Custom refrigerator smoker

Hi everyone. I am a chronic lurker here but haven't posted anything in a long time.

Last year I picked up a 70+ year old Crosley Shelvador refrigerator that wasn't working. I stripped everything out of it, replaced the insulation with Roxul high temp insulation, covered the inside of the door with cold rolled steel, and made the intake/exhaust out of 4" steel tube. I tried doing things reusing materials I had or could find cheap, since I wasn't sure how it would work and didn't want to dump a bunch of money into it for custom welding, etc. The best part is that the firebox is an old Weber Smokey Joe with the legs removed. I cut a hole where the damper was on the lid and it stays attached to the intake. Load the bowl with lit/unlit coals and then (using gloves) slide it into the former motor housing and fit the lid over it. I was surprised at just how well it works! I did a test burn with half a chimney of lit coals and a full chimney of unlit coals, and it got up to 400 degrees within about 30 minutes. I was concerned about it getting too hot so I opened the door at that point. Test burn #2 was with six lit coals and a snake of 20 unlit coals. It took about an hour to get up to 170 and then stayed parked there for two hours.

Last weekend I smoked some homemade cured sausage in it. Started with 10 lit coals and a snake of about 25 more. The temp got to 140 and stayed there, then I added more coal and it quickly got up to 190. At that point the sausage was done, in just over 3 hours. I think that the insulated cook chamber has an effect on cooking times, will try this out on a brisket or pork butt before long.

I don't have a photo hosting account set up any more, hopefully this link will work for you to take a look at things. Definitely a fun project and I think it makes a great cold smoker!

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1-3ZrUc8Do7hkqvgtAspfxFvYXVl2CatO

Good job Ethan!
My first smoker was a very old fridge, I posted about it on another thread, yours is much nicer than mine was:

My first smoker was an antique refrigerator.
It had been dumped on a job site and was missing the door.
The smaller compressor compartment, on the bottom, was separate, so I had to make a hole to the upper part. Then I made a wooden door, used a hole saw to make two exists for the smoke, and a couple of swivel tin can lids to regulate.
A hot plate on the bottom, a pan of wood chips, and I was good to go.
I smoked cured bacon, cured hams, fish, and jerky in it.
There was no plastic anywhere. One time I checked the insulation, is was a few layers of foil on wooden frames, kind of like a canvas paintings.
Wish I had taken a picture of it.

You'd better chain that icebox shut to keep the BBQ aficionados out.

Nice!