Hi Grant just watched your video on the cold smoker. Just a few hours before watching your work I purchased a cheap cold smoker. Have decided to cancel my order and will be building your design. Thanks for such nice work. Steve North East USA
You've shared some incredibly useful information that will keep me from having to go through a bunch of trial and error as I build my own. It seems all the other cold smoke generator videos here are just trying to sell their own model and no one really goes into the theory of operation. Most of them also don't differentiate between thick white and thin blue smoke either, and I've never seen one that cools the smoke or collects the condensate. Thanks!
Thank you for presenting this, it is very informative. I really think you did a fine job, and please don't feel inferior in any way. I'd much rather watch a sincere video by someone who comes across humble and kind. I enjoyed it!
That's a brilliant job, I really like the condensate traps, you have definitely spent time thinking this through. I am fishing round the net for cold smoke generator ideas and while this is too big for my needs I will be incororating the traps. Thanks for sharing.
LOL, your comment about the previous, beautiful, yet not very simple prototype, "A bag of spanners" is great! Going to have to quote you! Good work and experimenting. Your microphone is working great, too!
Greatings from across the pond! Excellent detailed Video. Will be collecting materials for construction of this needed project. No background music makes it Much easier to listen.. Regards
Thank you for making this video! It was very informative! I will be making something very similar very soon. Your video helped me to fill in many blanks as i am just getting into curing/smoking meats. Thanks and keep the videos coming.
Hello J, thank you for your kind words - that castle is a 13th Century church - I live in an area that was inhabited by monks, back when monasteries were a collective thing of power. The four spires are a later affectation denoting local village wealth. All the best to you
This is superb. I'm just learning about cold smoking and my horrible, tarry first attempt drove me here. This tells me everything I need to know. Detailed and beautifully explained- you have a new subscriber! One thing: I didn't understand what you were saying about tuning and the washers at 19:30
@@GrantWyness I don't know why I didn't see your reply till now but thanks. I ended up making the Venturi at the bottom of the hopper (where the combustion is). It seemed a tried and tested method. I put a jam jar under the vertical bend out of the hopper, as you did- only after the Venturi as opposed to before. I'm not sure how well it's working out but I'm still tweaking the air pump. As I live in a desert, I think your "wind chill" method may be a winner! I think yours is the best I've seen online.
very nicely built. I like it very much very well explained ,Looks so clean , and the jars to pick the creosote is a very good idea, I have a jar on my smoke generator that I built myself. I do a lot of smoking myself, I am located on Vancouver Island Canada, I smoke much salmons , I like your video
Great job! Your video is definitely the pick of "building a cold smoke generator" vids out there. I particularly like the effort you've put in to polishing the copper and brass pipework and hardware! Also I like the fact that you don't wear gloves to do everything (like yanks do lol!) Keep up the great work and you now have a new subscriber from the convict colonies of Oz
Hi Jan, water works well to dissolve the sticky stuff, but this job is very seldom done if you have a good flow of smoke. A weak or restricted flow will gum up much quicker. The regular cleaning job is giving the wire racks a good scrub with soap and water or pressure washing. Where any food touches needs some housekeeping now and then.
I really like the cold smoker that you've made and enjoyed the video that you made. I would like to know if it's possible for you to make a diagram of the internal workings, as I couldn't quite work out where the grate went.
Great video gave me a lots of ideas for my build. There is one thing to note.. the fan does not need to be run on 19v. Just get a smaller size tube that fits inside the 11mm pipe you already have. Push it inside secure it and you have just reduced the airway so the speed of the air will increase. You can then run the fan on it's rated 12v.
Fans have a rated pressure output. A smaller tube will up the back pressure and if the fan can't deliver the pressure at the output diameter / resistance, the air flow will decrease. His fan might deliver and... it might not. I went through this with centrifugal water pumps. Unless you're an engineer in this field it's trial and error. Fans and pumps have ratings, you take those ratings and apply them to flow charts, That will tell you if your fan or pump will do the job or flow rate at the tube diameter and length. The length of the tube makes a huge difference too.
Fenomenal. Love your work. I am a visual person. Will it be to much to rough sketch a print? Especially dimensions of the ventury number (how much is past the vertical tube)? Greatly appreciated 🙏. Mike USA.
Thanks Grant for the time and effort you put into showing how this cold smoke generator is built. I do have one question, you showed how the perforated combustion plate sits on the rivets when the unit is turned upside down, what holds the plate in place and keeps it from falling out when the unit is then turned upright?
Great video and good design. Most people in the USA don't even consider condensation when it comes to cold smoke generators. Most of the cold smoke generator videos with condensate traps that I've seen come from Russia so I was surprised by your video. Everybody wants a long duration cold smoke generator and ends up with a pallet tube which leaves much to be desired. I'll probably use your demensions as a starting point since I'll be using larger wood chips that are sold in USA. I did notice one thing that got me. Those passive IR temp monitors are focused in a cone. If you are aiming at a small object the device gives you an average of the visable area. So if you want to measure the copper pipe get right up on it. :) The specs give you the cone dementions.
Been watching your video for some time now. What is a better setup? one with the nozzle in the bottom of the cold smoker or can i make one with the nozzle on top?
Hi, the smoke needs to enter the drum away from the chimney. The chimney has a Venturi action via external air current causing it to suck out the smoke - cold smoke sinks so the chimney draws the smoke around the food then out. 👍🏻
Brilliant work and informative, one of the best smoke generators videos in the YT. Do you think it's possible to use the smoke generating from it and condensate it to have a liquid smoke, maybe it's good idea to continue this project in another video. Thank you Grant.
Thank you kind sir for your nice words👍🏻 the smoke from the final output could be turned liquid, but I think it will still have some undesirable compounds albeit minimal because of the two condensate traps. If you were to filter the liquid smoke through a coffee paper filter what’s left might be alright - an interesting experiment Walid🤔
Grant, I think I've watched EVERY "DIY cold smoker" video on the internet and this one looks the most interesting (and brilliant) one I have seen. I particularly like your condensate collectors feature. I had a couple of questions. Most designs I have seen have the smoke exhaust pipe and ventri near the top of the stack, above the combustion area where yours takes a different approach. I can tell you've tried many designs before arriving at this one. Can you share any thoughts on placing the "SMOKE OUT" pipe towards the bottom near the combustion area vs near the top ? Also, the flue pipe you've chosen is 1 meter length (~3ft , USA:-) ). Was this length decided on based on draft requirement or wood chip capacity or some other reason ? I wanted to put something together that would be more compact so trying to figure if 3ft is recommended or if I could use a much shorter hopper ? I did noted your recommendation for the length of the copper pipe and likely would stick with that suggestion. Thanks.
Hello G, thank you for your kind words! The stainless pipe could be much shorter if so required - I chose 1m as I didn’t want to keep filling it, but in practice it could’ve been half the length. 500mm @5” diameter will make smoke for many many hours. In my experience, if you put the ‘smoke out’ pipe closer to the combustion area the smoke will not have time to condense. I found 16” was the sweet length for Venturi action and condensation. All the best and I hope you enjoy the process as much as I did. As a matter of fact, I’m cold smoking some salami this morning - you’ll see it on my next vid...
I so agree with this comment. I appreciate the detail and analysis. You have obviously done a huge amount of research and development, so we get the benefit of your schoolfees! Thank you so much. You have my support.
Hmm, that is a conundrum. The Smo-King smokers are based on a short smoke-house delivery pipe. The air pump of the smo-king is suited for that design only. If you elevate and tee-off the smo-king delivery pipe and fit a condensation trap the air pump will not be powerful enough. My design acknowledges the extra energy needed to pump good smoke minus the chemical nasties. All the best Grant
just saw your video. well done! on the 10mm hole for your touch to light the wood, is this at the same elevation as the smoke out port or is it lower? i know you have about an inch between the smoke out hole and the mesh that holds the wood. thanks
Great video. Good mix of detail and explanation. Just what I am looking to do for my first build. What is the copper pipe on the barrel itself. The vertical bit that us maybe 1 meter or so. Well done my new friend.
@@GrantWyness You know I've actually thought about putting a vibrator on the smoke tube for this very reason. I've run across issues like this on production machines with ultraviolet dyes that clog the spray output orfices. You could put a timer in to run the vibrator every 45 minutes, needed or not.
Great video, you have a new subscriber from Norway now. I will build something like this, but wanted to ask you if you have experience using an aquarium air pump instead of that fan? I see both systems in use in different cold smoker generators and would like to know pros and cons for both types before building anything.
Thank you for your kind words Ørjan. I found aquarium pumps are too weak to push smoke any distance; the slightest resistance and they fail. You could use large diameter pipe (40mm) after the Venturi and that would help. If the generator was directly attached to the smokehouse the smaller air pumps work, but this could negate the cooling effect we’re after. My copper pipe extension makes completely sure the smoke is cold, even in warm weather. After many experiments with all sorts of air supply, the radial fan was my ultimate choice because it delivered consistent volumes of smoke and was able to create the coveted ‘thin blue smoke’. All the best
@@GrantWynessI like the fan. I've been wanting to build one like this but small air pumps just don't get it. Fans are way more versatile. You can also put speed control on DC fans. Or any fan that uses a universal motor.
@@GrantWyness Hey Grant how long can you leave this thing unsupervised? My diy cold smoker seems to need a relight, fresh chips or an air pressure adjust every hour haha
Hi Grant Great video, just the level of detail I was after. Your video is the first to talk about tuning the smoke extraction bit. Can you explain for me about the tuning with washers bit. Many thanks, keep up the great work
Hello and thank you for your words🍻 I used a rubber disk the same size as the washers so it wold create a simple seal for the washer hole. When I was designing the Venturi I eventually found a 16 inch vertical pipe was a good length (the pipe that goes down to the condensate trap next to the hopper/burner) - with the fan running I placed the seal and washer on the base of the pipe to see how strong the suction was. When the Venturi injector pipe was the perfect length the 16” vertical pipe could hold 4 washers. If you own a vacuum meter the job would be more straight forward. Hope this explains it. All the best
@@GrantWyness thanks for the speedy reply. Does the length of the vertical pipe affect the level of vacuum? IE shorter pipe = more vacuum or is it to do with the ratio of volume and speed of air from the fan?
@@wildpiganon4248 No worries👍🏻 yes, the shorter the pipe the more vacuum is produced. You could make the whole unit half the size and see an overall performance improvement. My device is overkill really. 🍻
awesome video!! (subscribed) just one question: isnt the chips level way above the ignition hole? I didnt quite understand. thx edit: wait.... at 10:00 this is the bottom view? so the perf pipe is covered with wood chips and the mesh is below the perf pipe. I thought it was on top.
Greetings from NZ. Excellent video. I like how you have done the condensation jars. I am wanting more airflow/less smoke (more air curing with little smoke). So would a thinner flue/shorter upright pipe give me this? The standard flue size is 6" in NZ. So if I need to go narrower, I probably need to find a stainless pipe.
Hello Dirk, thanks for the encouraging words👍🏻 I would recommend a larger diameter horizontal pipe - this would make the Venturi less effective thus allowing more airflow into the smoke house. All the best
Nice video, good ideas comes to me without having to bore extra holes. Saves time, I like your ideas. 👌 The next comment I hope will be seen as a helping hand an not a condescending remark. One thing struck me as a professional heatcamera user, the way you use your IR thermometer against the shiny areas you are going to get the temperature from the surroundings reflected in the metal rather than the surface temperature. Shiny copper reflects 89 % of the incoming radiation and shows only 11 % of the surface radiation. Use black electric tape as measuring points for the colder areas and radiator color for the hotter. A non reflective surface gives the proper reading. Use the IR-thermometer on a short distance, perpendicular against the surface, it's only the laser point that's condensed, a bigger distance reads a bigger area and a mix of incoming radiation.
Great job on the generator and the vid...very watchable! You don't try to get over creative with editing, or adding music, which ruins so much otherwise great content.
Great info, Grant. What stops the rest of the wood dust from just burning up faster than you want? Also, as your system drains the nasties from the smoke, is here any effect on the “seal” that the meat gets i.e. is it any less durable? Cheers…
Hi, the wood smoulders at a rate according to the amount of air allowed into the chamber - start with a small ignition hole then drill it out bigger if required - trial and error needed here, particularly if your design is different to mine. The nasties impede a good seal on the meat, removing them makes a superior pellicle and flavour. All the best
Well done. I will definitely try that. It certain,y won’t look as beautiful as yours but so long as it smokes my meat I am happy. Cheers from sunny South Africa
@@martinfickpracticalaquapon821 Thank you for those encouraging words, much appreciated and filed under ‘super feedback’. I’m working on my vid delivery to become more assured and the production values sharpened. I found I just have to get over myself and relax more. 🍻 Martin
@@GrantWyness please clarify one point for me... The stainless grid below the combustion area... How does that stay in place? It seems like it would fall down into the ash can below?
@@martinfickpracticalaquapon821 No worries - the grid was tied simply with solid wire (garden/fencing) to four rivet stumps spaced around the 5” pipe, crude as, but effective. These are sacrificial parts are easily fixed. Hope this clarifies things 🤞🏻 Any questions welcome...
I'd like to point out the reason for using a "blower" type fan isn't the reasons you mention, but because they have much higher static pressure than your traditional axial computer fan while having lower cubic feet per minute of flow. The high pressure is best for pushing air through ducts, tubes, radiators, etc. It's why your homes furnace uses a huge blower fan in order to push the air through the ducts and into the rooms. Also, i'm quite surprised that fan hasn't burned out at 19v. Im building a much smaller smoke generator that uses an aquarium air pump and a repurposed 1lb propane bottle to hold the pellets/chips and it produces more smoke than i need at full speed, so i dial it down about 50% and its perfect.
Hi Grant. Thx for this fantastic tutorial. I was building an external smoker based on the Smoke Daddy design, and yours helped me to refine some details. However, having seen your catch-jars for the creosote, and seeing how much accumulated on the inside of my piping after a single hour of testing, I am rethinking my design to add some catch jars. Really wanted a compact design, but to add the condensation jars is going to require more cooling pipe. My question is, how important is it? I've never seen this before (on other smokers like the Big Green Egg, or Trager, offset smokers, etc.), but I can certainly see the benefits. Would be interested in your thoughts. Thanks again for sharing. :)
Hi Curtis, Thanks for the praise! I consider the condensate jars essential as they remove a good proportion of the undesirable tar from the smoke. Tar/creosote is toxic to humans and is unpleasant to taste - that unpleasantness transfers to the food albeit in small quantities. If you eat smoked food regularly the effects of the toxicity will begin to accumulate in you. Remove the bad shit and free your mind to enjoy the smoky goodness.
Very cool work Grant! I have a question about the sawdust - and pardon my lack of experience in smoke generators! In the video you mentioned the sawdust won't fall into the perforated pipe. Why is that the case? Also, where exactly is the combustion happening? When you fill the hopper with the saw dust, does it fall down to the perforated plate and build up around the pipe? Cheers!
Thanks Matthias! The sawdust I use is not fine like dust, more like tiny wood chips (reptile bedding). The perforated pipe can tolerate fine dust to a point as it will compact around the form and act like a dam stopping it from being filled. The combustion happens just inside the ignition hole and makes its way to the edge of the perforated pipe - as this is happening the fresh wood chips collapse into the burn zone thus regulating the rate of combustion - minimising the air around the smouldering stops flare ups (full ignition). All the best 🍻
Grant! You're the man! This was awesome. Thank you for making this! I have a couple questions. When you were experimenting with the length of the 16" pipe, did you try longer than 16"? or only shorter lengths? Secondly, I'm curious about the gap between your perforated plate and the perforated pipe inside the smoker body. It seems like there's a bit of space between the two? Or does the pipe sit right on the perforated plate? Cheers! Thanks again!
Cas, here’s to the kind words🍻 The upstanding outlet pipe was trialled with both longer and shorter lengths 30% either way. The final length of 16” seemed to be a sweet spot for suction Vs condensate removal with the fan I was using. My design will not work with a weak fan. If you’re not bothered about noise, use a brushed fan with my design and you will have enough smoke to start a business. The internal perforated tube sits approximately an inch above the perforated plate. Happy smoking 🔥
one thing I saw was the temperature measurement a few minutes after turning it on. I would like to see what the temperature is after 20 minutes and after an hour. Because now it doesn't say anything about the cold generator
Hi Mario, the smoke temperature stays a few degrees below ambient at all times because of wind chill factor in the short delivery/outlet pipe (ie: if your outside temperature is 20 the smoke will be 16 depending on the length of the smoke delivery/outlet pipe)
Thank you. I saw everything about it on the internet. If it is as you say, then your design is the best. I will contact you soon and let you know if this is indeed the case@@GrantWyness
Hi Jeffery, that effort would be more than my life is worth, my experiments are not written down (instructions are the devil’s work 🤭) - I hoped the video would give enough info for would-be makers to start their own project based on my prototype. Good luck with your own iteration of the Grant Wyness cold smoker 🧘🏼♂️🍻
Really liked your video, very good idea. You are a harsh critic of yourself, I understand, I don’t like making YT videos but I would like to share some of my ideas. Keep in mind with English accent you sound smarter than most in the states I made a video of my cheap diy pizza oven, it’s not good quality but I made it as short as possible. DIY flower pot pizza oven, on Magnastop channel if curious.
That's how you see it. I see something that is very well designed, it does the job, and does it well. I design hot air production machines and make homemade bacon. This smoke generator is the bomb!
Ran into your video after 2 years ago and this video is still one of the best I actually watched again.
Your cold smoke device deserves an award for Steam Punk . Got to say it works great ! Thanks from the U.S.
Hi Grant just watched your video on the cold smoker. Just a few hours before watching your work I purchased a cheap cold smoker. Have decided to cancel my order and will be building your design. Thanks for such nice work.
Steve
North East USA
@@oceaniron1 Hi Steve, high praise indeed, thank you. Enjoy the build
You've shared some incredibly useful information that will keep me from having to go through a bunch of trial and error as I build my own. It seems all the other cold smoke generator videos here are just trying to sell their own model and no one really goes into the theory of operation. Most of them also don't differentiate between thick white and thin blue smoke either, and I've never seen one that cools the smoke or collects the condensate. Thanks!
Thanks Stephen 🍻
Without a doubt one of the most helpful videos I’ve ever watched. Thanks mate
@@lil-data Thank you for the kind words🥂
Thank you for presenting this, it is very informative. I really think you did a fine job, and please don't feel inferior in any way. I'd much rather watch a sincere video by someone who comes across humble and kind. I enjoyed it!
Kind words R. Thank you I appreciate it🍻
Two years later and I'm very impressed. Don't change anything.
Thank you for yhe video, This video gave me the idea for a good hot smoke generator, greetings from Namibia here in Africa
OMG-That's a pretty good sophisticated assembly👍👍👍
Loved heather video. Thanks from Texas. Going to start building this weekend.
Thanks from a food smoker from Canada.
That's a brilliant job, I really like the condensate traps, you have definitely spent time thinking this through. I am fishing round the net for cold smoke generator ideas and while this is too big for my needs I will be incororating the traps. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for those kind words! Enjoy the process like I did🍹
Thank you for all the details and purposes ! Very helpful
Great video mate. The jam jar idea to catch the condensation is easy and makes sense, I hadn't seen before, so I learnt something new. Thank you.
LOL, your comment about the previous, beautiful, yet not very simple prototype, "A bag of spanners" is great! Going to have to quote you!
Good work and experimenting.
Your microphone is working great, too!
Thank you for those kind words. I donated the pipework from that experiment to a local artisan - he turned it into a lamp apparently🥳
Greatings from across the pond! Excellent detailed Video.
Will be collecting materials for construction of this needed project.
No background music makes it Much easier to listen..
Regards
Thanks for words, enjoy the build👍🏻
Brilliant, well explained video. Thank you for the “cutting list” too👍🏻👍🏻
Thank you for those kind words 👍🏻👍🏻
Thank you for making this video! It was very informative! I will be making something very similar very soon. Your video helped me to fill in many blanks as i am just getting into curing/smoking meats. Thanks and keep the videos coming.
Your words are really appreciated - thank you kindly 🍹
love the castle in your back yard
Great vid watching in Canada
Hello J, thank you for your kind words - that castle is a 13th Century church - I live in an area that was inhabited by monks, back when monasteries were a collective thing of power. The four spires are a later affectation denoting local village wealth. All the best to you
This is superb. I'm just learning about cold smoking and my horrible, tarry first attempt drove me here. This tells me everything I need to know. Detailed and beautifully explained- you have a new subscriber!
One thing: I didn't understand what you were saying about tuning and the washers at 19:30
Hi Richard, the washers were my benchmark suction weights/measures - the more washers it could hold the better the Venturi.
@@GrantWyness I don't know why I didn't see your reply till now but thanks. I ended up making the Venturi at the bottom of the hopper (where the combustion is). It seemed a tried and tested method. I put a jam jar under the vertical bend out of the hopper, as you did- only after the Venturi as opposed to before. I'm not sure how well it's working out but I'm still tweaking the air pump. As I live in a desert, I think your "wind chill" method may be a winner! I think yours is the best I've seen online.
Thanks for the brilliant video and concept. Details are key , thanks for the time and effort.
Thanks for the kind words Simon 🍻
10/10 generator. Would watch the 1hr boring movie about building it. :)
Awesome vid mate! You have done a bloody good job.👍👍
Muchas gracias Andrew 🍻
You do a fantastic job
@@Matt-lt8xg Thanks, Matt
I am learning so much from you thanks my brother
very nicely built. I like it very much very well explained ,Looks so clean , and the jars to pick the creosote is a very good idea, I have a jar on my smoke generator that I built myself. I do a lot of smoking myself, I am located on Vancouver Island Canada,
I smoke much salmons , I like your video
Thank you for your kind words Germain 🍻🐟 🔥 You live in a very beautiful part of the world, somewhere we will definitely visit in the future 🤞🏻
Lovely smoker and excellent explanation
Thank you kindly 🍻
Hey nice job man I really like it I want to build one thanks have a good holiday
The best video for smoke generator. Thx
Great job! Your video is definitely the pick of "building a cold smoke generator" vids out there. I particularly like the effort you've put in to polishing the copper and brass pipework and hardware! Also I like the fact that you don't wear gloves to do everything (like yanks do lol!) Keep up the great work and you now have a new subscriber from the convict colonies of Oz
Thank you for all those kind words Jarrod 👍🏻🍻
Very well done I learnt a lot.
mate great job , you cant beat a UDS for smoking some Great grub.
Thank for your previous reply, Mr. Winess. What did you find works best to internally clean the cold smoker? And how frequently?
Hi Jan, water works well to dissolve the sticky stuff, but this job is very seldom done if you have a good flow of smoke. A weak or restricted flow will gum up much quicker. The regular cleaning job is giving the wire racks a good scrub with soap and water or pressure washing. Where any food touches needs some housekeeping now and then.
Thanks for the insight, Grant.
Excellent job Mr! Thank you for sharing ;D
Thank you for the very detailed and informative video, I will be making my own version with your principles.
Thank you for that and have mucho fun building your own🥳🍻
I really like the cold smoker that you've made and enjoyed the video that you made. I would like to know if it's possible for you to make a diagram of the internal workings, as I couldn't quite work out where the grate went.
@@SimAdz2024 Hi, the grate is mounted at the very bottom of the tall stainless tube 👍🏻
Great video gave me a lots of ideas for my build. There is one thing to note.. the fan does not need to be run on 19v. Just get a smaller size tube that fits inside the 11mm pipe you already have. Push it inside secure it and you have just reduced the airway so the speed of the air will increase. You can then run the fan on it's rated 12v.
This is good logic👍🏻
Fans have a rated pressure output. A smaller tube will up the back pressure and if the fan can't deliver the pressure at the output diameter / resistance, the air flow will decrease. His fan might deliver and... it might not. I went through this with centrifugal water pumps. Unless you're an engineer in this field it's trial and error. Fans and pumps have ratings, you take those ratings and apply them to flow charts, That will tell you if your fan or pump will do the job or flow rate at the tube diameter and length. The length of the tube makes a huge difference too.
Fenomenal. Love your work.
I am a visual person. Will it be to much to rough sketch a print? Especially dimensions of the ventury number (how much is past the vertical tube)?
Greatly appreciated 🙏.
Mike USA.
Hi Mike, sorry to disappoint, but I have passed on my smoking setup. The measurements are now lost to time…😕
Awesome video! This definitely inspired me to build my own smoker.
Thank you Petter for your kind words 👍🏻🍻
Thanks Grant for the time and effort you put into showing how this cold smoke generator is built. I do have one question, you showed how the perforated combustion plate sits on the rivets when the unit is turned upside down, what holds the plate in place and keeps it from falling out when the unit is then turned upright?
Hi Ken - the plate is tied to the rivets by a few twists of steel wire…easily replaceable as they are sacrificial. All the best
Mate I really enjoyed this video.
so the screen that goes in the large pipe is over the defuser or under? in other words do i want the defuser surrounded by the chips?
Diffuser surrounded by chips, the screen is under to filter any ash etc
Fantastic video! Great build.
Great video and good design. Most people in the USA don't even consider condensation when it comes to cold smoke generators. Most of the cold smoke generator videos with condensate traps that I've seen come from Russia so I was surprised by your video. Everybody wants a long duration cold smoke generator and ends up with a pallet tube which leaves much to be desired. I'll probably use your demensions as a starting point since I'll be using larger wood chips that are sold in USA. I did notice one thing that got me. Those passive IR temp monitors are focused in a cone. If you are aiming at a small object the device gives you an average of the visable area. So if you want to measure the copper pipe get right up on it. :) The specs give you the cone dementions.
Thanks for that Clay! Also a big thank you for the probe tip 🍻 Enjoy your build, I sure enjoyed mine…
Been watching your video for some time now. What is a better setup? one with the nozzle in the bottom of the cold smoker or can i make one with the nozzle on top?
Hi, the smoke needs to enter the drum away from the chimney. The chimney has a Venturi action via external air current causing it to suck out the smoke - cold smoke sinks so the chimney draws the smoke around the food then out. 👍🏻
No problems with the fan sucking up bugs?
No, the bugs are minimal here 👌🏻
Brilliant work and informative, one of the best smoke generators videos in the YT. Do you think it's possible to use the smoke generating from it and condensate it to have a liquid smoke, maybe it's good idea to continue this project in another video.
Thank you Grant.
Thank you kind sir for your nice words👍🏻 the smoke from the final output could be turned liquid, but I think it will still have some undesirable compounds albeit minimal because of the two condensate traps. If you were to filter the liquid smoke through a coffee paper filter what’s left might be alright - an interesting experiment Walid🤔
Thoughtful concepts!
Did you use any thread sealer: Teflon tape or other
JanAltena, Iowa
Hi Jan, no thread sealant required as there is no pressure to speak of. Dry tight threads are just fine.
Grant, I think I've watched EVERY "DIY cold smoker" video on the internet and this one looks the most interesting (and brilliant) one I have seen. I particularly like your condensate collectors feature. I had a couple of questions. Most designs I have seen have the smoke exhaust pipe and ventri near the top of the stack, above the combustion area where yours takes a different approach. I can tell you've tried many designs before arriving at this one. Can you share any thoughts on placing the "SMOKE OUT" pipe towards the bottom near the combustion area vs near the top ? Also, the flue pipe you've chosen is 1 meter length (~3ft , USA:-) ). Was this length decided on based on draft requirement or wood chip capacity or some other reason ? I wanted to put something together that would be more compact so trying to figure if 3ft is recommended or if I could use a much shorter hopper ? I did noted your recommendation for the length of the copper pipe and likely would stick with that suggestion. Thanks.
Hello G, thank you for your kind words! The stainless pipe could be much shorter if so required - I chose 1m as I didn’t want to keep filling it, but in practice it could’ve been half the length. 500mm @5” diameter will make smoke for many many hours.
In my experience, if you put the ‘smoke out’ pipe closer to the combustion area the smoke will not have time to condense. I found 16” was the sweet length for Venturi action and condensation.
All the best and I hope you enjoy the process as much as I did. As a matter of fact, I’m cold smoking some salami this morning - you’ll see it on my next vid...
I so agree with this comment. I appreciate the detail and analysis. You have obviously done a huge amount of research and development, so we get the benefit of your schoolfees!
Thank you so much.
You have my support.
Hi there great video
Any sugestions for assembling a condensator on a smo-king cold smoke generator ?
Thanks
Francisco
Hmm, that is a conundrum. The Smo-King smokers are based on a short smoke-house delivery pipe. The air pump of the smo-king is suited for that design only. If you elevate and tee-off the smo-king delivery pipe and fit a condensation trap the air pump will not be powerful enough. My design acknowledges the extra energy needed to pump good smoke minus the chemical nasties. All the best
Grant
@@GrantWyness thanks for the advice
Love your work!
just saw your video. well done! on the 10mm hole for your touch to light the wood, is this at the same elevation as the smoke out port or is it lower? i know you have about an inch between the smoke out hole and the mesh that holds the wood.
thanks
Hi Nam, the lighting hole is lower than the smoke out port - it’s sits just above the flat mesh plate 👍🏻
Great video. Good mix of detail and explanation. Just what I am looking to do for my first build. What is the copper pipe on the barrel itself. The vertical bit that us maybe 1 meter or so. Well done my new friend.
How many hours does this smoker produce smoke on a single charge?
18 hours, but you will have to tap the tube occasionally to help the wood chips/dust sit on the grate evenly.
@@GrantWyness You know I've actually thought about putting a vibrator on the smoke tube for this very reason. I've run across issues like this on production machines with ultraviolet dyes that clog the spray output orfices. You could put a timer in to run the vibrator every 45 minutes, needed or not.
Good work. Will be replicating
Great video, you have a new subscriber from Norway now. I will build something like this, but wanted to ask you if you have experience using an aquarium air pump instead of that fan? I see both systems in use in different cold smoker generators and would like to know pros and cons for both types before building anything.
Thank you for your kind words Ørjan. I found aquarium pumps are too weak to push smoke any distance; the slightest resistance and they fail. You could use large diameter pipe (40mm) after the Venturi and that would help. If the generator was directly attached to the smokehouse the smaller air pumps work, but this could negate the cooling effect we’re after. My copper pipe extension makes completely sure the smoke is cold, even in warm weather. After many experiments with all sorts of air supply, the radial fan was my ultimate choice because it delivered consistent volumes of smoke and was able to create the coveted ‘thin blue smoke’. All the best
@@GrantWynessI like the fan. I've been wanting to build one like this but small air pumps just don't get it.
Fans are way more versatile.
You can also put speed control on DC fans. Or any fan that uses a universal motor.
Interesting video, nice work. 👍
Keep up the great work!
I like what you're doing mate
Thanks James 🍻👍🏻
@@GrantWyness Hey Grant how long can you leave this thing unsupervised? My diy cold smoker seems to need a relight, fresh chips or an air pressure adjust every hour haha
Perfect smoker! Thx!!!
Awesome videos, thanks for sharing. Keep it up.
You’re very kind, thank you 🍹
What about using an hair dryer because it goes directly in the wall plug
Noisy and no good outside
Hi Grant
Great video, just the level of detail I was after.
Your video is the first to talk about tuning the smoke extraction bit. Can you explain for me about the tuning with washers bit.
Many thanks, keep up the great work
Hello and thank you for your words🍻
I used a rubber disk the same size as the washers so it wold create a simple seal for the washer hole. When I was designing the Venturi I eventually found a 16 inch vertical pipe was a good length (the pipe that goes down to the condensate trap next to the hopper/burner) - with the fan running I placed the seal and washer on the base of the pipe to see how strong the suction was. When the Venturi injector pipe was the perfect length the 16” vertical pipe could hold 4 washers. If you own a vacuum meter the job would be more straight forward. Hope this explains it.
All the best
@@GrantWyness thanks for the speedy reply. Does the length of the vertical pipe affect the level of vacuum? IE shorter pipe = more vacuum or is it to do with the ratio of volume and speed of air from the fan?
@@wildpiganon4248 No worries👍🏻 yes, the shorter the pipe the more vacuum is produced. You could make the whole unit half the size and see an overall performance improvement. My device is overkill really. 🍻
awesome video!! (subscribed)
just one question: isnt the chips level way above the ignition hole?
I didnt quite understand.
thx
edit:
wait.... at 10:00 this is the bottom view?
so the perf pipe is covered with wood chips and the mesh is below the perf pipe.
I thought it was on top.
Hi and thank you! The chips/dust are level with the ignition hole - the mesh grate stops them going into the bottom pan/bucket. All the best
Greetings from NZ.
Excellent video. I like how you have done the condensation jars.
I am wanting more airflow/less smoke (more air curing with little smoke).
So would a thinner flue/shorter upright pipe give me this?
The standard flue size is 6" in NZ.
So if I need to go narrower, I probably need to find a stainless pipe.
Hello Dirk, thanks for the encouraging words👍🏻 I would recommend a larger diameter horizontal pipe - this would make the Venturi less effective thus allowing more airflow into the smoke house. All the best
Nice video, good ideas comes to me without having to bore extra holes.
Saves time, I like your ideas. 👌
The next comment I hope will be seen as a helping hand an not a condescending remark.
One thing struck me as a professional heatcamera user,
the way you use your IR thermometer against the shiny areas you are going to get the temperature from the surroundings reflected in the metal rather than the surface temperature. Shiny copper reflects 89 % of the incoming radiation and shows only 11 % of the surface radiation.
Use black electric tape as measuring points for the colder areas and radiator color for the hotter. A non reflective surface gives the proper reading.
Use the IR-thermometer on a short distance, perpendicular against the surface, it's only the laser point that's condensed, a bigger distance reads a bigger area and a mix of incoming radiation.
Very good video. Thank you!
Thank you for your kind words Kenneth 🍻
Great job on the generator and the vid...very watchable! You don't try to get over creative with editing, or adding music, which ruins so much otherwise great content.
Kind words, thank you 👍🏻
Is the liquid in the jars good for liquid smoke? Great video..
Hi Mick, no the liquid is toxic. Thanks for liking the vid🍻
Great info, Grant. What stops the rest of the wood dust from just burning up faster than you want? Also, as your system drains the nasties from the smoke, is here any effect on the “seal” that the meat gets i.e. is it any less durable? Cheers…
Hi, the wood smoulders at a rate according to the amount of air allowed into the chamber - start with a small ignition hole then drill it out bigger if required - trial and error needed here, particularly if your design is different to mine. The nasties impede a good seal on the meat, removing them makes a superior pellicle and flavour. All the best
@@GrantWyness Many thanks
Rare Gem, Love it!
Thank for great video!
what are mills where do do you get them
Hi Paul, I don’t understand what you meant by ‘mills’?
@@GrantWyness just metric system humor
Well done. I will definitely try that. It certain,y won’t look as beautiful as yours but so long as it smokes my meat I am happy. Cheers from sunny South Africa
Thanks Ralph 🍻
Thanks Great to share all details. you may shorten it and more people will visit.
Hello Itsvan,
Yes, you are right! I’m learning from these mistakes and I thank you for being kind enough to share your thoughts 👍🏻🍻
Please don't shorten your video! The detail in your video and the thought expressed is invaluable!
@@martinfickpracticalaquapon821 Thank you for those encouraging words, much appreciated and filed under ‘super feedback’. I’m working on my vid delivery to become more assured and the production values sharpened. I found I just have to get over myself and relax more.
🍻 Martin
@@GrantWyness please clarify one point for me... The stainless grid below the combustion area... How does that stay in place? It seems like it would fall down into the ash can below?
@@martinfickpracticalaquapon821 No worries - the grid was tied simply with solid wire (garden/fencing) to four rivet stumps spaced around the 5” pipe, crude as, but effective. These are sacrificial parts are easily fixed. Hope this clarifies things 🤞🏻 Any questions welcome...
Fantastic ! Thank you!
where can I find the length of the pipes ? thanks !!
@@krysniemczyk9875 Hi, plumbers merchants or eBay sell by the length 👍🏻
I made one also but the copperpipe is getting green and the taste of the products was terrible.
I made mine of rvs
I'd like to point out the reason for using a "blower" type fan isn't the reasons you mention, but because they have much higher static pressure than your traditional axial computer fan while having lower cubic feet per minute of flow. The high pressure is best for pushing air through ducts, tubes, radiators, etc. It's why your homes furnace uses a huge blower fan in order to push the air through the ducts and into the rooms. Also, i'm quite surprised that fan hasn't burned out at 19v.
Im building a much smaller smoke generator that uses an aquarium air pump and a repurposed 1lb propane bottle to hold the pellets/chips and it produces more smoke than i need at full speed, so i dial it down about 50% and its perfect.
Thank you for your insight 🍻
Hi Grant. Thx for this fantastic tutorial. I was building an external smoker based on the Smoke Daddy design, and yours helped me to refine some details. However, having seen your catch-jars for the creosote, and seeing how much accumulated on the inside of my piping after a single hour of testing, I am rethinking my design to add some catch jars. Really wanted a compact design, but to add the condensation jars is going to require more cooling pipe. My question is, how important is it? I've never seen this before (on other smokers like the Big Green Egg, or Trager, offset smokers, etc.), but I can certainly see the benefits. Would be interested in your thoughts. Thanks again for sharing. :)
Hi Curtis, Thanks for the praise! I consider the condensate jars essential as they remove a good proportion of the undesirable tar from the smoke. Tar/creosote is toxic to humans and is unpleasant to taste - that unpleasantness transfers to the food albeit in small quantities. If you eat smoked food regularly the effects of the toxicity will begin to accumulate in you. Remove the bad shit and free your mind to enjoy the smoky goodness.
Very cool work Grant!
I have a question about the sawdust - and pardon my lack of experience in smoke generators! In the video you mentioned the sawdust won't fall into the perforated pipe. Why is that the case?
Also, where exactly is the combustion happening? When you fill the hopper with the saw dust, does it fall down to the perforated plate and build up around the pipe?
Cheers!
Thanks Matthias! The sawdust I use is not fine like dust, more like tiny wood chips (reptile bedding). The perforated pipe can tolerate fine dust to a point as it will compact around the form and act like a dam stopping it from being filled. The combustion happens just inside the ignition hole and makes its way to the edge of the perforated pipe - as this is happening the fresh wood chips collapse into the burn zone thus regulating the rate of combustion - minimising the air around the smouldering stops flare ups (full ignition).
All the best
🍻
Thank you for this!
Good video, enjoyed it.Thanks
Muchas gracias for the feedback Paul 👍🏻
Grant! You're the man! This was awesome. Thank you for making this! I have a couple questions. When you were experimenting with the length of the 16" pipe, did you try longer than 16"? or only shorter lengths? Secondly, I'm curious about the gap between your perforated plate and the perforated pipe inside the smoker body. It seems like there's a bit of space between the two? Or does the pipe sit right on the perforated plate? Cheers! Thanks again!
Cas, here’s to the kind words🍻 The upstanding outlet pipe was trialled with both longer and shorter lengths 30% either way. The final length of 16” seemed to be a sweet spot for suction Vs condensate removal with the fan I was using. My design will not work with a weak fan. If you’re not bothered about noise, use a brushed fan with my design and you will have enough smoke to start a business. The internal perforated tube sits approximately an inch above the perforated plate. Happy smoking 🔥
Thanks for sharing!
Awesome 😊
one thing I saw was the temperature measurement a few minutes after turning it on. I would like to see what the temperature is after 20 minutes and after an hour. Because now it doesn't say anything about the cold generator
Hi Mario, the smoke temperature stays a few degrees below ambient at all times because of wind chill factor in the short delivery/outlet pipe (ie: if your outside temperature is 20 the smoke will be 16 depending on the length of the smoke delivery/outlet pipe)
Thank you. I saw everything about it on the internet. If it is as you say, then your design is the best. I will contact you soon and let you know if this is indeed the case@@GrantWyness
what about wood chips hanging in your structure?
@@GrantWyness
Brilliant
First time view I will build with thanks
Thank you 🍻
Convinced me
Save the condensate as LIQUID SMOKE for seasoning. Why pay for it at the store?
Unfortunately, the liquid is fabulously poisonous. 💀
Size
Can you send me instructions to build please
Hi Jeffery, that effort would be more than my life is worth, my experiments are not written down (instructions are the devil’s work 🤭) - I hoped the video would give enough info for would-be makers to start their own project based on my prototype. Good luck with your own iteration of the Grant Wyness cold smoker 🧘🏼♂️🍻
Nipple, boss are the nomenclature
Really liked your video, very good idea. You are a harsh critic of yourself, I understand, I don’t like making YT videos but I would like to share some of my ideas.
Keep in mind with English accent you sound smarter than most in the states
I made a video of my cheap diy pizza oven, it’s not good quality but I made it as short as possible.
DIY flower pot pizza oven, on Magnastop channel if curious.
Wow! Travis, you made my day. Thank you for those kind words and I will check your flower pot oven 🍻
Ridiculously over-engineered for such a simple device.
Isn’t it just🍻 it’s how I roll…👍🏻
That's how you see it. I see something that is very well designed, it does the job, and does it well. I design hot air production machines and make homemade bacon. This smoke generator is the bomb!
Ohhhhh