New to smoking, question about soot and flame.

[Dan0mite]

I got a Materbuilt 230S propane smoker from a friend who’s main complaint was it made everything black. I’ve used it once and there was a noticeable black, greasy look to the meat.

I know there may be char/bark, but this looked different. I read that if the flame isn’t clean it can cause soot which in turn can cause moisture to drip black liquid on the meats. I have attached a few photos of the flame at high, medium and low, aswell as the bottom of the wood pan.

Can you tell me if the flame looks okay and if not, what I may need to look into to fix it?
Thank you

 

[bregent]

Hi Dan, welcome. That flame is not ok - there is far too much yellow. It should be mostly blue. That's usually a sign of not enough O2 getting to it. Remove the burner and make sure there are no obstructions. Somtimes spider will spin webs inside that will block the flow of oxygen. Obviously, don't use it until you resolve this.

 

[JCAP]

Yea that flame is not good. Disconnect the tube connecting the gas to the burner, take a can of compressed air, and blast the heck out of it. That usually does the trick, though it’s not a guarantee.

 

[mike243]

Also it looks like no drip pan is being used and the grease is dropping on the burner? big reason why stuff is turning black imo

 

[Dan0mite]

Thanks for the tips. I detached the burner and blew it out, this is the flame on high now.