MES 30 and getting good TBS

[glocksrock]

Let me start out by saying I already have a AMNPS and I love it, but for the times when I don't feel like using it and just want to use regular wood chips, how can I get good consistent tbs. It seems that everytime I add chips I get white smoke, before I get the good thin blue smoke. Is this normal, or am I doing something wrong? I'm not getting real thick billowing white smoke, but it's not the sweet smelling blue smoke I'm after. It seems to happen if I add a small amount of chips, or a larger amount, if I have damp chips, or dry chips, so I'm assuming this is normal, but just in case it isn't, what am I doing wrong?

 

[SmokinAl]

You have been spoiled by Todd's little device. You have to use dry chips & small amounts, but you will never get consistent TBS from chips like you do with the AMNPS. It will always be up & down. As long as you can smell smoke so can the meat, even if you can barely see it.

 

[glocksrock]

You are right, I have been spoiled! But I guess I'm asking is there a way to not get white smoke when adding small amounts of chips? I don't mind adding chips often, I'm just trying to eliminate as much of the white smoke as possible.

 

[hkeiner]

I use the AMNS/AMNPS mostly too, but there is a little "trick" I learned on this forum for using chips in the MES wood tray to help with getting longer TBS with less white smoke. The trick is that when dumping chips in to the wood tray (by turning the filled feeder 180 degrees) I refill the feeder and push it back in the MES without turning the feeder. The chips in the filled feeder begin to smoke gradually with a TBS after a while, about the time that the chips in the tray finish smoking. If the chips in the feeder have turned black but have not yet started to smoke, you can dump them in the tray at that time and they will start smoking without the rush of white smoke. Refill the loader again at the same time.

This is not as good as using an AMNS/AMNPS, but I mention it in case you want to try.  I do  this on a "modified" small chip tray, so I do  not know how this  might work with the larger/reftrofit tray. The modified small chip tray is where the metal plate between the heating element and the chip tray is removed, as described in the below link.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/...rade-kit-inspired-mod-with-q-view#post_640611