Newbie question

[chef jimmyj]

 
FIVE MINUTES! Definitely going to try that next time. So, do you shoot the torch flame through the Hole and then bring it underneath the pellet smoker just past it? Would you say you go back an inch or a little more? Or does it matter?

Yep. I start at the hole then move underneath and heat the first 1" until the steel is red hot and that first 1" or so of pellets are really burning well. I literally let it burn 5 minutes and blow out the flame. I blow on it again to verify a good Cherry and get a flame up, then blow it out and stick it in the MES. I have not had to let it burn longer than that. I keep the Chip Drawer out 1" and the loader out 2". After a couple mins I open the door to check smoke, once in awhile having to relight, but in general all is good. I do push the Chip Loader in after 30 minutes to get a full 10 hour burn. Leaving it out, the pellets burn up in about 6 hours...JJ 

 

[daricksta]

 
Yep. I start at the hole then move underneath and heat the first 1" until the steel is red hot and that first 1" or so of pellets are really burning well. I literally let it burn 5 minutes and blow out the flame. I blow on it again to verify a good Cherry and get a flame up, then blow it out and stick it in the MES. I have not had to let it burn longer than that. I keep the Chip Drawer out 1" and the loader out 2". After a couple mins I open the door to check smoke, once in awhile having to relight, but in general all is good. I do push the Chip Loader in after 30 minutes to get a full 10 hour burn. Leaving it out, the pellets burn up in about 6 hours...JJ 

I've never pulled the chip drawer out along with the loader but if I need more airflow I'll give it a try. I do pull the loader out and leave it but I'll try pushing it back in again.

Definitely excited about giving your lighting method a try. I'm already doing what you described but, as I wrote, over a 30 minute period. Still, using my method, I haven't had to relight the AMNPS during the last two smokes. I wonder if the warm-to-hot, dry summer weather aids in keeping the pellets lit?

 

[chef jimmyj]

Weather does have some effect on the burn and how easily it lights but Timing and Storage of the pellets matters most. I store pellets in jars or zip bags indoors. When ready to smoke, I nuke pellets 60 seconds and light right away. I have loaded the AMNPS, let it sit on top of the MES and then worked on other things. The day was humid and 30 minutes later I could not keep them lit...JJ

 

[tosc7506]

Ordered the 5 x 8 yesterday, here's what Todd told me

The New Gen 2 does not draft well

Couple tricks for the MES Gen 2
Remove the water pan and place it on the floor
Place the lighted AMNPS 5x8 on top the hole where the water pan used to sit
Pull the chip loader out 2" and rotate to the "Dump" position
Exhaust wide open


Todd



Hope this helps

Tim

 

[daricksta]

 
Weather does have some effect on the burn and how easily it lights but Timing and Storage of the pellets matters most. I store pellets in jars or zip bags indoors. When ready to smoke, I nuke pellets 60 seconds and light right away. I have loaded the AMNPS, let it sit on top of the MES and then worked on other things. The day was humid and 30 minutes later I could not keep them lit...JJ

The last time I had a huge hassle with keeping the wood pellets lit was a very humid evening when I cold smoked cheese. I had two jugs of frozen water on a rack above the AMNPS and below the cheeses. The pellets kept going out and it was a hassle to keep re-lighting them but the AMNPS put out so much smoke that the smoked cheeses turned out to be the best I ever made.

I just store the wood pellets in their original plastic bags. The unburned pellets from a previous smoke I keep in the AMNPS and all pellets are stored in my uninsulated garage. I've found that in the warmer months (where I do most of my smoking) I don't need to nuke the pellets at all. The past three times I've smoked the pellets never went out. On one occasion they kept burning even after 6 hours. I had to separate the burned pellets from the unburned ones so the pellet smoker would go out. I just like to make smoking as simple as possible: no mods to my
MES and no nuking the wood pellets.  We'll see if this is still effective when the weather turns damp again.