It's pork butt time!! But my AMPS problem still persists.......

[mummel]

Some Q View - pork butt on Indian naan.  A bit of cream cheese mixed in there.

IMG_2539.JPG

• mummel
• Aug 5, 2015

IMG_2541.JPG

• mummel
• Aug 5, 2015

IMG_2542.JPG

• mummel
• Aug 5, 2015

 

[mummel]

IMG_2544.JPG

• mummel
• Aug 5, 2015

And my first bit of Sous Vide!!!  Kicked ass.

 

[tumbleweed1]

Looks real good!

TW

 

[Bearcarver]

I have to agree with Dave!!

Some guys pull their dumper out part way or all the way.

Some pull their chip drawer out a little.

Some Nuke their pellets.

I don't have to do any of those things to get mine to burn Great, except for Cherry. I can't get it to burn by itself.

Everybody has to do what they gotta do to get Their AMNPS to burn in Their particular Smoker, in Their particular part of the world.

I think I gave Mummel everything I know a few times in the past, as did Todd & a few others.

The only thing I can say is if He can't get his AMNPS to burn with using the info we gave him, he should try the AMNTS. I don't normally recommend the Tube for MES owners, unless they are at a High Altitude, but if he can't get the AMNPS to work, he should try the Tube. When I use the Tube, I get too much smoke, so that tells me if someone has trouble getting their AMNPS to smoke properly, the Tube should be perfect for them.

Bear

 

[daveomak]

MFP, afternoon..... Every part of the country has it's own peculiar anomalies to deal with... from high humidity to no humidity.... High elevation to sea level...... Smokers where folks do have adequate air flow to folks that have a smoker that doesn't breathe well.... types of pellets, cherry does not burn well or at all by itself.... placement of the AMNPS inside different smokers is sometimes necessary to get them to burn....



When there are 63 posts of folks trying to help mummel solve his problem and his reply is, "Bear doesn't have to do that"...... It's kind of depressing.... kind of a negative reply to all the folks trying to help.....


Sooooooo, jump right in and solve the "non burning" AMNPS problem for mummel....

By giving him the link to how to contact the guys who should be able to answer all his questions, without any comments or judgements..I thought I did help him with his problem.
Sorry if you don`t see it that way.

I think you missed seeing one thing.... Todd Johnson is a member here.... has been for years.... He asked folks on the forum to do testing on his products.... The original AMNS..... then the AMNPS..... then the AMNTS..... Some of us have been "testers" for his products... AND all of us want to see his products succeed.... seriously succeed..... Todd is a great member and a friend to all of us..... We reciprocate whenever possible....

5500 posts.... been a member for 6 ish years.... http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/u/34955/tjohnson

 

[mummel]

Success!!!  I finally got some FOTB ribs.  I'm sure most of you guys recall I have done a bunch of racks already and Ive been very disappointed.  I followed the 3-2-1 method EXACTLY and it worked!  No dry brine, and I forgot to put on brown sugar......  Foiled with 4oz of apple juice.  They came out FANTASTIC!  Made the TGIs Jack Daniels sauce.  Amazing stuff. 

PS.  Nuked pellets, used hairdryer.  AMPS managed to stay lit for 3 hours.  There was a lot of wind.  I think it helped with airflow. 

IMG_2570.JPG

• mummel
• Aug 6, 2015

IMG_2569.JPG

• mummel
• Aug 6, 2015

 

[mummel]

And here are some BCBs.  My family was visiting this weekend so we went overboard with the food.  It was great.  Pork butt, homemade sausage, sous vide steak, ribs & beer can burgers.  We ate like kings. 

IMG_3587.JPG

• mummel
• Aug 6, 2015

IMG_3653.JPG

• mummel
• Aug 6, 2015

 

[floridasteve]

So glad everything went well when you needed it most!

 

[mummel]

 
Success!!!  I finally got some FOTB ribs.  I'm sure most of you guys recall I have done a bunch of racks already and Ive been very disappointed.  I followed the 3-2-1 method EXACTLY and it worked!  No dry brine, and I forgot to put on brown sugar......  Foiled with 4oz of apple juice.  They came out FANTASTIC!  Made the TGIs Jack Daniels sauce.  Amazing stuff. 

PS.  Nuked pellets, used hairdryer.  AMPS managed to stay lit for 3 hours.  There was a lot of wind.  I think it helped with airflow. 

IMG_2569.JPG

• mummel
• Aug 6, 2015

Guys what do you think about the color in terms of readiness.  Looks pretty well done to me, but they were sooooo tender. 

 

[bmaddox]

 
Guys what do you think about the color in terms of readiness.  Looks pretty well done to me, but they were sooooo tender. 

Ribs are cooked to "well done". That is the nature of cooking a rib. Those look pretty good. 

 

[test engineer]

 
So anyway, back on track.  Here's a pic of the AMPS failure.  What the heck guys.

IMG_2530.jpg

• mummel
• Aug 5, 2015

This is exactly where mine has failed twice now.  I'll try nuking the pellets next time.  BUT, one thing I noticed is that right in the center is where multiple tabs from the legs are welded to the perforated metal that holds the pellets.  Not many other places in the tray have that amount of "blockage" on the bottom.  Might be a good design change to move the tabs to a spot that is not in the main pellet channel.  I'm not sure if this is the issue, but I have seen many others fail right at this same exact point.  Like I said, I'll try drying the pellets more next time, but I find it odd that others failed in the same spot after it burned perfect for about 6 hours in each case..

 

[Bearcarver]

 
This is exactly where mine has failed twice now.  I'll try nuking the pellets next time.  BUT, one thing I noticed is that right in the center is where multiple tabs from the legs are welded to the perforated metal that holds the pellets.  Not many other places in the tray have that amount of "blockage" on the bottom.  Might be a good design change to move the tabs to a spot that is not in the main pellet channel.  I'm not sure if this is the issue, but I have seen many others fail right at this same exact point.  Like I said, I'll try drying the pellets more next time, but I find it odd that others failed in the same spot after it burned perfect for about 6 hours in each case..

That looks like it went out after 4 to 6 hours of smoking. By then I would say it couldn't be wet or damp pellets, unless you were cold smoking, because 4 or 6 hours of heat would have dried them out.

Could something have dripped on that spot? Looks like you have a circle that isn't burned, but the center of that circle is burned good.

I guess it's possible to have too much air blocked by welds, although it never happened to me. Can you drill holes where the perforations don't go all the way through?

I have never had mine go out once it's gotten halfway down the first row, and even those were in the days of my not lighting it real good.

Bear

 

[test engineer]

 
That looks like it went out after 4 to 6 hours of smoking. By then I would say it couldn't be wet or damp pellets, unless you were cold smoking, because 4 or 6 hours of heat would have dried them out.

Could something have dripped on that spot? Looks like you have a circle that isn't burned, but the center of that circle is burned good.

I guess it's possible to have too much air blocked by welds, although it never happened to me. Can you drill holes where the perforations don't go all the way through?

I have never had mine go out once it's gotten halfway down the first row, and even those were in the days of my not lighting it real good.

Bear

That was mummel's picture, but mine looked exactly like that yesterday.  After I posted that I was also thinking of ways to "fix" it, and thought about drilling out the tabs where I could. Good eye on the circle though, because that is what got me thinking as well. Mine was under the water pan, and I was using another drip pan on the bottom rack to catch everything running off my pork butt, so there was no way for any drips to get to it.  The direct center is not "obstructed" but 3 of the 4 directions just outside the direct center are.  I'll drill mine out and see if that makes a difference.

 

[Bearcarver]

 
That was mummel's picture, but mine looked exactly like that yesterday.  After I posted that I was also thinking of ways to "fix" it, and thought about drilling out the tabs where I could. Good eye on the circle though, because that is what got me thinking as well. Mine was under the water pan, and I was using another drip pan on the bottom rack to catch everything running off my pork butt, so there was no way for any drips to get to it.  The direct center is not "obstructed" but 3 of the 4 directions just outside the direct center are.  I'll drill mine out and see if that makes a difference.

Great!!

Sounds like that could solve the problem.

Bear

 

[mummel]

 
This is exactly where mine has failed twice now.  I'll try nuking the pellets next time.  BUT, one thing I noticed is that right in the center is where multiple tabs from the legs are welded to the perforated metal that holds the pellets.  Not many other places in the tray have that amount of "blockage" on the bottom.  Might be a good design change to move the tabs to a spot that is not in the main pellet channel.  I'm not sure if this is the issue, but I have seen many others fail right at this same exact point.  Like I said, I'll try drying the pellets more next time, but I find it odd that others failed in the same spot after it burned perfect for about 6 hours in each case..

Yeah I've had problems with the AMPS.  Others have reported success, others not.  I've been unlucky.  However, I smoked a butt overnight on Christmas eve and it burned fine.  One thing I did differently.  Because it was colder outside, I pre-heated my MES for at least an hour before popping in the butt.  And I put my pellets in there from the beginning to heat up (after nuking them in the micro).  I need to try this again sometime, but I think it helped.

I'd love to get to a point that I can 100% rely on the AMPS for overnight smokes, where it doesnt need to be constantly checked on.  I'm not there yet, but I'm trying.  I bought some Pitt Boss pellets and I'm curious to see if they burn differently.  Cant wait for the spring!

 

[daveomak]

Mummel, morning....  I have found I have to preheat the meat and the smoker to get them above ambient temps or the "chimney effect" won't happen and air flow won't continue in the smoker.....   Then the pellets won't burn....

At times, I didn't preheat long enough and I could see the air flow diminishing at the exhaust...  I just turned the heat on again for a bit then turned it off... 

 

[Bearcarver]

 
Yeah I've had problems with the AMPS.  Others have reported success, others not.  I've been unlucky.  However, I smoked a butt overnight on Christmas eve and it burned fine.  One thing I did differently.  Because it was colder outside, I pre-heated my MES for at least an hour before popping in the butt.  And I put my pellets in there from the beginning to heat up (after nuking them in the micro).  I need to try this again sometime, but I think it helped.

I'd love to get to a point that I can 100% rely on the AMPS for overnight smokes, where it doesnt need to be constantly checked on.  I'm not there yet, but I'm trying.  I bought some Pitt Boss pellets and I'm curious to see if they burn differently.  Cant wait for the spring!

Where do you use your MES?

I never do night smokes, or any smokes without me being in the area & awake.

I never had a problem, but my MES sits on a wood front porch, attached to a 100% wood house. It's just not worth it to me to take the chance.

That's also one of the reasons I use a Wattburner, instead of a Wood or Charcoal Burner.

Bear

 

[mummel]

 
Where do you use your MES?

I never do night smokes, or any smokes without me being in the area & awake.

I never had a problem, but my MES sits on a wood front porch, attached to a 100% wood house. It's just not worth it to me to take the chance.

That's also one of the reasons I use a Wattburner, instead of a Wood or Charcoal Burner.

Bear

I've been using it on my front porch.  It's a risk, but I have a fire extinguisher and have my Mav set to go off if the temps rise above 250F.  This summer I'm going to put it outside on a small patio I built, in a plastic horizontal shed.  It's still next to my house, but a better idea than the porch.

 

[floridasteve]

--- snip ---
  I bought some Pitt Boss pellets and I'm curious to see if they burn differently.  Cant wait for the spring!

Y'all might want to try cookinpellets.com. I've been using them for about three months and am real happy with them. They light very easy and I've never had them go out. They do seem to burn faster than Toodds and put out a little more smoke. They have a pitmasterblend, that I use 90% of the time, as well as 100% hickory. You can order a 2 pound sample from there website for $6, including shipping. I just ordered 40 pounds through Amazon prime for $32 including shipping. If your a prime member and already get free shipping, the total price is less on Amazon fot the big bands that it is directly from their website.

 

[mummel]

Yeah thats a good price.  I got the Pitboss Blend for $21 for 40lb.  Cant wait to try it out.