Hi guys,
I plan to build myself a homemade smoker and need some advice. Before I get too committed to this adventure I was wondering what some of you guys found to work for you. So far this is what I have come up with for materials for mine:
1) Heater element out of an old Little Chief smoker.
2) 18 cu ft Fridge with insulation and lining removed.
3) 6 oven racks modified to fit.
This smoker should hold about 20 avg. Silvers or 12 avg Steelhead or 7 avg Chinooks. I'm still open to ideas. Anyone build one out of plywood? Any photos or descriptions would be appreciated. Thanks,
x

Extreme,
I built one out of plywood. It is 4' x4' x12' high. I have a cement floor and cement blocks on the bottom. It is double walled and insulated. I use propane for heat and put my wood chunks in an iron skillet on top of the burner. I made the racks out of 2x2's and 1/4 inch mesh wire. Each rack is approx. 2'x4.'' It works great. I can get about 25 big fish in there right now, more if I wanted to build more racks. I can regulate the temp right where I want it. I start it out at 150 and then turn it down to get a good smoke on the fish. I wouldn't do it any other way. It costs me about 3 bucks in propane for a batch of fish. The only thing that I have too do is move the racks as the fish on the outside gets done quicker that the ones in the middle with the cover I have over the middle. The fish in the middle was getting done way too quick. If you would like a picture of it I'll see what I can do.

This is also something that has intrested me for sometime. I would love to see a picture of your plywood smoker.
Have you ever tried "cold smoking" in the plywood smoker?

fishdreams41@hotmail.com

If you are after something a little smaller, I used an old large school locker. I simply lines it with cedar and built some racks for it. I use a plug-in element and a cast iron skillet for the wood. Works great. The only down-side is that large fillets must be cut in half.

We built one simular to your's Extreme,but used a electric skillet from goodwill,the little chief hotplate just doesn't put-out enough in such a large area...my.02.....Os

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