How much smoke?

[smiley]

New smoker built and fired. I got my inspiration from Pitmaker Vault and backwoods smoker designs. I am firing with charcoal ( both lump and briquettes ) and adding wood for smoke. The question is, How much wood do u need for the smoke? Is there a general rule of thumb? Or, just stick with trial and error? Thanks. Smiley

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• smiley
• Mar 11, 2014

 

[kitt]

Hey Smiley 

Welcome to the forum you have come to the right place. 

Great looking unit, what is your plan to season it? Also if you are planning on using charcoal for your main heat,just remember some brands burn hotter then others so you may want to try different brands. I find that lump burns hotter then briquet and depending on the outside temp I sometimes use a mix of both. As for the wood? what are you looking to get out of your smoking process? do you like a light or heavy smoke flavour? If you are using charcoal for the heat you may want to look at the AMPS I just recently purchased one and it works great, It will make it easier to control your smoke without affecting your heat. you should send more pics of the inside. I have been smoking for several years and have enjoyed the trial and error process but some may not. This site and it's members will definitely get you going in the right direction 

Enjoy 

Kitt 

 

[smiley]

I seasoned it by brushing Bacon grease over the entire inside surfaces and firing. This was repeated three times. After the last firing, the inside was a deep golden brown color. And, smelled wonderful. Bacon:)
This is a picture of inside before smoker was painted and seasoned.

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• smiley
• Mar 11, 2014

 

[kitt]

Looks awesome 

I have been using charcoal for a number of years, took me a bit to find a brand that worked well with my set up, once that was done, it was easier to control the heat. I have used everything from sticks to chips to chunks. I found placing the chips or small chunks below the charcoal briquettes seemed to allow them to smoke longer. every time I placed them on top it would smoke for a bit but then just burn increasing the heat in the smoker as well. I was just using a cheep canister set up so I really couldn't control the air as well. It doesn't look like you will have the same issue. I would try a few things a see what works the best keep lots and really good notes that should help. OH not sure if it helps but I do not soak the wood before smoking, Like I said earlier I just recently got the AMPS and it is great, it burns consistent and even(however i am now re-adjusting my times a bit) but that is one of the great things about this hobby, always something new to try LOL! 

Again that thing looks awesome it will be fun dialling it in, just remember TBS (thin blue smoke) my first time I ran mine like a diesel stack not good

Enjoy 

Kitt 

 

[bigwheel]

Nice pit. Dont look like that one would need much wood to the untrained eye. I know some rich comp folks with some custom built insulated gizmos who routinely do the full smear on ten lbs of Kingsford and two sticks of split stove wood. Be careful with overheating and overs moking. Make friends with Oak and fruit wood. Happy cooking. Think you spend many happy months trying to figure out exactly the small amount of fuel that puppy will tend to consume. Kindly keep us posted. i would start with five pounds of good lump a and chunk or two. Work up from there. lol