Difficulty getting sawdust or chips to smoulder

[Ruedeleglise]

Hello I am a new member. I have hot smoked for 50 years, now branching out to cold smoking. I have bought a simple metal “tower” smoker with a maze burner at the bottom. Item 263425752632 on eBay. Simple and well built. I just can’t get the supplied chips or my oak sawdust to smoulder for very long. When it is smouldering it is great but it keeps on going out. I am considering getting a more sophisticated smoke generator, item 282410101561, again on eBay. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Ruedeleglise.

 

[zachd]

Hips wont work in it only pellets or dust
Your links dont work but some things do you have airflow in the tower? You may need some more airlow on the bottom of it? Another thing that helps my maze burn is dont have it lay flat on the ground i have it elevated on a couple small metal blocks


If all else fails you can try some sort of mail box mod again i dont know how your metal tower is but people have good luck with the mailbox on the masterbuilt smokers

 

[Ruedeleglise]

Hips wont work in it only pellets or dust
Your links dont work but some things do you have airflow in the tower? You may need some more airlow on the bottom of it? Another thing that helps my maze burn is dont have it lay flat on the ground i have it elevated on a couple small metal blocks


If all else fails you can try some sort of mail box mod again i dont know how your metal tower is but people have good luck with the mailbox on the masterbuilt smokers

Thanks. The company that supplied the smoker also supplied the smoke generator and the chips!

 

[gmc2003]

Pic's of your smoker inside and out would make it easier for us to help you out. Also where you live.

Chris

 

[Ruedeleglise]

Hi there. Well I live about 50 miles north of London UK. I included the item number on eBay so you can see exactly the design. Interestingly I have this morning heated the wood chips in our oven....but don’t tell the wife!....for 3/4 of an hour at 100 Celsius then allowed them to cool right down and so far it is smoking very well for over 2 hours. Time will tell!

 

[daveomak]

 

[zachd]

If drying them out in the oven worked your wood probably is holding some moisture...
Instead of the oven you can zap them in the microwave for 60 seconds

 

[Ruedeleglise]

If drying them out in the oven worked your wood probably is holding some moisture...
Instead of the oven you can zap them in the microwave for 60 seconds

Thanks for that tip. Yes I should have thought of that! It will also avoid the wife’s bleat about wood smell in the kitchen! Going to do that in a few minutes. Cured my half side over night with salt sugar and dill. This morning good colour washed off to go back into fridge for 24 hrs. Read somewhere that you can use a little maple syrup. Do you rub a bit in before smoking but not with the dry cure?

 

[zachd]

what is a half side?

 

[Ruedeleglise]

what is a half side?

A whole side cut in half across its width. As this will be my first effort I didn’t want to wreck a whole side!

 

[zachd]

Are we talking beef? This is what i consider a side of beef

 

[zachd]

 

[zachd]

If you really are smoking a half of what i consider half I am intersted i. Seeing pictures and want to know how it turns out! That is quite the smoke!

 

[Ruedeleglise]

Ah well.....if at first you don’t succeed, try, try and try again! An absolute disaster !!!
Dried out wood chips of alder in the microwave that wouldn’t smoulder. Oh ha ha ha.....the entire maze smouldered through in 2 hours not the 12 as Is predicted. Plumes of smoke, angry wife, smoked house and garden....you name it! Salmon now “resting” over night poss may ok as hot smoked! I think I know what happened...I over dried the chips. I thought there was way too much smoke, but having had no smoke, thought this was an improvement......I was so wrong. Also as you would expect the temperature ramped up to near 60 c. Tomorrow I have a smoke generator coming which can be plumbed in away from the smoker, connected by a copper tube, so the smoke will be able to cool down. I am far too ashamed to send any photos of this Chenoble or Long Island disaster!
Watch this space.....

 

[Ruedeleglise]

Are we talking beef? This is what i consider a side of beef

No salmon!!!

 

[zachd]

Oh salmon ill put on honey the last 30 mins or so forms a nice glaze or you can use real maple syrup too! Sorry for the confusion I love salmon

 

[Ruedeleglise]

Hi there. Getting there slowly! Bought the smoke generator in photo 3. Much better. Controlable. Found I needed the copper pipe extension to keep the temperature right down. The black cabinet on the left I have modified putting a blanking off piece in ply where originally there was a place for a maze generator. It seems to work perfectly. Going to try another piece of Salmon now.



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