So i built this smoker a couple of weeks ago...
So far I've done about half a dozen smokes in it, with varying results. I'm finding that the colder smokes like salmon and bacon have turned out really well, having great flavor and nice amount of smoke. On the other hand my hotter smokes that I've done (Ribs and Pork shoulder) have come out tasting like what I'm assuming is creosote. The ribs were just terrible, but the pork was manageable but I still had to basically throw away all the bark which I'm sure you'd all agree is very depressing.
The smoker has an element out of a 1000w hotplate (too big?), that is hooked up to its own rheostat but I could only find one that was 600w, as well as an oven thermometer to maintain the ambient air temp. I'm wondering if there's something that I can do to remedy this situation with the things that I have already, or if I'm going to have to do something such as have the wood on a separate burner since I'm assuming that the issue is that to maintain the internal temperature, the burner is running way to hot and producing bad smoke. I've tried dialing the burner back with the rheostat but then I have issues with my temp.
Will a PID controller help my situation or is it just a matter of tweaking or adding some things? I should also mention that I'm not entirely sure if the stack is the right size. its 4.5" and 5" tall
Smoker dimensions are 36" tall x 19" wide x 16" deep
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
-Mike
The bacon was really good, but can't help but think it might have been better without this problem
Fish was delicious, but thinking the sweetness may have offset the flavor in my favor
Pork shoulder, delicious on the inside but not so much on the outside
So far I've done about half a dozen smokes in it, with varying results. I'm finding that the colder smokes like salmon and bacon have turned out really well, having great flavor and nice amount of smoke. On the other hand my hotter smokes that I've done (Ribs and Pork shoulder) have come out tasting like what I'm assuming is creosote. The ribs were just terrible, but the pork was manageable but I still had to basically throw away all the bark which I'm sure you'd all agree is very depressing.
The smoker has an element out of a 1000w hotplate (too big?), that is hooked up to its own rheostat but I could only find one that was 600w, as well as an oven thermometer to maintain the ambient air temp. I'm wondering if there's something that I can do to remedy this situation with the things that I have already, or if I'm going to have to do something such as have the wood on a separate burner since I'm assuming that the issue is that to maintain the internal temperature, the burner is running way to hot and producing bad smoke. I've tried dialing the burner back with the rheostat but then I have issues with my temp.
Will a PID controller help my situation or is it just a matter of tweaking or adding some things? I should also mention that I'm not entirely sure if the stack is the right size. its 4.5" and 5" tall
Smoker dimensions are 36" tall x 19" wide x 16" deep
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
-Mike
The bacon was really good, but can't help but think it might have been better without this problem
Fish was delicious, but thinking the sweetness may have offset the flavor in my favor
Pork shoulder, delicious on the inside but not so much on the outside