Inferno from charcoal briquettes and wood chunks

[kastur troi]

I have a Masterbuilt Thermotemp that is roughly 26" wide... been missing the charcoal flavor so instead of using the built in wood chip tray, I tossed in a 10" cast iron pie pan directly above the burner with 8-9 Kingsford briqs, 3 pecan wood chunks, and a smattering of cherry/hickory chips for some diverse wood flavor. It was set to 250F and I walked away for 30 minutes and returned to a giant inferno in my smoker, with temps in excess of 500F.

Was it too many briquettes? The wood chunks? Or my greasy beef ribs? I had to yank out the pie pan and choke the flame... the ribs were salvageable since it was only exposed to high heat for less than 30 minutes.. but the first layer of meat was a bit like jerky. Went back to the little wood chip pan for the remainder of the smoke.

A few more smokes like this then I will have to bring out the WSM out of retirement.

 

[SmokinAl]

I think the problem is the charcoal.

I would just stick to wood chunks.

Al

 

[hd1906]

Sorry Kaster about your troubles but I'm here to explain the issue: wood and charcoal are two different animals. Adding charcoal (which in itself is made to burn much hotter and not produce very much smoke) to your wood is basically adding an additional heat source to your wood. That is why it is a propane smoker. if your smoker needed coal it would be offset because charcoal is too hot to be placed directly under The meat while maintaining sub 250 degree temperatures.

The charcoal ignited your wood, having both the propane flame and charcoal basically created two heat sources.

Hope this info helps

 

[lamar]

I suspect your problem is more of the lack of intake air control. You have to be able to control it to regulate the temperature and a lot of air can get in around the open area of the burner.
Lamar

 

[hd1906]

na, sorry Lamar that's just a wild guess, trust me it's the charcoal

 

[hd1906]

Air intake could have accelerated it sure but you can't put charcoal next to wood and not be surprised when everything catches on fire, charcoal is wood cooked down to be a hotter and more clean burning fuel