Smoker temp question?

[Chris89lx]

I have a homemade smoker made of 1x6 Pine.
It will be used mainly for making jerky with internal air temps around the 150*F mark.
My question is what would be the max sustained air temp I could have before I should start worrying about it being too hot and the wood catching fire?

I'm guessing the 225*F temps used to smoke large cuts of meat would be too high even with a tray of water to to keep the meat and air humid.

[Piker]

I smoke a lot of things but in a bradley. But a good rule of thumb is never go over 160F. Remember you are dehydrating the meat not cooking it. That temp. should also make it safe for your smoker. It will Just take longer. Piker

[hillbillyreefer]

The auto ignition temperature of pine wood is 800 F. You should be fine at 225 F.
http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/fuels-ignition-temperatures-d_171.html

[Chris89lx]

Thanks for the info.

I was doing some test burns on the weekend and with the propane burner on the absolute lowest setting and the burner barely lit was holding 145*F. (I'm worried the flame might blow out.) It easly went up to 260*F.
I picked up a hot plate tonight from Wall Mart for $15 and doing a test burn right now. It's been running for about 30min and has finally reached 160*F.

So it looks like I can use my pine box smoker for a cold smoker/dehydrator with the electric burner, and for a hot smoker with the propane burner.