Ordered smoke daddy big kahuna

[delirium]

Hey Guys,

So after having huge flare ups & trying as many different techniques that I could think of to prevent them, I ordered a Smoke Daddy Big Kahuna for my GOSM 2 drawer.

It arrives today & im excited to try it out.. too bad its going to rain this weekend. :(

I'll let you guys know what I think when i get it installed & up & running.  ;)

 

[TulsaJeff]

We'll be looking forward to hearing and possibly seeing how well it works for you..

 

[pineywoods]

Congrats and be sure to write a review for us.

 

[SmokinAl]

Yes looking forward to your opinion on the Smoke Daddy.

 

[tjohnson]

A little rain won't stop you from trying it out!!

Todd

 

[delirium]

Ok Guys, 

Got the Smoke Daddy installed and did a test run.  

Link to video: 

Sorry I dont know how to edit video so its a little long, ahout and also this is a test run without any meat.

Initial thoughts: 

-easy to set up

-great volume of smoke

-wood burns completely w/o flare ups

-works as advertised

I have a couple of questions:

-What do you think of the quality of the smoke? It doesnt look blue, and towards the end it looked a little tan, what do you think?  When the chips were done burning, the smoke smell smelled more bitter.

-There was liquid dripping out of the smoke daddy, you can see in the first couple mins of the video, that it dripped on the concrete, what is that? It didnt feel oily or sticky.  Just felt like brownish water, is that just condensation buildup in the beginning while the unit goes from hot to cold?

Thanks for watching!

 

[SmokinAl]

After reading your last 2 sentences. I'm glad I have an AMNS. It looks to me like there is way too much smoke. Is there an adjustment to dial it down a bit? Also why is there so much smoke in the cabinet & very little coming out the top vent? Maybe it just looks that way in the video. I'm sure you will figure it out, but with an AMNS you just load it up, light it & your done. TBS for hours.

 

[delirium]

Last night I had some chicken pieces in the smoker & had the smoke daddy going on the lowest setting (on the air pump).  It was about 50F outside & 3 hours later when the chicken was done, it did not taste as smoky as I thought it would.  I'm thinking it might be the cold temps outside preventing the smoke penetration, I will have to experiment more.

As for the creosote build up, after 3 hours of smoking with wood chips the creosote build up began to get pretty sticky & the lids were getting harder to pull off, Im a bit concerned what would happen on a longer smoke, the lids might be sealed shut.  Im also thinking maybe in warmer weather (70F +) there might be less creosote build up?

 

[killnsmoke]

WOW!!  that seems like WAY too much smoke........maybe its just me

 

[delirium]

WOW!!  that seems like WAY too much smoke........maybe its just me

Oh, that video was mostly taken while the pump was on full blast, you can control the airflow & thus the quantity of smoke by turning the air pump down.

 

[Bearcarver]

I have expressed my honest feelings about my Big Kahuna (configured the old way & the new backdraft way) too many times on this forum, so all I'll say is "Good Luck".

Bear

 

[tjohnson]

Last night I had some chicken pieces in the smoker & had the smoke daddy going on the lowest setting (on the air pump).  It was about 50F outside & 3 hours later when the chicken was done, it did not taste as smoky as I thought it would.  I'm thinking it might be the cold temps outside preventing the smoke penetration, I will have to experiment more.

As for the creosote build up, after 3 hours of smoking with wood chips the creosote build up began to get pretty sticky & the lids were getting harder to pull off, Im a bit concerned what would happen on a longer smoke, the lids might be sealed shut.  Im also thinking maybe in warmer weather (70F +) there might be less creosote build up?

Creosote is created when your burn green or wet wood.  Your chips and/or chunks are probably 20% moisture, where pellets are about 6% moisture.  You are seeing the moisture condense  and drip out of the burner.

Try drying your chips in the oven and see if you get less water dripping out of the unit.

Also, if you notice the smoke in your smoker, it does not rise and almost hovers around the bottom of the smoker.  I think this is the water vapor keeping it from rising.

Dry the chips and try your test again.

Todd

 

[delirium]

Creosote is created when your burn green or wet wood.  Your chips and/or chunks are probably 20% moisture, where pellets are about 6% moisture.  You are seeing the moisture condense  and drip out of the burner.

Try drying your chips in the oven and see if you get less water dripping out of the unit.

Also, if you notice the smoke in your smoker, it does not rise and almost hovers around the bottom of the smoker.  I think this is the water vapor keeping it from rising.

Dry the chips and try your test again.

Todd

Thats great advice Todd, I'll try that, but my chips aren't wet or green.  I buy them at the Home Depot.. they seem pretty dry to me, how will I know when they are really dry?  I buy the "char broil" brand hickory chips.

 

[scarbelly]

Sorry for your pain with the Smoke Daddy - AMNS does not have those issues

 

[delirium]

Sorry for your pain with the Smoke Daddy - AMNS does not have those issues

I wouldnt say im unhappy with it, I still dont have enough time with it to come to that conclusion.

I am hot smoking so i dont think the AMNS would work for me would it?

I think the reason why the smoke may have been at the bottom of the smoker as Todd stated may also be because it was night time & cold so maybe there was a lot of moisture in the air?

 

[tjohnson]

Chips are "Air Dried", and usually 15% - 20% moisture, or more.

Weigh out 16 ounces of chips, Dump the chips onto a cookie sheet & spread them out, place cookie sheet in the oven @ 325° for about 1 hour and 1/2 way thru, flip the chips.

Take the cookie sheet out and weigh the chips again.

The difference will give you the weight of the moisture

Divide the difference by 16 and you'll have the % moisture content.

Hope this helps!

Todd

 

[SmokinAl]

I wouldnt say im unhappy with it, I still dont have enough time with it to come to that conclusion.

I am hot smoking so i dont think the AMNS would work for me would it?

Yes the AMNS works very well for hot smokes. 

 

[Bearcarver]

Creosote is created when your burn green or wet wood.  Your chips and/or chunks are probably 20% moisture, where pellets are about 6% moisture.  You are seeing the moisture condense  and drip out of the burner.

Try drying your chips in the oven and see if you get less water dripping out of the unit.

Also, if you notice the smoke in your smoker, it does not rise and almost hovers around the bottom of the smoker.  I think this is the water vapor keeping it from rising.

Dry the chips and try your test again.

Todd

That's good info on the % moisture in wood, and interesting too.

Around here, construction lumber is usually 15% to 20%, and cabinet hardwood is 6% to 8%.

The mill I used to get my hardwood from kilns it down to 6 % moisture, and then steams it back up to 8% to close the small pores & checks that opened up from drying it.

If you ever see a little tiny check in a kitchen cabinet (especially Oak), that is from a speck of dust getting into that little open pore, before it had a chance to close.

Enough of that sidetrack info.

Todd, I'll bet you I can take the driest dust, pellets, or chips you can find, and make a whole mess of nice slimy, sticky, stinky creosote with my Big Kahuna. 

Let me see somebody do that with their AMNS!

Bear

 

[delirium]

Thanks for the info guys! I will have to try drying out my chips.  Also I was able to clean up the SD pretty well with a wire brush right after using it.  Not sure how easy it will be if you leave it sitting for awhile to cool off tho.