# first time smoker maybe a dumb question or two....



## garye5007 (Sep 29, 2016)

OK, please forgive my ignorance (never did this...)

I have a masterbuilt gasser, did the needle valve mod and have a Maverick 733, an instant read thermo and hickory chips coming Saturday. I have a 8" cast iron pan for chips. All these things I learned from this forum-Thanks!

Time to smoke something! I was thinking chicken thighs.

Now for the dumb question. When I put chips in the pan, do I have to get them burning? Or do they get smoking on their own? Also how much chips do I put in?

Thanks in advance for your patience and any advice!

Gary


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## uzikaduzi (Sep 29, 2016)

They will ignite on their own... I have only used the wood ship containers with a lid on a gas smoker, but with an electric hot plate, I used a cast iron pan... I filled it all the way up with wood chips.

The only difference i can imagine is that a hot plate cycles on and off, but my gut is its the same thing... fill it up with dry unlit wood chips


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## big z 765 (Sep 30, 2016)

If i remember correctly you should only need about a cup of chips at a time.  I would probably let it go for about 30 minutes then check the plate and add more if needed.  If you find your chips are gone within that 30 minutes add more chips and recheck in 15 minutes.  Its a game of guess and check figuring out how fast the chip burn up.


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## SmokinAl (Sep 30, 2016)

I'm not familiar with your smoker, but on my gasser I just start out with wood chips to get the smoke going then switch to chunks.

The first load would be chips & chunks, then just chunks.

The chunks usually smoke for 45 minutes to an hour. Then just add another one.

Al


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## dirtsailor2003 (Sep 30, 2016)

In my gasser when I use wood, I use chunks. 2"-3" chunks, 1-2 at a time. If I am in a hurry I will place 1-2 lit briquettes against the chunk(s). Or I will use my propane torch and get a small spot glowing red to help it along. 

If you are going to use chips you will need the CI pan just above the flame. 

Keep in mind the lower you are running the smoker the longer it will take to get the wood smoking. 

Another option for propane smokers is to use a smoke generator like the AMNTS tube smokers from AmazeN smokers. I have all of them and they work great in propane smokers up to pit temps of 285. They also will allow you to cold smoke in your pit.


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## garye5007 (Oct 1, 2016)

Thanks for the replies!

we'll see how it goes...


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