Insulate your “Little Chief”
The ability to have fish, fowl, game and even cheese, turn out consistently good in your smoker, comes down to a few control measures. I’m not going to waste your time telling you the absolute best wet or dry brine for fish. Nor am I going to tell you how fantastic your duck will turn out when wrapped in thick cut bacon. ( Duck Blog) Nope, none of that will be covered here. I’m going to tell you or more importantly show you, the importance of temperature control.
I have a Luhr Jensen Little Chief smoker. I’ve had it for years and it does a great job. Back when it was new and when I was smoking fish in the Fall and or Winter I would follow the manufacturers recommendation and use the box it came in as an insulator. The smoker itself, is not insulated so the recommendation in cold weather is to place the box over the smoker to help keep some of the heat in.
Once the box wore out, I actually used an old sleeping bag. I did this for a couple years until I finally decided there had to be a better way.
It always amazes me the idea’s a guy can come up with, by simply walking through a Home Depot or Lowes. There is so much stuff in there, it’s just a matter of time until you find everything you need for any project.
Now I was thinking insulation, as in insulating my smoker. So, I found myself standing in the area of Home Depot that has anything to do with everything in the realm of insulation. I decided to go with foundation insulation foam.
To build this insulator box, here is what you will need…
4 X 8 sheet of one inch thick R. Tech Insulation Foam, it has a film coating on each side.
10 ft. of 1 ¼ in. corner molding
Lock Tight Power Grip multi-purpose adhesive. Make sure it is foam compatible
Duct-Work aluminum tape (aluminum foil tape)
Hardware components and grommets
There are several different models of the Little Chief and or the Big Chief, for that matter. You need to measure your individual smoker, length and width, to get the accurate measurements. Make sure if your smoker has handles on the side or front that you measure overall width. When your insulator box is finished, it slides down over the top and it needs to clear the width of the handles.
Cut your four panels using a straight edge with a very sharp fillet knife. I found that when I used a utility knife I had to cut each side of the panel. The utility knife cannot go completely through the one inch think foam from one side.
The length of your panels should be about 24 inches. The length of your 1 ¼ corner trim should be about 26 inches. The important thing here is that the length of your corner pieces are two inches longer then the panels.
Next you’ll need to take two of your panels and cut one inch recesses along both edges of the panel. Make sure it’s the two panels that are aligned opposite. For example, you should have two panels that are 14. 5 inches in width and two that are 16 in. Pick a set and make your cuts along each edge. The other set you can leave full dimension. This is so you can glue the panels together and the corner trim will fit evenly
This is an example of how the corners will fit together, with the recess cut and the corner trim in place.
Once I have the four panels cut and trimmed, it’s time to glue it all together. I put a bead of Lock Tight along the cut-out edge that I made. I also put a thin bead along each side of the corner trim. I put all the pieces together and try to keep it square. I then wrap the heck out of the box with a heavy string or small diameter rope. I make sure I pull it tight as I continue to wrap and again try to keep it square. The pressure of the string against all four corners will ensure the box holds together tight as the glue dry's. I give it at least 24 hrs. to dry. You may need to move it into the house to dry, if you are building your box in the fall or winter. The garage may be a bit to cool.
While I have the box wrapped and squared up, I measure and cut the lid to fit.
The fact that this is Styrofoam, I don’t like to leave the edges unprotected. I found that duct-work aluminum foil tape works great for covering all foam exposed edges.
Basically I was able to do the lid with one long strip. You can do it in sections if you prefer.
Next you will also want to do the top edge of your box and the bottom. Again, I do any exposed foam on the edges.
Next I need to cut a hole in the top for the heat vent. I use a quart jar, narrow neck lid. I make sure the whole I drill is a bout a ½ inch smaller in diameter. I want to make sure my vent cover actually covers the hole when I need it to. Also, I need room at the edge to anchor the vent lid.
To make sure I can spin or pivot the vent cover open I use stainless components and plastic grommets.
I drill a hole through the top and reinforce the hole on both sides with some aluminum foil tape. Then, push a plastic grommet in both sides of the top.
I attach the vent cover lid with the stainless screw, nut and washers. Next I drill a hole and insert a grommet for the thermometer. Depending on the model of smoker you have, you can align the thermometer hole with one of the vents in the lid of the smoker.
Or if there are no vent slits, you will need to drill a hole in the smoker lid. If there is a vent, simply open it up a bit with a screw driver so that your thermometer will fit through the lid. Having the thermometer through the lid and into the actual smoker is key. After all, this entire project is about temperature control…
The final two steps are to simply measure your smoker for the location of your pan door on the front and power cord on the back.
Measure and cut out both front and back and reinforce the edges with the foil tape. Again, no exposed Styrofoam makes for a stronger box.
That is pretty much it. This is one of those projects that take s a little time to complete, but well worth it. You will have an insulation box, with temperature control that will last you for years. If you’re like me, sometimes doing build it yourself projects are actually kind of fun.
Good luck and if you decide to build one, make sure you post some pictures up on our forums page. -DI