U-Bolt mod for the AMNTS

[normanaj]

I have an MES and bought a 3" dryer ducting about 5ft long.
I stuff that unit into the chip loader hole (after removing the guts) supported on a frame for a slight incline, then put my homemade tube in that.
I control the amount of smoke by the outlet damper.

Might as well just add the mailbox you're already halfway there.

my tube is 3 ft long and will it stuffed with planer shavings, I get about 6 hours of smoke.
I light it with a hot air gun, and once I have some coals, in it goes and I just let it do its thing

No issues with the shavings catching fire?I've been in the trades a long time and I've seen how various forms of wood burn.The idea of using wood shavings kinda scares me,the potential for fire is to high for my liking.

6 hours of smoke out of a 3 foot long tube isn't really that efficient,I get close to that out of a 6" modded tube filled with ground pellets and get nice TBS.

 

[Hawging It]

Works great!

 

[daveomak]

Thrash..... WOW.... Nice invention.... I love it....

 

[nanuk]

Might as well just add the mailbox you're already halfway there.

Working on it. Gonna use a repurposed microwave oven. Halfway to completion

No issues with the shavings catching fire?I've been in the trades a long time and I've seen how various forms of wood burn.The idea of using wood shavings kinda scares me,the potential for fire is to high for my liking.

Nope. I stuff them pretty hard. There is little airflow through them. Just enough to keep the burn. And the smoke is light and clean.
You would think them more volatile but practice has shown me they work good. My tube is 1/8” hardware cloth about 1.5” diameter held together with SS hose clamps that are oriented to hold the tube up like the muffler clamp mod.
I have only had two single issues. Once, it went out. ( I increased the airflow )
Once it flamed up. ( I stuffed it more dense.

6 hours of smoke out of a 3 foot long tube isn't really that efficient,I get close to that out of a 6" modded tube filled with ground pellets and get nice TBS.

Well, considering the weight, I use less wood overall than when I used pellets or shavings. I was going to use an even longer setup for longer cold smokes but once I learned how easy to make dust from pellets I decided the dust was easier. I made my own tray for the microwave that burns for about 10 hours when full!

I should weigh my tube when full to find out how many grams of wood I burn oer hour.

Has anyone else checked on this?

 

[nanuk]

a hotter fire creates a lot of unburned particles and more creosote. .

I would have thought the opposite.

But in my thinking it is not temps but O2 levels.
More air = more O2
More O2 = cleaner burn

It seems, through experience like DaveO had, you need to control air/O2 to the fuel AND air flow through the unit.

You add more air to the fuel for a cleaner burn/less heavy smoke
And add more airflow ABOVE the fuel to help move the light smoke through the smoker.

This is why I think mailbox mods work so well. Easier to control both parameters.

 

[rc4u]

just don't somebody go buy a galvanized ones.. exhaust clamp liked noted..

 

[normanaj]

Very glad to see the stupidity that was at the end of my thread was removed,thank you mods.My only intention in starting this thread was to help others.

And to the the one who mucked it up,and you know who you are...keep it to yourself as you're the reason we don't have the edit option anymore.

 

[Nefarious]

normanaj I have been waiting on parts to build my mailbox mod, so I'm sitting here twiddling my thumbs. My mailbox is a stainless junction box and on the inside there are 4 bolts, two of which I could build a rack for the smoke tubes. I saw this mod and thought certainly seems to work well, and way less work so why not. I started looking for the right size u bolts to use and where could I buy them other then homedepot and came across this site that sells every size of u bolt one could imagine.

The question is, if you could have any size bolts you wanted, what sizes would you use? I know you wand an angle, maybe that's the best thing to target? I plan on using both a 6" tube and a 12" tube and I suspect I need different size bolts to keep the angle correct.

What are your thoughts?

 

[1MoreFord]

I'd buy the u-bolts from McMaster-Carr. They have about any size you want in any steel you want and they will accept returns if you wound up with the wrong size. BTW buy the SS ones not the galvanized ones.

McMaster-Carr

McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.

www.mcmaster.com

 

[Nefarious]

I'd buy the u-bolts from McMaster-Carr. They have about any size you want in any steel you want and they will accept returns if you wound up with the wrong size. BTW buy the SS ones not the galvanized ones.

McMaster-Carr

McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.

www.mcmaster.com

I have seen them with both ends at the same height and one higher then the other so tube sits at an angle.. Is one better then the other or is it just personal preference?

If the fire end was lowest it might burn faster, too fast?

 

[1MoreFord]

I understand tilted is better. If the fire end is lower the pellets could fall out plus burn too fast.

 

[Nefarious]

I understand tilted is better. If the fire end is lower the pellets could fall out plus burn too fast.

What heights do use?

 

[1MoreFord]

Not sure. Just eyeball it.

 

[Winterrider]

Only need one on the open end actually. The raise won't matter much, just get it up in the air for circulation.

 

[normanaj]

The question is, if you could have any size bolts you wanted, what sizes would you use? I know you wand an angle, maybe that's the best thing to target? I plan on using both a 6" tube and a 12" tube and I suspect I need different size bolts to keep the angle correct.

What are your thoughts?

On the 6" tube I have a 4" bolt on the front and a 3" on the back but basically as long as the back is slightly elevated you could go with any smaller size for the back which is what I do with the 12" and expanding tubes.The only real reason to have the back elevated is to be able to have air circulation at the back so you get a complete burn.Obviously too much of an angle and your pellets won't burn well and no angle they'll burn too fast and produce heavy smoke.Even though the Amazen site says the tubes can't burn dust...they can and I use it almost exclusively these days,the burn rate is very slow and the smoke is nice and thin.