It's pork butt time!! But my AMPS problem still persists.......

mummel · Aug 3, 2015

Eat your heart out! I popped this baby in around midnight. This will be my first bone-in + fat cap butt. Looking forward to seeing the results.

I took some tips from the last butt I did. No funny brines. I cut open the cryovac, washed in water, patted with paper towels, scored the cap, applied Pork Barrel BBQ rub + brown sugar, and popped it in at 225F. Temps ran overnight between 210F - 250F (alarm didnt go off so it maintained this range).

HOWEVER, this AMPS issue is really getting to me at this point. I lit it up nicely last night. Solid cherry. I went back to my wife's hairdryer (the coleman air mattress pump was too strong the other day and blew pellets everywhere). I had a beautiful cherry going. Smoke worked right out the gates. I filled the whole AMPS.

But when I woke up this morning, no smoke............................ I opened the door, and saw that at least it had burned to the middle of the maze (so I'm hoping at least 6 hours which would have got it to ~165F internal), but half the pellets were unburned........

This is getting really annoying. Why the heck would my AMPS go out midway???? Why would it burn for 4-6 hours and then extinguish. Chip loader was 2 inches out, top vent was 75% open (there was some wind). AMPS is 1.5 inches off the ground etc etc etc etc. It doesnt make sense.

I will take a pic tonight of what the AMPS looks like and how it burned out. Maybe you guys can help but I'm starting the think the MES40BT just doesnt work with the AMPS (well, at least my unit does not :(((((

IMG_2529.jpg

mummel
Aug 3, 2015

tumbleweed1 · Aug 3, 2015

I know some people swear by'em, but I have never invested in one.

I just load my chips when needed & I've never been short on smoke yet.

I like to keep it simple.

TW

bmaddox · Aug 3, 2015

If there was some wind you could have had a strong backdraft that caused the AMNPS to go out. There have been some threads on here about adding a chimney to keep the wind from blowing into the smoker.

Also, it could be the pellets. Do you dry them first? I had some wine barrel pellets that would not stay lit yesterday. I had left them in the tray for a week and it is raining everyday so the moisture must have gotten to them. I swapped them out for some fresh hickory pellets and the problem was solved.

daveomak · Aug 3, 2015

Cherry pellets won't burn in the AMNPS... You have to add Oak, Alder or some other wood to the mix to get Cherry to burn....

Also, your elevation may have something to do with the burn... around 5,000 feet there isn't enough oxygen.....

If you had a water pan in the smoker, the steam will choke out the air and the AMNPS won't burn....

If the exhaust was not wide open, and you did not have the chip drawer pulled out 1-2 inches, there won't be enough air.....

Tell us what you did so this will be a lot easier to figure out....

GaryHibbert · Aug 3, 2015

Hey mummel

I'm not sure what the BT after Mes 40 stands for, but I have a Mes 30 Gen 1. I normally have no problems with my AMNPS IF I nuke the pellets for 4 minutes (get them so hot, you can't pick them up with your bare hand) then get a good cherry going, and let the flames burn for about 5 or 10 minutes before I blow them out and put the AMNPS in the MES. AND if I remember to pull the chip loader out a little bit

so I'm not starving the AMNPS for oxygen.

In my opinion, it is the "nuking til the pellets are almost ready to self ignight" part that is the most important factor.

Gary

mummel · Aug 3, 2015

DaveOmak said:
Cherry pellets won't burn in the AMNPS... You have to add Oak, Alder or some other wood to the mix to get Cherry to burn....

Also, your elevation may have something to do with the burn... around 5,000 feet there isn't enough oxygen.....

If you had a water pan in the smoker, the steam will choke out the air and the AMNPS won't burn....

If the exhaust was not wide open, and you did not have the chip drawer pulled out 1-2 inches, there won't be enough air.....

Tell us what you did so this will be a lot easier to figure out....

I used maple. Im at sea level. No water in the pan. Vent was 75% open (this should not be an issue, I've closed it to 90% and it's worked fine). Chip loader was pulled out correctly.

mummel · Aug 3, 2015

GaryHibbert said:
Hey mummel

I'm not sure what the BT after Mes 40 stands for, but I have a Mes 30 Gen 1. I normally have no problems with my AMNPS IF I nuke the pellets for 4 minutes (get them so hot, you can't pick them up with your bare hand) then get a good cherry going, and let the flames burn for about 5 or 10 minutes before I blow them out and put the AMNPS in the MES. AND if I remember to pull the chip loader out a little bit

so I'm not starving the AMNPS for oxygen.

In my opinion, it is the "nuking til the pellets are almost ready to self ignight" part that is the most important factor.

Gary

Bluetooth. I did not nuke the pellets this time but I have in the past and I find the nuking helps with initial startup. 4 hours later it doesnt matter as they have been heated by the smoker.

mummel · Aug 3, 2015

bmaddox said:
If there was some wind you could have had a strong backdraft that caused the AMNPS to go out. There have been some threads on here about adding a chimney to keep the wind from blowing into the smoker.

Also, it could be the pellets. Do you dry them first? I had some wine barrel pellets that would not stay lit yesterday. I had left them in the tray for a week and it is raining everyday so the moisture must have gotten to them. I swapped them out for some fresh hickory pellets and the problem was solved.

I'm using Todd's A-maze-n pellets. There was not a lot of wind. I doubt this was the issue.

floridasteve · Aug 3, 2015

I did a long smoke yesterday in my 40" MES BT, and although I had an unusually hard tome getting to stay lit for the first 15 minutes, it worked fine from there on out. Finally burnt the entire tray in 9 hours. Used hickory pellets that have some Adler added to them.

I just would like more smoke. So, I also add chips through the tube ( sometimes I add pellets) every once in a while.

daveomak · Aug 3, 2015

I lit it up nicely last night. Solid cherry.

I took that to mean solid cherry pellets.... sorry....

Anyway, dry the pellets at 275 for 2 hours or more....

Bluetooth. I did not nuke the pellets this time but I have in the past and I find the nuking helps with initial startup. 4 hours later it doesnt matter as they have been heated by the smoker.

It does matter.... the pellets need to get above 250 minimum to drive the moisture out of the wood fibers....

mummel · Aug 3, 2015

I dont know Dave. 75% of my AMPS trays have failed, either on startup or during the smoke. Every time I post about it, folks suggest a zillion different reasons. Im going to stick to it for the rest of the summer but my faith in the gizmo is faltering.

daveomak · Aug 3, 2015

Dry the pellets at 275 for 2 hours or longer..... either in the smoker or in the oven..... The moisture is tied up in the fibers of the wood.... It is VERY hard to drive the moisture out of the wood.....

It would be nice if you stopped discounting folks suggestions.... you have a problem and many folks are trying to help....

Vent was 75% open (this should not be an issue, I've closed it to 90% and it's worked fine.

Bluetooth. I did not nuke the pellets this time but I have in the past and I find the nuking helps with initial startup. 4 hours later it doesnt matter as they have been heated by the smoker.

I'm using Todd's A-maze-n pellets. There was not a lot of wind. I doubt this was the issue.

75% of my AMPS trays have failed, either on startup or during the smoke. Every time I post about it, folks suggest a zillion different reasons. Im going to stick to it for the rest of the summer but my faith in the gizmo is faltering.

From all of the replies I have seen, you seem to discount folks ideas, YET, you are having NO LUCK getting it working properly...

I've given all the help I can.... Good luck......

mummel · Aug 3, 2015

Dave, this came from the Big Bear himself. I'm not discounting the suggestions. I appreciate them but I've tried them all to no avail.

Me too. I still have an unopened bag of Dust in the delivery box yet. A couple years old.

Once I open the bag, I use what I need & put the rest in my Screw-top juice jugs.

Never Nuked a pellet yet.

Bear

daveomak · Aug 3, 2015

So, Bear doesn't need to dry his pellets... I guess that should go for you too..... Sorry I tried to help when Bear is your "go to guy" for good information...

morkfrompork · Aug 4, 2015

DaveOmak said:
So, Bear doesn't need to dry his pellets... I guess that should go for you too..... Sorry I tried to help when Bear is your "go to guy" for good information...

Geeeze Dude, take er easy guy.

Nobody is dissing you...everybody learns in different ways..were talking about a tray that holds pellets or dust for creating smoke for cooking, not how to do a brake job on a school bus.

I`ll bet a call or email to https://www.amazenproducts.com/aboutus.asp

Would be a pretty decent way to get any issues resolved.

Good Luck to one and all.

daveomak · Aug 4, 2015

[quote name="MorkFromPork" url="/t/232290/its-pork-butt-time-but-my-amps-problem-still-persists#post_1444912

Geeeze Dude, take er easy guy.
Nobody is dissing you...everybody learns in different ways..were talking about a tray that holds pellets or dust for creating smoke for cooking, not how to do a brake job on a school bus.
I`ll bet a call or email to https://www.amazenproducts.com/aboutus.asp
Would be a pretty decent way to get any issues resolved.
Good Luck to one and all.
[/quote]

MFP, afternoon..... Every part of the country has it's own peculiar anomalies to deal with... from high humidity to no humidity.... High elevation to sea level...... Smokers where folks do have adequate air flow to folks that have a smoker that doesn't breathe well.... types of pellets, cherry does not burn well or at all by itself.... placement of the AMNPS inside different smokers is sometimes necessary to get them to burn....

When there are 63 posts of folks trying to help mummel solve his problem and his reply is, "Bear doesn't have to do that"...... It's kind of depressing.... kind of a negative reply to all the folks trying to help.....

Sooooooo, jump right in and solve the "non burning" AMNPS problem for mummel....

mummel · Aug 5, 2015

So anyway, back on track. Here's a pic of the AMPS failure. What the heck guys.

IMG_2530.jpg

mummel
Aug 5, 2015

mummel · Aug 5, 2015

IMG_2533.jpg

mummel
Aug 5, 2015

mummel · Aug 5, 2015

IMG_2534.jpg

mummel
Aug 5, 2015

morkfrompork · Aug 5, 2015

DaveOmak said:
MFP, afternoon..... Every part of the country has it's own peculiar anomalies to deal with... from high humidity to no humidity.... High elevation to sea level...... Smokers where folks do have adequate air flow to folks that have a smoker that doesn't breathe well.... types of pellets, cherry does not burn well or at all by itself.... placement of the AMNPS inside different smokers is sometimes necessary to get them to burn....

When there are 63 posts of folks trying to help mummel solve his problem and his reply is, "Bear doesn't have to do that"...... It's kind of depressing.... kind of a negative reply to all the folks trying to help.....

Sooooooo, jump right in and solve the "non burning" AMNPS problem for mummel....

By giving him the link to how to contact the guys who should be able to answer all his questions, without any comments or judgements..I thought I did help him with his problem.

Sorry if you don`t see it that way.

It's pork butt time!! But my AMPS problem still persists.......

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