smoker mod question

my last few smokes i have gotten a flare up in the wood chip box which has caused a ton of undesireable thick smoke. i caught it quickly both times and vented the cabinet so the food wouldnt take any creosote or off flavors and it was fine, but i was wondering if there are any ways to reduce flare ups in the iron wood chip box.

i have a vertical propane smoker and use wood chips soaked in water for around 30mins or so first. i am a new smoker and never had this problem during my first several smokes. any suggestions?

DodginBUIs said:

my last few smokes i have gotten a flare up in the wood chip box which has caused a ton of undesireable thick smoke. i caught it quickly both times and vented the cabinet so the food wouldnt take any creosote or off flavors and it was fine, but i was wondering if there are any ways to reduce flare ups in the iron wood chip box.

i have a vertical propane smoker and use wood chips soaked in water for around 30mins or so first. i am a new smoker and never had this problem during my first several smokes. any suggestions?

Click to expand...

Chunks will work better than chips for one thing. the other thing I do, is actually put the chunks on top of the smoker box (with cover on). I found that the box sitting directly on the flame is too hot. For me the ash seems to fall though the slits in the box lid well enough. You could also get a cast iron skillet and put on top of the box (with or without lid).

Also after years of soaking I've came to the conclusion that it really doesn't do much. It may slow things down a bit, but it also delays the smoke, and once they dry out they act just like they were never soaked to begin with and can catch fire if to close to direct heat.

ok so if the box being too hot is one of the causes, what about lining the bottom of the box with a couple layers of foil? if done properly, it could keep the chips off the bottom of the box, but there should still be enough heat to burn the chips. ill have to look into chunks next time, i have just started smoking, and i initially bought several bags of chips so i havent gone back to the store for more yet. are chunks as widely available as chips?

What kind of smoker are you dealing with here? Almost sounds like a Masterbuilt. As for the chunks being widely available... they should be. A lot of grocers sell them. granted the varieties of wood types are more limited but youcan always find some online.

its a GOSM propane. i found some chunks at home depot and ill try those. I did however use a lil foil on the bottom of the wood box and it worked well for my thanksgiving smokes

Ah good deal, glad you got the flare up under control.