Off the wall...

[Bigdogpc]

I've got an old electric water heater tank that I am thinking of turning into either a smoker or a small woodstove.  I've never spent much time with either.  Any of you folks built something like this?  If so, got any pixs?  Thanks

[Wudman]

We have a "pig cooker" that was made from a 275 gallon oil drum.....in fact have had many through the years.  We used to cook with charcoal and burned up a lot of oil barrels in short order (we loaned them out and people tended to not take good care of your stuff -- a cooker half full of water and charcoal can be fairly corrosive).  The one we have now is LP gas fired and has lasted about 10 years although it is now ready for overhaul ( We don't cook as much as we used to either).  On the woodstove side -- I have built several from 55 gallon drums and one from a 4 foot diameter heavy wall steel pipe for one of our outbuildings.  They worked ok, but the 55  gallon one in the shop was replaced when I bought an old "Englander" wood stove at a sale for $50.  The 55 gallon barrels didn't last very long.

A cooker/smoker from a water heater should last a pretty good while.  As for the woodstove, it should be ok for a while but will probably warp up some from the heat and longevity (if an issue) could be an issue.

Wudman  

[Tom]

Thin walled containers don't last too long when exposed directly to fire.  You will probably have to put a  container inside to hold the fire.

One of the favorite smokers in S. Florida was an old refrigerator.  You can't use the new ones because they are plastic but the old ones used to be metal inside.  Naturally a fire in there would make short work of them too, so they used an electric burner.

You probably know what I'm talking about.  It's an inexpensive, single burner coil that used to be used out on the porch for those long-cooking-time type dishes to keep some of the heat out of the kitchen.  When you use it for a smoker, you put it in the bottom of the smoker, cover/insulate the cord which is run out the side through a small hole.

You put your meats on grates in the upper half of the smoker or hang them from the top.

You put an iron skillet on the burner and put a few chips of wood in it.  You close the door and plug in the burner.  The chips don't get hot enough to flame up (usually :D) and the heat isn't too great to burn the meat.  It makes a good smoker.  A thermometer in the top of the smoker is nice but not needed.  There is no fire so you don't need a draft.

[Bigdogpc]

The old refrig I knew about but my smarter half won't let me keep one in the back yard.  The commercial "smokers" work OK but rust out pretty quick.  I figured the water heater tank was a little thicker and would last a while.  As for the stove part of it...I was thinking ahead since the mill is outside, my son likes cool weather and I am generally COLD.  A nice little wood stove somewhere around the mill might be REAL handy.  Thanks for the input guys!  Now I'm torn between keeping warm and smoked mullet...Nah, smoker wins!