Electric hot plate smoker.

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Years ago my dad had a smoker powered by an elctric hot plate. The wood chunks were placed upon the burner and the meat was suspended on expanded metal racks. I would like to replicate his unit. It;s gone so I cant look at it.If I get a single burner hot plate and fashion a sheet metal box around it do you guys think it would work.Does anyone here have smoker experience? What are some guidelines for size/temp? I want to cold smoke most stuff.RyanLincoln PowerMig 180cVictor O/ABandaids and aspirinI don't know what I don't know!?
Reply:Check this out: http://www.thesmokering.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13224
Reply:I watched a episode of "Good Eats" where Alton Brown made a smoker out of a cardboard box, hot plate, and a rack out of an oven.  Here is a link for something like that.http://www.instructables.com/id/How-...dboard-Smoker/
Reply:A brazzillion years ago I had a sweet smoker made out of one of the old steel fridges that had the compressor on top. Took the compressor off and cut an adjustable vent in. I used grannys' old hand me down hot plate, about an 8" skillet and wet chips. That little sucker cracked two of those little skillets before it finally died.Years later I made one out of foil lined plywood and another hot plate and skillet set up. That later hot plate didn't last long. Worked but didn't last. The old traditional hot plates are a thing of the past. The were made from cast bases, asbestos cords and were built on the line of a one burner stove and built to cook on. Newer hot plates, if you can find one, are pretty cheezy. Built like they are intended for occassional warming of a cold biscuit or something
Reply:I agree that the new hotplates don't hold up. I have a similar setup in my smoker. My first attempt was a hotplate; I melted the sides and wiring. The later version uses the top burner off a 220v stove. I used the original drip pan and cut out the original mounting hole to make a base. I purchased high temp wiring from the appliance repair place. If you look for the type of burner that has "wire" prongs instead of "flat blade" style, you can hard wire directly to the burner. I have the original control knob mounted outside the smoker. FWIW, if you use automotive style crimp connectors remove the plastic covering. Also, automotive shrink tubing will not hold up, it gets overheated and cracks off. Sorry, no pics.
Reply:Thanks for the info.I will get a walmart hotplate and see how long it lasts. Then I will look for a better doohickey I guess. I will post when done.Happy holidaze.Lincoln PowerMig 180cVictor O/ABandaids and aspirinI don't know what I don't know!?
Reply:I grew up with an old metal deep freezer as a smoker. It had a hotplate with a cast skillet with wet chips and worked great for many many years. I built a UDS and got a Walmart hotplate made by GE. I learned that the new hotplates have a safety feature that turns the plate off if the body gets hot. Mine would smoke the chips if out in the open just great, but when put into the drum where the body got hot the plate kept turning off. I guess look for an old hotplate. I've been scouring thrift stores for a while. I think very soon I'll be hard wiring a stove burner in . I've considered a hole in the bottom to keep the burner inside, but the body outside the drum. I opted not to try it because I think it would create too much heat loss.
Reply:I took the heating elements and sheet metal brackets/pan,etc. out ofan old toaster oven and put them in the bottom of a hardwood crate.Had to watch thermometer and turn power on and off to control temperature(no temperature controller)but it worked very well for cold smoking or cooking/smoking.Miller a/c-d/c Thunderbolt XLMillermatic 180 Purox O/ASmith Littletorch O/AHobart Champion Elite
Reply:I got a small electric grill that was on cleance for 9 bucks that has held up well in a  5 foot tall smoker.For a small smoker a single burner hot plate has worked. With both units I altered the built-in controls so the units are controlled by a digital thermostat.These 2 are setup using a smoke generator. Attached Images
Reply:Looks like a rod oven on wheels. I think this just got me hungry.
Reply:BTW nice work