Here's my first attempt at a smoke delivery system. It's very basic, but I though I'd go simple and learn from my mistakes.
I'm going to use it to cold smoke some cured pork, turning it into smoked bacon hopefully.
The way I interpret, from what I read and seen is that the curing process makes the pork food safe at ambient temperatures, which allows us to smoke the pork. The pork goes into the cure raw and comes out of the smoker raw. The smokeing is just for flavour and a certain amount of 'curing' food safety.
- Complete set up
I found the centre of the upper tin and drilled a hole to accept a fitting thats used for connecting 15mm dia. pipe to water butts etc. Then attached a small pipe to this and a 'T-Piece, and then two small pipes to the other two ends. On the shorter of the two pipes I attached a pre drilled 'end piece. The holw was 6mm dia. - ready to accept a 6mm 'air pipe'. Then I cut a piece of 6mm (metel) pipe so that there was enough length for it to extend from just past the 't-piece' vertical hole and out far enough so as to enable a piece of plastic tubeing to be attached. To seal and hold the 6mm in place I drilled a piece of 26mm square wood and glued it to the pipe.
I then fitted a piece of 'aquarium' tube to the pipe and other end to an air pump. I half filled the lower tin with oak dust and a few odd bits and lit it with a blow torch via the air holes. I fixed a piece of clear 'hose pipe' to the output end so that I could 'hide' the smoke around the corner of the shed. (approx 5ft long).
Well got a few puffs of smoke from the air holes, then it went out!
Tried it without the hose pipe.
Again got a few puffs, but this time out of the end where it should come out of! I deduced that the air pump I'd purchased wasn't giving me what I needed, it produced 85 litres per hour. gave up and went to bed.
This morning - revitalised, so I 'borrowed' the sons 12v tyre blower up, I had to modify it slightly (took it apart and taped a bit of wire to the two poles and connected them to a battery - the air pump worked.
Fitted the tubes and re lit with the blow torch - much, much better, got a steady (ish) stream of blue smoke, which will work well. I just need to get an air pump with a better blow, I may go alot better blow, as I plan to fit a series of tubes to the out flow to act like a 'cooler' effect. (can't think of a better way to explain sorry - a snakey sort of thing)
All I need to do now is sort out the food grade plastic drum to accept and expel the smoke and to hold the food.
thanks
Gary
