Well, it's actually a Totem Smoker, Big Chief's predecessor.
(the title should search better like that)
These things are the Easy Bake Ovens of the Smoker World and there are thousands in service, especially in the Northwest.
They're cheap and work "OK" for fish, jerky etc.
I wanted to see if I could get this one better than OK.

The Totem is only a 250W (Big Chiefs are 450W) and it still runs too hot for properly smoking fish.
It will run right up to 140F and I want to be at 110F for fish.


I've thought about these mods for some time and I finally got them all done.

Thermometer
This is the most important mod. Without a therm you are blind.
I wanted a good one, with the proper range for this smoker and a medium length stem.

Tel Tru MT-39 (1-3/4" dia face and 5" stem) $19.95


Grommet for Therm



Air Flow

Next was to get those temps down by adding some air flow to the cabinet.
Here you can see two Weber "daisy wheel" vents and two 8" stacks (w/covers) made from 1-1/4" elec conduit.


Side View



Inside view shows backing plates for compression fittings, 5" therm stem and 1/16" x 1" x 1" aluminum angle for the two added grates (Big Chief). Totems came with 3 grates...there is room for 5.


Finished Product
Look Ma, no pale orange here and no nasty white curd !






Not only does it actually work properly now, but it looks cool with the fresh air intakes and the twice pipes billowing smoke.

You should/could sell the mods as a kit to upgrade any box smoker.



Looks pro.

Very nice piece of work!

Looks good. I like the daisy wheel idea. Any reason you went with pipes on the top instead of daisy wheels?

On my big chief I use a reostat on the a.c. input to lower temp down to approx. 110. If the racks are too hot to handle when checking them then I lower the voltage. I got them as surplus years ago, works great without further mods. Bob R

Yep, I could have done that but I thought that the short stacks would get some "flue action" going....like a mini woodstove arrangement.
Also the real inspiration came from eyeballing the big dogs of the smoker world...Texas Offset Stick Burners.
They have this type of stack only on a larger scale of course.

The 3 hole Weber vents are replacement parts for the 18.5" Smokey Mountain and they come in sets of three. So you'd have to buy 2 sets.
I used the third one on my WSM.

The upside to daisy wheels on top would be that they would be easier to do than the stacks and the smoker would be a little easier to move, store, etc.

That fish (springer?) looks good DD. Did you have to fiddle with the vents much while smoking, or did it hold steady once you found the sweet spot?

I use a home made smoker, with an electric temp controller plugged into the hot plate. Nice since it maintains temp by itself.

Take care,

Direct-Drive:

At 110 degrees......how long did you have to "smoke" to get that look on your finished product?????

I added a thermometer to my "big chief", its at the top.....with 5 ranks, last November, fish still wasn't done, at 12 hours.....my temperature runs above 150 degrees.

That's why I asked...how long??????

But your work looks very good.......

Thanks.
No, it was some Ho and some Sockeye.


Nope, just opened them up and let it run.

That was a 14-15 hour smoke.


With the therm at the top you might be getting a higher than average reading. If you have a Top Load smoker it may be the only option.
You can check it in boiling water or against a known-good thermometer.


Thanks.
Maybe your pieces are too big ?
If your smoker is not ventilating it can't get rid of excess moisture efficiently.
If you're using a brine like many of us do, you have to be adamant about air-drying and establishing good pellicle before the smoking process begins.
This may take a few hours.

Another way to go is to use a "rub".
With this method you don't soak in a brine and thus sort of get a head start on the process because you don't have as much moisture to get rid of.
I will PM you a recipe for a salmon rub that many people like.

Hey wait...



Did someone say salmon rub recipe????