Cold smoke generator for cold smoking

Hello! I want to tell you how to make a very simple smoke generator for cold, home smoking. The design of the generator will not require much effort or time from you.
I love smoked products, and if I have to choose between hot and cold smoking, my choice is always in favor of cold. But everyone has their own tastes. All this prompted me to create this simple crafts. Although such things can be bought ready-made, I will make it better and cheaper, it seems to me.
I'll show you two options. Both of them use stainless mesh. You can also take a metal one made of ordinary steel, but after the first use it will become covered with corrosion.
Now the theory of how the smoke generator works. Everything is very simple: a generator is just a mesh trough bent by a coil. Sawdust is poured into this chute. That's the whole structure.
How to use? On one side we set fire to the sawdust. And they smolder for a long time. The combustion goes from one end of the chute to the other end.

The first version of the cold smoke generator

Let's get started! We take the mesh and cut out the gutter as in the photo.

I used wooden blocks to form the gutter and space between the sections.The mesh can be cut perfectly with metal scissors.

All channels are attached to the aluminum profile with self-tapping screws.

In the end this is what came out:

Such a generator will provide smoke for smoking to your smokehouse for about 5-6 hours continuously on one load.
It was a bit of a complicated design. Below I will show you how to make a simpler one.

The second version of the cold smoke generator

So, first we cut out a square from the mesh and bend the edges.

Then we cut out the partitions and screw them in a checkerboard pattern.

The result was a kind of labyrinth for the passage of fire during combustion.

Despite the holes in the mesh, the fire will not transfer between sections. But if this suddenly happens, it will be necessary to make double walls of partitions.

This is a simpler design that will require less manufacturing time and less material.

Testing a smoke generator

It's time to try out a homemade generator. We fill in sawdust and light it from one edge.





Photos were taken every 1.5 hours. My fog generator worked for about 6 hours without stopping. I think that theoretically it can work for about 9 hours.
In general, I'm pleased. However, I didn't quite like the amount of smoke. Such smoke generators are designed for small smokehouse volumes. For larger volumes, several such devices are required.
I hope that my experience will be useful to you. Thank you for watching! Good luck!
Original article in English