# Giving Up Wood Burning



## dave schiller (Apr 3, 2020)

After many unsuccessful attempts to  smoke with just wood, I'm giving it up.  As many times as I've tried, I simply cannot maintain the temperature I want AND get thin blue smoke at the same time.  I'm using a New Braunfels offset that I rebuilt/restored.  There are no leaks to speak of, so I should be able to control the prober burn with the door and damper but to no avail.

If I open the damper or door to reduce the billowing smoke, the temperature goes too hign.  Conversely, if I damp it down to drop the temp, I get way too much thick white smoke.  I'm burning oak and hickory splits that read about 5-7% moisture with my meter.  I've watched every YouTube video on the subject but have not had any luck with applying the techniques.

I installed a BBQ Guru into the firebox and with a load of charcoal I can set the temp I want and leave it alone.  So I'm going to go that route and supplement the fire with an occassional small split or chunk.  I've used only charcoal before and got decent of smoke flavor.

Besides, I'm getting lazy in my old age and don't enjoy tending a fire for 10-14 hours straight.  With the Guru and charcoal, I can dump a whole bag in the firebox, set the desired temp, and walk away.  A tip of the hat to those of you who successfully burn wood.  I  wish it worked for me.

The upside of this is that I have a lot of dry hardwood splits that I'll be  able to cut into chunks.  Should last me a the rest of my life.


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## fivetricks (Apr 3, 2020)

I had that problem with one of my smokers before I took 

 daveomak
 's advice and installed an upper air inlet. Now it cruises.very reliably on wood only.


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## Hank R (Apr 3, 2020)

I am new to smoking also and I have learned so much from Daveomack  I want to meet him and thank him myself.


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## daveomak (Apr 3, 2020)

The FB one member built, that works very well....


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## Alphonse (Apr 3, 2020)

I am very curious about the science on that upper vent.  How does it contribute to a better burn?


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## cliffcarter (Apr 3, 2020)

Alphonse said:


> I am very curious about the science on that upper vent.  How does it contribute to a better burn?



More air to the fire. Not enough air flow and combustion is inhibited, hence the billowing white smoke. I added an upper vent on my CharGriller offset to help with airflow so I could burn wood as the fuel source. I think I posted a picture in the CharGriller Group section.


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## MikeFromTexas (Apr 3, 2020)

Read Franklin’s book on smoke. Thin blue smoke is good but it isnt the holy grail. Just don’t get the thick white billowing smoke. He recommends to run the pit with stack wide open and door to firebox wide open. Control temperature with how much wood you put on the fire. For me, cutting the typical 16” pecan B&B  splits in 1/3 lengths has worked well. I put one or two chunks. This has helped me control temperature very accurately but it requires constant tending. When I used to throw a full split temps would get to high. Keeping the flow path open allows fast moving smoke and that’s what cooks the meat best.  Of course the wind (and orientation of pit relative to wind) rain, and outside temperatures impact the ability to keep temperatures. So I maintain temperature 225-250, and let the smoke be anything but the thick white. Don’t give up.


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## Motorboat40 (Apr 3, 2020)

I always start with a bed of charcoal bricketts about 1 and 1/2 chimneya and just put wood on top of the coals to get my smoke on longer sjokes had to add a little more charcoal but not always once I get it going good just adding wood usually keeps it going well.


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## dave schiller (Apr 3, 2020)

Folks, I appreciate your comments and advice.  But my post was not a request for advice; it was a statement of what I am going to do.  And not do.  I've made all the usual mods to the smoker (baffle plate and lowered stack intake).  I'm not going to do any more mods like fabricating an upper air intake in the FB.

Case closed.


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## Alphonse (Apr 3, 2020)

cliffcarter said:


> More air to the fire. Not enough air flow and combustion is inhibited, hence the billowing white smoke. I added an upper vent on my CharGriller offset to help with airflow so I could burn wood as the fuel source. I think I posted a picture in the CharGriller Group section.


Thanks for trying.  I understand combustion of hydrocarbons.  Perhaps my question wasn't clear and I will ask it again in a different way.

How does adding air at the top of the firebox help.   The draft through the firebox is typically driven by an exhaust of the hot gases from the firebox into the cooking chamber at the top of the firebox.  Adding air at the top of the top of the firebox is therefore a bit counterintuitive.   If the inlet air vents are too small, wouldn't it be better to enlarge them at the elevation of the fire versus above it?  

So that is why I presented my query for the science behind adding vents at the top.


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## daveomak (Apr 4, 2020)

Alphonse said:


> Thanks for trying.  I understand combustion of hydrocarbons.  Perhaps my question wasn't clear and I will ask it again in a different way.
> 
> How does adding air at the top of the firebox help.   The draft through the firebox is typically driven by an exhaust of the hot gases from the firebox into the cooking chamber at the top of the firebox.  Adding air at the top of the top of the firebox is therefore a bit counterintuitive.   If the inlet air vents are too small, wouldn't it be better to enlarge them at the elevation of the fire versus above it?
> 
> So that is why I presented my query for the science behind adding vents at the top.



In a firebox, the heat rises along with smoke....   The upper air inlets sweep the accumulated heat and smoke into the Cooking Chamber WITHOUT adding air to the fire....
Thus, the lower air inlets control the temp of the fire while the upper air inlets reduce the accumulated heat in the FB.... 
The lower air inlets act like a thermostat to control the heat.....
Upper inlets act like the fan in your home furnace, circulating the heat for a uniform temp in your home....
The upper air inlets also add oxygen above the fire for a secondary burn for creosote...  For a clean smoke.....


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## daveomak (Apr 4, 2020)

dave schiller said:


> Folks, I appreciate your comments and advice.  But my post was not a request for advice; it was a statement of what I am going to do.  And not do.  I've made all the usual mods to the smoker (baffle plate and lowered stack intake).  I'm not going to do any more mods like fabricating an upper air intake in the FB.
> 
> Case closed.


Hey Dave....  Read one more thread before you become a quitter...






						Short/Fat 120 Gallon Build
					

Had a great day today! After doing a couple small little jobs on the smoker I decided to fire it up.   I started with a chimney of charcoal. Once that was going I added 3 small splits of wood. It came up to 200 and just stayed there. They were small so I added 2 more and closed my intake about...




					www.smokingmeatforums.com


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## daveomak (Apr 4, 2020)

dave schiller
 , one more thing....   Reading through your posts, I see you never built a smoker...   What smoker do you have and will you post some pictures...  FB, FB/CC opening, Exhaust stack, FB air inlets...... 
Might be able to give you a simple answer to your problem.... 
Dave


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## JWFokker (Apr 4, 2020)

Start with charcoal and chunks and work up to what burns well in your firebox. Nothing wrong with running half lump, half wood if that's what your cooker wants to burn. The results will still be better than a slow burning bullet cooker like a WSM.


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## cliffcarter (Apr 6, 2020)

dave schiller said:


> Folks, I appreciate your comments and advice.  But my post was not a request for advice; it was a statement of what I am going to do.  And not do.  I've made all the usual mods to the smoker (baffle plate and lowered stack intake).  I'm not going to do any more mods like fabricating an upper air intake in the FB.
> 
> Case closed.



I think the mods you made may have contributed to your billowing smoke problem when trying to burn wood, anyway, as you've moved on, this is moot.




Alphonse said:


> Thanks for trying.  I understand combustion of hydrocarbons.  Perhaps my question wasn't clear and I will ask it again in a different way.
> 
> How does adding air at the top of the firebox help.   The draft through the firebox is typically driven by an exhaust of the hot gases from the firebox into the cooking chamber at the top of the firebox.  Adding air at the top of the top of the firebox is therefore a bit counterintuitive.   If the inlet air vents are too small, wouldn't it be better to enlarge them at the elevation of the fire versus above it?
> 
> So that is why I presented my query for the science behind adding vents at the top.


Not counter intuitive in my experience, it works.
In smaller offsets, like the OP's NB and my chargriller, adding an upper intake simply puts more air to the fire, which in turn improves flow to the exhaust and allows for easier fire control when burning wood splits. Before I added the upper intake to the fire, I often had to open the ash drawer to get better air flow.


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