The history of the AMNPS and why you need one.

[chef jimmyj]

I like the color and flavor it puts on hams and bacon .

Blending in Cherry Pellets gives a rich Mahogany color as well...JJ

 

[chopsaw]

Blending in Cherry Pellets gives a rich Mahogany color as well...JJ

I just happen to have some on the way .

 

[Buf]

To a newbie, this forum is like being the only male at a high school prom full of soon to be super models!

To be clear, if I use the A-MAZE-N I don't need to use another smoke source? Can someone point me to a thread with tips on the actual smoking process of summer sausages, regarding temps and times and so on?

Amazing info and people here, thank you!

 

[6GRILLZNTN]

I can't help with sausage questions, but the A-MAZE-N should be fine as your only smoke source. Also, I would buy a cheap propane torch to light the pellets. Makes life so much easier.

 

[johnmeyer]

Brand new member, and mostly wet behind the smoking ears. I've been reading posts as time permits today and came across the A-MAZE-N thing and I'm curious, dos this just work by placing pellets in it, then lighting them directly?

I wrote about using the AMNPS in an external box here:

Reason to put AMNPS into an external enclosure

This video shows you how I light it (most people use a small butane torch), and what it looks like when it is smoking. It will probably look like a small amount of smoke, but for an electric smoker, which is sealed pretty tightly, you don't need much smoke.

 

[Michael Cohen]

Hi John, that was very informative, thanks! I've got a Masterbuilt electric and am unsure where would be the best position to place a 5x8 AMNPS. This is a link to Lowe's website that shows the internal layout. Any ideas?

 

[chef jimmyj]

With that model, left side of the lower shelf, chip loader and tray removed. You will need to Tent the AMNPS if anything can drip on it. Leave as much space as possible between the tent and pellets. Too close and the reflected heat makes the pellets burn too fast...JJ

 

[Michael Cohen]

Dude, thanks! That's exactly the information I was looking for. I mostly use stainless steel pans with racks so dripping is not a problem. I'll be testing this with a section of pork loin tomorrow!

 

[johnmeyer]

Hi John, that was very informative, thanks! I've got a Masterbuilt electric and am unsure where would be the best position to place a 5x8 AMNPS. This is a link to Lowe's website that shows the internal layout. Any ideas?

The answer is at the 2:22 mark in the video I posted above.

 

[bill ace 350]

Great post! Can anyone recommend a good brand of 100% hickory pellets that work well in the AMNPS/TS? I've had good success with BBQers Delight but they're not always easy to find here in Toronto!

I love BBQ Delight.

I just picked up 4 - 20lb bags of "Grillers Gold" pellets.

Used some the first time yesterday.

Burned evenly, produced nice smoke and nice aroma.

Flavor was great on my summer sausage.

 

[Michael Cohen]

Went ahead and built the mailbox mod + lifted the tray with corner bolts. Worked pretty well. :)

 

[smokie bill]

Todd Johnson owner of A-MAZE-N is a long time member. Several years ago he had a gen 1 MES. Todd observed 2 problems with the design. You have to reload chips every 30-40 minutes, a PITA, over a 16-20 hour cook, and the unit made no smoke at temps lower than 180°F. No way to cold smoke meat or cheese. Enter the first maze design that burned wood dust. It gave 12+ hours of thin blue smoke, solving the MES flaws. A new issue arose. The dust was great with the MES off, for cold smoking, but didn't work at 225°+. Some time and testing resulted in the redesigned second Maze, the AMNPS ( A-MAZE-N Pellet Smoker). This design burned dust for cold smoking, no heat generated, and could burn wood pellets that would generate, 12+ hours of smoke at any temp the MES will produce. Brilliant! As the word got out and sales grew, guys with the gen 2 and other brands of smokers wanted the convenience of the AMNPS. A new problem...The AMNPS needs a good supply of air to stay lit. It worked in the gen 1 MES but not in the brand new MES gen 2 or Gas smokers. The design of the gen 2 did not let enough air get to the pellets and propane burners consume most of the available oxygen leaving nothing for the pellets to burn. Todd went to work on the problem and in short order introduced the AMNTS (A-MAZE-N Tube Smoker). The tube made smoke in pretty much any smoker out there.
The AMNPS Maze does not burn chips. They can't be packed tightly enough for a continuous burn.

Todd is a super friendly guy and his customer service is second to none! Give him a call to discuss the MES you have. Find what product will work best in your smoker.
Masterbuilt never corrected the flaws in successive MES designs. Their fix was to create their Cold Smoke Attachment. An Expensive add-on that has not been getting great reviews around here. As a long time MES owner, I can tell you...While feeding chips for a few hours smoking chicken or ribs is no big deal...You are not going to enjoy staying up 16 hours, overnight or in the rain, snow or heavy wind, feeding Chips to your MES every 30 minutes. Since I got my AMNPS, the MES is TRULY, set and forget and I get plenty of sleep smoking an overnight Brisket or Pork Butt...JJ

Chef JimmyJ, I have had the AMNTS for several years & all I can use it for is to smoke bacon & cheese. Why? Because the tube smoker will not stay lit when I turn on the gas burner on my Masterbuilt vertical propane smoker. Before the tube smoker I had the A-MAZE-N dust smoker. It, too, would not stay lit. I worked with Todd on this for quite a while, even going to lengths of putting the dust in the oven for a while to be sure it was perfectly dry. That didn't work. After Todd developed the tube smoker, he sent me one , saying that the pellets would stay lit better in it. I have tried it in my propane smoker, Weber kettle grill & my Char-Broil 4-burner infrared grill. Neither of the A-MAZE-N smokers would stay lit. I just don't know what else to do. I've placed the tube smoker in various locations inside the propane smoker but haven't found a spot where it will stay lit when the burner is turned on. I really like the amount & density of the smoke coming off of either of these smokers but I can't use them with a fire. I finally purchased & mounted a Smoke Daddy on the vertical smoker &, of course, it stays lit since it is not on the inside of the box. But I find the Smoke Daddy to be cumbersome to use. I have to keep running out to adjust the amount of smoke & that gets tiring & I don't like the quality of the smoke. The AMNTS does a wonderful job when used without the gas burner. Beautiful thin blue smoke & I can get about 4 hours or so out of the 12" tube. Oh by the way, I'll tell you that I live in Colorado about 40 miles north of Denver at an elevation of 5000 ft. We don't have as many "O's" in our air here as people in the lower altitudes, but Todd has indicated that the pellet smoker should handle it better than the dust smoker.
Do you have any wise words of wisdom concerning this problem? I sure would like to use the A-MAZE-N product. I'd even be willing to add another pellet smoker tube to the Masterbuilt if I though I needed more smoke. I just don't know since I can't even begin to get a decent smoke going for any length of time. Hope you can give me some good advice.

Bill Bauer

 

[chef jimmyj]

I'm sorry to hear of your troubles. At your altitude, lower air density and lower Oxygen is most likely the problem. The Burning Fuel takes up available oxygen before the Pellets can get any. Maybe you can figure a way to Pump additional air into your gasser...JJ