Fine tuning

[ga84gw]

Two things up front, a)I hope this is the correct forum and b)sorry for this being so long winded so with many questions.

I am fairly new to smoking but after reading through the various forums, I think I'm doing it wrong(I'm blaming it on being a newbie). I have a Brinkmann South Fork smoker(got it used/cheap

from a neighbor and it is actually an early prototype to the one sold now). I have several questions so I hope I don't throw out too much at once.

I think I need to clean it good to give me a fresh start because I can tell it has a large buildup of creosote in the vertical smoke chamber. I just done my third smoke yesterday but didn't notice the creosote taste on my meat. Would a pressure washer with room temp water be sufficient to clean it?

I have used Royal Oak lump along with some oak (log) wood so far but seem to struggle at times to keep the temp up. It doesn't seem to hold for very long before I have to add more fuel to the fire(lump and/or wood). I have used about a bag and a half of lump each smoke along with 6-8 12" wrist size pieces of oak(with bark on, just small limbs). Does this sound about right for the amount of lump or should it be more/less? How much wood of the previously mentioned size should I be using for a typical butt?

In general, I have been doing it wrong because I have been looking for loads of smoke(as someone on here in another post said, "I was looking for smoke because I am smoking, right"). I know I need to learn a little more about the vents on the smoker but I am wondering if someone has some quick do and don'ts go get me headed in the right direction? (For starters, I want to clean the smoker. Then going forward, leave the exhaust vent wide open.)

Any help/advice is much appreciated.

 

[coyote]

pretty much what Ken said..we have a pressure washer..and i reckon there are as many as there are smokers. we have a honda.and it is gas engine powerd, she will wash. get the nozzel in close and it is like a sand blaster but with water. so, that should clean her up well my friend. then reseason her and you should be good to smoke..

 

[daboys]

Hi GA. You don't want loads of smoke. Thin blue is what you want. Like others have said, if you can smell smoke you're smoking. Keep your exhaust vent all the way open and control your heat with firebox vent. If your temps aren't coming up, open the vent all way. I use 1 chimney of lump to start with and just a little bit at a time as I need it. I use a couple 2x2 chunks of hickory or whatever every hr or so. Hope this helps a little.

 

[daboys]

Man, am I a slow typer of what. You guys are quick

 

[richoso1]

I think TH just covered it rather well.

 

[ga84gw]

Thanks for the info everyone. As a follow-up, does one 12" piece of wood wrist-size per hour sound about right? I guess I just need to do more testing to find out just how long the wood is burning. I know I have seen the smoke die down but still see the wood burning via a small flame. I've just got to get use to small amounts of smoke and realize the meat is still getting flavor.

Come on, some one twist my arm and "make" me do some more smoking to get it all figured out.

I've only done 3 smokes so maybe I am just panicking too soon but I want to try and avoid so many of the newbie mistakes.

 

[cbucher]

The only other thing is do you have a fire basket or are the ashes smothering your heat. Do the ashes have a way to get away from the coals?

 

[ga84gw]

cbucher....yes I made a basket but the ashes fill up in the bottom of the fire box and will be another half to three quarter of an inch or so deep in the bottom of the basket. There is about an inch and a half as best I recall from the bottom of the basket in the center to the bottom of the firebox. Maybe I need more space between the bottom of the basket and the firebox?

Overall, I think things have turned out well for the 3 smokes I have done. I just don't want to be missing something that will make the smokes easier/better.

 

[Dutch]

GA- I use wood chunks when I smoke, I'll toss 3-4 on the charcoal and replentish them every hour-hour and a half. My chunks are roughly wrist size in diameter and maybe 11/2-2 inches thick-so roughly a 6-8 inch stick length worth. All my wood is in stick form, I just run it though the bad saw or chop saw. I'm thinking that your 12 inch stick should last a couple of hours??

 

[ga84gw]

Thanks Dutch. I just need to do a few more smokes and make me a log of info so I can establish a "base line" reference.