charbroil 30" 505 not smoking

[bscruggs99]

Hi guys. I'm pretty sure this is covered somewhere here and I'll be going back to the search tool right after this but here is my dilemma. My wife got me the smoker as a gift and I tried smoking some ribs over the weekend(321 method), and the only time it would get smoking was when if was way too hot, like 280+. The ribs turned out OK for my first time but there was no smokey flavor as most of the run was kept around 240. At 240 there was no smokdoing at all. So I'm wondering what I'm doing wrong. Here's a basic rundown of what I did:

Added a few chips when preheating To around 300*(saw some white smoke)
turned the heat down when I threw the ribs on and fiddled with the temp til it was about right(no smoke)
once the water boiled off and temp went up, started seeing white smoke again. Smoke went away when I added water.

I could try not adding water in case it was too much moisture but that would be at a later date.
I had my temperature probe on the middle rack so I'm hoping it was accurate.
I'm just wondering how to achieve smoke at 225-240. I know people will suggest an amns and I'll get one eventually but I don't want to have to rely on it for smoke.
I'm sorry if this is a repeat question or in the wrong place, and thank you for your time. I'm sorry if I left anything important out, if I did please remind me so I can give more details. Thanks!

 

[st barnard]

I think I would try it again,  but with NO water this time,  and see if that makes a difference.  I use a different,  offset style,  and use no water and have no problems.  Going to try my new MES 40 soon,  and it will be without water.  Let us know what you find out.

 

[brickguy221]

Hi guys. I'm pretty sure this is covered somewhere here and I'll be going back to the search tool right after this but here is my dilemma. My wife got me the smoker as a gift and I tried smoking some ribs over the weekend(321 method), and the only time it would get smoking was when if was way too hot, like 280+. The ribs turned out OK for my first time but there was no smokey flavor as most of the run was kept around 240. At 240 there was no smokdoing at all. So I'm wondering what I'm doing wrong. Here's a basic rundown of what I did:

Added a few chips when preheating To around 300*(saw some white smoke)
turned the heat down when I threw the ribs on and fiddled with the temp til it was about right(no smoke)
once the water boiled off and temp went up, started seeing white smoke again. Smoke went away when I added water.

I could try not adding water in case it was too much moisture but that would be at a later date.
I had my temperature probe on the middle rack so I'm hoping it was accurate.
I'm just wondering how to achieve smoke at 225-240. I know people will suggest an amns and I'll get one eventually but I don't want to have to rely on it for smoke.
I'm sorry if this is a repeat question or in the wrong place, and thank you for your time. I'm sorry if I left anything important out, if I did please remind me so I can give more details. Thanks!

In my old 40" MES 2.0 I never had a problem getting chips to burn in the 225-240 range with both using water and no water.

In my new 40" BT 2.5, I haven't had a problem getting chips to smoke in it either in that temperature range. So far in my new BT, I have used no water regardless of whether I use chips or pellets. I did have a problem with pellets the first time I tried pellets, but after that using advice from others here, I pulled the chip loader out 1" - 2" with dump side turned down and the pellets burned ok in the time they should smoke ( 3 hrs per row using the 5 x 8 MAZE and 4 hrs using the TUBE ) although they put out less smoke than chips do.

 

[bscruggs99]

Thanks guys, I'll give it another shot without out the water. I was just worried the temperature swings would be huge without any thermal mass in there.

 

[bscruggs99]

Also how many chips should I be using initially? When preheating, I put maybe 5 or 6 chips of varying size just to get them started. I didn't soak them at all.

 

[jted]

Hi, Let me fist say I don't know anything about your brand of smoker. I would say this as general information that your idea and St Barnard's recommendation is a sound one not to use a water pan. I might use the Pan bun not add liquid. Foil it and use it as a drip pan and heat defuser.
Second I would use more than 5 or 6 chips start with a 1/4 cup full and see what happens. Try this with out any meat in it.
About the temp swings that is just a fact with electric smokers. I have found in most cases BBQ doesn't mind the fluctuations as much as the operator. just my thoughts Your mileage may vary . Pages have been written about this so do some searching and reading. Jted

 

[bscruggs99]

Yeah I don't mind the fluctuations too bad, I just thought they would be much bigger without the water. I had it where the temp varied between 210 and around 260 and I was OK with that. I was just expecting a much bigger difference without the water to soak up the heat.