Masterbuilt dual fuel - Nuby Questions

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critter3

Newbie
Original poster
Jul 7, 2014
5
10
I'm new to smoking and just bought this unit. However I had a couple things I wasn't sure about and they deal with the regulator hose to the propane tank. Might be stupid questions but I want to make sure. After getting it fired up I noticed that the hose seems close to the burner area. I felt it and it was fairly warm. Is this normal? This was after the 30 min curing time so I can only imagine it would be even hotter after a 6 hr smoke! Also, I see there is a clip on it but I'm not sure what I am suppose to clip this to? Oh, I should also add that I have it running underneath the leg support to the tank. Should I run it around the front of the unit?

Also, I originally planned on setting this next to my BBQ on my covered deck (not enclosed, just covered and walled on 2 sides). But the manual says to keep it 10ft from, ceilings, walls, and rails. After looking at a few of the setups here it looks like many have it on their deck, although many have it on their brick patio which I assume is away from the house. I assume this warning is because of the potential for a wood chip spark to get out of the unit and land on the surroundings? I'm not sure what the probability is of that? Does this happen often? Maybe during windy conditions? I'd like to have it on my deck and not in the middle of my yard! And thoughts/suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks
 
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I did not use the clip on the hose, mine is like you described. I have not noticed the hose getting too hot, but my cooking temps are always below 300 F.
 
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Thanks BWORTHY.  I tried doing some searches on it and couldn't find anything.  And after going through the treads and seeing people's units it looks like a lot have it set up like this...although some I see have theirs coming out the front, so I may move mine just to be "safe". 

I'm just about done my seasoning, but I wasn't able to get it up to 400 as many others, only about 330F.  Although I don't have an external thermometer yet so who knows what the real temperature was. 
 
And a couple more things... The manual says not to use wood chunks, but I see many people here say they use the chunks cause they work better.  Any advise on this?

Also, I tried searching but can't find an answer.  About how long does a 20lb propane bottle last?  Say at 230F?  I understand there is a lot of variables, but I'm more or less wondering if this unit can do a 20 hour smoke without needing another bottle?
 
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I use wood chunks and a little bit of lump charcoal in a cast iron skillet that rests on top of the burner, no problems at all with this. Not exactly sure how long a tank lasts, but I think you should be able to get at least 20 hours out of a tank. I did a butt that was around 16 hours then several smaller smokes before changing tanks.
 
Thanks again BWORTHY.  Appreciate it.  Can you make one clarification?  Do you put the skillet right on the burner or do you put it on the chip pan that came with it? 
 
Yes , Critter3 . Safety is the key to a good BBQ experience. If you feel the hose is better to the front , by all means do that ; you should have no problems . Remember to turn all valves off and close(contain ) the fire when one.

Usually embers don't get away , but things 'can' happen. i.e. - keep your eye on it till it is cool.

Have fun and a great Labor day .

As usual  . . .
 
Critter - I have a little 10 inch round grill that sets on the burner. My pan sits on top of the grill. I could use a little larger CI pan, but I found this little 7.5 inch pan and it was cheap.

 
This is a great unit, especially to learn on as its very forgiving with a gas back up - and the gas makes winter smoking near effortless. My only mods are the cast iron pan and foil pans that double as water tray and drip pans. I usually put this on the bottom rack of the cook chamber - sometimes up a level or two pending how much space I need. I'll let the water slowly evaporate to about 1/2 then start using whats left to make finishing or bbq sauces.

I came across these yesterday on clearance at Meijer - while I haven't used them yet they do fit on top of the chip pan. I'll likely take the water pan rack (which I don't use) and see if it will sit on the bottom and clear the burner - if so I'll likely sit them on that rack.

This summer I've been using all lump/wood which is a fantastic improvement in flavor. For some reason (I'm sure scientific and I won't understand) it likes to run a little warm early on then seems to like to run a little cool towards the end. However - I've come to like the first hour or so at 300-325, just seems to improve the flavor.

Also, its nice to use the gas to get the initial coals going.



 
I have a camp chef unit and have had good success with chunks. Only issue is if I stir them around a lot when I check the pan I have to watch and make sure they don't actually catch fire. The best advice I have is start simple and experiment until you start finding what works for you. It's all about having fun.
 
Thanks everyone.  Now that I used it at a cooking temperature I never had any issue with the regulator hose getting hot.  Only when I was breaking it in. 

To put a "close" on this thread I'll describe my first smoke.  This was my first time doing any smoking so I was pretty excited.  I was hosting a few buddies this weekend that came into town so we could do our annual hockey draft.  So why not go big right?  I picked up a 9 lbs brisket and two 5 lbs pork butts.  I originally planned on doing them separate nights but decided to do them all the same night, and have the pork ready for lunch and the brisket for supper.  From what I read only Hickory is good for both beef and pork, however because of the different times the meat would go on and because the meat would only take on the smoke for the first 4-6 hrs, I decided to use oak for the first 4 hours and then throw on applewood for the rest / pork smoke.  I started the smoker at midnight and in the end they both turned out ok, with the pork being better...as I assumed it would because I missed too many steps to make it perfect.  I forgot to take pictures, and it didn't last very long anyways.  Here are a few of my mistakes / learnings:
  • I knew to make it perfect I was going to need to wake up every hour or so to check on things.  Because we had a long day planned for the next day (including sitting in front of the fire and having drinks into the night) I decided to get up every 1.5 to 2 hours instead.  Also, the first time I checked on it I remembered I forgot to put together a mop to keep the brisket moist (I later realized I probably could have just basted it with the drippings). 
  • The heat was too high.  I tested the thermometer that came with it (boiling water) and it was good, but I also had another one for ovens that I used to verify and they were both similar.  However, after checking on it at 2am it was up to almost 300.  I turned it down and then at 3:30am it was still around 250.  It pretty much stayed there until morning when we headed out for golf when I think I finally got it right.  This along with the non-basting dried the brisket out on the one side and there was about a 1/4" skin that was uneatable.  However, everything else was awesome and perfect!  The brisket pulled apartsome but this I assume was due to the high heat.  The one port butt was a little tough in the middle so I assume this was due to the high heat as well.  I need to get a remote thermometer so I don't have to open it to verify temp. 
  • I used the water pan that came with it and I needed to add water every 1.5hrs before it was dry (reminder not to refill the pan when it's very low...FLAMES! ha ha).  And I was using chips and they seemed to get to white ash around the 1-1.5 hr mark (I used a CI pan).  Next time I'll have to use an aluminum water tray and try using some chunks to prolong the smoke. 
Overall it was a good experience and next time I'm gonna have to spend more time tending to it to ensure I get it right.  I think my next smoke will be ribs or chicken...or both!
 
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