wood chunk question for you drum smokers

[walking dude]

i see you guys, put wood chunks str8 onto the charcoal when starting out the fire.........doens't this just have them going up in flames, eventually?

How does it smolder......this is why i use a cast iron chip box for my charcoal smokes........it doesn't burst into flame.

 

[richoso1]

If the charcoal is going strong, I usually end up with flareup... Good question WD.

 

[bbq enthusiast]

When using my uds I like to use 4 large pieces of wood I a range the wood so that the wood will catch and smolder at diffrent times of the smoking process. I will leave one piece of wood at the very bottom of the basket, then two pieces half way up the basket on either side. Finally I put one piece in the center. the wood smolders because of the amount of air flowing through the drum. more air=flame=piece of wood burns to fast.

 

[danbury]

In my UDS they just smolder when the lid is in place. If you take the lid off, they'll flame up. I do like BBQ Enthusiast does.