Getting Tubed

[Unique Name]

Surf's up!!!
Anyways, I'm thinking of getting a smoker tube to try cold smoking some items.
Questions...
Can I use a tube with my WSM 18er?
Should I get the 6" or 12" for my setup?
Round or Hex?
Brand recommendations?
DIY?
Can you cold smoke salt, nuts and cheese at the same time?
Any and all advice/tips/warnings/etc are greatly appreciated.

 

[HowlingDog]

Funny you mention the smoker tubes today. Yesterday, I tried to smoke some cheese the old fashion way, using a single row of charcoal and chips. Result was melted cheese.

I looked on SMF and seems everyone is on board with the A MAZE N tubes. Went on their website and ordered the 12" tubes and 3 kinds of pellets; hickory apple and cherry.... Bought enough stuff for free shipping. Cant wait for it to arrive!! As someone else said, once I hit BUY, I wanted my order on my doorstep!!!

I did also buy a heat gun to start it. From the reviews I read, either a torch or heat gun is the way to to start it. I do love a new gadget.

HowlingDog

 

[gmc2003]

Unique said:

Anyways, I'm thinking of getting a smoker tube to try cold smoking some items.
Questions...
Can I use a tube with my WSM 18er?
Yes, but I would recommend the tray. You can burn pellets or dust in the tray.
Should I get the standard 6" or 12" for my setup?
See above answer.
Round or Hex?
Again see above answer.
Brand recommendations?
Todd at A-MAZE-N here's a link.

Can you cold smoke salt, nuts and cheese at the same time?
Yes, all can be smoked at the same time.
Any and all advice/tips/warnings/etc are greatly appreciated.

On my 22" I remove the charcoal ring and keep the vents wide open. The maze sits on my charcoal grate. I haven't had the maze go out once(knock on wood). Dust burns cleaner then pellets, but you get a liter smoke profile. Which is good and bad depending on what your using it for. You need to use a good quality pellet or dust.

Chris

 

[SecondHandSmoker]

https://www.amazenproducts.com/category_s/12.htm

Been thinking about getting a tube as well.
With that said, I'd stick with what Todd offers since I've read that both product and customer support is top notch.

 

[Unique Name]

Funny you mention the smoker tubes today. Yesterday, I tried to smoke some cheese the old fashion way, using a single row of charcoal and chips. Result was melted cheese.

I looked on SMF and seems everyone is on board with the A MAZE N tubes. Went on their website and ordered the 12" tubes and 3 kinds of pellets; hickory apple and cherry.... Bought enough stuff for free shipping. Cant wait for it to arrive!! As someone else said, once I hit BUY, I wanted my order on my doorstep!!!

I did also buy a heat gun to start it. From the reviews I read, either a torch or heat gun is the way to to start it. I do love a new gadget.

HowlingDog

Thanks for the reply, Howling.

 

[Unique Name]

Unique said:

Anyways, I'm thinking of getting a smoker tube to try cold smoking some items.
Questions...
Can I use a tube with my WSM 18er?
Yes, but I would recommend the tray. You can burn pellets or dust in the tray.
Should I get the standard 6" or 12" for my setup?
See above answer.
Round or Hex?
Again see above answer.
Brand recommendations?
Todd at A-MAZE-N here's a link.

Can you cold smoke salt, nuts and cheese at the same time?
Yes, all can be smoked at the same time.
Any and all advice/tips/warnings/etc are greatly appreciated.

On my 22" I remove the charcoal ring and keep the vents wide open. The maze sits on my charcoal grate. I haven't had the maze go out once(knock on wood). Dust burns cleaner then pellets, but you get a liter smoke profile. Which is good and bad depending on what your using it for. You need to use a good quality pellet or dust.

Chris

Thanks for the reply, GMC.
Although...
DUST?

 

[gmc2003]

DUST as in sawdust, sorry about that. I use it for cheese and fish.

Chris

 

[Unique Name]

I

DUST as in sawdust, sorry about that. I use it for cheese and fish.

Chris

I see.
Luckily I'm only a quarter mile from the mill...
;-)

 

[SecondHandSmoker]

I

I see.
Luckily I'm only a quarter mile from the mill...
;-)

Just make sure you're getting good clean hardwood dust like oak, maple, etc. No pine or such....ewww!

 

[flatbroke]

I'm working on getting a couple links for you

 

[bmudd14474]

Here is a link to the 12" tube https://amzn.to/2WqoHYP

They also make an expanding tube so you can adjust to how long you want it to smoke. Here is that link for you also https://amzn.to/2TkKK11

They make a tray as well https://amzn.to/2sSRqIa

I personally love the tube version the best for what I do.

Id recommend staying with A-Maze-N Products. They have the best customer service around. I know there are a few knock off's out there but Todd makes the best one IMO and will take care of you if there is ever an issue.

 

[bmudd14474]

Also yes you can cold smoke multiple things at the same time.

 

[flatbroke]

I found that the 12 inch tube BMudd posted lasts 4hrs to 4hrs 20 min on a fill, It is kind of egg shaped so it doesn't roll around also which is nice.

 

[Unique Name]

Thanks to you all for the replies.
I'm off to research brands...
Stay tuned.

 

[SonnyE]

Simple. Just get an AMNPS tray. Now you have two ways to smoke anything. Pellets, or Dust.
Pellets - fill rows in the tray. Each row = ~ 4 hours of smoke time. (I get 11 hours from a full tray)< Note that when shopping.
Saw Dust - Not as hard as you think. The same pellets you can use to make mountains of Saw Dust.
Just put a couple of handfuls in a bucket, coffee container, aluminum pan. Add water slowly and mix around. The pellets will magically begin to dissolve into sawdust. Not too much water, you have to dry the water back out. I use my electric smoker to dehydrate my saw dust from pellets.
(You could also use a dehydrator to dry the sawdust...)

Why Saw Dust? Good Question! Saw Dust smolders very cool and makes a sweeter deeper penetrating milder taste. (I get ~6 hours from a full tray)
I like the results so much better than pellets, I've become a total convert to Saw Dust Smoking. I do much low temperature, or Cold Smoking. Then I cook whatever I've smoked. Like Bacon, or Salmon. I also smoke salt, cheese, nuts... Even butter can be smoked by cold smoking.

The AMNPS tray can do all methods of smoking. Don't confuse it's design with tubes or Brand X trays. The pyramidal trough design keeps the individual row burning, without igniting the sister row. Because it allows an air break between the rows.
It also gives the longest amount of time of TBS smoke production available.

If you order through Home Depot, you can get free shipping. I HATE shipping charges. So I find ways to avoid them.

 

[Unique Name]

Ok, so...
I've looked at the designs and different configurations and what have you and my main question is...
Why couldn't someone simply put some pellets/dust in a pie pan, light them, and call it a day?
Or could you?

 

[gmc2003]

Ok, so...
I've looked at the designs and different configurations and what have you and my main question is...
Why couldn't someone simply put some pellets/dust in a pie pan, light them, and call it a day?
Or could you?

It would burn up to quickly.

One more thing to think about. I believe the tube puts out more smoke the maze. So with your 18" that may cause issues with over-smoking.

Chris

 

[Unique Name]

It would burn up to quickly.

One more thing to think about. I believe the tube puts out more smoke the maze. So with your 18" that may cause issues with over-smoking.

Chris

Hmmm...
Perhaps I should hit the workshop and see what I can come up with.
Thanks for the reply.

 

[SonnyE]

Hmmm...
Perhaps I should hit the workshop and see what I can come up with.
Thanks for the reply.

Be my guest, maybe you'll come up with something I haven't already tried. (Doubtful)
What do you value your time at?

 

[tbrtt1]

I have tray and expandable tube from A-maze-n. The maze is great for dust. The expandable tube puts out a good bit of smoke with the pellets. I use it for hot smokes to augment my pellet smoker. Both work great.