Newbie smoker needing help

[cwalk]

Im another newbie to smoking so heres the deal. I recently purchased a bandera vertical smoker and made all of the suggested modifications( baffle, charcoal basket). i smoked a pork butt this past weekend which eventuslly turned out nice. But throughout the smoking period I dont think I ever had the blue smoke everone talks about. I had lots of smoke but it was that white puffy smoke. I started the fire with hickory charcoal then tossed hickory on there every hour or when needed. Temp never got passed 200. And also, should I have flames coming from the charcoal basket or not.

 

[richoso1]

Welcome to the SMF, congrats on the new smoker. You don't want a lot of white puffy smoke, that could lead to the creation of creosote, which is a health hazard. Try backing off on the amount of wood you're using at any given time, if you can smell it you're ok. Usually you don't want flames, this means that your wood is burning up rather than smoldering, and it will usually spike your temps. You'll have more feedback from othere soon, so keep reading and good luck.

 

[treegje]

Welcome to the SMF, We are glad to have you onboard

 

[beer-b-q]

[font=&quot][/font]

[font=&quot]Welcome to SMF, Glad to have you with us. This is the place to learn, lots of good info and helpful friendly Members.[/font]

[font=&quot]For Those of you New to Smoking, be sure to check out Jeff's 5 Day Smoking Basics eCourse.[/font]
[font=&quot]Click Here it's "FREE" ... 5 Day eCourse[/font]

[font=&quot]I Would Highly Suggest Reading these posts on Food Safety by bbally. [/font]

[font=&quot]This thread will tell you basically everything you need to know and the man explaining it is[/font]
[font=&quot]both a ServSafe Instructor and a HACCP Instructor.[/font]
[font=&quot]http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...t=72852&page=2[/font]

[font=&quot]http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ad.php?t=86620[/font]

[font=&quot]Here you can get the 2009 USDA Food Safety Guide from his site.[/font]
[font=&quot]http://prochefblog.com/public_pics/f...09foodcode.pdf[/font]

[font=&quot]How to post Qview to Forum:[/font]

[font=&quot]When you uploading to Photobucket I always use the Large IMG setting, 640 x 480 it is a nice size...[/font]

[font=&quot]Everyone here enjoys seeing the Qview so be sure to post plenty of pics...[/font]

[font=&quot]Large ones that us old people with bad eyes can see.[/font]

[font=&quot][/font]

[font=&quot]For Step By Step Instructions On Posting Qview Check Out This Tutorial[/font]

[font=&quot]http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ad.php?t=82034[/font]

 

[mballi3011]

First off welcome to SMF. It sounds like you are well on your way to be an outstanding new member of this fine site. You'll like it here cause there are abunch of good folks here that would just love to help you out with just about anything to do with smoking. We really like to have newbies here because they can bring in a new propective to how things are done. There's nothing like a new set of eyes to give and new way to make things that little differant to make things alittle better. So I hope you know about the Qview here.
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ad.php?t=58920
Here's a link to photobucket it's free and easy to download pictures. Then if your really new to smoking Look up the E-course.
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...play.php?f=127
It's also free and it will give you the basics of smoking. So after all of that you just need to go grab something to smoke and if you have any question just post them here and we will answer it quickly so you don't have any mishaps with your smoke.
Welcome To Your New Addiction

 

[triplebq]

Use plain charcoal or even some lump and then just add the wood as needed . You will be happy with the results then you can experiment with the other stuff . An d there should be no flames unless the wood is catching and starting the fire .. Try wrapping your wood in foil and poking holes in the foil . Some soak the wood and some don't . Me I have done both but I do soak my wood chunlks before the cook for abnout thirty mintues ... get back to us and tell us updates .

Thanks Buddy and welcome to SMF

 

[etcher1]

Welcome to the SMF forum, You came to the right place. Good people and good info.

 

[meateater]

Welcome to the SMF. Glad to have you here. Lots of good folks here and knowledge. Looking forward to your first qview.

 

[chef jeff tx]

Howdy, welcome to the SMF!!