Masterbuilt 1050

[abuzar1]

Currently using about 20% wood and 80% charcoal in the hopper. Is there a reason we cant go all wood like an offset smoker? Would this damage the smoker? I'm talking long smokes at low (225ish) temps. Also is there any way to increase the charcoal usage efficiency of the smoker? I have seen the rear vent mod, but wondering if there is anything else people recommend.

 

[RCAlan]

Currently using about 20% wood and 80% charcoal in the hopper. Is there a reason we cant go all wood like an offset smoker? Would this damage the smoker? I'm talking long smokes at low (225ish) temps. Also is there any way to increase the charcoal usage efficiency of the smoker? I have seen the rear vent mod, but wondering if there is anything else people recommend.

The manufacturer recommends adding hardwood chunks to the ash bin, if more hardwood smoke is desired, so that’s another option for you to try if more hardwood smoke is desired. One of the issues of using just hardwood or lump charcoal in the charcoal hopper, is their shape. Lump charcoal and hardwood are not uniform in shape and can cause the gravity flow downward in the charcoal hopper to be restricted or even to not flow downward at all. If you want to add more hardwood to the charcoal hopper, then I would suggest using charcoal briquettes, since they burn/smoke longer then lump charcoal and their shape is more uniform then lump coals and using hardwood chunks for added smoke. The hardwood chunks would have to be hand inspected to insure they are about the same size as the charcoal briquettes. If you want to give a test cook a try, I would suggest perhaps going 50% hardwood chunks and 50% charcoal briquettes in the charcoal hopper. I wouldn’t go just straight hardwood chunks in the charcoal hopper…. FYI.. hardwood chunks and charcoal briquettes burn at a different rate. Hardwood chunks will burn much faster then briquettes and you’ll have to keep an eye out for the accumulation of ash in the ash bin. Give a simple low and slow bbq a test shot first, take notes and post back your results. Good luck

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Char-Griller 980 GF… Pellet Pro Austin XL and a few more mods... In SoCal and Always... Semper Fi

 

[rexster314]

Currently using about 20% wood and 80% charcoal in the hopper. Is there a reason we cant go all wood like an offset smoker? Would this damage the smoker? I'm talking long smokes at low (225ish) temps. Also is there any way to increase the charcoal usage efficiency of the smoker? I have seen the rear vent mod, but wondering if there is anything else people recommend.

I've used a small amount of charcoal to get a fire going then added nothing but pecan wood splits for a number of long cooks like brisket. Keep an eye on the hopper till you get a feel of how long before the wood is consumed so the fire won't go out. Works great.