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[wittdog]

Ok I did some more experimenting today…..It was driving me crazy that this bad boy wasn’t working like I wanted it to…I still plan on exploring the electrical elements and would prefer to go in that direction…but I needed to know that if I wanted this thing to work I could get it to work with the Fryer…I will continue to explore the electrical elements…my wife is supposed to pick up at 1000w element today…..I will try that tomorrow….so I can get an idea of what size element I need…
Today I switched out the new turkey fryer burner (high pressure) with the old turkey fryer burner I have (low pressure)….This worked out good because the Ahole (air hole) or JB hole fit snugly on the venturi……So I have enough clean air for combustion….Combustion wasn’t an issue the flame burned clean….If I end up going with the burner I will place a piece of copper pipe in the side of the smokehouse and use it as a peep hole to make sure the flame is still burning ( I know its not the ideal safety check but it’s a start)….
Any way I was able to get and maintain the temps I need for smoking all day long…With product in the house it wont be an issue to maintain those temps….I placed the cast iron skillet over the burner and started with wood chips and first then added some chucks of cherry…I got good smoke out of the smokestack and it didn’t affect the combustion of the burner…If I go with the burner I will probably do some sheet metal work to enclose the burner and separate it from the rest of the smokehouse just to be on the safe side…

But I am still exploring the electrical options at this time and would prefer to go in that direction…I have one of the great minds in the HVAC bidness working on the electrical component…Its also been suggested that as well as that is insulated I might be able to get it up to temp with some charcoal and then let the element just maintain the temps….I still have a lot of experimenting to do but at least I can get some sleep knowing that I have a smokehouse and not an undersized shed…..Once again thanks to everyone for there contributions and support to this project….Its been fun to build and be able to tap into resources from all over the world….(And I thought the net was just good for porn and football scores)

Rolling Smoke

The cast iron skillet on the burner with chips and chunks…

The flame was blue on the bottom and right on the burner…then it went up to the orange color on the top..(It burned the same way outside of the smokehouse)