AMNPS tray with lumbar jack pellets - catches fire!

[Dorys]

New to the forum and to smoking and I humbly come here to ask for some help.

I'm trying to smoke some beef ribs on my Weber Genesis II. I am using the AMNPS tray with Lumber Jack pellets, Maple/Hickory/Cherry blend. I nuked them 2 mins, filled tray to the top and lit the pellets at one end, let them smolder for a minute, blew them out and put the tray on the grill rack over the burner that is on... ribs at other end. Using a Thermoworks smoker alarm to monitor the ambient temperature in the Weber. Temp hovering around 245-255.

Low and behold, the entire tray of pellets caught fire. So I tried again, except I didn't nuke the pellets first. Tray catches on fire a 2nd time.

Now we have the tray on the grill grates right in front of the two beef ribs racks. Now we can't keep them lit.

Been at this for over 2 hours and it's getting quite frustrating. I know that not having a dedicated smoker is not ideal, however, I'd like to get started with learning this process before I spend the $$$ for a dedicated smoker. I'm sure it's just a matter of tweaking our methods to get this to work.

Any ideas, help, suggestions are much appreciated.

 

[Dorys]

Thanks Holly2015. I did move them over to where the ribs were but they didn't stay lit. I gave up on the smoke part of this endeavor. I'll try the foil next time.

 

[johnmeyer]

The way you are using the AMNPS is not at all how it was designed to be used. It is designed to be put into a smoker, like the Masterbuilt electric (MES) and smoke all on its own, without any additional heat being applied. Also, most smokers do not get to temperatures much above 300 degrees. By putting it over the flames you added a huge amount of heat, and also a lot of convection (air blowing up through the chips), so it is no surprise that the chips burst into flames and didn't smoke.

Even when you put it on the non-lit side of the gas grill, there would be too much convection and too much heat.

I did figure out a way to use the AMNPS in my old Weber Genesis grill and I posted about it a few years ago. Here is a link to that post and perhaps the idea will work for you:

Rotisserie Smoked Chicken - Using All My Toys At Once

Even with the tray completely outside the enclosure and totally removed from the heat, the chips do burn down faster than when placed in the MES or mailbox mod because there is still much more air moving past the pellets than what you would get in a normal smoke box enclosure, but they do smoke, and that smoke does make its way into the grill. However, I usually also fill up a traditional grill smoke box (or you can use aluminum foil with hole) and use that as well. You need a LOT more smoke in a gas grill to achieve the same kinds of smoke flavor that you get in the lower heat and smaller air turnover found in most smokers.

 

[bill ace 350]

I had one tray burst into flames, using the pellets that came with the tray.

Since the, no issues.

 

[bregent]

Thanks Holly2015. I did move them over to where the ribs were but they didn't stay lit.

There is not enough O2 in a gas grill to keep the pellets in the tray lit. Trays work great in electric smokers, and cold smoking, where O2 is not being consumed by flame. For gas grills, use a tube instead.

 

[HalfSmoked]

Seems you have received some help. Hoping you didn't over fill the tray. Pellets should not be higher then the ribs of the tray or the fire will jump.

Warren

 

[daveomak]

Yep.... My guess is lack of oxygen also... Crack the lid of your grill an inch or so to allow for air to get in there... Put the AMNPS close to the opening... Fill the tray to about 1/4" below the top of the dividers...
Light the pellets and let it burn for about 5-10 minutes to get going good.... BLOW OUT THE FLAME... you should be good to go....

 

[johnmeyer]

Yes, the lack of oxygen is why I suggested following what I did: move it to the drip tray below the grill. As I said in the post I linked to: this works well.

 

[Dorys]

Thank you all for the comments and suggestions.

So I had watched two videos before I bought the A-MAZE-N tray and it looks like I bought the wrong one. I watched this one that got me on the whole "I can smoke meat on my gas grill" trek. Then I watched this one, but didn't really pay attention to the fact that he used the tray on a non-gas grill. Looks like I should have bought the tube instead of the maze. I'll try moving it to the drip tray as Johnmeyer suggested.

Needless to say, the ribs came out very yummy... more due to the fact that I liked the dry rub and finished with a wet soak that was quite yummy. Not sure I even needed any smoke.

 

[schlotz]

Dave's solution to using the tray is sound! It works 'cause the science is accurate, ie lack of O2. Now, smoker dollars don't count, so nothing wrong with also getting the A-Maze-N Tube. They each have their use.

Matt

 

[Dorys]

I'm happy to report that Johnmeyers method to put the A-MAZE-N on the drip pan worked like a charm. 6 hours later and the maze is only half way through with a light billowing blue smoke coming from below. I can't wait to try these ribs!!