Smoke Daddy Smoke Generator - Installed

[davenh]

After seeing a few links to this smoke generator http://porkypas.com , I decided to try one out. My MES has great temp control and this gadget would be a great fit for "set it and forget it" overnight smokes. So far I like it

. I loaded it 5 hrs ago and it is still sending out some nice thin smoke.

It was a little bit of a learning curve in the beginning. The first load I put in the supplied pellets, which appeared to be mixed with some small wood chips. Lit it up and I was like WTF...smelled bad and way too much smoke. So dumped the cylinder and started over. (in hindsight, I prob had too much air)

I filled again with a 50/50 mix of the supplied pellets and my own hickory chips. Smelled better, but had a hard time getting the burning under control. I finally realized the generator needs a little stabilizing time, maybe 40 min or so to settle down after igniting, and very little air to produce good quality smoke. I have the air valve barely open, just enough to maintain a burn.

So the plan for tomorrow's smoke is to start warming up the MES, load the generator and burn for one hour before starting the meat. By this time the smoke should have settled down and be on cruise control. One mixed wood/pellet load for the entire smoke, baby backs and a pork loin.

I'll try and get better smoke pics, maybe a little video of the thing in action

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I don't have a lot of materials to test out, pellets or chips, but my gut feeling is the pellets give a stable burn and blending with some chips helps with the flavoring the pellets seem to lack. The hickory smells just right with this mix. I have some Traeger brand pellets on the way to try out (hickory, cherry, pecan).

I'll be a little more organized tomorrow, so let me know if you want any specific info or pics.

A few pics for ya

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Here's the unit. The first pic is with the supplied nipple/flange, good for thin wall mounting. I changed it out because the threads were too short to go through the MES wall. I also added a coupling so it could be easily removed and an extension pipe to bring the smoke dump to the center of the MES.

Few up close and personal.

Continued in next post.

 

[davenh]

More pics.

Installed in the MES. I did need to squeeze a spacer in the wall to stop the wall from caving in while tightening the fittings.

Loading and burning.

From the bottom.

After things settled down, think the lighting helped this one

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[pineywoods]

Dave looks like you did a great job of installing it be sure to keep us updated on how it does and what you think of it.

 

[davenh]

Thanks Jerry...dry run went well. We'll see how it does with a real smoke today

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Some pics of the insides after cooling down. I did need to heat the bottom cap some to remove it. The cooled residue kinda acts like glue, not bad though, just a little touch with the torch.

In the chamber.

Bottom screen.

Bottom cap. Not much ash for running 6 hrs.

Top cap.

 

[blacklab]

Right on!! Can't wait to read about the results. I thought or assumed those generators were for cold smoking? BTW that one pic of the tbs is a neat one

 

[rob989_69]

This is a great device, I've been looking for something like this since finding the smoke pistol. Didn't want to have to purchase those stupid bullets though. I'm anxious to hear how it works.

Couple of questions for you though in the mean time.

First, which size did you get?

How do you light the chips to get it going?

I did a little research but I'm lazy as it's sunday morning so figured I'd just ask. LOL

 

[davenh]

Probably the purpose most would buy this for. I want to be able to toss on a butt or brisket at midnight, go to sleep and wake up at 6 and see this thing still smoking, re-fill the chamber, mop once and a while and let her finish. Maybe go to breakfast, finish some yard work and let things take care of themselves

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I got the middle sized one, $69. I used a propane torch to get it going like the instructions described

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I'll try for some start to finish details today

. Really hope this thing works well on an actual smoke.

 

[davenh]

Things went much smoother today

. I fired up the smoke generator and let it run for a bit without the cover and the air valve wide open. Thinking this helps to get a good base burning in there. Maybe yesterday I covered and cut the air to quickly ending up with some harsh smoke.

After 10 min cut the air to just barely open and let the MES warm up. 30 min later the smoke had settled and had that nice rich hickory aroma, ready for the ribs.

Here's a link to a little video of the smoke coming out of the MES. Not much of a camera man, and it was a little dark under the deck, so I hope you can see the smoke ok.

images\Smoker\Smoke Generator\Smoke Gen 1hr.wmv



Shot of the ribs, loin is going on soon

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[fiddler252]

Hi Group
Dave thanks for showing all the pics and video. It does take a little getting used to but once your accustomed to it youâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll find that it is a very efficient and affordable unit. For someone with the time and resource it is a relatively simple device to make. Just stay away from using galvanized pipe. I use SCH 40 6061 Machined Aluminum for a Proper Seal and safety. I do have a patent pending on this design but if someone want to make ONE you can get all the parts at Ace hardware and it adds up quickly. I think I have it priced fair. I do recommend that you clean it after each uses in hot water to remove residue build up.
Thanks Porky Pa http://porkypas.com

 

[davenh]

Smoke is finished and the generator was still smoking after 6hrs. It did stop on me once. I was playing with the adjustment and think I closed it down too much, maybe starved it for air.

I think there are a couple minor mods that I'm going to make.

First, move the air adjustment to the air pump outlet. It is on the bottom of the generator and gets pretty hot to be touching it.

Second, after a few hrs the unburned pellets start to expand due to the moisture being released from the burning below. Looks like they possibly could hang up and not drop down. I want to mount the air pump onto the side of the chamber, maybe on some standoffs to keep it cool. The air pump vibration would be just the ticket to keep the fuel dropping down and burning.

I like the generator and think its a great addition to the MES.

The ribs were great, no sign of creosote, nice hickory flavor.

40min warm up and 5hr smoke, filled chamber once.

Couple finished rib pics.

 

[davenh]

I like the unit Dennis, good job! I did give it a pretty good cleaning before firing it up again.

 

[pineywoods]

Dave thanks for the video and the Qview it looks great and very nice looking ribs!!

 

[ronp]

Great looking ribs as usual.

I also like that smoke generator, maybe in the future.

 

[richtee]

I had seen a pict taken of one of these, and I guess it must have been right after lighting, because the smoke was so dense you could not see thru it.

Allright... I had very serious doubts about such a unit. But if it works, it works.

 

[davenh]

I also had it on the lowest possible air adjustment to maintain the burning. This provided smoke volume that, too me, was acceptable. A little more than I get say mid-point through chunk burning. Not billowy, but more volume. I would have liked to reduce it more, but lowering the air more would eventually stop the smoke and need a re-light. If I went any higher there would be lots more smoke and the aroma was changing. The final (or only adjustment, min) was good, little lower would be perfect.

One thing to think about, I was hot smoking with this. Its advertised as a cold smoke generator. When the smoker is at 240 there is a pretty good convection going which pulls in air through the smokers wood box. Maybe helps mixing and diluting the smoke provided from the generator.

When cold smoking might be a different story.

I have some ideas about mounting the pump to transfer some of the vibration of the pump to generator. Thinking this will help clear ash and keep the pellets dropping at a more consistent rate. Maybe will let me get the air adjustment a little lower and reduce the smoke a little more.

At any rate, I do like it

.

 

[richtee]

Now that's usin' the ole noodle! <bow>

As you mention, apparently someone could do a WHOLE lotta damage not knowing to look for "Thin Blue". Musta been what I seen. Looked like a 350 small block with no piston rings!

 

[davenh]

Now that I figured out how to do short videos with the camcorder I never never use, my girl really thinks I'm nuts. If I had left the audio up she could be heard in the background saying "you're frickk'in obsessed", I took it as a complement

Thanks Ron. I always have fun drilling new holes in my MES. I'm going to fine tune the generator and maybe make DIY clone for my gas grill out of some black iron pipe fittings. I'll post some pic if I make it.

.

 

[davenh]

Couple updates on the smoke generator.

I went ahead and moved the air adjustment of the chamber, no more hot finger tips

.

I also attached the pump to the generator hoping the vibration would keep everything moving down. Didn't pan out, I couldn't keep the smoke going. I think everything vibrated down too well and got compacted.

Here's a pic of the mod before taking it off.

I took the pump off the chamber and restarted everything. I also loaded the chamber with Traeger brand pellets 50/50 with wood chips. Seemed to keep smoking well with out any additional help. I had this thing going for 16+ hrs on a pork butt (came out great). Just popped the top and added more fuel every 6hrs.

One thing, it does get pretty gunky after that much use and needs to be scrubbed out. A soak in hot soapy water and scrubbing with steel wool pad, it cleans up pretty good with a little effort.

I did poke around HD looking at material to make one and it isn't a whole lot cheaper to make one. I'm not sure what his profit is on one of these, but it can't be much.

Nothing else to add

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[richtee]

Hmm I bet some acetone or mineral spirits would make cleaning alot easier, Dave. Thanks for posting the thorough trial on this unit!

 

[davenh]

Yer welcome! Bet your right about mineral spirit making the cleanup easier

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