Smoker turned into bowl-drying kiln

[Prashun Patel]

I can't understand why this feels wrong...

I have an electric smoker that I no longer use for that purpose. What would be the downside of using it as a bowl drying kiln? At low temps where's the fire hazard?

https://www.amazon.com/Masterbuilt-20070910-30-Inch-Electric-Controller/dp/B00104WRCY

I'm conceding I'm an idiot for not seeing the obvious flaw in this....

[Dwight Rutherford]

I don't see a reason for not trying this. Can you get the temp low enough?

[Ryan Mooney]

Can you get the temp low enough?

Says down to 100F. Seems close to ideal maybe 120F?

You might want something to increase the air movement in it? Not sure.. possibly a daily venting would suffice..

"the control panel includes a 24-hour timer with an automatic shutoff" - you might need to wire around that. I know several people who've "hot rodded" their smoker with a raspberry pi or arduino though and looked pretty easy.

I'm also curious what the daily power consumption would be? A clamp on ampmeter reading would be pretty interesting.

Certainly give it a try and let us know how it works :D

[Matt Schrum]

I'm also curious what the daily power consumption would be? A clamp on ampmeter reading would be pretty interesting.

I have the same smoker, the heating element cycles on and off as needed to maintain the temperature-- so you won't be seeing a constant draw of any significant power.

To get rid of the timer problem (if it turns out to be a problem), search on eBay for a PID temperature controller. You'll need the unit, a thermocouple and a solid state relay (to control the heating coil). Total cost should run you $20-35. I wired one up to our slow cooker and it maintains temperature exceptionally well-- within a degree or two over the course of hours.

[Prashun Patel]

Thanks Matt! So did you wire your smoker as a kiln? Or are you using it for meat.

I found it worked very well as a smoker. it was just a mess to clean up. It was a gross mess. I cared less for the smokey flavor and more for the succulence of a low-and-slow cook. I can do that in my oven inside.

[Matt Schrum]

I still use mine for meat. Cleaning it is annoying, but if you do it right after smoking, at least nothing is growing. I left it once for a week (it's in the garage) as I forgot about it... yeah, that was terrible.

[Jamie Buxton]

A drying kiln is really more a de-humidifier than an oven. A little heat makes the water removal go faster, but that's all it is. A smoker would likely want a circulating fan inside, and an opening for wet air to leave. And escaping air would imply another opening for make-up air.

[Prashun Patel]

This smoker has a smoke vent. There's a hole for the wood chips near the bottom. I suspect the natural convection will carry much of the moisture up and out.

[John K Jordan]

A drying kiln is really more a de-humidifier than an oven. A little heat makes the water removal go faster, but that's all it is. A smoker would likely want a circulating fan inside, and an opening for wet air to leave. And escaping air would imply another opening for make-up air.

Some years ago I researched kilns on the sawing forums and technical literature, thinking to build one to go with my sawmill. I found out quickly how complicated it can be, with schedules of time, temperature and humidity based on species thickness, and more.

Most kiln designs had forced air ventilation, sometimes on controllers with feedback from sensors, dehumidifiers, water injectors, heaters or solar control devices. There were plenty of stories of kiln disasters when the proper drying conditions were not met, things like honeycombing, mold, etc. Of course there were very small simple kilns to that claimed to be functional. (I have not yet found the right "round tuit" to build the thing.)

I don't know how critical all this would be to a bowl drying kiln. I've read of people using "light bulb in the old freezer" kilns. Or a bit more complex, like this one for bowl blanks:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&ved=0ahUKEwiRitKC-cDNAhUC5oMKHdoZAHIQFgg2MAI&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.woodturningonline.com%2FTurni ng%2FProjects%2Flow_cost_kiln.pdf&usg=AFQjCNFiRQPGRYcHZY8624MGeDpP12PGdQ&sig2=H5nH5HPOzgK_Y0ijrAgbuQ&cad=rja

JKJ