Neighbors ever complain about smoke???

[julius]

Hey guys, so I'm smoking a pork butt today and it smells AMAZING! But, I just went for a walk around our neighborhood with my kids and I could smell the smoke from my smoker about 75 yards away. While I love the smell, I can't expect everybody to. Do you ever get complaints from neighbors about the smoke? If you do, how do you deal with it?
TIA!

 

[timstalltaletav]

Hey guys, so I'm smoking a pork butt today and it smells AMAZING! But, I just went for a walk around our neighborhood with my kids and I could smell the smoke from my smoker about 75 yards away. While I love the smell, I can't expect everybody to. Do you ever get complaints from neighbors about the smoke? If you do, how do you deal with it?
TIA!

Easy way to deal with the complaints...  invite them to try some when it's done.  Usually shuts most people up pretty quickly.

 

[gearjammer]

Never had the problem, I live out in the serious sticks.

I'd just feed 'em, should keep 'em from grumbling.

Have fun.

         Ed

 

[b-one]

I'm in tight quarters but never had complaints. If they did complain I would most likely mention I cannot control the wind any better then they can their dogs!:biggrin:

 

[forluvofsmoke]

Give 'em samples and tell 'em next time if they bring a side-dish and a chair you can all sit down to a nice Bbq potluck. Of course the more that complain the bigger the hunk of sampling meat needs to be...and also with the potluck meat...LOL!!!

Eric

 

[chef jimmyj]

Did any of your neighbors ask if you had issues with them Firing up a Grill? Having 40 people over for a Pool Party that lasted until 2AM? Lighting their outdoor Fire Pit? Burning their Fireplace all winter? If it was OK for their kids Band to Practice in the Garage next door? All this is part of living in the Burbs. Everybody does their own thing, within limits. They paid for their slice of heaven and you pay for yours. As long as none of it is excessive, like you starting a Smoked Meat Biz, Good neighbors will say nothing and the JERKS won't be happy no matter how much Pulled Pork you send over or how many times you invite them over.

Lots of threads on this exact subject. I lived on the second floor of an Apartment building. I got written permission from management to use an electric smoker. I smoked 2 to 4 times a Month. Most passersby said nothing or commented that it smelled good and asked what's cooking? But, that one upstairs neighbor! You know the type that looks away or ignores you when you say, Hi? Yells at the kids for playing too close to their car. Did not matter what I tried, I caught S#!T every time I fired the smoker. Sent stuff over, invited them down. Smoked early AM or late PM. Put 4 hours of light smoke and finished in the Oven. Smoked on Windy days with a box fan on top of the smoker blowing smoke Down Wind...Nothing mattered, they were going to complain. The complex Manager, listened to their complaints and said she would talk to me. She would then call and ask for Recipes because her husband was an avid Smoke Nut and she loved Q...SHE got samples of my work!

You can be a good neighbor and ask around if anybody has issues, have a Picnic and invite nearby folks or organize a Block Party and Smoke up a mess of meat. But if there is anyone that has a Problem with you smoking, there is little you can do to placate them. Bottom line, unless it is Illegal to Smoke Meat from a Burn Ban, Township Ordinance or the HOA has rules against smoking meat in the neighborhood...It's Your Property, and within reason, you can enjoy it anyway you wish...JJ

 

[gary s]

My neighbors come check on me if they don't smell smoke.  Several weeks ago when I had my hand surgery, my neighbor came over and said "You OK ?  i said yeah had hand surgery, he said "Well I havent smelled smoked in over a week so i thought I better check on you"

Gary

 

[b-one]

My neighbors come check on me if they don't smell smoke.  Several weeks ago when I had my hand surgery, my neighbor came over and said "You OK ?  i said yeah had hand surgery, he said "Well I havent smelled smoked in over a week so i thought I better check on you"

Gary

Now that's great!

 

[gary s]

Now that's great!

My other neighbor says "I can always tell the days you are going to smoke, "I hear you fire up the Weed burner" For those of you that have and use a weed burner, you know what he is talking about. For you that don't It's loud sounds like a Jet Plane.

Gary

 

[julius]

I suppose the main reason I was concerned about it is because most things that my neighbors do that could annoy me or things I do that could annoy them don't typically last 12+ hours. I agree with JJ, we all pay for our little piece of heaven and can do with it what we please within reason.
Ain't nothing gonna break my stride! "SMOKE ON!" I say!

 

[venture]

I see you are in L.A. so I suppose anything is possible? A visit from Greenpeace, The Sierra Club, PETA, or even the EPA?

Unless you live in an apartment, I could not imagine a problem.

My biggest problem this time of year is my smoke drawing flies away from my neighbors' houses and drawing neighbors looking for a free beer and a snack?

Good luck and good smoking.

 

[pit 4 brains]

Unless you're cooking with railroad ties, I can't imagine anyone complaining about the smell of some Q. My neighbor is from India and I just love it when she starts cooking her curry. It makes me instantly hungry and gets me cookin!

 

[timstalltaletav]

I suppose the main reason I was concerned about it is because most things that my neighbors do that could annoy me or things I do that could annoy them don't typically last 12+ hours. I agree with JJ, we all pay for our little piece of heaven and can do with it what we please within reason.

Ain't nothing gonna break my stride! "SMOKE ON!" I say!

The other key rule of life to remember here is that it's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.  If no one actually complained yet, keep going until they do.  Short of having a smoker that runs like an autumn bonfire, I can't imagine any people getting upset.





Then again... what do I know, I live in the middle of nowhere...

 

[stickyfingers]

The only complaints I get is that it makes them hungry! Most of the time the smoke seems to blow through one neighbors yard....they are use to it by now and will ask what's for dinner. We invite them over from time to time.

 

[smokin monkey]

I have one neighbour that never complains, just gives me "That" look and has stopped saying hello!

I never complain when they fire up there Gas BBQ and cook Sunday breakfast on it!!!!

 

[SmokinAl]

My neighbors all like the smell.

Al

 

[kanealmond]

Fortunately both my neighbors actually use their smokers even more than I do. But, a friend of mine who lives in a nice but crowded development closer to the city has had a problem. What he did was pretty genius. He went and purchased a matching gutter downspout to the ones that are on his house. Installed it right beside an existing gutter downspout so it's not too noticeable. Then, when he fires up on the weekends he puts a dryer vent over the stack on his smoker and wedges the other end into the downspout. Now, the smoke travels up say 40 feet or so and gets up above the level of everyone's yard. No more complaints that I have heard about.

 

[SmokyMose]

Never had a complaint. The smoke pretty much dissipates wthin 100' and most of my neighbors don't spend much time outside, anyway.
Or maybe it's the NRA sticker on the Outback....

 

[gregor]

I have a townhouse and used to use a Weber tube smoker, which used 5-10 pounds of wood for a decent smoke, and I got a lot of complaints from my next door neighbor. It was a lot of smoke. I did some research and ended up with a SmokinIt 2D which uses a fraction of that. Much better results too!

 

[gregor]

I have a townhouse and used to use a Weber tube smoker, which used 5-10 pounds of wood for a decent smoke, and I got a lot of complaints from my next door neighbor. It was a lot of smoke. I did some research and ended up with a SmokinIt 2D which uses a fraction of that. Much better results too!