To much smoke in smoker

sniltz

Meat Mopper

Original poster

May 21, 2008

228

11

China Grove, NC

• Jun 5, 2012

• #1

Me and a friend have a pretty big smoker that we use.  The problem we are in countering is that we tend to have way to much smoke in chamber (the gray kind not thin blue kind).  We have tried to shut the vent and just use the stack vent and still the same thing.  It also doesn't tend to go below 300 degrees either.  It is starting to make our food have a ashy after taste.  What can we do to fix this problem.

 

sniltz

Meat Mopper

Original poster

Thread starter

May 21, 2008

228

11

China Grove, NC

• Jun 5, 2012

• #2

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This is the back end of the smoker!  

 

Dutch

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Midvale, UT

• Jun 5, 2012

• #3

sniltz- as a stick burner meownself, I would say to start off with a smaller fire in the fire box, get a good HOT bed of embers going and add a split or two of wood about every 45-60 minutes. The main complaint I hear from new stick burners is the learning curve that's involved. Can't really give you a formula answer cuz every pit is going to be different. As I mentioned, start will the smaller fire and go from there.

Oh and make sure your wood is well seasoned. 

 

Last edited: Jun 5, 2012

bama bbq

Master of the Pit

Sep 24, 2011

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72

Rocket City (Huntsville) AL

• Jun 5, 2012

• #4

 I think your thick smoke is due to too much cool uncombusted fuel. The sticks need to burn down to coals. You might try burning sticks outside the box to get some coals and shovel them in.   After getting a good coal bed warm your sticks to one side or on top of the fire box before adding them to the coal bed.

 

ba2zim

Newbie

Jun 4, 2012

5

10

Golden, colorado

• Jun 5, 2012

• #5

Sounds to me like your getting no air flow. Do u clean your fire box after each use? Your burning plenty hot, is your wood wet? As in did u cut the tree down yesterday? Do u have adjustable heat plates underneath, and are they open to let air flow? Smoke is jus like water it needs to escape. Did u check your stack to make sure a bird didnt nest up in it? Thats all I got. Hope u get it figured out. Pretty nice set up u got to not work properly

 

sniltz

Meat Mopper

Original poster

Thread starter

May 21, 2008

228

11

China Grove, NC

• Jun 5, 2012

• #6

We do get airflow pretty good.  We do also have tunning plate (hot plates) under the grills.  I think what is getting us is the way we light the smoker.  We stack at least 8 pieces of hickory in it and use a weed burner to get it flaming. Then we bring the pit up to around 500 degrees and bring temp down slowly to around 300.  I am use to what I call a Carolina pit, where you burn wood in a 55 gallon wood barrel and shovel coals in the pit itself.  This what I have now is more of a Texas style pit.  It is 1/2 inch thick steel and takes a while for the pit to get hot.  I do think that the coal first will help a lot and then add smaller pieces of hickory.  But, I did learn long ago to never use green or(wet) wood.  

 

daveomak

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Nov 12, 2010

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Omak,Washington,U.S.A.

• Jun 5, 2012

• #7

sniltz, Have you thought about placing the wood you are planning to use, inside the smoker, on a rack, to dry out more ???  Some folks do that...  Pre smoke the cold wood and heat it up.....  Dave

edit...... sniltz..... I figured out your problem....    Texas Smoker in North Carolina....  There is a communications problem...  

 .... 

.....   your friend in smoke, Dave  

 

Last edited: Jun 5, 2012

sniltz

Meat Mopper

Original poster

Thread starter

May 21, 2008

228

11

China Grove, NC

• Jun 6, 2012

• #8

Dave now that is funny!!!!!  Thanks guys for all the advice.  Will definitely tweak what we are doing.  Again thanks