Ok, finally got around to getting the new smoker seasoned. Some of you had asked for photos of the pit, so here they are. This is the last time you will ever seen this pit this clean (just prior to the seasoning layer). The photos don't give true justice to the beauty of the color. It's "Illusion Cherry" and is an automotive metal flake cherry red paint. The black is their "Black Mamba" flat black. Together it's a great combination.
The Smoker - I had them add the 6" angled leg extension and 8" no-flat tires at Humphrey's. This thing weighs about 400 pounds and it was worth the money to have them do the work instead of me risking scratching up the paint trying to swap them out. I had to use the wide angle setting on my phone to get the whole thing in. That's how big this smoker is. Weber Summit S670 and Blackstone griddle on either side for scale.
The firebox is their latest design, called the "Gen23". It has an integrated ash pan that pulls out with the firebox, but can also be removed for cleaning. So no hot coals falling out if you need to add more charcoal or some flavor wood chunks during a long smoke. You can see the heat deflector plate above the ash pan in the firebox. This routes all the heat from the fire up through the reverse flow body and into the smoke chamber. I also bought their "heat sink" option. This is a set of thick fire bricks inside a welded assembly. I have it propped up in this photo so you can see it, but in use it fits in the water pan cutout at the bottom of the smoke chamber (fits flush for a flat bottom). The firebrick and thick steel work like the old flower pot base trick did in the WSM (a trick I used all the time and loved). It did come with the drop in water pan option as well but I'll most likely just use the heat sink.
This is the smoke chamber, or where the magic happens. Mounts for 9 total racks, and I bought the full set (stock comes with 3 racks). Racks are out as they are stainless and just needed washing instead of seasoning. The Heat Sink is in place and you can see this also gives me all 9 racks for making a mess of sausage, snack sticks, or jerky. Racks are big enough for a standard hotel pan on them. Most of the time I would not need this much space, but I do like to make volume when I make sausage, sticks or jerky and vac pack for long term use. You can also see the airflow adjustment plat near the bottom of the back of the smoke chamber. That is the inlet for the exhaust stack as this is a reverse flow smoker. Heat comes down from the top, and out from the bottom at that adjustable port into the smoke stack. This is how it was set when it arrived, and I'll leave it like that for now.
Here is a better view of the reverse flow channel as it opens into the top of the smoke chamber. This channel runs along both sides and the back of the smoker. You can also see the 2 probe inlets and the v-grooves at the top edge where you can put rods for hanging sausage or bacon. This is another reason I wanted a Pint as it's tall enough for some proper hanging space.
The Pint comes standard with a 2" brass ball valve for air flow control. It normally sticks out to the right from the side of the smoker. I bought a stainless steel 2" street elbow and used it to point the ball valve forward and keep it closer to the body of the smoker. I will be running a BBQ Guru DigiQ power draft and the fan will make that assemble even longer. That's why I wanted it along the side of the smoker. I do have the fan adapter installed on the ball valve in this photo. Wide open to get the pit up to temp for seasoning (with the heat sink, it's a slow process).
After wiping down all the factory dust and any remaining oils that would wipe off, I sprayed it with Steramine to sanitize the smoke chamber surfaces, and then dried the smoke chamber off. Then sprayed and wiped with a thin film of Pam Canola oil for the seasoning run.
For those of you not familiar with the Humphrey's reverse flow cabinet smokers, here is a diagram of how the heat flows. They have an inner heat chamber that is the first layer wall of the smoke chamber. This inner chamber channels the heat from the firebox up to the top of the smoke chamber where it comes out. The exit to the smoke stack is near the bottom of the smoke chamber, so the heat and smoke flow downward (hence reverse flow) across your meat. Next outside of the inner heat chamber is a 2" thick insulation chamber with 2000 degree military grade insulation. The outer wall of this insulation chamber is the outside of the smoker. This keeps the heat in the smoker and normally the body of the smoker is cool to the touch throughout a cook. That is why Humphrey's cabinet smokers are so efficient, they are designed to adapt to power drafts, and keep the heat in and are stingy on fuel usage. It's not unusual to see posts about overnight pork butt or brisket cooks and still having unburned charcoal in the fire box. These are competition or commercial usage smokers! Here is a diagram that show the air/heat flow path in a Humphrey's cabinet smoker. Red arrows are heat path up that inner heat chamber, out the top edge into the smoke chamber, and orange is down over the meat, blue is out the back into the smoke stack and up to the outer stack vent.
Official photo of the first smoke out of the chimney. Yes it is just after lighting the charcoal. I just tossed 2 tumbleweeds in and put in about a row and a half of charcoal in the snake baffles (mix of lump and brickette I had left over). Figure that should give me the time I need for a seasoning smoke at 225-275 degrees as recommended by Humphrey's. Zero leakage of smoke around the door seals, but the slam latch can be adjusted to account for wear once broken in. Yes that's not "thin blue smoke" but that is right after the reverse flow process started. It's running thin and blue now. Only one "first smoke exit" moment and that was it!
So that's my new bucket list toy. Way more smoker than I really need, but it gives me a lot of options. Might as well buy what I want with the options instead of wanting to upgrade in size later.
It's taking forever to get up to temp with that heat sink in place, and yes, I'm like a 6 year old with a new toy and impatient. Calm down, season it right and keep it clean so it will be handed down to the grand kids, etc... Remember, you're retired and have the time!!!
The Smoker - I had them add the 6" angled leg extension and 8" no-flat tires at Humphrey's. This thing weighs about 400 pounds and it was worth the money to have them do the work instead of me risking scratching up the paint trying to swap them out. I had to use the wide angle setting on my phone to get the whole thing in. That's how big this smoker is. Weber Summit S670 and Blackstone griddle on either side for scale.
The firebox is their latest design, called the "Gen23". It has an integrated ash pan that pulls out with the firebox, but can also be removed for cleaning. So no hot coals falling out if you need to add more charcoal or some flavor wood chunks during a long smoke. You can see the heat deflector plate above the ash pan in the firebox. This routes all the heat from the fire up through the reverse flow body and into the smoke chamber. I also bought their "heat sink" option. This is a set of thick fire bricks inside a welded assembly. I have it propped up in this photo so you can see it, but in use it fits in the water pan cutout at the bottom of the smoke chamber (fits flush for a flat bottom). The firebrick and thick steel work like the old flower pot base trick did in the WSM (a trick I used all the time and loved). It did come with the drop in water pan option as well but I'll most likely just use the heat sink.
This is the smoke chamber, or where the magic happens. Mounts for 9 total racks, and I bought the full set (stock comes with 3 racks). Racks are out as they are stainless and just needed washing instead of seasoning. The Heat Sink is in place and you can see this also gives me all 9 racks for making a mess of sausage, snack sticks, or jerky. Racks are big enough for a standard hotel pan on them. Most of the time I would not need this much space, but I do like to make volume when I make sausage, sticks or jerky and vac pack for long term use. You can also see the airflow adjustment plat near the bottom of the back of the smoke chamber. That is the inlet for the exhaust stack as this is a reverse flow smoker. Heat comes down from the top, and out from the bottom at that adjustable port into the smoke stack. This is how it was set when it arrived, and I'll leave it like that for now.
Here is a better view of the reverse flow channel as it opens into the top of the smoke chamber. This channel runs along both sides and the back of the smoker. You can also see the 2 probe inlets and the v-grooves at the top edge where you can put rods for hanging sausage or bacon. This is another reason I wanted a Pint as it's tall enough for some proper hanging space.
The Pint comes standard with a 2" brass ball valve for air flow control. It normally sticks out to the right from the side of the smoker. I bought a stainless steel 2" street elbow and used it to point the ball valve forward and keep it closer to the body of the smoker. I will be running a BBQ Guru DigiQ power draft and the fan will make that assemble even longer. That's why I wanted it along the side of the smoker. I do have the fan adapter installed on the ball valve in this photo. Wide open to get the pit up to temp for seasoning (with the heat sink, it's a slow process).
After wiping down all the factory dust and any remaining oils that would wipe off, I sprayed it with Steramine to sanitize the smoke chamber surfaces, and then dried the smoke chamber off. Then sprayed and wiped with a thin film of Pam Canola oil for the seasoning run.
For those of you not familiar with the Humphrey's reverse flow cabinet smokers, here is a diagram of how the heat flows. They have an inner heat chamber that is the first layer wall of the smoke chamber. This inner chamber channels the heat from the firebox up to the top of the smoke chamber where it comes out. The exit to the smoke stack is near the bottom of the smoke chamber, so the heat and smoke flow downward (hence reverse flow) across your meat. Next outside of the inner heat chamber is a 2" thick insulation chamber with 2000 degree military grade insulation. The outer wall of this insulation chamber is the outside of the smoker. This keeps the heat in the smoker and normally the body of the smoker is cool to the touch throughout a cook. That is why Humphrey's cabinet smokers are so efficient, they are designed to adapt to power drafts, and keep the heat in and are stingy on fuel usage. It's not unusual to see posts about overnight pork butt or brisket cooks and still having unburned charcoal in the fire box. These are competition or commercial usage smokers! Here is a diagram that show the air/heat flow path in a Humphrey's cabinet smoker. Red arrows are heat path up that inner heat chamber, out the top edge into the smoke chamber, and orange is down over the meat, blue is out the back into the smoke stack and up to the outer stack vent.
Official photo of the first smoke out of the chimney. Yes it is just after lighting the charcoal. I just tossed 2 tumbleweeds in and put in about a row and a half of charcoal in the snake baffles (mix of lump and brickette I had left over). Figure that should give me the time I need for a seasoning smoke at 225-275 degrees as recommended by Humphrey's. Zero leakage of smoke around the door seals, but the slam latch can be adjusted to account for wear once broken in. Yes that's not "thin blue smoke" but that is right after the reverse flow process started. It's running thin and blue now. Only one "first smoke exit" moment and that was it!
So that's my new bucket list toy. Way more smoker than I really need, but it gives me a lot of options. Might as well buy what I want with the options instead of wanting to upgrade in size later.
It's taking forever to get up to temp with that heat sink in place, and yes, I'm like a 6 year old with a new toy and impatient. Calm down, season it right and keep it clean so it will be handed down to the grand kids, etc... Remember, you're retired and have the time!!!
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