SmokinTex 1400 owners out there?? Help me get TBS.

[old sarge]

oldbbqdude

I will let you know if the smoke from 2 oz of hickory is thicker, lighter or just about the same with the pan dropped. The wood might be consumed just a little quicker.  As it is, the air gap is a little under 1/2 inch all around and the pan could restrict the draw somewhat, similar to a damper. Definitely no drilling as I like what the smoker gives me now if I do my part.

 

[old sarge]

smokinjoe52,

I pull the pork from the smoker when it has an internal temp of 190. I pull the bone, then into 6 quart pot and I lid it and there it sits for 30 or so minutes.  I do not wrap in foil. That's just me.  I will generally make a sandwhich or two that day (ok, my wife does); we reserve the rest for the following day for lunch or dinner with family and friends. 

 

[smokinjoe52]

Sarge,

Wrapping in aluminum foil is a pain, but with just a few smokes under my belt, it seemed to make a big difference moisture wise.  I wrap somewhere between 140 and 150.  Take it up to 200-205 and let it rest.  When I unwrap, there is a lot of good juice in the bottom of the aluminum foil,  That would be lost if I did not wrap. I did have other variables though.

My first 2 shoulder roasts were with boneless 3-4 pounders.  I only took it to 190, and didn't let it rest long enough.  (Company coming) 

It was good but not nearly as tender as the 8-9 lb shoulder wrapped and taken up to ~200, then rested for 1.5 hours.

I may try a large bone-in unwrapped and see how I like it. Have you ever wrapped one?  Just wondering how you think they compare.

Smokinjoe

 

[daveomak]

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[old sarge]

smokinjoe52.

I have wrapped ribs using the 3-2-1 method; never a butt.

 

[old sarge]

DaveOmak

Sorry about the hijack! Just answering questions.

 

[pcallison]

Hey Snorklingirl, glad to see you're still at it, from you're video looks like you've finally got  TBS, (original post). To drill or not to drill, That's the question. Well in my case it wasn't an issue, Cost of ST1400 $0.00,(gift from SIL,) cost of mod.$ o.oo, I had a drill & step drill bit. I and wife were tired of trying to eat creosoted food. With the AMPNPS & extra hole, works like I thought it should have from the get go. If I don't need the the extra draw, cover up a hole with foil,voila, problem solved. Thanks so much to Scarbelly(RIP) & TJohnson for coming with the solution. Best of luck to you with your new smoker & the AMNPS, I know you'll love it. See ya, Phillip. (by the way I think the only reason I ended up with this smoker was thr black rain, haha)

 

[chef willie]

Hey Willie,

Now I'm not saying you are, but if you DO decide you are a "driller", I happen to know that Wright Prototype (on Salem Avenue by Waverly Pond) has a step bit of just the right size.

They will drill the holes for free if you bring them BBQ!

Thx, I'll keep them in mind for future reference. Sounds exotic..... 'prototype'.....wonder what else they're good for.......will work for bar-b-que, gotta love that..lol

 

[old sarge]

oldbbqdude,

I have done my un-official smoke test with the drip tray removed. Throughout the test, I noticed no appreciable difference in smoke quality nor did it appear to increase or decrease in quantity. It looked normal to me.  And it still leaks at the top of the door at both corners; no better and no worse.  I did however notice that my temp, set at 225 spiked to 235.  Maybe the increased air flow caused the wood to burn hotter, I do not know.  But placing the tray back in its normal position brought the temp down to my set point where it held within a few minutes. There was no "object" in the smoker to simulate a load and the wood weighed 2 1/4 ounce. So, it looked the same to me and no ribs to eat. DANGIT!

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[old sarge]

I decided to update my small experiment.  As seen in the earlier photos, there is a fair amount of smoke exiting the smoker. I had stopped the test after 1 hour. It seemed pointless to continue. I just now pulled the box to look at the wood. After a typical 4 hour smoke for ribs, smoke is barely visible.   It is heaviest during the first 30 or 45 minutes or so. I found a completely charred block of wood, producing the faintest wisps of smoke. I suspect the "burning slowed considerable after the element was turned off. Below are two photos.  Please keep in mind that the although smoker was running for an hour most of the wood was still intact.  I have never checked on the wood before, but did notice that after a smoke, all that is left is a flakey whitish grey ash.  So if nothing else, I now know that the heaviest smoke is produced during the initial charring, and that it tapers down to a very ghostly like wisp over the next few hours. 

The smoker is fired up again solely to consume the charred hickory. The drip tray is firmly in its customary place. After 15 minutes the set temp of 225 has been exceeded and hit 235 (something I have never noticed before because I have never checked on the progress). Smoke is being produced, but as the temp settled down toward the set point, the smoke did become a tad thinner.

I hate this site (jokingly said with a tiny tear in the eye).  I have never been concerned with testing and checking. Just smoking and eating! And to think there is nothing in the smoker to eat.  Bottom line:  I ain't drillin or worryin.

I'm grabbing a beer. 

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[oldbbqdude]

Sarge - (Not calling you old out of respect ;) )

I think your unit is working as designed. Everything looks fine. The best thing to do, at this point, is to throw a butt or some ribs in your smoker and call me for dinner!

NOT a driller

 

[old sarge]

Thanks for dropping the old.

 I too think it is working as designed. And the quality of the food bears this out. I may modify the menu but never the smoker.

 

[smokinjoe52]

Hello everyone,

Just to clarify, I an NOT saying that to make the smokers operate as designed, you need to drill holes.  I would agree that they will operate as designed with NO modifications.

What I am saying is that if you want to operate them OUTSIDE of their design parameters, then you most likely need to make some very minor modifications.  The use of the AMAZEN smoker and/or a PID controller are my definition of using the smoker "outside of their design parameters".

The simple design and robust build quality of these smokers lend themselves to modifications for which they were not designed.

Such as:

Cold smoking in the Midwest during the winter by setting the chamber temperature to 60*.

Ramping up temperature on beef sticks or salmon in an unattended manner based on time.

Consistent, reliable, thin blue smoke for up to 10 hours

Shutting down or going to a KEEP WARM temp. if you happen to be away.

Tight temperature control when you don't want fat to render.

I could go on, but readers will get my point.

I just don't want the folks reading this thread and contemplating a purchase of one of these smokers to think that they might need to drill holes to make them work as designed. You don''t need to do that, as I believe they are great smokers just as they are right out of the box.

Hopefully this clarifies my position on the matter if there was any misunderstanding.

Smokinjoe

 

[old sarge]

smokinjoe52,

I completely understood.  I just got the old curiosity bug and had to see for myself if dropping the tray would have an effect, positive or negative, on the production of smoke.  I am going to do the same thing, with a lump of charcoal rather than wood, and again with some pellets. Again, just out of curiosity.  Thanks.

 

[chef willie]

smokinjoe52,

I completely understood.  I just got the old curiosity bug and had to see for myself if dropping the tray would have an effect, positive or negative, on the production of smoke.  I am going to do the same thing, with a lump of charcoal rather than wood, and again with some pellets. Again, just out of curiosity.  Thanks.

Hey Sarge....read somewhere a guy put a lump of charcoal or two in his woodbox and actually achieved smoke ring. Waiting on the FedEx truck...lol.....later

 

[old sarge]

Chef Willie,

I've read that also.  I gave it a shot a little over an hour ago with just a single lump of mesquite charcoal.  After 1 hour, no visible smoke.  I shut it down and in a little while will pull the box and see what I have versus what I started with.  Charcoal wise that it.

FEDEX deliver on holidays?

 

[old sarge]

I  tried charcoal only. Mesquite.  Set temp was 225 and time was set for 3 hours. There was no smoke throughout the process.  It reached 225, and after a little more than an hour, I shut it down, then pulled the wood box to check the results.

down.

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[chef willie]

Chef Willie,

I've read that also.  I gave it a shot a little over an hour ago with just a single lump of mesquite charcoal.  After 1 hour, no visible smoke.  I shut it down and in a little while will pull the box and see what I have versus what I started with.  Charcoal wise that it.

FEDEX deliver on holidays?

Well, waiting on the FedEx truck was a general statement....not sure 'what' day exactly they will arrive. It was shipped on the 15th so might be getting close. Estimated delivery is tomorrow.....but anything can happen

 

[kenster56]

I have a ST that I have had for about two years. There are only two holes in the unit. A small drain hole in the bottom for the juices and a hole in the top of the unit that the smoke comes out of. When you first break in the unit they tell you to place the enclosed wood chunk in it to season it. After that all you need is a very small amount of wood chips. Depending on what I am smoking I will only use 1/4 to 1/2 a cup of wood chips. They will start smoking in approx. 15 to 20 minutes and when the meat is done it comes out with a great smoked taste, bark and ring. You may also have smoke coming out from the seals of the door at the beginning but according to ST this is normal and will stop after a seal is developed. This has happened to me twice but has since stopped. I love this smoker. I prepare the meat , set up my maverick ET-732 thermometer and leave it alone until the portable thermometer goes off. BTW, there are no vents to adjust. The the two holes that I talked of at the beginning of this reply.

 

[jond36]

Scar and I worked on this issue for quite some time
He could get sawdust to burn very well, but pellets would go out
It was obvious, that the pellets were starving for air
Scar opened up the drain to 3/4" or 7/8", and pellets burned a little better
We knew we were on to something, so he drilled another hole, just behind the drain hole, so the drain pan would catch anything that falls thru either hole.
You can get a "Step Bit" to drill out the holes

2 holes seemed to work for Scar, and pellets burned nicely in his SmokinTex
Since the bottom is only a single layer, there is no need to worry about insulation
You may need 3 holes for proper combustion.  It's a little trail and error

Without proper oxygen, burning wood or chips create excess moisture and creosote as a by-product of combustion
By increasing the oxygen just a little, your smoke will turn from white to blue


Todd

Clear! ..... *Zap*

Sorry to revive this post but I still have creosote issues.

-using high quality fruitawood
-using small chambered smokin it #1
-using PID

Would drilling holes assist regular chunks? I pretty much have only had success with a large chip or about a 1/4 oz or less. Anything above causes creosote bitter flavors. Any help would be greatly appreciated.