Not enough smoke??

[Yukonjake]

My bride gave me a MasterBuilt smoker last Christmas. .

My old smoker, a cheap-o barrel electric from Home Despot. The old one had no heat controls and couldn't get as hot as you need for some recipes.

The new MasterBuilt is programmable and gets good and hot, but it has a very small wood chip tray, only about a half cup (a fistful). And that is the problem -- my bride has commented that the meat I smoke isn't as smokey tasting as from the old one.

I tried to solve the less-smoke issue with a smoke tube. I fill it with chips and get it burning well. I let it burn about 10 minutes outside the smoker and then put it inside. At which point the fire promptly goes out. Not smoldering, like you want, but out out. I think there isn't enough oxygen inside the closed smoker. The wood tray continues to smolder because it's right over the heat tray, but it's amount of smoke is insufficient.

Any suggested solutions? I've actually considered drilling a few holes in the bottom of the MasterBuilt to let more air in. Am I stupid to consider that?

 

[TNJAKE]

You'll have better smoke results if you use wood pellets in your tube. Welcome to the forum

 

[mike243]

Pull your chip loader at least 1/2 way out when you put the tube with pellets in so it gets enuf air

 

[smokerjim]

Like mike and jake said use pellets or dust and try pulling your chip loader out a couple inches with top vent wide open and don't use any water in your pan , if that dont work look into a mailbox mod that will definitely solve your problem.

 

[normanaj]

Since you are already have a tube I HIGHLY suggest this read:
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/u-bolt-mod-for-the-amnts.271846/

 

[Yukonjake]

Thanks for all the excellent advice, and thanks for the punt to the thread about U-bolts.

 

[Bearcarver]

Like mike and jake said use pellets or dust and try pulling your chip loader out a couple inches with top vent wide open and don't use any water in your pan , if that dont work look into a mailbox mod that will definitely solve your problem.

^^^^Yeah This ^^^^

 

[Khrakk]

I used to get gobs of smoke from my tube in my MES30.

I did the following:
- Load tube with your choice of pellets.
- light the tube as recommended.
- Place tube on rack right above loading port on right side of smoker.
- Open the wood loading port 1/4 to 1/2 open to allow pellets to breathe.
- Marvel at the amount of smoke.

I did not use wood chips in the smoker's wood tray. The tube was my only source of smoke. The attached picture is show some pork belly burnt ends with the tube at the lower right. Smoke could be more blue though, but the bellies were excellent regardless.

 

[Bearcarver]

I used to get gobs of smoke from my tube in my MES30.

I did the following:
- Load tube with your choice of pellets.
- light the tube as recommended.
- Place tube on rack right above loading port on right side of smoker.
- Open the wood loading port 1/4 to 1/2 open to allow pellets to breathe.
- Marvel at the amount of smoke.

I did not use wood chips in the smoker's wood tray. The tube was my only source of smoke. The attached picture is show some pork belly burnt ends with the tube at the lower right. Smoke could be more blue though, but the bellies were excellent regardless.

View attachment 459133

Yours looks good, but that pic shows about the limit for amount of smoke.
With the Tube, it's possible to get too much heavy smoke, unless you're at a high altitude.
That's why I like the AMNPS Tray----You can't get too heavy a smoke with that, even at Sea Level. So I don't have to keep one eye on it, to make sure my meat doesn't get bitter from too much smoke.
Light Smoke for many Hours is Good.
Heavy Smoke for even a short time can be Bad!

Bear

 

[tallbm]

My bride gave me a MasterBuilt smoker last Christmas. .

My old smoker, a cheap-o barrel electric from Home Despot. The old one had no heat controls and couldn't get as hot as you need for some recipes.

The new MasterBuilt is programmable and gets good and hot, but it has a very small wood chip tray, only about a half cup (a fistful). And that is the problem -- my bride has commented that the meat I smoke isn't as smokey tasting as from the old one.

I tried to solve the less-smoke issue with a smoke tube. I fill it with chips and get it burning well. I let it burn about 10 minutes outside the smoker and then put it inside. At which point the fire promptly goes out. Not smoldering, like you want, but out out. I think there isn't enough oxygen inside the closed smoker. The wood tray continues to smolder because it's right over the heat tray, but it's amount of smoke is insufficient.

Any suggested solutions? I've actually considered drilling a few holes in the bottom of the MasterBuilt to let more air in. Am I stupid to consider that?

Hi there and welcome!

Most of us MES (Masterbuilt Electric Smoker) owners never use or quickly abandon the chips and onboard smoking setup of the MES.

The guys are giving you great info.

I too second the use the A-Maze-N Pellet Smoker (AMNPS) tray. It will give u up to 12hrs of PERFECT smoke and uses pellets or wood dust. Also if you cant keep the tray lit inside your smoker (some MES 30 inch guys have this problem) you can build a Mailbox Mod that hooks into the chip loading tube hole.
I run a Mailbox Mod with the AMNPS tray so I can cold smoke and I really like having my smoke generation outside of the smoker so I never have to open it and I can disconnect heat and smoke from one another.

I hope this info helps :)