FIRST TIMER with the Bella

[LDP.243]

I just installed my Bella gen. 2 , took it for a test run with about 1/2 full with pellets, It ran for 3hrs ,smoked like crazy . just looking for advice on best cleaner and fuel, after the learning curve I think I will love it

 

[Colin1230]

Not familiar with a Bella gen 2 or what you may have installed it into. But, welcome to the forum, glad you joined us.

 

[SmokinEdge]

I run a mixture of pecan pellets and cherry chips in mine. I’m running it in a 3x3x7’ smokehouse and like it fine. It will condensate up at the top and will bridge the pellets as they swell, so I use a steel rod to tamp it down every couple hours. The only cleaning I do is roughly scraping out the inside and using the two tools that come with it to clear the air nipple and push the tar out of the smoke tube.

 

[LDP.243]

I run a mixture of pecan pellets and cherry chips in mine. I’m running it in a 3x3x7’ smokehouse and like it fine. It will condensate up at the top and will bridge the pellets as they swell, so I use a steel rod to tamp it down every couple hours. The only cleaning I do is roughly scraping out the inside and using the two tools that come with it to clear the air nipple and push the tar out of the smoke tube.

good info here and thank you, I have been worrying about the drain cleaner method of cleaning and the best wood, I have a smoke hollow propane window smoker had it for about 5 yrs and used it for smoking sausage and brisket

 

[geostriata]

I just installed my Bella gen. 2 , took it for a test run with about 1/2 full with pellets, It ran for 3hrs ,smoked like crazy . just looking for advice on best cleaner and fuel, after the learning curve I think I will love it

I have the same issue! I just got mine a few days ago, and I hate it so much! Totally over-smoked my last batch and there was nothing I could do to reduce the smoke. Maybe in a larger smoke house, but for a little MES 30 I think it's way too much.

Going back to mailbox mod with maze.

 

[geostriata]

I have been worrying about the drain cleaner method of cleaning

Sodium hydroxide (drain cleaner) should clean it well and won't leave a residue or anything. As long as you use safety precaution when you apply it (eye protection, gloves, and don't pour water onto the sodium hydroxide as Cajuneric showed in the cleaning video. That creates splashes of an overly caustic solution. You should do it the other way around. Pour sodium hydroxide into water)

 

[SmokinEdge]

I have the same issue! I just got mine a few days ago, and I hate it so much! Totally over-smoked my last batch and there was nothing I could do to reduce the smoke. Maybe in a larger smoke house, but for a little MES 30 I think it's way too much.

Going back to mailbox mod with maze.

Turn the air pump way down. Eric smoked just fine with it in a smallish cabinet. I’ve had no issues taste wise and produces beautiful meats.

 

[SmokinEdge]

good info here and thank you, I have been worrying about the drain cleaner method of cleaning and the best wood, I have a smoke hollow propane window smoker had it for about 5 yrs and used it for smoking sausage and brisket

I wouldn’t clean the inside, it doesn’t need it. I do have some tar that has dropped or ran down the outside that could be cleaned but haven’t worried to much about that.

 

[geostriata]

Turn the air pump way down. Eric smoked just fine with it in a smallish cabinet. I’ve had no issues taste wise and produces beautiful meats.

That's what I tried, unfortunately it still billowed out too much smoke :(

Also tried all permutations of the baffles fully open on the MES and on the Bella. Turning it down to minimum helped, but still too much smoke being generated. I'll try the chips/pellets included with the bella to see if it's my pellets somehow. The dry California air may be resulting in over dry pellets...

 

[SmokinEdge]

That's what I tried, unfortunately it still billowed out too much smoke :(

Also tried all permutations of the baffles fully open on the MES and on the Bella. Turning it down to minimum helped, but still too much smoke being generated. I'll try the chips/pellets included with the bella to see if it's my pellets somehow. The dry California air may be resulting in over dry pellets...

Is the smoke flavor off? Mine bellows smoke but the meat is lightly smoke flavored and delicious.

 

[geostriata]

Is the smoke flavor off? Mine bellows smoke but the meat is lightly smoke flavored and delicious.

Oh, that's good to hear! Mine does bellow smoke (unlike the maze), but maybe it doesn't bellow fast enough. It over smoked the bacon I had smoking.

Fortunately, I got an Auber circulating fan for heat evenness reasons. I'll install this today and try again -- perhaps a little air circulation inside the unit will push the smoke out faster and not result in oversmoked product. It would be really nice if I got this working, since it's so much easier to ignite than the mazes.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Bacon with the Bella. It’s good.

 

[geostriata]

Bacon with the Bella. It’s good.

That looks like a much larger chamber though. I have one that looks ~1/8th that by volume.

 

[SmokinEdge]

That looks like a much larger chamber though. I have one that looks ~1/8th that by volume.

Have you watched two guys and a cooler?

 

[geostriata]

Have you watched two guys and a cooler?

Yep! That's one of the reasons I got this generator. I don't believe they have an MES 30, though.

In any case, it's working now! Got the Auber circulator in there, and it's now pushing out a lovely fine smoke.

In fact, after doing a little more searching, there was another thread about the Bella smoke generator and this issue. The MES needs a little assist for cold smoking, and I think that's exactly the culprit.

L LDP.243 if changing the fuel/pellets doesn't work for you to reduce the amount of smoke, I'd recommend a circulator or something like what was mentioned in this thread. It fixed the problem for me.

 

[mr_whipple]

Yep! That's one of the reasons I got this generator. I don't believe they have an MES 30, though.

In any case, it's working now! Got the Auber circulator in there, and it's now pushing out a lovely fine smoke.

In fact, after doing a little more searching, there was another thread about the Bella smoke generator and this issue. The MES needs a little assist for cold smoking, and I think that's exactly the culprit.

L LDP.243 if changing the fuel/pellets doesn't work for you to reduce the amount of smoke, I'd recommend a circulator or something like what was mentioned in this thread. It fixed the problem for me.

So... I've been messing with my bella and MES40 again. Put that project on the back burner for a while doing other things. In the end I'm not happy with it for one reason; it makes way too much smoke in my opinion. I've tried various mixtures / ratios of pellets and wood chips and that didn't seem to be the problem. Airflow is the culprit along with the size of the MES. I varied the speed of the air pump supplied, and at the lowest setting it was still cranking it out, so I turned it off and just let the natural draw pull air thru it. Also, I was running the smoker at 135 or 140... don't recall but it was one or the other. Anyway, I tried the top vent 75-80% open and also 100% just to see. That cabinet was thick with smoke... it was venting out but you could see it rolling in there. All said, I gave up trying to run the variable speed fan rig I made as that just stoked the fire in the bella in place of the air pump. I will be using that with my maze and dust as necessary for cold smoking, but if I'm running the heat I don't think I'll need the fan, just the maze instead of the bella. After trying both pellets and dust, I had excellent results with the dust, not so much with pellets. I'm going to try a couple different things with the placement of the maze but for now I'm just wondering if I'll ever use that bella again.

All that said, if you have yours dialed in I'm glad for you!

 

[geostriata]

So... I've been messing with my bella and MES40 again. Put that project on the back burner for a while doing other things. In the end I'm not happy with it for one reason; it makes way too much smoke in my opinion. I've tried various mixtures / ratios of pellets and wood chips and that didn't seem to be the problem. Airflow is the culprit along with the size of the MES. I varied the speed of the air pump supplied, and at the lowest setting it was still cranking it out, so I turned it off and just let the natural draw pull air thru it. Also, I was running the smoker at 135 or 140... don't recall but it was one or the other. Anyway, I tried the top vent 75-80% open and also 100% just to see. That cabinet was thick with smoke... it was venting out but you could see it rolling in there. All said, I gave up trying to run the variable speed fan rig I made as that just stoked the fire in the bella in place of the air pump. I will be using that with my maze and dust as necessary for cold smoking, but if I'm running the heat I don't think I'll need the fan, just the maze instead of the bella. After trying both pellets and dust, I had excellent results with the dust, not so much with pellets. I'm going to try a couple different things with the placement of the maze but for now I'm just wondering if I'll ever use that bella again.

All that said, if you have yours dialed in I'm glad for you!

Yeah, that sounds exactly what I experienced. At this point, I think it's a flaw with the MES. I'm really glad the Auber circulating fan was sufficient. I think also maybe the exhaust chimney with fan in the thread I mentioned will also fix it, fwiw.

 

[geostriata]

mr_whipple So I've been testing the Bella a bit more, and I think I figured out something that might be useful to you.

There are two hurdles to the Bella for MES 30 users:

1. Chamber airflow. There needs to be a bit of a cold smoker assist with the MES 30, as you mentioned.
2. Initial Smoke. The Bella puts out thick nasty white smoke for the first 5-10 mins or so, regardless of the air speed setting. It needs to run for a while before it can put out good smoke.

So my protocol with the Bella is this, and it seems to work well:

1. Clean the Bella if it needs it (it gets buildup fast!)
2. Leave the smoker door open, and get the Bella ignited at full airspeed for 5-10 mins.
3. Turn airspeed to 1/3 (if using circulator) or 1/2 (if no circulator) and wait a min or so
4. Turn on the circulator if you have one
5. Add the meat, shut the door, and you're all set with good smoke.

Hope that helps you give it a second chance. It's really useful for when I want a stronger smoke flavor in a shorter period of time (< 3hr). The maze is better for a more subtle smoke over a longer period of time (~8+hr).

 

[mr_whipple]

mr_whipple So I've been testing the Bella a bit more, and I think I figured out something that might be useful to you.

There are two hurdles to the Bella for MES 30 users:

1. Chamber airflow. There needs to be a bit of a cold smoker assist with the MES 30, as you mentioned.
2. Initial Smoke. The Bella puts out thick nasty white smoke for the first 5-10 mins or so, regardless of the air speed setting. It needs to run for a while before it can put out good smoke.

So my protocol with the Bella is this, and it seems to work well:

1. Clean the Bella if it needs it (it gets buildup fast!)
2. Leave the smoker door open, and get the Bella ignited at full airspeed for 5-10 mins.
3. Turn airspeed to 1/3 (if using circulator) or 1/2 (if no circulator) and wait a min or so
4. Turn on the circulator if you have one
5. Add the meat, shut the door, and you're all set with good smoke.

Hope that helps you give it a second chance. It's really useful for when I want a stronger smoke flavor in a shorter period of time (< 3hr). The maze is better for a more subtle smoke over a longer period of time (~8+hr).

I appreciate you thinking of me. I've tried many different configurations with MES 40, and I've come to the conclusion the maze and dust do what I want but I have yet to smoke any sausage as the final exam. I've only done foodless runs. I'm finally going to make some kielbasa style sausages on a small scale and see what kind of smoke flavor we get. As to the bella... I dunno, but I am as close to done with it with out tossing it

 

[geostriata]

I appreciate you thinking of me. I've tried many different configurations with MES 40, and I've come to the conclusion the maze and dust do what I want but I have yet to smoke any sausage as the final exam. I've only done foodless runs. I'm finally going to make some kielbasa style sausages on a small scale and see what kind of smoke flavor we get. As to the bella... I dunno, but I am as close to done with it with out tossing it

Yeah, the maze and dust really work well. And for when you want extra smoke, you can just use two mazes, haha.

Maybe it's cognitive dissonance. The Bella was expensive, so I really wanted to get it to work. But even getting it to work, it is a pain to clean (compared to the maze) and it wastes pellets, and it needs to be monitored, etc...