When to dump the charcoal in

[70stang]

My new vertical smoker came in on tuesday. I assembled it wensday. And On thursday I got it to the yard and gave it a wipe down with canola oil and lit the charcoal and heated it up to 400. Then let it go and let the charcoal burn itself out. From the looks of it,I'll have to seal the door,both drawers,and around the stack.No big deal. My big question is,I was reading around and every place I looked,It said white smoke wasn't good.Let it turn blue.Ok,I prefer to use hardwood chunks over chip and noticed that when I put them in the smoke stays white while it burns.Can I mix the chunks in with the charcoal when I light the charcoal? Or do I throw it in after I fill the drawer?

Thanks in advance

Kevin

BTW this is the smoker

 

[cmayna]

Kevin, which way did you do it during your first burn. Before light or afterwards?   I'd think you would put the wood chunks before you light.  Maybe not.

Oh and BTW,  a Mustang?  Real smokers have old chebbie trucks!

 

[jirodriguez]

I usually mix a few chunks in with the charcoal before I start it, then after they burn out I add more chunks every two hours. Yes they will be billowy white while they first light, but after 10 min. or so they will settle down a bit.

 

[70stang]

Kevin, which way did you do it during your first burn. Before light or afterwards?   I'd think you would put the wood chunks before you light.  Maybe not.

Oh and BTW,  a Mustang?  Real smokers have old chebbie trucks!

 Did you bring the mankini over here with you?

Before. I let the charcoal get gray in the chimney before I dumped it in.

 

[70stang]

I usually mix a few chunks in with the charcoal before I start it, then after they burn out I add more chunks every two hours. Yes they will be billowy white while they first light, but after 10 min. or so they will settle down a bit.

Thanks! This is what I was going to try next.

 

[daveomak]

Kevin, evening and welcome to the forum......   Are you using the minion method ??  A bunch of unlit briquettes in the smoker first, bury a few flavor chunks in the briqs.....    add about 8-12 white hot briqs to the pile.... adjust temp.....   It should last the whole smoke.... if not, add more partially lit briqs...    If you add fully lit briqs the smoker may get too hot and you might not be able to adjust the temp......  That being said, every smoker is different and I may be all wet.....

Dave

 

[70stang]

Kevin, evening and welcome to the forum......   Are you using the minion method ??  A bunch of unlit briquettes in the smoker first, bury a few flavor chunks in the briqs.....    add about 8-12 white hot briqs to the pile.... adjust temp.....   It should last the whole smoke.... if not, add more partially lit briqs...    If you add fully lit briqs the smoker may get too hot and you might not be able to adjust the temp......  That being said, every smoker is different and I may be all wet.....

Dave

Cool. I will give this a try. Thanks for the help.

Kevin