new smoker, needs help

spence34 · Jun 21, 2014

Just got a Master built XL for father's day. I'm seasoning it today. so far so good. Read tons of threads before hand. loved them. Did a few recommended mods. 12" CI skillet on top of factory chip pan, ditched the factory water bowl. But I'm having a couple issues.

1. I'm using hickory chunks. but getting very little smoke.

2. with vent all the way open and gas all the way down, can't keep it below 245*

any suggestions?

pineywoods · Jun 21, 2014

First the factory installed thermometer is more than likely way off you need to check it with a thermometer you know is accurate.

What you want is Thin Blue Smoke (TBS) thin and blue or no smoke and just the smell of the wood burning. Personally I would suggest a tube smoker from A-Maze-N Products then you'll have great smoke all the time without the hassle of chips chunks and trying to get them to burn correctly

spence34 · Jun 21, 2014

thanks. forgot to include. I have the maverick et-732

pineywoods · Jun 21, 2014

Spence34 said:
thanks. forgot to include. I have the maverick et-732

Did you check that thermo for accuracy?

I think you are going to have to either have water or sand in the water pan to maintain lower temps

spence34 · Jun 21, 2014

no I did not. I guess that would have been a good start. how much will water and meat drop the temp? like I said, I'm seasoning it now. but want to monitor my Temps before the real run tomorrow.

pineywoods · Jun 21, 2014

Put some water in the water pan and see what the temps do.

As for testing the accuracy of the ET put some water in a pot on the stove and get it boiling then with a gloved hand or pot holder place the end of the probe into the water and see what it reads see how close to 212 it is. Once you know it's close get a potato and push the probe through it so that an inch or two sticks out the other side then place it on the grate in the smoker and see what it reads. Adjust the smoker to get to 225 on the ET then see what the factory thermo reads so you'll know in the future

spence34 · Jun 21, 2014

thanks a lot piney. good advice. I'll do both!

pineywoods · Jun 21, 2014

Hope it works and you have a great smoke

Rafter H BBQ · Jun 21, 2014

Welcome, glad ya joined us !

gary s · Jun 21, 2014

Welcome from East Texas, keep us posted on how it turns out. Glad you joined up.

Gary S

spence34 · Jun 22, 2014

IMG_104411719008602.jpeg

spence34
Jun 22, 2014

the smoke is going great. temp is holding at 225 with little to no effort. Plenty of TBS!

spence34 · Jun 22, 2014

image.jpg

spence34
Jun 22, 2014

Turned out amazing. Thanks so much to everyone that has contributed to this forum.

pineywoods · Jun 22, 2014

Congrats on the first of what will hopefully be many more smokes

gary s · Jun 23, 2014

Man that looks great. good job.

Gary S

spence34 · Jun 23, 2014

Thanks guys. I am really happy with the results. Couldn't ask more for my first run

new smoker, needs help

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