creosote removal?

[bayoubear]

what's the best method to use in regards to creosote removal ? its gotten really thick over the years and im ready to clean it all out, sand down the insides, and re-season it.

 

[smokebuzz]

wad up a bunch of news papers and pack it full, and lite it off. It might take a couple times of doing this to get it burnt out good. REMOVE your thermo first.

 

[bayoubear]

thanks, i do that about every three months. am thinking about building a big fire in the cook box and grill weenies or something. just seems blasphemous to build a wood fire on that side.

was thinking there may be some secret recipe for a safe solvent that would eat through it without as much elbow grease scrubbing the interior clean as it is when it gets burnt from the newspaper/charcoal juice treatment. not to mention i am looking to get it down to metal to re season it.

 

[bayoubear]

who-would-a-thunk-it ???

the burned areas very dificult to scrape clean, those areas that simply warmed up wiped clean with a putty knife. 3 years worth of goo in some spots came right up. looks almost brand new.... it wasnt that nasty till this weekend. burned off a good bit of old pecan wood i had.

fire in the firebox and some oily newspaper in the cooker was all i did. once it cools and dries ill do a final cleaning then start working on some mods i want to do. (OKJ longhorn)

 

[txbbqman]

Sounds like you got it, but I wanted to throw this out there any way.

I would imagine you could use a propane weed burner ( I use one to light my wood)

I bet it would get it hot enough and less mess

Just my .02 cents

 

[bayoubear]

thanks and thats a good tip. i have one of those small propane/mapp gas torch heads i use when needed but after today, geez. whats normally a long process took a lot less time. leaving it moist really aids in removal compared to cook it and scrape with wire brush. ill come back with some sort of alcohol or something to completely degrease the interior, do my mods, and reseason it.

 

[jjmrascal]

I just did the OK joe this weekend by using my weedburner attached to a 20 lbs propane tank. WOW! That worked well! Did not take too long either. Just heat it up and the creosote will blister and dry. When the thing cools down, hit it with a scraper or wire brush. You will be creosote free and have a lot of fun doing it. My weedburner cost me $20 at Harbor freight and the propane tank came off my pop-up camper.

Fun,

 

[pinkmeat]

I just have an extra tank that I used to use for my grill. I can start hundreds of fires per tank.

 

[rickw]

I used this method (weedburner) to clean my gas grill this past weekend. It worked great.

 

[graperadio]

After burning , I use a power washer, works like a champ.

Jay

 

[chad cochran]

How do you do this exactly? made the mistake of using stack cover to regulate heat. Had my Brinkmann Trailmaster LE since Christmas and I think I need to start over; chicken came out a little 9V-ish...

 

[daveomak]

In my electric smoker....  MES 30, I run the temp up to max after every smoke for 2 hours...   That drives off the volatiles and it hardens and falls off eventually... Once it hardens, it's not a problem....    anyway, burn it out somehow...   heat, flame.... and do it every smoke...