MES'd up. Did I ruin my smoker?

[kevin james]

So I think I really screwed up.I was seasoning my smoker and everything was going well. I got to the last 45 minutes and added the wood chips as the manuel states. It was fine at first, sweet smoke smell and very thing smoke. After about 10 minutes the smoke was turned to thick white smoke. I opened the door to check it and the slid the chip pan out and instead of smoldering the chips were totally on fire.

Living in an apartment I can NOT take chances so I hit it with the fire extinguisher (I have always made it a habbit to keep one right there when doing anything like this). I then turned the unit off and unplugged it. So the fire went out and as far as the big picture is concerned everything is fine.

As for the smoker though, I have a HUGE mess to clean up. I took all the racks, the water pan the drip pan and the chip pan and scrubbed and cleaned everything and they are all fine. Getting the fire extinguisher powder out of all the corners and edges though.... not coming out so well. Going to remove everything that screws in and scrub all those pieces  but I still don't think I can get 100% out. So am I screwed?

Totally embarrassed and feeling stupid at this point :(

 

[geodudeeatsmeat]

hey kevin...stop kicking yourself around...you did the right thing rather than burning down the complex...as far as you smoker being ruined look at your fire extinguisher and see what the chemical inside it was....if its sodium bicarb you will be fine...its just baking soda...im sure the other chemicals would burn off if you cleaned it real good like you said you would then cranked it up and let it burn without cooking anything....good luck...im sure your smoker will be just fine......george

 

[kevin james]

hey kevin...stop kicking yourself around...you did the right thing rather than burning down the complex...as far as you smoker being ruined look at your fire extinguisher and see what the chemical inside it was....if its sodium bicarb you will be fine...its just baking soda...im sure the other chemicals would burn off if you cleaned it real good like you said you would then cranked it up and let it burn without cooking anything....good luck...im sure your smoker will be just fine...... george

Thanks George. I took everything out that was screwed in to try to get as close to an empty cabinet as I could. Then scrubbed everything down. The only thing I couldn't get out was a tiny bit in the two back bottom corners and there is a little bit that crusted up on the element.
I got about 98% of it out.

I looked at the extinguisher and it sounds alot harsher than baking soda. It says its filled with Foray Monoammonium phosphate dry chemical.

 

[kevin james]

I'm wondering if I should spray the inside down with oven cleaner and cranck it up. Anyone have any other ideas?

 

[s2k9k]

If you got 98% out then I wouldn't worry about it, might do another burn for an hour or so before I put any food in it but I think you are fine.

 

[scarbelly]

If you got 98% out then I wouldn't worry about it, might do another burn for an hour or so before I put any food in it but I think you are fine.

I agree - sounds to me like you need to think real hard about switching to an AMNPS so you don't have a repeat and burn the building down 

http://www.amazenproducts.com/

Great product and awesome customer service 

 

[tjohnson]

So, here's what probably happened.....

When you opened the door, a huge blast of air(Oxygen) rushed into the smoker, and ignited the chips, causing the flames

This is called a "Back Draft""

The flames were most likely not there until you opened the door

The cloud of white smoke you saw was a bunch of pellets being ignited at the same time, rather than smoldering.

A small handful, like 1/2 cup of chips at at a time is all you need

I would spray oven cleaner or a grease cleaner into the smoker, and clean it as best as you can

Wipe everything completely dry

Start the unit, and let it burn off the residual grease and chemicals

I would not add chips

Todd

 

[kevin james]

I agree - sounds to me like you need to think real hard about switching to an AMNPS so you don't have a repeat and burn the building down 

http://www.amazenproducts.com/

Great product and awesome customer service 

Thanks Scarbelly. I already have the AMNPS. If i were doing an actual smoke session I would have used that from the get go. Since this was just the burn in I didn't want to waste pellets so I just use the regular chip tray.

 

[kevin james]

So, here's what probably happened.....

When you opened the door, a huge blast of air(Oxygen) rushed into the smoker, and ignited the chips, causing the flames

This is called a "Back Draft""

The flames were most likely not there until you opened the door

The cloud of white smoke you saw was a bunch of pellets being ignited at the same time, rather than smoldering.

A small handful, like 1/2 cup of chips at at a time is all you need

I would spray oven cleaner or a grease cleaner into the smoker, and clean it as best as you can

Wipe everything completely dry

Start the unit, and let it burn off the residual grease and chemicals

I would not add chips

Todd

Thanks Todd. I actually did only use a hald cup of chips. It might even have been less than a half cup. The amount of smoke just seemed like way more than it should have been, it was a thick white cloud rather than the TBS I was expecting. I guess I probably caused them to fully ignite when I opened the door.

So, realistickly, how much smoke should I expect to see? If what I saw was actually normal than I think It may be too much for my apartment :(

 

[chef jimmyj]

I live in an apartment on the second floor. I use an AMNPS and MES and often times I can barely tell if it's making smoke although you can sure smell it. Other times the AMNPS makes the equivalent smoke to smoking a cigarette. It's is just what you are going for, Thin Blue Smoke. My first smoke the downstairs neighbor came out and was walking around looking at the mulch and bushes in front of his patio. I asked what was up and he said, " I smell something burning and it stinks." I told him I don't know about stink but I am smoking a Pork Butt. He grumbled something and went inside. I sent him a container of the PP, BBQ Sauce and some Rolls...I never heard another complaint...JJ

 

[bigfish98]

I live in an apartment on the second floor. I use an AMNPS and MES and often times I can barely tell if it's making smoke although you can sure smell it. Other times the AMNPS makes the equivalent smoke to smoking a cigarette. It's is just what you are going for, Thin Blue Smoke. My first smoke the downstairs neighbor came out and was walking around looking at the mulch and bushes in front of his patio. I asked what was up and he said, " I smell something burning and it stinks." I told him I don't know about stink but I am smoking a Pork Butt. He grumbled something and went inside. I sent him a container of the PP, BBQ Sauce and some Rolls...I never heard another complaint...JJ

I am also in a second floor apartment.  My neighbors hate it when I am smoking.  Not because they don't like the smell, but because they LOVE the smell!!  I keep them happy with some samples as well!  I have even had the maintenance manager tell me he was going to steal my MES so he can use it!  Which is not good since I store my AMNPS in it!!! 

Bigfish

 

[kevin james]

I live in an apartment on the second floor. I use an AMNPS and MES and often times I can barely tell if it's making smoke although you can sure smell it. Other times the AMNPS makes the equivalent smoke to smoking a cigarette. It's is just what you are going for, Thin Blue Smoke. My first smoke the downstairs neighbor came out and was walking around looking at the mulch and bushes in front of his patio. I asked what was up and he said, " I smell something burning and it stinks." I told him I don't know about stink but I am smoking a Pork Butt. He grumbled something and went inside. I sent him a container of the PP, BBQ Sauce and some Rolls...I never heard another complaint...JJ

This might be a stupid question but I like your example of "equivalent to smoking a cigarette". It leads me to a question as an ex-smoker though just because I want to make sure I'm understanding. Do you mean equivelant to the light amount of smoke that trails off the end of the cigarette itself, or the much thicker smoke you breath out after taking a drag? The two are very different and if you are refering to the smoke trailing off the end of the cigarette itself then that should be fine. If it is the other though, that is probably too much and especially for the extended time period of 8 or more hours.

Realising there is more of a learning process than i expected, I am going to pick myself up from yesterdays disaster and give it a try again today. This time I'll be a little more cautious though lol. I'm going to get it back up to temp and put in just a couple of chips (literally, maybee 2 or 3) just to see how much smoke it actually generates.

Here is what I'm wondering though. If it still seems like a little too much, should adjusting the air vent help, as in setting it to half open instead of full open? I'm thinking allowing less air might slow the smoke as in choking it out a bit. Is that correct?

 

[frosty]

You don't want a huge volume of smoke, just enough to fill the chamber lightly.  You need to see a wisp of smoke NOT a cloud of smoke.  The AMNPS does a great job and I only use the MES 30 for heat, not smoke.  Also, the vent should normally be fully opened, to prevent creosote accumulation.

I applaud your efforts!  Now on to the success!  Go Get 'em!   You'll do great things!

 

[bama bbq]

I don't think I would put oven cleeaner in after the fire ext agent.  They may not like each other chemically.  I think you getting 98% cleaned up is good.  I would cook something really fat like bacon or some left over fat trimmings to get a coating of carbonized grease built up on top of any residual agent, then cook away.  To be sure you can get an MSDS sheet to determine the toxicity of the agent.

 

[allen]

I think TJohnson nailed the reason it fired up, I have a 40"MES S.S.and I put 1 hand full of chips in the chip tray the first day I used it and about blew the door off,too much wood.So now I use just a small amount of chips and no problem since then.

 

[kevin james]

I did some expirimenting with the MES chip tray and also the AMNPS. Both are operating as expected, but I think they stillmight be a little too much for my apartment.

I'm downstairs in a 2 story buiding and have an upstairs neighbor who loves to leave her window and living room sliding door open all day. I can forsee that she may complain. That said, I'm wondering if I can still get some good smoked flavor if I keep the smoke to 3-4  hours and finish from there without it. I'm thinking if i start my smokes early in themorning, around 7 AM I should be able to go to about 11AM maybee a little later without drawing too much attention. Anyways... just thinking out loud here but oppinions would be nice too.

 

[deltadude]

Yo Kevin James, sorry to hear about the mishap and resulting chip fire.  I seem to recall I did post the "new owner tip list" in a previous thread where you asked about seasoning a MES.  The tip list says that the manual is wrong in the amount of chips necessary for smoking.  The tip list gives some quantities of chips to try.

Todd is right about cracking the door on the MES will result in a rush of O2 and you get a flare up which can ignite chips, it has happened to me.  Just rem for fire you need three thing:

Fuel, Oxygen, Heat.

Break any part of that triangle and the fire goes out.  So simply close the door, close the vent and put a rag over it, and stuff make sure the chip loader is closed and cover the opening with a rag.

As for you clean out, sounds like you did a good job.  Cover the inside again with Pam, put the quantity of chips that is listed in the tip sheet, do a 4 hour or longer smoke with no food.  Whip down the insides with a warm damp rag.  Do another smoke of approx 4 hours.  Let it set for a day, open the MES and smell in the corners, the only smell should be a smoke smell, no chemical smell.

You can even use both the AWNPS and the chip tray at the same time, as long as you are using the quantity of chips listed in the tip list.  The last thing you want though is creosote smell in your smoker, that usually comes from dark smoke.

You asked about the vent, you want the vent completely open for the MES wood chip tray and wood chips, you change the amount of smoke by the quantity of chips.  As for the AWNPS and the vent opening follow Todd's instructions. 

I once had to do a clean out on my MES 40, I did what I listed above, plus one extra 4 hour smoke, making sure to let a day go in between each smoke.

About smoking at apartments.  I seem to recall someone else on a lower floor, and they bought 20' of aluminum vent tubing, not the collapsible kind .

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• deltadude
• Oct 15, 2012

The alum pipe comes in 10' lengths, you can get it at a HVAC supply house common use is for bath vent.  It isn't expensive.  3" is the size of the vent opening, you could use 3".  However I think it would draft better if you used 4" with a 3x4 adapter.  I had a problem when I first bought my MES the smoke was coming in via the eaves under the roof depending on which way the wind blew. The fix was to put duct tape over the 3 eaves, no more smoke smell in the house.  Thus if you can get the smoke above the roof line, you should be ok.  Some have their MES in either a garage or work shop, and use a draft hood to draw the smoke.  You might even try putting it on your stove and turn the vent on low speed.  However I think there might be a drafting problem if the fan is too close.