduce the heat & smoke loss. Should be able to get a cheap one for house ducting at a big box like Home Depot or Lowes. This will better hold in the heat & smoke and give you great control over both.

My only concern with this design is the powder paint interior and nylon wheels that the drawers roll on. Depending on the temperature rise, there may be some off gassing from them and I'm not sure of the toxicity from either product. A little research on those materials (MSDS) might be in order before getting too deep in this project.

Other than that, I'm enjoying watching you put this together. Hey, sucks to see snow in your yard. We had almost 60F here today and I was working in my t-shirt. Sorry to rub it in.

BamsBBQ · Mar 18, 2009

lots of good advice joev..

-my plans for the interior is to either sand blast it or burn it off.
-yes the damper is good idea but when you smoke, if the smoke is not free rolling for lack of better terms, it just hangs around and gets stangnant thus making your food taste not so good.
-on my big pit and my small one, the rule of thumb is to control the temperature through the intake and not the exhaust.
-i ended up moving the cooking grates down with the brats on it today, it finished well that way, i also had to a small propane burner(it got windy after i first started)

got a phone call not too long ago, going to go play in the scrap yard tomorrow.. the guy on the phone let me know that there are all kinds of electric stoves(going to cut down the oven racks for cooking grates)(going to get a thermostat as well and maybe hook up 220)

he also said there are all kinds of old grills there as well... might be some in my best Hank Hill voice.."Propane & propane accessories" there..lol

BamsBBQ · Mar 19, 2009

DAY 5

found some treasures to today for ECS... found an old propane grill grate that only needed minor adjustment to fit. also got some oven racks that needed to be cut and fit into place. from the old grill i also got a thermometer(temperature guage)

oven grate fit into top lip of cabinet door, which gives me additional cooking space on the bottom of the drawer(which will probably be cut out at a later date and expanded steel installed there.

propane grill rack installed

700*F gasket maker applied where my cutting wasnt so great..lol

first coat paint applied to outside... further sanding will be required tomorrow

tomorrows project to find a heat source other than indoor grill...have an idea of a homemade propane application

GrillinFool · Mar 20, 2009

You go Bam!!!

Keltin · Mar 20, 2009

Kepp it up!! Love it!!

BamsBBQ · Mar 20, 2009

got the final paint done today( i think..lol)

the dots and marks showing up are not on ECS they are from the camera, low lighting and batteries were dieing on it

Calicolady · Mar 20, 2009

I've been enjoying the show too, Bams.
Good job.
One question, when you make sausage, don't they hang to smoke? (okay-2 questions) Do you plan on modification for that too?

BamsBBQ · Mar 20, 2009

Calicolady said:
I've been enjoying the show too, Bams.
Good job.
One question, when you make sausage, don't they hang to smoke? (okay-2 questions) Do you plan on modification for that too?

heres my thoughts on both and i am glad you asked..

#1. traditionalists hang their sausage but i usually dont anymore. the reasons being that on most smokers or smokehouses, the smoke source comes from the bottom, i personally think that the bottom sausages closer to the source get more smoke flavor. but again thats just my opinon

now the second part to your question.

#2. i want to use this for smoking some venison sausage or maybe some hams and some bacon. i will take out the top drawer, cut off the door, put it on hinges, make a track on the inside so i can slide wooden dowels to hang meat.

heres a semi-finished look at it with the drawers in.

Calicolady · Mar 20, 2009

Thanks for answering.
One more thing.......
When all is said and done, and you've completed your masterpiece, I fear you're gonna want a "doublewide"! :wink:

I'd start looking for a gun safe or footlocker, or shipmate's chest now!

BamsBBQ · Mar 20, 2009

Calicolady said:
Thanks for answering.
One more thing.......
When all is said and done, and you've completed your masterpiece, I fear you're gonna want a "doublewide"!

I'd start looking for a gun safe quote]

got one of those sitting right in front of me..lol

Calicolady · Mar 20, 2009

BamsBBQ · Jun 15, 2009

did some more updates today on ECS...i got an old gas grill at a yard sale for free 2 weeks ago just for this purpose... added parts to my UDS and these updates

a side table and converted the heat source to propane using the side burner from the gas grill..hope to cook on it this weekend as i found some pecan wood that i want to try

TxsChef · Jun 15, 2009

That is just too cool!

BamsBBQ · Jun 15, 2009

thanks... its pretty cool to use as well... i get alot of strange looks from neighbours until they see the food come out of it..lol

its actually cheap to make if you are really thrifty..

i believe total cost i have into this is around $25

TxsChef said:
That is just too cool!

the making of "El Commodore Smoker" aka ECS

Ni pedo

New member

Ni pedo

New member

Saucier

Ni pedo

New member

Ni pedo

Saucier

Ni pedo

Ni pedo

New member

Ni pedo

New member

Dough Boy

Ni pedo

Ni pedo

New member

New member

Ni pedo

New member

Ni pedo

New member

Ni pedo

New member

Ni pedo

Attachments

New member

Ni pedo