# Not so much smoke in a reverse flow vertical smoker had made



## Deeez (Aug 6, 2022)

Hi Smokers,
Hope this finds you all well.
I had a reverse flow smoker made, but don’t know why but the smoke flavour is much noticeable compared to my WSM. Now the new smoker has 3-4 times times real estate compared to the WSM.
The firebox is insulated thus burns really hot … but the cook chamber is around 230-240, but when I open the firebox, the wood is alit which seems to be limiting my smoke. I use a tbar in the firebox to get a snake method going, but it’s hot enough that the other coals on the other side of the bar gets lit up as well. I’m using charcoal, double stacked on each other, because if I don’t, the cook chamber doesn’t come up to temp. I’m using an 2 extra chunk of wood compared to when using the WSM.
Any tips to get more smoke?
Thanks ahead and wish you ALL the best.


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## Marknmd (Aug 7, 2022)

Hard to understand what you're saying because your third sentence seems to contradict the title.  I guess you mean the WSM produced food that tastes more smokey than your new offset reverse flow.  

A WSM (or any smoker other than an offset)  is not going to give you the "clean" smoke that an offset will.  So the taste of a WSM can be more pronounced, although it will be a different taste too - maybe a bit bitter or pungent compared to the offset.  Some people prefer that taste, others do not.  And the taste will vary, of course, depending on what you're cooking, how long it was in the cooker, what wood you're using, etc.  

One advantage of an offset is the draft.  With a strong draft, you can expose the meat to much more smoke than another type of smoker.  So in that sense, you can get just as much smoke or more smoke than you would with a WSM, and it will be cleaner smoke and will produce a different smoke flavor.

When you see a fire in the offset firebox, and you see "limited" smoke, I'm not sure if it's really limited.  I think what it is, is less visible.  The smoke will be more of a blue color rather than a white color as likely coming out of your WSM.  Sometimes you may see no smoke at all from the offset.  That's because the smoke is not visible.  It's there but it's very fine and yes, it is still flavoring your meat even if you can't see it.

Yes, fuel can burst into flames in a hot firebox, whether it's in the fire or next to the fire.  

If you want more of a smoke taste than what you're getting, you can toss a little fat from the trimmings in the fire rather than into the trash.  Just a little at a time will do the trick.

Otherwise, you'd want smoke that's less blue and more white.  So you'd want to choke back the intake which would produce a less clean smoke.  This contradicts what most people try to do with their offsets, however.  But you're the pitmaster, you can do whatever you want.  ;-)  

Good luck


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## Deeez (Aug 7, 2022)

Marknmd
, apologies on the major typos. Yes you were correct, the WSM gave me more smoke flavour than the reverse flow vertical smoker.


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## JckDanls 07 (Aug 7, 2022)

If I'm reading right.. your tryin to get your heat from just charcoal and smoke form wood chunks (just like ya would on the WSM) ??

If that's the case your gonna have to totally change the way you manage the fire for the Reverse Flow (RF) ...


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## 912smoker (Aug 7, 2022)

No splits?

Keith


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## Deeez (Aug 7, 2022)

JckDanls 07 said:


> If I'm reading right.. your tryin to get your heat from just charcoal and smoke form wood chunks (just like ya would on the WSM) ??
> 
> If that's the case your gonna have to totally change the way you manage the fire for the Reverse Flow (RF) ...





JckDanls 07 said:


> Any insights?


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## Deeez (Aug 7, 2022)

912smoker said:


> No splits?
> 
> Keith


No, would that be better? I was afraid it may just burn through without creating smoke.


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## Deeez (Aug 7, 2022)

JckDanls 07 said:


> If I'm reading right.. your tryin to get your heat from just charcoal and smoke form wood chunks (just like ya would on the WSM) ??
> 
> If that's the case your gonna have to totally change the way you manage the fire for the Reverse Flow (RF) ...


Yes, you are correct.


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## Deeez (Aug 7, 2022)

Marknmd said:


> Hard to understand what you're saying because your third sentence seems to contradict the title.  I guess you mean the WSM produced food that tastes more smokey than your new offset reverse flow.
> 
> A WSM (or any smoker other than an offset)  is not going to give you the "clean" smoke that an offset will.  So the taste of a WSM can be more pronounced, although it will be a different taste too - maybe a bit bitter or pungent compared to the offset.  Some people prefer that taste, others do not.  And the taste will vary, of course, depending on what you're cooking, how long it was in the cooker, what wood you're using, etc.
> 
> ...


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