New Smoker from TN

[wazzu]

Just wanted to say hi to all, I have been checking out the site for the past week or so. I recently purchased a NB Hondo and smoked a Boston Butt for the first time today. 8 lbs.butt took about 10 1/2 hrs. using green egg lump. I turned out fantastic thanks to all the great info on this site.

If anyone can give me any pointers on using the starter chimney, I would appreciate the insight. I used a Weber starter chimney today and it worked great using the minion method to hold temp, however how do you prevent the coals from shooting sparks everywhere? Is there a trick to prevent this from happening?

Thanks again for all the great info and look forward to many more smokes to come.


Wazzu.

 

[-devil-]

welcome! ... sorry i can't help ya in the question .. i am still learning as well .. but i am sure some others can.

 

[deejaydebi]

Welcome Wazzu -

Glad you had a good first smoke! I can't say I've ever had sparks come out of m chimney before, maybe hot ash but not sparks. Maybe the lump was damp?

 

[t-bone tim]

Hello and welcome to SMF.... just started using lump myself ( all electric before ) and today I noticed what you are saying....lots of sparks and pieces pinging out of the top and bottom of the chimney ,,,not sure there's any right or wrong way to stops this ,,,,I think it's the nature of the beast ( so to speak ) ....I love charcoal and splits compared to my eletric

 

[richoso1]

Welcome to the SMF, where most things go up in smoke! Do some reading around here, and you'll learn so much from some great smokers. Don't forget Jeff's 5 day ecourse, great basic reading to get you going in the right direction.

 

[meowey]

Welcome to SMF! I start my chimney by setting it on a propane burner that you would use for a turkey fryer or crab boil. That cuts down on the ash from newspaper that I don't like cleaning up. There are always a few sparks.

Take care, have fun, and do good!

Regards,

Meowey

 

[tonto1117]

Welcome aboard!!! Glad you found us!!!

 

[hawgheaven]

Welcome aboard the mighty SMF, glad you stopped by!

I also start my coals on my turkey fryer burner, and I sometimes get sparks and pops, depending on the brand of lump. I found that the Cowboy brand does not pop and spark as much as some of the others I've used... try different brands and see what happens.

Once the coals have started to light, I place the chimney inside my Weber kettle grill to keep hot coals and sparks from getting all over.

Good luck!

 

[wildsidebbq]

Welcome! Congrats on the first smoke! You will be hooked now. Love Tennessee, I have family in Crossville. Lump has been known to pop and crackle in my chimney also.

Frank

 

[johnd49455]

My $.02

I start with regular charcoal briquettes in the chimney. Then when those are burning dump them into the SFB & add the lump for heat. Then when the cooking chamber is almost up to temp clean the grates & add the splits for smoke. When smoking thin blue add the meat to the smoker.

Any help

:PDT_Armataz _01_33:

 

[johnd49455]

OOPS The main reason I responded is to say Welcome to the SMF the best BBQ site on the net

 

[hillbillysmoker]

Welcome to the forum. Nice to have you with us.

 

[wazzu]

Thanks for the warm welcome. I think I found the culprit with the sparks. After thinking about it, I realized I used some Kingsford lump in the starter and the Green Egg the reminder of the time. I went over to the lump website and read the reviews of the Kingsford. I think he was generous when he said it sparks a little bit more than others. I will stick with the Green Egg lump.

Thanks again,

wazzu

 

[coleysmokinbbq]

Hi Wazzu!...Welcome Aboard the SMF!...

...Glad to have you with us!...

 

[deejaydebi]

Welcome Wazzu -

Glad you found your problem - it helps to figure it out on your own I think. Congrats!

 

[gypsyseagod]

welcome to smf. i'm just north of you in south ky. depending on the kingsford ya use..go to the plant here & complain... ya may get some free stuff lol.