How to make an electrostatic smokehouse with your own hands

Summer cottages often become a field for various experiments in the preparation of products. Here for the first time they try to salt mushrooms, cook jam from nuts in shells and smoke fish. For the latter, a do-it-yourself electrostatic smokehouse is used.

What is electrostatic smoking

Cooking smoked meats is a rather lengthy process. It is the slow penetration of smoke and some combustion products into the product. In this case, a number of specific and biochemical reactions occur that lead to the denaturation of proteins. Fish, meat, sausage at the same time acquire a specific pleasant taste.

Smoking in an electrostatic field differs only in terms of time. Acceleration is provided by the following:

• the smoke is produced by the generator, not the coals;
• it passes through the grid to which the anode is connected, the current is small;
• the smoke is ionized and enters the smoking chamber;
• the products in the chamber are connected to the cathode;
• since ionized gas and fish and meat have opposite charges, the product literally attracts smoke;
• ionized smoke particles are very evenly distributed throughout the meat.

Electrostatic smoking cooks the meat evenly rather than in layers.

There are two types of smoking:

• hot - the process lasts 2–4 hours at a temperature of + 120 ° С;
• cold - requires from 10 hours to 2 days and is carried out at + 215 ° С.

Cold smoking is preferable, such meat is stored much longer.

Electric smokehouse device

A do-it-yourself electrostatic smokehouse is built according to a single general scheme. Craftsmen use parts from other devices in a variety of ways to ensure the creation of one or another part of the structure.

1. The body of the smoking chamber is a welded box welded to the main frame. The camera is attached to the frame with screws, and sealed at the joints. A chimney is usually installed on its left wall. A high-voltage unit is installed above the chamber. Inside, brackets and hooks are fixed on a special insert, on which fish and meat are hung.
2. High voltage generator - supplies a current with a voltage of 220 V to each heating element. And also can generate DC current of 20 kV. The generator creates an electric field. It also maintains a constant temperature in the chamber - about + 35 ° С.
3. When smoking, it is important to maintain a low temperature, as thanks to the field, smoke already gets into the product. To cool the smoke flow, a smoke cooling radiator is mounted between the smoke generator and the chamber. The simplest layout looks like a box with 2 compartments. A more efficient option is a coil.
4. The smoke generator is a unit equipped with heating elements. Sawdust or special briquettes are placed on the plate. They heat up and give off volatiles and smoke.
5. Be sure to equip the structure with some kind of moisture collector. When smoked, the product dries out and releases water and fat. They condense on the cold walls and drain into the drip tray.
6. Smoke enters the chamber through the smoke cooler and is fed from below, so the anode mesh is mounted at the bottom of the smokehouse. The positive pole of the transformer is connected to the grid.The supply wire and the anode mesh are insulated.
7. The negative pole is connected in 2 ways. If the horizontal hanging rod is made of metal, a supply wire is connected to it. If the bar is wooden, you will need to make several pin electrodes, which are immersed in each workpiece.

The smoking speed is influenced by many factors: smoke density, voltage, humidity inside the chamber, which must be monitored especially, even the material of the electrodes. It is recommended that the first tests in static home smokehouses be carried out with small portions of food.

Types and classification

Do-it-yourself static smoking is easier to perform on a ready-made installation. The home option is produced in different modifications. They are distinguished by purpose and volume.

• The smokehouse for the apartment has a minimum size - it can hold no more than 3.5 kg of products. In models with their own heater, cold smoking is allowed, without heaters - only hot. The heater is a gas stove.
• In the model for the stove, a cylindrical body with a chimney in the form of a hose is installed on the stove. The sawdust is heated by burners. The unit is quite massive and is more common in cafes and restaurants. Here, too, only hot smoking is possible.
• Digital models are fully automated. It is enough to put food, sawdust and set the required mode. The smoking process is adjusted automatically. A minimum of odors is released, which is very convenient for home use.

Models also differ in size and functionality.

Homemade electrostatic smokehouses

An electrostatic smokehouse of cold or hot smoking with your own hands is distinguished only by an electric circuit. The latter can be assembled from a variety of materials at hand.

TV scan

A 10–20 kV transformer is enough for homework. Take a line scan transformer from an old CRT TV. You will also need a 100 ohm resistor, a transistor, a multiplier, as well as wires, mesh and ebonite rings, as well as detailed instructions.

The circuit is assembled on the basis of a transformer, a transistor and a resistor are connected to terminals 9 and 11 of which a transistor and a resistor are connected, and to terminal 12 - a plus from a 12-24 V power source. A drawing of a homemade device is easy to find on the forums.

Ignition coil and car battery

A battery can be used as a generator. In this case, it is important to ensure that the current frequency does not exceed 1–2 kHz, and the voltage of the entire chain is not more than 12 V. A current limiter is placed at the generator output - a 10 Ohm resistor, which prevents the appearance of strong discharges. It is important to comply with the safety requirements exactly, since even with a reliable restriction, the risk of impact remains. Therefore, the use of such a smokehouse is not recommended for people with heart disease.

Microwave

You can get the parts you need from an old microwave. These include high-voltage diodes of 0.3-0.25 A. The case is freed from the electronic part and the control panel and is used as a smoking chamber. You will need to partially remove part of the wall in order to install the metal mesh.

Refrigerator

The body of an old refrigerator can act as a smoking cabinet. A big plus is tightness, with which difficulties usually arise. Place the body on a small elevation so that you can install the mesh from below and bring the smoke generator.

Since street models are usually made from the refrigerator, you can put it on poles and dig a hole under it for the device.

Safety engineering

Since the installation includes an electrical circuit, when using it, safety rules are observed:

• smoking is allowed when the humidity in the room is no more than 80%;
• products are placed only in a suspended state and do not come into contact with the body or the net;
• all parts of the circuit are isolated from the body;
• the smokehouse is placed on a dielectric base;
• you can only load or remove food after switching off the unit.

If there are any signs of malfunctions - static field on the housing, spark slip - the unit is immediately turned off.

Possible smoking problems and solutions

Even in a properly working device, the products may not achieve the proper quality. The following problems are most common.

• Bitter taste - usually attributed to the wrong choice of chips. You can not take sawdust of pine, spruce and other conifers, as they include too much resin. The latter spoils the taste.
• The same happens if too wet chips are used or too high concentration in the briquette.
• Loose loose consistency - associated with excess moisture. Dry the meat before smoking.
• Pungent smell - jerky must be ventilated in the fresh air - at least 6 hours. The smoking process is not actually completed yet and you need to get rid of the excess smoke.
• Low temperature, no smoke - due to malfunctioning heating elements. Items need to be checked or replaced.

Plastic parts are not allowed in a homemade smokehouse. Even at not too high temperatures, they deform.

Only foods with a high fat content are suitable for smoking and curing. These are mackerel, salmon, sardine, tenderloin, high-fat sausage. You can add smoked flavor to sausages and seafood. It is allowed to smoke well-fed chicken.