Jerbear,JerBear wrote:As I'm in the process of building my smoker and live in a warmer part of the U.S. I've been giving cooling options some thought and I like your idea of the frozen water bottles. How long do the bottles last before thawing?snagman wrote: That one bottle in the photo drops the temp by 15 degrees C, and until it melts its pretty stable at that.
It all depends on the outside temperature, and how much of it is allowed into the smoker via the vents in my smoker. When I do a long smoke, that is, say four days and nights, I start with a fresh bottle in the morning if the temperature for the day is predicted to be mildly warm, max 22 C. The ice is pretty much melted in six hours. By that time the afternoon sun has lost its heat. If it remains warm, or reaches a higher temperature than predicted I put in another bottle. I always have at least two bottles in the freezer. It really is a different outcome each time. I have, at times bought a bag if ice from the suppliers, here they are sold at gas stations, and spread this into a large tray. Because the quantity is much more this way, it lasts longer. Expensive though.
Are you building a timber smoker ?
Regards