A-MAZE-N Maze Smoker tray goes out but LIZZQ Pellet Smoker Tube stays lit

[motsyball]

I bought both an A-MAZE-N 5X8 Maze Pellet Smoker tray and a LIZZQ 12-inch Premium Pellet Smoker Tube. I use them both in my MES 30 electric smoker that Jonok helped me modify so airflow is not an issue. The LIZZO smoker tube stays lit just fine and burns all the pellets up to ash. However the problem is that the A-MAZE-N 5X8 Maze Pellet Smoker tray wont stay lit. I am placing them both side by side on a rack so air can get to them from all sides. I’m using Traeger pellets so is that maybe my problem? If so then what pellets do you suggest I use with the Lizzq tube and the A-MAZE-N tray?

 

[SmokingUPnorth]

I always recommend lumberjack pellets after trying them. Not sure what y oh modified. But I use to leave the chip tube halfway out for better flow and it worked really well

 

[thirdeye]

That is usually a moisture problem. I microwave my pellets for 30 seconds, then stir, then another 30 seconds, and stir again, and finally one more 30 seconds. They will be warm to the touch, but not hot or smoking.

Treager pellets are not 100% flavor wood. They have a second wood to help generate heat when they burn. The A-Maze-N pellets are 100% flavor wood. Several other manufactures sell 100% flavor wood as well.

 

[daveomak]

AMAZN tray has a difficult time around 5,000 ft and higher... Tubes do not....

 

[buzzy]

X2 on what thirdeye said.

 

[thirdeye]

I forgot to mention that I sift each batch of pellets I use, there is more dust than you think especially when you get near the bottom of the bag.

 

[daveomak]

I got my tray to burn much better and burn the pellets completely by adding legs so it got more air from below...

...

 

[bill1]

If they're both on a rack you probably don't need to add legs but if you can lower the rack to put the problematic tray closer to the heat source...well heat's the universal catalyst!
Crushing up the pellets a bit before you load the tray may help a bit too. With these trays you "pass" the heat along to neighboring pellets via conduction. Wood doesn't smoke until it gets to 700-800F. Reducing the size of the pellets (by breaking them up) means there's less thermal mass that its "hot neighbor" needs to bring up to that critical ignition point.

 

[JckDanls 07]

AMAZN tray has a difficult time around 5,000 ft and higher... Tubes do not....

This is true... what is your elevation ??

 

[smokerjim]

some trays just won't stay lit in a mes, i had the same problem then went to mailbox mod, no problems now, tubes usually do better in a low oxygen environment, i think they usually have bigger holes. is your top vent wide open, pull chip loader out 3-4 inches, microwave pellets for 1 or two minutes, let flame burn for 15-20 minutes before blowing out. no water in pan. anything dripping on it. don't mind me i'm just trying to think of everything.

 

[Inscrutable]

I have same issue in my pit boss electric ... if I keep it, will be doing a mailbox mod on it.

 

[OldSmoke]

I have struggled with the tray. I nuke my pellets, I’ve made dust, and it either goes out or bursts into flames. I even added a vent to provide it more air. I have even tested it just sitting in the open on the patio.

I‘m not giving up on the tray yet. I want to use dust for cheese.

A tube arrived yesterday and it works great. I’m getting nice even smoke without much of a temperature rise. Right now it is being tested on a tri-tip.

 

[JckDanls 07]

Try this one time... fill your tray and put it UNLIT in the smoker while your pre-heating the smoker... When your smoker gets to temp.. put the meat in and take the tray out (wear heat resistant gloves, the tray is HOT) .. light it and let burn for a few minutes... You'll need a place to set it while it burns (remember the tray is hot)... If you have an air compressor use it to blow on it LIGHTLY (about as hard as you would blow on it) .. You want to get a good red hot glowing head on the pellets ... As you blow on it it will flame up again.. let it burn for a minute.. blow on it some more .. keep doing this until you get a nice red cherry going (think cigar here)... When putting the tray back in the smoker be VERY CAREFUL not to shake it up and spread the pellets (glowing head) back out...

If that doesn't work then I would suspect the pellets ... As mentioned above you have to pay close attention and make sure the bag of pellets is 100% flavored wood... Most bags of pellets are mixed with fillers... These are used for cooking/heating and only intended for that... This is why they mix different woods ...

I also buy my pellets at https://amazenproducts.com/ as I know exactly what's in them and they are dryed just right ...

 

[OldSmoke]

I also buy my pellets at https://amazenproducts.com/ as I know exactly what's in them and they are dryed just right ...

Thanks, I’ll give it a try. I am using AMAZEN pellets, nuked for two, stirred, nuked for two more. Softer woods like apple seem to work better than harder woods like hickory.

 

[JckDanls 07]

Pit Masters Choice is the best ...

 

[OldSmoke]

Pit Masters Choice is the best ...

Thanks, I’ll check them out. What meats do you like using them on? Would it work well on cheese?

 

[imhungrymk]

I had the same issues. I decided just to stop wasting my time and attach a cold smoke generator to the side of my Recteq.

 

[bill1]

...stop wasting my time and attach a cold smoke generator to the side of my Recteq.

Agreed. A smoke tube (or 2) may be fine for an electric smoker but with the amount of air being blown through these pellet machines, diluting our auxiliary smoke methods, one needsto get pretty serious with the smoke generation. Jonok on another thread has an even bigger approach to the problem.

But with a Recteq with two smokestacks, I think ImHungry needs two of these Magnum Pigs to even out the smoke.

 

[MJB05615]

I couldn't keep the tray lit in my MES 40 gen 1. Got the Amazen Tube and it stays lit the whole time no issues.
My top vent is wide open and chip tray is removed.

 

[pineywoods]

Good air flow is important as are dry pellets but I also think people don't let them burn long enough or hot enough before blowing them out and letting it smoke. I live in FL where it's always humid and have never dried my pellets before use. I open a bag of pellets and put what I need into the amazen smoker trays and put the rest of the pellets into a 5 gal bucket and put a good lid on it. Then I use a propane torch and light the pellets through the hole in the end I hold the torch there until the pellets get red hot not just on fire you need to see the orange/red color on the pellets. By then it is of course flaming and I let it continue to flame for a full 5 minutes usually then blow out the flame. I use two trays in my smokehouse because of the size of it. After about 15 minutes I look to make sure both trays are smoking well.
I use pellets from Amazen Products that Jack Daniels linked above or PitBoss pellets from Walmart or LumberJack pellets I get locally .
I believe most of the members that have been here awhile and use the MES have done the mailbox mod or something similar for the most part.

Oldsmoke the pit master blend will work on pretty much anything and I have done cheese with it but normally I use apple pellets when doing apple the wife likes the mellow fruity taste of it.