Burning dust in the AMNTS

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Ive been useing dust in the 5x8 tray for awhile now and realy like the quality of tbs it produces. The grind size i use looks the same as the op.... some dust falls through but some of the finer stuff gets trapped. I smoked some various types of sausage over the last couple of days and found the smoke to be too thin so i had to smoke for longer periods at lower temp. Example ..I started some summer sausage last night at about 8pm with a full tray of dust because i wanted a 12hr cool smoke (80-90) and its still smokeing now with the same tray (21hr). The conditions were around *21f over night and smoker set at *90. I always have gotten a full burn with dust but it is certainly slow. I think I'll try lighting both ends next time. I have a 12in tube but haven't tried dust in it. I use it in the gas grill (tried it in my mes 30 but was way too much smoke even with a mailbox mod) but will try it with dust to compare with the maze. I wont use whole pellets any more unless i want a heavy smoke on something. Just wanted to share my experience useing dust verses whole pellets.
 
Just wanted to share my experience useing dust verses whole pellets.
Glad you did . I agree , I did smoked sausage with ground pellets and the tube . The color on the sausage was way off for me . The flavor and the smell was good , but I like my color to be right on .
 
Ive been useing dust in the 5x8 tray for awhile now and realy like the quality of tbs it produces. The grind size i use looks the same as the op.... some dust falls through but some of the finer stuff gets trapped. I smoked some various types of sausage over the last couple of days and found the smoke to be too thin so i had to smoke for longer periods at lower temp. Example ..I started some summer sausage last night at about 8pm with a full tray of dust because i wanted a 12hr cool smoke (80-90) and its still smokeing now with the same tray (21hr). The conditions were around *21f over night and smoker set at *90. I always have gotten a full burn with dust but it is certainly slow. I think I'll try lighting both ends next time. I have a 12in tube but haven't tried dust in it. I use it in the gas grill (tried it in my mes 30 but was way too much smoke even with a mailbox mod) but will try it with dust to compare with the maze. I wont use whole pellets any more unless i want a heavy smoke on something. Just wanted to share my experience useing dust verses whole pellets.


Flavor wise, I would say it's much better to have many hours of Light Smoke than a shorter time with Heavy Smoke.
You must have some air flow problem, because a Full AMNPS tray should get about 11 hours, give or take an hour or two.
What is your altitude there?

Bear
 
Bear to clarify when i use pellets instead of dust i get about 12 hrs but it is a much heavier smoke. I do use a heavy smoke on summer sausage because the caseing gets removed.
 
Bear to clarify when i use pellets instead of dust i get about 12 hrs but it is a much heavier smoke. I do use a heavy smoke on summer sausage because the caseing gets removed.


OK, Sounds good---I made that comment mainly because you mentioned you were thinking of "Lighting both ends", and in 9 years I only lit both ends of my AMNPS one time.
Then after about 1 hour I put the one end out, because the smoke was much too heavy for my liking.
So if you do that, I'd keep an eye on it, because you don't want any bitter taste.

Bear
 
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Had the craving for smoked bluefish today but that stock has been exhausted so I went with char from the store,its kind of comparable.

This is my first time doing fish with crushed pellets (hickory...yes hickory!) in the tube.

Somehow I have the feeling this will be yummy.Will post some pics when it comes out
 
My coffee bean grinder finally died.On my way to the thrift store,hope I can find a replacement as I have couple of pork loins going on shortly!

Found one.A whole whopping $4.

Feeling much better now seeing that slow trickle of tbs.
 
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I'm trying out the dust for the first time today.

I used a Ninja blender to make it and just poured it into a 12 inch tube about halfway full and lit it.

It does give a TBS outside of the smoker, but once inside of it, I had to take care to position it in such a way as to allow the tube to get maximum airflow.

Once I did that, yes, the smoke is light, much lighter than with the tube filled with whole pellets, and it's a TBS vs the thicker white smoke typically seen when I burn pellets inside of the smoke tube.
 
Rec Tec 590 Stampede.

I have two AMAZIN smoke tubes. One twelve inch, one 18 inch.

IMG_8176 2.JPG



The 12 inch has the U bolt. I was running pellets in the 12 and dust in the 18 telescoped down to 12 but I wasn't running it full.

I propped it against the 12. This served a similar purpose to the U bolt mod.
 
I was using a coffee bean grinder to grind my pellets but found they lacked in durability as I just destroyed another one! So alas I switched to using a blender,besides being more durable I can grind much more at a time.
 
Try soaking them in hot water... They fall apart... decant the water and dry on a sheet tray in the oven at 275... No grinder to wear out....



...
 
Try soaking them in hot water... They fall apart... decant the water and dry on a sheet tray in the oven at 275... No grinder to wear out....

This is a no go when using the tube,the pellets become true dust and it just doesn't work well with the tube.Ground pellets are the way to go in the tube.
 
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I tried to grind up some pellets in a food processor, but I don't think I'm getting the consistency right. Those who have gotten the TBS out of the process can you post your tips and tricks for what kind of course ground you are aiming for?

I'm ending up with a mix of very course pellets with very fine dust. The fine dust just falls out.
 
I tried to grind up some pellets in a food processor, but I don't think I'm getting the consistency right. Those who have gotten the TBS out of the process can you post your tips and tricks for what kind of course ground you are aiming for?

I'm ending up with a mix of very course pellets with very fine dust. The fine dust just falls out.
That's about what I get also . I try to stop before it gets ground to fine , but you're going to have some of that .
I use an MES 30 . Hard to see TBS because of all the moisture that comes out as white smoke . Never been a problem for me .

Also , I grind the pellets with an old hand crank meat grinder . Takes some effort , but that's all I use it for . Do like Norm , shop second hand stores . When that wears out go look for another . I wouldn't use good equipment to grind pellets .
I only do this because the tube needs a course grind . If I had a tray . I would just buy dust .
 
Thanks for the tips, I'll try and play around. SlowmotionQue mentioned using a blender instead of a food processor so I might try that.

I'm not only going by smoke color, but the way it smells. It doesn't really produce a clean smelling smoke for me. But I don't think I'm doing it right yet. I'm pretty picky on clean smoke, so to see people were getting TBS out of these tubes really has my interest. I like the pellet tubes for getting some additional smoke on short cooks, but I've never really been able to get a good quality clean smoke out of them that I'd use for longer smokes. Pellets need a lot of air to burn clean I've found. That's not to say that smoldering pellets don't have their use for some cooks.
 
The tube is going to throw out heavier smoke . I use mine with a mail box .
I do get TBS at the tube itself .
thin blue.jpg
Going by the smell is a good way to judge it .
 
I've been using a coffee bean grinder and this worked well except for the durability of the thin blades so I switched to using a blender,the blades on a blender are much more durable.

I just pulse the blender until I get the right consistency.Some fine dust is inevitable.
 
Thanks for the tips, I'll try and play around. SlowmotionQue mentioned using a blender instead of a food processor so I might try that.

I'm not only going by smoke color, but the way it smells. It doesn't really produce a clean smelling smoke for me. But I don't think I'm doing it right yet. I'm pretty picky on clean smoke, so to see people were getting TBS out of these tubes really has my interest. I like the pellet tubes for getting some additional smoke on short cooks, but I've never really been able to get a good quality clean smoke out of them that I'd use for longer smokes. Pellets need a lot of air to burn clean I've found. That's not to say that smoldering pellets don't have their use for some cooks.


Like Chopsaw said, "The Tube can put out heavy Smoke".
That's why I only use my Trays.
And Remember A whole lot of hours of Light to medium smoke is Great.
However even a short time of Heavy, Dense Smoke can be Bad (Bitter).

Bear
 
Like Chopsaw said, "The Tube can put out heavy Smoke".
That's why I only use my Trays.
And Remember A whole lot of hours of Light to medium smoke is Great.
However even a short time of Heavy, Dense Smoke can be Bad (Bitter).

Bear

I have a tray that I use for cold smoking. It doesn’t want to stay lit in a hot smoke environment. I like using the tube on short smokes to get a little extra oomph, but it’s kind of hit or miss. Sometimes the flavor is bitter from smoldering smoke. Just looking for a more reliable way to get tbs.

If you know any tricks to keep the tray lit in a hot smoker, lower oxygen, I’d love to hear them!
 
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