Creosote Condensation

[trout hunter]

Hey Everybody,

I have an electric 30 inch MES and I use one of Todd's AMNPS as my only source of smoke.  I have also attached a small chimney to the exhaust hole on the MES to help with air flow.  Everything was going great until I smoked some almonds the other day.  For the first few hours I was smoking at a pretty low temperature and I noticed that some black liquid was dripping onto a portion of the almonds.  I did a little research and I believe it was a result of creosote condensation, which apparently occurs when the chimney is below 250 degrees.

Which leads me to my questions.  Has anyone else had the problem and what is the solution?  Should regularly be cleaning the chimney?  How can I smoke at a low temperature and not have this problem? I am planning on smoking my first brisket this weekend and was planning on smoking at 225 degrees.  I would hate to end up with a brisket coated with creosote!  Please help.

Thanks in advance,

Matt

 

[diggingdogfarm]

Was there just condensation in the chimney?

Try insulating the chimney, that should help.


~Martin

 

[cliffcarter]

Give it a good cleaning before you cook the brisket and cook it at a higher temp, 275 °will work well,  to avoid the black condensation on the meat.

 

[daveomak]

Matt, evening.... I have experienced the same condition....   Now, prior to use, I preheat the smoker to max for an hour or two....  I also put pellets in an aluminum pie tin and preheat them to drive the moisture out of them for the 2 hours also....   Seems there is some residual left from the previous smoke and this practice really reduces it....  The pellets light easier and stay lit better also... Pull the chip tray out an inch or two to increase air flow, that will help also.....

Dave 

 

[trout hunter]

Thanks guys. I gave it a good cleaning and preheated it for a while.  I also put a small aluminum pan on the top rack below the vent as a belt and suspenders approach.  Thanks again for all of the advice.
 

 

[smokinhusker]

Matt, evening.... I have experienced the same condition....   Now, prior to use, I preheat the smoker to max for an hour or two....  I also put pellets in an aluminum pie tin and preheat them to drive the moisture out of them for the 2 hours also....   Seems there is some residual left from the previous smoke and this practice really reduces it....  The pellets light easier and stay lit better also... Pull the chip tray out an inch or two to increase air flow, that will help also.....

Dave 

X2...but it's a pretty dry climate here and mine seems to dry out pretty good between smokes as well.

 

[tjohnson]

Part of it may be too much smoke

The MES 30 is a pretty small cabinet

For cold smoking, try filling the AMNPS 2/3rds full with pellets, or use sawdust

TJ