Master Forge Double Door smoker in Baltimore...

Hello Box and   to SMF. If you head over to this area and post your question you should get some quick responses

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/f/109/propane-smokers

Also please do us a favor and update your profile to include your location

Thanks  

Welcome to SMF !

Hey Box, welcome to the forum.  Lots of great folks here that know a lot about smoking that will help you out in a flash with your questions.  As for your new Master Forge (MF), I've had one now for some time and have used the heck out of it.  I really love that little thing.  It can put out some very good Q once you get it dialed in.  I've added my $0.02 to your questions below (they are in red) and hope they help ya out a bit.  There are quite a few members on the forum with the MF and I'm sure they will also add more wisdom to your inquiry.

-Salt
 

Boxracing said:

Just bought a Master Forge Double Door Smoker from Lowes.

After borrowing my father-in-law's electric smoker to hot smoke 4 lbs of salmon for Thankgiving for 30 people (no pressure for my first attempt, eh?) I had so much fun that  I got a smoker for myself for my birthday.

I have a question about how to use the Flue and the Dampers at the bottom of this unit.   Not sure what works best to built heat?   I was thinking the more oxygen the unit got the higher the temp, but I saw no change....

• It seemed when the dampers on the bottom were open - the heat was escaping from there? I have found that the bottom vents impact chamber temps the most... especially if there is the smallest breeze blowing.  Wind really impacts temp control on most gassers.  I usually run my side vents just about closed during a hot smoke and control the temp of the smoker with the LP control.  I've also installed a needle valve to have finer control of the gas/heat than by just using the control on the MF.  I posted how to install one a while back and listed all the parts you need for the MF. if you're interested, here's the link.  Just scroll down through the post and you'll see how and what you need:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/116201/propane-smokers

• The Flue at the top didn't seem to affect the temperature of the unit with the flue open or closed either?  I find that to be the case as well.  The top vent is really controlling the draft through the smoker... it helps with pulling fresh smoke up and through the box but not much with heat control.
• The guage read 165 deg for 3 hours with the smoker at full throttle.  The factory thermos that come with the MF are notorious for being inaccurate.  I wouldn't trust it unless you calibrate it by using boiling water as a reference standard.  Digital thermos are definitely the way to go.  At least 2.  One for the product and one for the chamber temp.

I will get a digital thermometer soon to read the inside of the box, but still looking to understand the flue and damper settings....

Any help here??

-Box

Click to expand...

Couple other tips I'd mention.  The rope gasket mod to the doors really helps eliminate any heat/smoke loss if your doors are as ill fitting as mine were.  I picked up the fiberglass rope insulation/gasket kit at Lowe's and the kit they sell comes with the appropriate sealant.  It takes 2 kits to do both doors.

I would also add that a lot of us with the MF, as well as Masterbuilt gassers and other types of smokers have gone to running play sand in our water pans instead of water.  It really makes a nice thermal mass and is great at holding temps after you open the door to spritz or whatever....just make sure to use clean play sand if you're going to try this.  Home Depot or Lowe's sell it.   Line the water pan first with HD foil, fill the pan 3/4 full with play sand.  Slope the sand so you have a low point dead center to help with the drippings draining toward the center and then put 2 layers of HD foil over the sand.  The topmost layer of foil is sacrificial and makes clean up easier.

Have fun with that new toy and be sure to post some q-view of your first smoke!

-Salt

No water just sand. I have the same unit. I use water on short smokes and sand on longer smokes. Havent noticed a difference in taste. I always use sand when the weather is cold. I also preheat my sand in the oven it gets the smoker up yo temp much quicker. 

Hey Box, as David points out, no water with the sand... just 100% sand.  As for taste, I have not noticed any difference in taste using sand vs. water. 

Actually, there is some very interesting reading about what causes the dreaded stall or plateau as related to moisture in the meat being smoked.  According to the reading, extra moisture (not steam) can  lead to longer cooking times and longer stalls....the moisture in question can come from water pans or mops/spritzes.....

Here's an article that explains it:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/craig-goldwyn/physicist-cracks-bbq-mystery_b_987719.html

-Salt

Hey all,

I've been smoking on this smoker now for about 4 months and I agree with the sand 100% makes this smoker like night and day with how steady the temps are....I actually junked the stock water pan all together and use a 10 or 12 inch round foil pan from the grocery store filled with sand and set it on the bottom rack in the smoker chamber and put the wood box up one rack where the water pan used to be....it sucks that I loose one rack in the smoker box but I get consistent TBS and as soon as I slam the door on the smoke chamber after mopping / spritz / whatever the temp is back in less than 2-3 minutes.

SAND!

P.S. I also cut out those "grease deflectors" or whatever that sit between the upper and lower chamber which helped hit higher temps (still no prob to go low and slow) just using alot less gas now.  Also put the rope gasket on upper and lower doors and that helped alot. with keeping smoke in.