Do-it-yourself smoke generator - description of popular types, detailed manufacturing workshops, photo ideas

A friction smoke generator is a device that produces smoke entering the smoking chamber due to friction. A block of wood falls on a driven drum and, under the influence of friction, heats up and produces smoke. The quality of the smoke produced by this type of smoke generator is much higher than that produced by burning sawdust.

How are the products smoked?

Cold and hot methods of cooking smoked meats are a process in which the products are exposed to smoke from slowly smoldering wood. It is the smoke that kills bacteria and gives the final product a unique smell. Without a special smoking installation, made independently, this effect cannot be achieved.

To make it yourself, you will need the following components: a box for placing products, a smoke generator, a compressor (supercharger).

Manufacturing

Finding a ready-made drawing for making a generator is not difficult.

To build a smoke generator with your own hands, you must first acquire the following materials:

• container, which should look like a container;
• ejector device;
• compressor;
• raw materials.

Each point needs to be considered in more detail.

How to choose a container?

The container will serve as a combustion chamber where the sawdust will smolder and create smoke. There are no special requirements regarding container volume.

It is worth taking into account several recommendations from experts

• In a small container, sawdust will burn out quite quickly. In order to maintain the smoking process, you will need to regularly add them.
• Any container will do as a container. The only thing is that it must have fire-resistant properties. For example, an already used fire extinguisher or thermos.
• It is recommended to choose a future container with a pipe diameter of 8 to 10 centimeters and a length of 40 to 50 centimeters.
• In order to connect a compressor with air, a hole of small diameter (10 millimeters) is made at the bottom of the container.
• To avoid excessive air suction, the upper part must be left in a vacuum format.

Ejector device

The generator will be based on metal tubes. They are connected to each other by welding, threading and soldering. The ejector device can be placed at the lower or upper base of the container.

For a small smokehouse, it is worth placing the ejector at the bottom of the container. Due to the characteristics of the smoke generator, the lower ejector device goes out. Therefore, the combustion chamber requires a height limitation. The working hours of the device are reduced. Also, if you place the lower ejector, it will not create natural draft, because the smoking and receiving tanks are located at the same height. When the compressor is turned off, no smoke will enter the smoker. It would be more practical to choose the top installation of the ejector device.

Compressor

Almost any pump can perform the compressor functions of a smoke generator. For the smokehouse, old aquarium compressors with a power of approximately five watts are used. They are an excellent replacement for commercial compressors, as they are designed for long-term operation without constant human supervision. The positive aspects can also be added to the low cost and silent operation of the compressor. Real masters of their craft make a compressor from a plastic container and a cooler located in the computer system unit. But the simplest and most affordable option is to purchase a ready-made device.

Raw materials

In order to smoke a product at home, you will need raw material responsible for the presence of smoke. In this case, the raw material will be sawdust. To smoke food, it is not recommended to use sawdust from evergreen trees - spruce, pine or fir. For the raw material of the smoke generator, other grades are perfect. If pine or similar sawdust is used, the final smoked product will be very bitter.

Smoke generators: from application to operating principle

The name of this device - a smoke generator - speaks for itself. With its help, smoke is produced and supplied to the smoking cabinet.

Description of the operating principle

Sawdust is placed in the lower part of the chamber, usually made of heat-resistant material. Then, through a special hole (blower), they are set on fire. The draft is also regulated by the blower.

As a result of sawdust smoldering in a closed chamber, the required amount of smoke rises upward. At the same time, air is blown into the chamber by a small compressor connected by a hose to a pipe.

The air allows smoke to enter through the tube - the chimney - into the chamber with the products placed. Such a device is called an ejector. The smoke temperature at the outlet is low, since the fire burns slowly and the product is cooked under almost ideal conditions.

Self-assembly

There are many factory-made models on sale, but if you have the skills to work with metal, you can make a smoke generator for cold smoking with your own hands according to our drawings.

The production of one of the structures using scrap materials is shown in the video below (Kamchatsky smoke generator):

Fan design

The most common model for DIY creation is a device with a fan. A drawing of a smoke generator for a smokehouse with a fan is shown below.

To make a smoke generator for smoking with your own hands according to the drawing above, you need:

• For the body you need a square 100x100 mm or round ∅100 mm pipe 0.8 m long. Dimensions are approximate.
• A piece of 3/4-1.5″ water pipe with thread and nuts of the appropriate diameter for the chimney. For hot smoking, the length of the chimney is 30-50 cm; for cold smoking, a metal hose is put on the end of the chimney or it is extended to the required length. It is selected empirically.
• Low power electric fan. You can take an aquarium compressor.
• Small diameter rubber and steel tubes. Needed to connect the fan to the case.

To make a smoke generator for a smokehouse, the following procedure is necessary:

1. The bottom and lid are made for the body. These parts must have sides that fit tightly onto the pipe and prevent ash from below and smoke from above from escaping.
2. In the body itself, just above the sides, several holes ∅6-10 mm are drilled to supply air to the combustion zone. If traction is poor, their number can be increased.
3. A hole for the chimney is drilled at a distance of 5 cm from the top. It is secured with two nuts or electric welding.
4. On the side opposite the chimney, a hole is drilled for a thin tube through which air is supplied. Inside the housing it should be directed towards the chimney, but not into it. In this case, the air from the fan is mixed with smoke and enters the smoking chamber.

To make a cold smoked smoke generator with your own hands, you can draw drawings with dimensions yourself using the examples above.

This design can be made from other materials, and can also be optionally supplemented with a condensate trap, cooler and other accessories.

Making a smoke generator with your own hands from a can

The body parts of a simple smoke generator for cold smoking can be made with your own hands from a three-liter enameled or stainless steel can.

Important! An aluminum can will burn out immediately, so this material is not suitable.

The walls of this container are thin, so the chimney with the injector is attached to the top, and 3-4 holes ∅6 mm are drilled at a height of 2-3 cm from the bottom for air intake.

A compressor is connected to the injector on one side with a thin rubber or PVC tube, and on the other side a chimney made of a metal corrugated pipe is connected.

The process of making a smoke generator with your own hands from a can

How to make a smoke generator from a gas cylinder

The design of this device resembles a “potbelly stove”.

Step-by-step instructions for creating a smoke generator from a gas cylinder include the following points:

1. Release remaining gas.
2. Constantly pouring water on the tap, cut it off with a hand saw. If the cylinder contains carbon dioxide or oxygen, then you can use an angle grinder.
3. Weld the legs to the cylinder. This is necessary for sustainability.
4. Cut two doors with a gas cutter or grinder. One at the bottom, measuring 10x10 cm, will be the blower. The second from the top, the width is 1/3 of the circumference of the cylinder, and the height is its diameter. A grate will be installed through it and wood chips will be loaded.
5. Make doors from cut out pieces of walls. Secure them on the hinges.
6. At a height of 1-2 cm above the blower, weld 4 M20 nuts inside. The grate is laid on them.
7. Make a grate from steel rods ∅10 mm or a steel circle 10 mm thick. Place the grille on the nuts.
8. Instead of the cut valve, weld a piece of threaded pipe. Its length is 5-7 cm and diameter is 25-40 mm.
9. The ejector is screwed onto the thread. A compressor is connected to it on one side, and a chimney on the other.

Instructions for assembling a smoke generator from a gas cylinder

Design of a smoke generator with a cooler (cooler)

The cold smoking process requires smoke with a temperature of no higher than 50°C, and it comes out of the generator much hotter. To cool it, you can extend the chimney or install a cooler.

The principle of operation of a device with a cooler is based on increasing the time it takes for smoke to move to the smoking chamber. To do this, an additional capacitance is installed between the generator and the camera.

Advice! When the smoke cools, condensate is released from it, so it is necessary to install a condensate collector at the lowest point of the cooler.

Smoke generator with cooler

Do-it-yourself labyrinth-type smoke generator

The main difference between a labyrinth smoke generator is the presence of a container for sawdust. To make such a unit with your own hands, you need a steel mesh or fine-mesh grid:

1. a square is cut 50 mm smaller than the base of the unit;
2. Strips 5 cm wide are cut from the same mesh;
3. paths 4-6 cm wide are marked on the base;
4. The strips are secured to the base by electric welding.

The operating diagram is shown in the figure above

Advice! Sawdust should be taken as small as possible, after a circular saw.

Friction smoke generator assembly diagram

Most smoke generating devices operate on the principle of burning wood sawdust and wood chips. But there are devices in which smoke is produced by rubbing a wooden block against a steel pulley.

The pulley is located on the shaft of an electric motor with a power of 2-4 kW and 1400 rpm. It is made of textolite with a steel frame. For cooling, inclined holes are drilled in the PCB.

A wooden block is pressed against the pulley using a clamping device. This device can be weighted, and the force is regulated by its value, or spring-loaded, with an adjusting screw. The amount of smoke depends on the pressing force.

In the path of the smoke, a fine mesh is placed in front of the smoking chamber, to which the negative terminal of the high voltage source is connected, and the positive terminal is connected to the hooks and grate on which the products are attached. Smoke passing through the grate acquires a negative charge and smokes positively charged products faster.

The figure shows the assembly diagram of a friction smoke generator

The figure shows how to properly power a friction smoke generator

The high voltage source is a magneto installed on the engine shaft, or an ignition coil connected to a ~220 V network.

Stainless steel smoke generator

Most smoke producing devices are made of carbon steel. But if you have the skills and materials, then it is better to make a homemade smoke generator for a cold smoked smokehouse from stainless steel.

Such devices have advantages over other materials:

• due to higher heat resistance, a stainless steel firebox burns out more slowly;
• The device is not subject to corrosion due to condensation and precipitation.

The operating diagram of such a unit is shown in the figure below.

Smoke generator for cold smoking with bottom smoke supply

The classic design of a device for producing smoke involves installing an outlet at the top. But the smoke, rising up the apparatus, cools down. It is advisable to make devices intended for hot smoking with a lower ejector, at a height of 50 mm above the grate.

The design and operating principle of such a unit are shown in the figure:

Important! In devices with bottom smoke exhaust, installation of an ejector is mandatory.

Manufacturing of a spiral smoke generator

To cool the smoke, in addition to an additional chamber, a vertical pipe with a screw located in it, or an Archimedes screw, is used:

1. the spiral cooler is assembled in a housing made of a pipe ∅100 mm and 500 mm long;
2. a pipe with a diameter of 40 mm and a length of 500 mm is used as an axis;
3. screw turns are made of steel rings with an outer diameter of 100 mm and an inner diameter of 45 mm;
4. the rings are cut on one side, the coils are moved apart and put on the axle;
5. all structural elements are secured by electric welding, the auger is placed in the housing;
6. Covers are welded to the ends of the body, and a chimney is attached to the sides.

Important! When cooling, condensation is released from the smoke, so a condensate collector is connected to the bottom cover.

Scheme for self-assembly of a spiral smoke generator

Smoke generator with smoke purification

In addition to aromatic substances, the smoke released during the smoldering of sawdust contains resins, soot and other components. They spoil the taste of the finished product, and to improve the quality, the smoke from a proper smoke generator should be passed through a purifier.

This is a pipe with a larger diameter than the chimney. Inside it are steel shavings or metal scourers for washing dishes.

Smoke generator with smoke purification

Smoke generator with condensate collector

As the smoke cools, condensation is released from it. When moisture gets on food, it deteriorates the taste and appearance of smoked meats, so it must be removed from the smoke.

To collect condensate, a tee is installed in the chimney with a discharge into a plastic container. There are two ways to install it:

• Using electric welding. The chimney bends in the middle third and an outlet is welded at the bottom of the bend, onto which a tube is placed to collect condensate.
• Using plumbing tees. If water pipes are used for the chimney, then a tee is screwed onto them with an outlet into the condensate collector. Due to the design, the outlet will be the lower part of the horizontal chimney.

Installed tee for condensate drainage

Types of smoke generators by ejector location

Smoke generators come with an upper or lower ejector.

The main advantages of the top-mounted option are as follows:

• Increased combustion area volume. The result is more stable smoldering.
• Economical. The wood chips smolder slowly, which reduces firewood consumption.
• Longer pipe life. Being located at a sufficient distance from the place of heating, the parts of the device are less exposed to the negative effects of temperature.

The disadvantages of this type of smoke generators include the need for additional smoke filtering due to the high draft in the chamber.

If the ejector is located at the bottom, large particles of fuel may enter the chimney. Its length must be increased. This is not always feasible in a small summer cottage or the territory of a private house. In addition, exposure to high temperatures reduces the service life of the ejector.

Smoke generators of both types have found their use among smoking enthusiasts. However, in home smoking it is better to use the top type of device.

Smoking

Preparation is followed by an equally important part of the process, smoking. The main thing is to try to avoid oversaturation with smoke, not to use too many wood chips, since excess smoke must be removed through a special chimney. You should think about how the products will be placed. The smoke should evenly cover the entire batch. It is worth spreading the meat evenly on a wire rack or hanging it. It is necessary to install a tray under the product for fat, in which it will accumulate. In the future, you can occasionally open the cabinet to lubricate meat or fish with marinade.

When using a steam generator, the following points should be considered:

• when building a home smoke generator, it is recommended to make sure that it does not violate fire safety rules;
• the device should be automatically turned off in case of any problems;
• all elements capable of self-ignition and various wires must be placed as far as possible from points with high temperatures;
• priority should be given to metal material with a heat-resistant coating;
• The structure can only be installed on a fire-resistant surface, for example, on a metal plate, but in no case on a wooden floor.

Smoke generators for industrial production

If it is not possible to make a generator for a smokehouse yourself, you can consider purchasing a smokehouse. Numerous stores will help you make a choice, because their range is quite wide. Below are prices for several cold smoking models from popular manufacturers:

1. HANHI, Zmei. Price 9800−10800 rub. Fuel container with a volume of 10 liters. One load is enough for 10 hours of work. The power of the built-in electric heater is 1 kW. The presence of a filter, thermometer, air coil for cooling the smoke.
2. Smoke. Price 4700−5200 rub. Fuel container with a volume of 0.5 kg. Case material: AISI 304 stainless steel. Operating time up to 6.5 hours. Compressor and connecting hoses included.
3. UZBI, Dym Dymych 01M. Price 2800−3900 rub. One load is enough for 15 hours of work. Compressor included.
4. Smoke 2.0, Smoke House. Price 1440−1800 rub. Fuel container with a volume of 2.5 liters. Case material: stainless steel, thickness 2 mm. Working time 3-6 hours.
5. Merkel, Premium. Price 9900−10800 rub. One load is enough for 12 hours of work. Case material: stainless steel, thickness 2 mm. A filter and a special lighter are included.

For a more detailed study of the issue of making smoke generators with your own hands, it is recommended that you first study similar diagrams and drawings on the Internet. Based on them, it is advisable to prepare your documentation, which takes into account all the features of your design. Then the smoking device you make yourself will be of high quality, highly productive and safe.

What can you cook

Many products can be smoked using a friction device. It can be any type of meat and fish. Smoked cheeses, sausages and sausages also have an original taste. Fruits and vegetables cooked in a smokehouse are considered culinary delights. Through the experimental method, using various marinating methods, it will be possible to achieve the ideal taste and aroma of dishes prepared with your own hands.

A universal and practical solution

A friction smoke generator is a practical and functional unit that will help you easily create masterpieces with your own hands without high costs and delight your family and friends with the original taste of smoked meats.