Cleaning a Smoke Daddy?

[firecapt]

I've got a Smoke Daddy and I installed it on my vertical smoker (gas).  I works great!  The big problem is that the end caps have trouble fitting after a lot of smoke buildup.  I've tried soaking the end caps in various cleaners and scraping the inside of the Smoke Daddy ends to remove buildup but it is hard to keep clean.

If I don't remove the end caps immediately after using (while hot) they are impossible to remove after the unit has cooled.  I have tried using various degreasers on the end caps but the problem seems to be with the ends of the unit itself.  I've scraped the inside of the ends but have had limited success.

Has anyone found a way to clean this unit between uses?  If not cleaned well the end caps don't fit back on the unit.

 

[wingman]

What you have is creosote buld up. They are notorious for it. I spent two weeks working with Dennis the builder on resolving the issue. If you want a thin blue smoke and no creosote run it with the cap off and the pump turned down. I down sized to a small air pump. You will still get more then enogh smoke but it will be quality smoke. Check out his site. He's telling folks when smoking cheese leave the cap 1/2 off. Here is his video.

http://www.smokedaddyinc.com/chamber.htm#video

Since this he has sent me a newly modified version that has large wholes in the bottom and top caps that align with holes in the body.  You turn the cap and bottom the wholes open or close as adjustable vents. This allows you to adjuct the air flow. The big problem is the housing builds up moisture from the burning wood or pellets and it can't get out. I used mine once when doing the review for my site and it did nothing but pump out white smoke. The next day after one use i couldn't get the caps off.

To clean it, use a prpane torch and burn the creosote out of it. Then run it with the cap off. I found it will burn for a couple hours with wood chips and then I have to load it again.