Charcoal In The AMNPS?

[jcollins]

Hi all,

I was just wondering if anyone has tried this or not?
I was thinking about crumbling up some lump charcoal and mixing it in with my pellets.
Maybe a 15% charcoal to 85% pellets ratio just to help start and keep the pellets burning good and maybe even get a bit of a smoke ring while i'm at it.
Thoughts?

Edit: I should have mentioned this would be used in an MES 30

 

[SonnyE]

Interesting idea.
I have to wonder if it would cause extreme hot spots and shorten the usable life of your AMNPS.
I'll watch if you want to try it...

 

[jcollins]

Hmm... i suppose the heat could be an issue of wear and tear on the tray its self. Then maybe I could crush up some KBB and try it that way since KBB doesn't get as hot as lump... Hmmm i am still in the planning stage ill be sure to post my findings if i get around to an experiment.

 

[hillbilly jim]

My apologies, wrong thread.

 

[AllAces]

An inch or two of A-MAZE-N dust mixed with the pellets will help keep it going. I have found lack of draft keeps the maze from staying lit. On the MES30, pull the pellet loader completely out.

 

[TomKnollRFV]

I strongly recommend not doing this, you will damage your MES I suspect. The Charcoal could lead to who knows what, and given that I've had pellets re-light them selves after a half hour, you might have worse with charcoal. Just pull the chip loader out entirely, open the top vent some <or what ever vent. Some are on the side aren't they?>.

The big thing is to let the AMNPS burn about 5 mins before blowing out the fire and into the smoker..!

 

[tropics]

Hmm... i suppose the heat could be an issue of wear and tear on the tray its self. Then maybe I could crush up some KBB and try it that way since KBB doesn't get as hot as lump... Hmmm i am still in the planning stage ill be sure to post my findings if i get around to an experiment.

I light my AMNPS with a torch the whole thing glows cherry red,I doubt that charcoal would do any harm.IMHO why not get some charcoal pellets or charcoal from a tropical fish store to try it.
Richie

 

[zwiller]

I tried it and it caused my MES to catch fire BUT was also running some cheap Pitboss pellets too. There are mixed reports on success with it for smoke ring. I plan to try again on next chuck. I know it doesn't matter but a smoke ring looks kewl to me. There are charcoal pellets too. https://smokedaddyinc.com/product/pellet-pro-exclusive-charcoal-pellets-20lb-bag/

 

[jcollins]

found this: (Typically wood has an energy value of between 14 and 18 MJ/kg when burned. Charcoal has an energy value of around 29 MJ/kg)
https://vuthisa.com/2010/09/05/is-it-better-to-burn-wood-or-charcoal/

So charcoal burns (kg to kg) almost 2x as hot as wood maybe its not worth the visual of a smoke ring and like others have said there are good ways of lighting a tray of pellets if done correct.

 

[hillbilly jim]

I discovered a full tray of pellets will fill a 1.5 pint Mason jar. When I started having problems with my light stalling, I stuck a professional digital moisture probe in the bag of pellets and discovered the humidity level was off the chart. I loaded a half size baking sheet with pellets, put it in the oven at 250* and left it for the day. I got the moisture down to single digit level. (trust me, 2 minutes in the nuke box or 30 minutes in the oven won't touch it.) I loaded the pellets in 1.5 pint mason jars and screwed the lids down tight. When I'm ready to smoke, I open a jar, fill the tray and break out the torch. The light goes quickly and does not stall.

Ya' gotta keep yer powder dry!

 

[tallbm]

Hi all,

I was just wondering if anyone has tried this or not?
I was thinking about crumbling up some lump charcoal and mixing it in with my pellets.
Maybe a 15% charcoal to 85% pellets ratio just to help start and keep the pellets burning good and maybe even get a bit of a smoke ring while i'm at it.
Thoughts?

Edit: I should have mentioned this would be used in an MES 30

Lumberjack has made this easy for you with their Char Hickory blend:

I haven't tried it but I would if I got my hands on it :)

 

[SonnyE]

I discovered a full tray of pellets will fill a 1.5 pint Mason jar. When I started having problems with my light stalling, I stuck a professional digital moisture probe in the bag of pellets and discovered the humidity level was off the chart. I loaded a half size baking sheet with pellets, put it in the oven at 250* and left it for the day. I got the moisture down to single digit level. (trust me, 2 minutes in the nuke box or 30 minutes in the oven won't touch it.) I loaded the pellets in 1.5 pint mason jars and screwed the lids down tight. When I'm ready to smoke, I open a jar, fill the tray and break out the torch. The light goes quickly and does not stall.

Ya' gotta keep yer powder dry!

I do do a sterilizing run with my MES 30 before a run. Usually 2 hours at 275°. I got the idea from Daveomak.
I will fill my AMNPS tray and set it inside my MES during that time unlit, so the pellets get very dry.
Then they run fine, and burn to a fine ash. Probably 98-99% burn.
Like Jim sez, nuking did not do for me what 2 hours in the MES at 275° did.
But nuking did stink up the house. Fortunately, I got it vented out before the Admiral returned... If she noticed, she did not say anything. :confused::rolleyes:
My MES is stripped out. Only the heating element and water pan remain. The water pan for heat dispersion, smoke spreading from the external "mailbox mod".

And yep, Ya gotta keep your Pellets (and your powder) dry.

I have done a mix of pellets and small Oak chips.