About to upgrade smoker questiknd

trentod

Newbie

Original poster

Jan 6, 2017

3

10

Houston, TX

• Jan 6, 2017

• #1

I am new to the site and am excited to be here! I have read posts in the past and now decided to get involved. I have been smoking for about two or three years on a small Brinkmann bullet smoker and have it down pretty good but I am about to upgrade. My budget is limited so I went to Academy and they had the New Braunfels Hondo Classic and the Old Cojntry Pecos smokers. After studying up I am going to spend the extra money and go with the Pecos. I am excited to upgrade to stick burning over my usual charcoal with wood chunks but was wondering if anyone had any suggestions or advice on making the change. I'll post pics once I get it and have a chance to season it and cook something.

 

ocampo

Newbie

Jan 1, 2017

6

10

• Jan 7, 2017

• #2

Keep up with your fire. Don't start it and let it sit for long periods of time. I like to check every 15 minutes and give it a poke to keep the temp going. Takes long enough to smoke no need to add extra time because it wasn't kept up with.

 

SmokinAl

SMF Hall of Fame Pitmaster

Staff member

Moderator

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★ Lifetime Premier ★

Jun 22, 2009

51,390

12,227

Central Florida (Sebring)

• Jan 7, 2017

• #3

Yes like said above you don't want to loose your coal bed.

I start my fire with a chimney of charcoal & get a nice bed of coals in the firebox.

Then from then on I use wood splits.

In my Lang I have to add a split about every 45 minutes.

It may take you a few smokes to get the fire control down, but it will come with time.

When you start the fire, open the dampers & let the smoker come up to temp.

Then close the dampers about half way & see where the smoker settles in at.

From there you will know whether to open them a little or close them a little.

Every time you add a split the temp will spike a little, just leave it alone & it will settle back down on it's own.

Good luck & welcome to SMF!

Al

 

trentod

Newbie

Original poster

Thread starter

Jan 6, 2017

3

10

Houston, TX

• Jan 7, 2017

• #4

Thanks guys. The fire is my main concern. I figure the seasoning process will give me some idea of how it is going to be. I'll keep you posted.

 

ocampo

Newbie

Jan 1, 2017

6

10

• Jan 7, 2017

• #5

That was my main concern to getting into it. But all smokers are different and their are a lot of factors that play a part. So seasoning it will give you an idea of what u need to do. So keep a constant eye on it during that process.

 

joe black

Master of the Pit

OTBS Member

Jan 25, 2015

4,535

341

Greenville, SC

• Jan 7, 2017

• #6

Welcome to the stick burning side of things. You've been given a kick start. Good fire and heat management is definitely a learning curve. Keep a log of everything you do and refer to it with every cook. One thing that I think is critical is pre-heating splits. If you keep a couple of splits warming on top of the fire box, when you add one, it will ignite rapidly. This keeps your smoke clean and helps with any temp drops.

Send some pics when you can. Good luck, Joe. :grilling_smilie:

 

trentod

Newbie

Original poster

Thread starter

Jan 6, 2017

3

10

Houston, TX

• Jan 7, 2017

• #7

Thanks Joe. It is completely opposite of what I've been doing by trying to get my wood to smoke without catching fire. With my current charcoal smoker if it caught fire the temp skyrocketed.

IMG_8833.JPG

• trentod
• Jan 7, 2017

This is my current setup