Hi from Happyjack

[happyjack]

Hi there,
New at smoking meats and looking for tips and pointers. Been gas grilling for years.
I live in Glendale AZ. I retired after 32 years with USPS where I was an electronics technician. Recently purchased Masterforge 2-door gas smoker #MFX784BDP at Lowe's. Owners manual is fair but doesn't get too deep. Bought a small bag of hickory chips at Sportsman's to do some dry runs (manual recommended seasoning before using). Young chap there (Nick) was pretty helpful. Started on lowest possible flame level with all vents open - modest load of presoaked chips. Temp got up to >220 in about 40 minutes. No smoke to speak of until @ hour. Produced modest smoke for > hour. Tried a second run at it with all things equal except gas @ medium. Temp leveled out > 250+ and got healthy smoke for an hour+. Today went back and bought a small bag of apple wood pellets for another dry run. All went well until the pellets burst into flames @ 20 minutes into the run. Vents all wide open, flame medium. Temp >260+. I'm guessing I should stick to chips. May try pellets again tomorrow on lowest possible gas setting and fiddle with side and chimney vents.
HJ

 

[kathrynn]

to SMF!  We are so glad you joined us! You dont have to soak the wood....I used to do that.  I use dry chunks now.

We love to see pictures of what you are cooking (or what we call q-views here at SMF).  To "upload the q-views" just follow the directions here and it will be easier. If you are using a cell phone, an IPad or a kindle, go to the main SMF page and click the Mobile button. Will make the uploads a bit faster too.

If you didn't read the "SMF User Guidelines" .....please do.  There are a few things that everyone should know about those pesky little rules before plunging into the forums and some guidelines of how to interact within the forums. Off site links are not allowed here at SMF per TulsaJeff. Not that you have done anything wrong....just a little bit of FYI for new members!

If you need any help roaming around the forums....just holler!  Happy to help out!

Kat

 

[pgsmoker64]

Hello HJ!

 to the SMF, the best BBQ site on the web.  Whatever you need to know about the fine art of BBQ you can find it right here, from recipes to technical knowledge.

One thing you need to know about us is that we like to see pictures of your creations and your gear.  We call it Q-View and its basically the 

!!!

So, don't just talk about your food, show it!  Otherwise you may get a gentle reminder, like this...

  or this...

Good Luck and Get Smokin'

Bill

 

[s2k9k]

:welcome1: to SMF!!! We're happy you found us! You've come to the right place, we have over 50,000 members who just love to share their experience and over 1,000,000 posts describing it! Yea that’s right over 1,000,000!

The search bar at the top can be your best friend when you are trying to find answers to your questions but don’t hesitate to start threads and ask also!

We have an ”Articles” section that is full of great information about smoking to include a lot of recipes and instructionals. Check it out there is a lot to learn in there!

Well you are off to a good start and it's real smart to do some test runs before putting any food in so you can learn your smoker a bit.
Not sure how well the pellets are going to do in a gasser but I admire you trying. If they are bursting into flames they are probably getting too much O2 so try shutting down the intake vents.
I see you mentioned "modest smoke" and "healthy smoke", what you really want to shoot for is what we like to call "Thin Blue Smoke" or TBS. It is just like it says, thin and blue. Heavy white smoke isn't always good and can sometimes over smoke the food.

We are always around to help you get started on your journey!

 

[gary s]

[h1]

Hello and welcome from East Texas. This is a great site, lots of information and great people that are willing to throw in their two cents worth on about anything   ......... [/h1][h1]  [/h1][h1]Gary[/h1]

 

[smokinhusker]

Hello and welcome to SMF! 

Lots of folks with propane smokers have replaced the factory chip tray with a cast iron skillet. I use pellets, chips and chunks in my home made propane, but put the cast iron skillet on an adjustable rack so I can put them anywhere from an inch above the flame to 2 inches above it. 

You can use the search tool at the top of the page by searching Masterbuilt Propane Mods or check out the propane smoker forum.