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#2869392 16-Feb-2022 09:20

MikeAqua:

This will be a cold smoker, mainly bused or fish and meat. Smoke will come from a 1 litre Smokai, attached to one side, as close to the base as possible

I have used a Smokai, and while I found it worked fine - it also worked fast. Too fast for my liking. Had to top it up regularly to get the 12hr+ smoker I wanted. As I like doing my smoking overnight when its cooler (especially in summer) that was a problem. I switched to a ProQ and have never looked back.

I found a new website selling their products and wood dust here , but I buy my wood dust elsewhere so haven't had experience with this site.

The downside is it goes in the bottom which might make your design more difficult.

Just my two cents.

MikeAqua

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#2869550 16-Feb-2022 11:54

neb: You can also get adapter tubes that you can cut down to the size required from the usual sources, usually 50 32mm is the one you want. For the auto-on vacs, they only work with lower-powered tools like sanders and similar, you generally can't run saws through them, so you have to balance whether it's worth the extra cost or limiting your purchasing range for that capability.

Or duct tape 😬 (works). If you're doing lot of work with small tools the auto functions is well worth it.

Something I've always thought would be good is a way for the vac to detect that a tool (like a table saw) is running on another circuit. I'm sure there would be way to do that electrically.

Mike

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#2869554 16-Feb-2022 12:01

duckDecoy:

I have used a Smokai, and while I found it worked fine - it also worked fast. Too fast for my liking. Had to top it up regularly to get the 12hr+ smoker I wanted. As I like doing my smoking overnight when its cooler (especially in summer) that was a problem. I switched to a ProQ and have never looked back.

I found a new website selling their products and wood dust here , but I buy my wood dust elsewhere so haven't had experience with this site.

The downside is it goes in the bottom which might make your design more difficult.

That's a cleverly simple product. Would be easy to use with what I'm planning, just sit it on brick in a pan of water at the bottom. Thanks for sharing. Gives me options for a longer smoke.

Mike

MikeAqua

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#2869581 16-Feb-2022 12:40

tigercorp:

k1w1k1d:

Mike, is that a $299 Black+Decker BES720-XE table saw in the background?

Would you recommend it?

I have that table saw and would recommend it if you can live with the following:

....

Basically, it's a cheap and accurate (enough) table saw.

^^ What he said. I've modified my mitre fence so it works better. It only comes with one runner for the slot, but it's standard 19mm t-slot. I don't know why they did this. I would have happily paid another $5 to ahve slot runner at both end of the mitre slide. I added another slot runner near the other end. That's made it better, but it's still small. It's good enough for what I'm doing ow, which is accurate but not fine finish work (workshop bench and cabinets etc from reused MDF). When I progress to indoor stuff, I'll order a quality mitre from BangGood that will fit on my saw bench. I'll base that choice on recommendations from Hooked on Wood. Dennis is very particular, and he reviews tools in a thorough, logical and easy to understand way. I've learned heaps from him.

Mike

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#2869591 16-Feb-2022 12:46

Stu:

I must look into this more. If anyone has any recommendations of locally available models, links or model numbers would be gratefully appreciated!

Mine is a Wixey WR300. It was an impulse purchase I added to some other things on Amazon.

Mike

duckDecoy

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#2869605 16-Feb-2022 13:00

MikeAqua:

duckDecoy:

I have used a Smokai, and while I found it worked fine - it also worked fast. Too fast for my liking. Had to top it up regularly to get the 12hr+ smoker I wanted. As I like doing my smoking overnight when its cooler (especially in summer) that was a problem. I switched to a ProQ and have never looked back.

I found a new website selling their products and wood dust here , but I buy my wood dust elsewhere so haven't had experience with this site.

The downside is it goes in the bottom which might make your design more difficult.

That's a cleverly simple product. Would be easy to use with what I'm planning, just sit it on brick in a pan of water at the bottom. Thanks for sharing. Gives me options for a longer smoke.

EDIT: it also means you don't need to be near a power source, and can pretty much do it anywhere and in anything rather than being tied to something you've constructed - a big cardboard box is perfectly fine, your mates hooded bbq is perfectly fine, etc.

One trick is to not let anything drip on it, that can stop the smoke dead in its tracks if the smoking dust becomes wet. I just get a shoe box, remove the top and bottom, turn it on its side and put it inside that, the smoke goes around the box side that is protecting the open top of the smoker and up to the meat/fish.

Brosnahans is where I get my dust for the ProQ. They have a really great range, many more options than that ProQ site I posted earlier, but slightly dearer (not by much). If you use Brosnahans choose the super fine grade for a ProQ (the links to each type of wood say "chips", but they have many grades available on each individual page)

The ProQ does need cleaning out each time as you get quite a bit of resinous soot in there and if the mesh blocks it doesn't get good air flow in for the burn, I just use a stiff brush. I have yet to try washing it, I really should as that could be a super simple option.

Stu

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#2869945 16-Feb-2022 21:39

MikeAqua:
Stu:

I must look into this more. If anyone has any recommendations of locally available models, links or model numbers would be gratefully appreciated!

Mine is a Wixey WR300. It was an impulse purchase I added to some other things on Amazon.

Most appreciated!

People often mistake me for an adult because of my age.

Keep calm, and carry on posting.

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#2870037 17-Feb-2022 07:55

insane:

Wow that thing has presence - nice! Want to build me one?

Son sent me a photo of the completed table we built (more matching chairs coming).

I smart-A texted “Great table - where did you get that?”

He replied “Ikea. Super easy to put together - just a screwdriver and an Allen key (supplied)”.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

insane

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#2870064 17-Feb-2022 08:43

eracode:

Son sent me a photo of the completed table we built (more matching chairs coming).

I smart-A texted “Great table - where did you get that?”

He replied “Ikea. Super easy to put together - just a screwdriver and an Allen key (supplied)”.

The best part is every time he sits out there for years to come he'll remember to process of making it with you - and no matter how weathered it becomes you can't take that away.

MikeAqua

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#2876666 1-Mar-2022 09:30

tigercorp:

for me the worst thing was re-aligning the riving knife after calibrating the blade. Really finicky to get the riving knife to line up with the blade and stay in position.

How did you get to the riving knife and adjust it?

Mike

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#2876682 1-Mar-2022 09:55

Update on my wine barrel cold smoker.

All the staves have been screwed to the hoops.
Framing and 3 castors (1 swivel and braked, 2 fixed) have been fitted to the bottom.
Hinge fitted
Lid chains fitted (temporary)
Vent and damper have been fitted (to control smoke flow)
Made hole for smokai
And most importantly a bottle opener has been fitted 🍺

Still to do ...

Sand outside of barrel to 400 grit and then oil
Paint hoops and screws with black instants zinc (CRC)
Fit gas struts in place of those chains on the lid.
Plug cork hole (need to bend some plywood to shape)
A little shelf for the Smokai to sit on
Rack supports
Racks

Cutting the barrel was an absolute shambles. My jigsaw broke down, so after doing a lot of research online, I decided I could do it with the circular saw. Wrong. All the videos were of a cut at the widest point of the barrel where it's flat in the longitudinal and the saw runs nicely. Closer to the lid the barrel is curved in the longitudinal so the saw was fighting me all the way. The result is a wobbly cut. I've knocked down the worst with sanding. I'll hide the rest with a couple of extra hoops, which I need anyway to secure the end of the staves.

I the meantime, I've converted my Kilwell smoker into a cold smoker by drilling a hole in the side and fitting a 4 inch threaded brass pipe from secured with two flange nuts. It's about 22mm ID and the outlet on the Smokai is about 18mm OD so it slides in and secures itself nicely. We have a gravel area and I wiggle the smoker down into that until the base of the Smokai is supported by the gravel. Works very well.

Mike

neb

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#2889693 21-Mar-2022 18:11

My late entry for Sculptures on the Gulf, tentatively titled "Monument to Watercare's Inadequate Infrastructure: A Work in Progress, 2020 - ...":

Built in haste with whatever materials were to hand.

blackjack17

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#2889703 21-Mar-2022 19:04

Water collection 800L or so.

Four 200L drums linked together and a diverter from the roof.

Just need a pump and irrigation system.

Electric kiwi signup credit Sharesies credit

Bung

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#2889747 21-Mar-2022 21:33

You should protect white drums from UV. They will become very brittle after a few years in sun. Blue or black last a lot longer.

insane

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#2889748 21-Mar-2022 21:41

I'm guessing a retaining engineer would frown at the additional surcharge applied to the wall. Posts look fairly slim for the height without the additional 800kg.

Wifey has been asking to do something similar to reduce our water usage. Today's rains were biblical and would have provided enough water for the garden for weeks if not longer.

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