All done!
(Quick disclaimer: I support Smokin-It products, and I feel bad posting cheaper solutions to their products, so hopefully this doesn't break any rules. I'm just impatient and I wanted to make some jerky this weekend as opposed to waiting for the jerky dryers to be in stock again. That and I felt like sharing this.)
Okay, I'm not a DIY'er. Actually I hate DIY stuff, but this was pretty easy, and cost me about $30 bucks. So here we go.
I started with a 4 inch PVC pipe. You can pick one up here:
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Charlotte-Pipe-4-in-x-2-ft-Sch-40-Cellcore-PVC-DWV-Pipe/3223375
I then got 2 sheets of Acrylic.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/OPTIX-0-08-in-x-8-in-x-10-in-Clear-Acrylic-Sheet/3143395
This acrylic is safe to use around 175 degrees. Considering that the top of the smoker doesn't really get that hot to the touch, I think this will be fine.
Lastly I got this 37CFM fan:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009OXDAWY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
This fan is metal and appears to be well built. It's not like a cheap plastic case fan. If you want a higher CFM, you can scroll down and the same manufacturer makes a higher powered fan. (47 CFM)
What I did was cut 6 inches off the PVC pipe, and cut a 5 inch by 5 inch piece of acrylic and mount that on the bottom of the pipe using some caulk I had leftover. From there I cut a small hole in the acrylic that would fit over the little smoke hole on the smoker. I'm not sure the exact measurement, I just hand drew it and it came out really well. This will allow for a good seal while sitting on the smoker.
I then cut a 5 1/2 inch by 5 1/2 inch acrylic sheet for the top. Before mounting it on the PVC pipe, I mounted the fan on the acrylic sheet. Once it was mounted I used a Dremel to cut a hole for the fan. Once that was done, I mounted the acrylic sheet to the top and that was it!
Because I had some caulk, and tools, this project set me back about 30 bucks. It's not the prettiest job, but it looks like it will get the job done.
I did run the fan and see what kind of airflow I could get from the smoker. Holding up a papertowel under the smoke hole on the inside, I could tell there was good air circulation.
I'm going to make some jerky this weekend to see how it goes, but I'm feeling pretty good about this. One modification I will make is a cover for the fan to keep stuff out of it.
I've heard that some folks who used the duct fan (Around 67 CFM) said the air-flow might be too high, so I'm hoping this 37 CFM fan will work well.
Feedback is always welcome. I suck a DIY stuff so forgive my shoddy work!
(Quick disclaimer: I support Smokin-It products, and I feel bad posting cheaper solutions to their products, so hopefully this doesn't break any rules. I'm just impatient and I wanted to make some jerky this weekend as opposed to waiting for the jerky dryers to be in stock again. That and I felt like sharing this.)
Okay, I'm not a DIY'er. Actually I hate DIY stuff, but this was pretty easy, and cost me about $30 bucks. So here we go.
I started with a 4 inch PVC pipe. You can pick one up here:
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Charlotte-Pipe-4-in-x-2-ft-Sch-40-Cellcore-PVC-DWV-Pipe/3223375
I then got 2 sheets of Acrylic.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/OPTIX-0-08-in-x-8-in-x-10-in-Clear-Acrylic-Sheet/3143395
This acrylic is safe to use around 175 degrees. Considering that the top of the smoker doesn't really get that hot to the touch, I think this will be fine.
Lastly I got this 37CFM fan:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009OXDAWY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
This fan is metal and appears to be well built. It's not like a cheap plastic case fan. If you want a higher CFM, you can scroll down and the same manufacturer makes a higher powered fan. (47 CFM)
What I did was cut 6 inches off the PVC pipe, and cut a 5 inch by 5 inch piece of acrylic and mount that on the bottom of the pipe using some caulk I had leftover. From there I cut a small hole in the acrylic that would fit over the little smoke hole on the smoker. I'm not sure the exact measurement, I just hand drew it and it came out really well. This will allow for a good seal while sitting on the smoker.
I then cut a 5 1/2 inch by 5 1/2 inch acrylic sheet for the top. Before mounting it on the PVC pipe, I mounted the fan on the acrylic sheet. Once it was mounted I used a Dremel to cut a hole for the fan. Once that was done, I mounted the acrylic sheet to the top and that was it!
Because I had some caulk, and tools, this project set me back about 30 bucks. It's not the prettiest job, but it looks like it will get the job done.
I did run the fan and see what kind of airflow I could get from the smoker. Holding up a papertowel under the smoke hole on the inside, I could tell there was good air circulation.
I'm going to make some jerky this weekend to see how it goes, but I'm feeling pretty good about this. One modification I will make is a cover for the fan to keep stuff out of it.
I've heard that some folks who used the duct fan (Around 67 CFM) said the air-flow might be too high, so I'm hoping this 37 CFM fan will work well.
Feedback is always welcome. I suck a DIY stuff so forgive my shoddy work!
