# Thin Blue Smoke----Kahuna ?



## Bearcarver

OK, I've been reading about the "Thin Blue Smoke". I read that white smoke is bad---thin blue smoke is good.
My "Big Kahuna" puts out tons of smoke, but it's ALL white.
Is that an exception to the rule ??

Please clear this up, before I attach my Big Kahuna to my Masterbuilt Smokehouse.


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## richoso1

Billowing white smoke is too much smoke, sometimes because there is too much wood burning at one time. I'm not familiar with the "Big Kahuna", but try using less wood , just just need a small amount of smoke. Sometimes you might not see smoke, but of you can smell it. you're ok. Too much smoke can creat creosote, which is not a safe way to smoke, as far as food is concerned. Make sure that if you have a top vent, that it is in the open position, don't wanr stale smoke around your food. Good luck my friend.


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## Bearcarver

The "Big Kahuna" is a cold smoke generator. I'd like to hear from a few Big Kahuna owners/users on my question.


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## coyote-1

I don't use a Big Kahuina. However, maybe this will help....


The choice of wood also makes a diff in the smoke you get.

I use split sticks of maple and cherry in my offset. Same quantity, same seasoning time, same temps.... the cherry produces thin blue when I put a split on the coals, while the maple billows white for a few minutes before settling down to blue. No creosote produced; it's just the nature of this particular maple.


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## flash

Good smoke on right


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## bman62526

Another thing to add...

If you use a bigger smoker, one like what we might call a "stick burner" around here, billowing white smoke is ok if it just lasts for a very short while.

If you are using this type of smoker, when you add wood - even if it's been pre-heated, you might see some thicker white smoke for about 30 seconds, but then if you have your airflow set correctly and you have the proper amount of fuel in the firebox - that should turn into TBS very quickly.

In other words, a few times during a cook - having too much smoke for 30 seconds or so at a time won't kill anything you are cooking.  You just want to do your best to avoid it.


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## Bearcarver

Thank You guys very much for trying to help, but I think I still must hear from Porkypas "Big Kahuna" users, because I'm thinking it's something different. I don't see any possible way to make a small amount of smoke from this item, unless you divert it some way, and I don't see how you could make the smoke "blue". Even in their demo videos, it is producing a lot of white smoke. Maybe the guys who use these can tell me if a lot of this kind of smoke is OK, and if not, what to do about it.


Here is a working "Big Kahuna":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLfde...60E230&index=2


Thanks,
Bearcarver


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## nickelmore

I have a similar setup on a home built,  adjusting the air volume helps.  I thought that there was an adjustable valve on those, or you can put one in line.  

I start out wide open with the lid open and sometimes throttle it back.

I think there are a number of guys out here that have a smoke daddy and will be jumping in with advice.  

I know there was some conversation a while back about cleaning them after every use.


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## Bearcarver

I found an old thread about the subject by "DaveNH" with all kinds of pictures. He basicly said the same thing about adjusting the air volume. I'll be working on that.
Any other info on smoke generator (Big Kahuna or other) attached to a Masterbuilt Smokehouse, feel free to hit me with it.


Thanks,
Bearcarver


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## clamb

Bearcarver;356225 said:
			
		

> OK, I've been reading about the "Thin Blue Smoke". I read that white smoke is bad---thin blue smoke is good.
> My "Big Kahuna" puts out tons of smoke, but it's ALL white.
> Is that an exception to the rule ??
> 
> Please clear this up, before I attach my Big Kahuna to my Masterbuilt Smokehouse.
> 
> I purchased a Big Kahuna smoker, & attached it to an old Barbeque, to test it out.  Yeah it smokes like a chimney when I first start it up, but I Find that after about 20 minutes it doesn't seem to be blowing out as much thick white smoke. About every half hour I pull the top off and poke the pellets down with a screwdriver just to ensure that it continues to burn, & after stirring them up a bit, it smokes pretty heavy for a little while. I have been using the Louisiana grill brand of wood pellets, & they seem to work well for me.  I also hooked it up to a small tabletop Barbeque.  I have used that to add some smoke flavour to steaks that I had cooked, but I think I might have oversmoked them.  I placed the steaks on & let them smoke for about an hour before I turned the heat on to cook them.  They were still all right, but maybe a little more smoked than I would have liked, Next time I will only let it smoke for about half the time.


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## thadius65

I use a Big Kuhuna as supplimental on my GOSM, or with my gas grill. Especially for LONG smokes like Pork Butt.  I don't get heavy white smoke unless i take the lid off the unit. I have valve all the way and to be honest, not much choice otherwise as it has seized open.

I was using chips, but have moved to using Traeger pellets. Apple and Hickory are my current big bags. I will sometimes cut up some small chips of Cherry with good success, but for longer more consistency, I like the pellets.

So, wide open, electric pump with pellets... all is good in Central PA! 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






Oh and hooked to the gas grill i use it to cold smoke cheese and it works great!

Ted


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## nickelmore

sorry this may be a little off subject, but still releated.   

Thad have you noticed any diffence more or less creosote build up in your Kahuna with the pellets or chips?


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## thadius65

I think there is more creosote with pellets.  I just get done smoking and drop in a bucket of water and let it soak for days..  Works good.


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## Bearcarver

Lots of thanks to you all, and all is also well in Southeast PA.

Keep it coming guys---I'm taking this ALL in !

Bearcarver


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## pignit

I've never had a problem with over smoking with the Smoke Daddy. It seems to produce a different kind of smoke. Having the MES with the window has helped me a lot in knowing the right amount of smoke to apply. One of those things you get a feel for as you go.


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## eaglewing

NICE PIC FLASH!!!


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## markmcrae

I use one of the off set wood smokers and have found that until I get a good base of coals going that I will continue to have alot of white smoke. And I use alot of different types of wood. I sometimes use Pecan & Cherry but mostly Oak. And it all works the same until I get a good base of coals.


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## hounds51

If you ever get around the Bethel area give me a call I will show you the smoke guns that I delveloped. (no air pumps or electric) Works on the draft of my Smoke house. Dennis
717-865-6473
By the way I will be smoking 6 lbs of fish this Saturday.


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## pops6927

Post a separate thread on them with some Q and explanations! We'd all love to see!


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## chickenskinmusic

When using charcoal, do you simply lay your wood of top of it to generate thin blue smoke?


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## shooterrick

Good smoke see Flash.  LOL


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## hounds51

Just got done smoking about 6lb of croaker on Saturday. Used Cure, Salt,Brown Sugar,Old Bay,Garlic powder for brine. Smoked with Hickory for about 8 hours. I used 2 (home made) smoke guns. And yes I had white smoke. White smoke aint all that bad if you can keep it moving. In Fact when they smoke Lebanon Belonga It is all white smoke!
There are different types of smoking. If you are using a small smoker, which many do here, then you want to either keep your smoke thin and blue (closed), or either white and movin (open). Either way you are altamatly going to be the judge of your finished product. If you like the way your food tastes, well then thats all that matters.


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## nickelmore

I'd like to see a pict of your setup,  and how you made your smokeguns.  


The one I made produces alot of smoke, seems to tast good,  never have had a problem of creosote build up on the meat.   But it is a challange in the pipes.

Home made smoke guns.....


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## Bearcarver

Thanks Hounds51, So if I'm getting a lot of heavy white smoke in my garbage can cold smoker, with my "Big Kahuna", I'll just crack the lid open enough to get it flowing more than normal. 
Unless anyone disagrees, that will be my plan on how to deal with it.

Thanks all,
Bearcarver


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## ol' smokey

My answer to your smoke question. 



Been using the large one for a couple of years now. What I've found to work for me is to have plenty of air flow. I keep the exhaust dampner wide open and adjust the intake dampner to control the smoke. I run the smoke generator with the air pump that was supplied. Also, because of moisture I only fill the unit about half full. This gives me enough smoke for around three hours. Keep trying until you have a handle on it.


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## fiddler252

Hi Group
This is Dennis AKA Porky Pa. I’m the guy that makes the Smoke Daddy. I’m happy to see that it is getting  good reviews. It is true that when it is first started it will smoke heavily but after 10-15 min it will settle down. The thing that is nice about it is you can experiment with different combinations of wood chips, pellets, chunks or twigs to get the color and amount of smoke you prefer for your size of smoker. 
Thanks Dennis


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## Bearcarver

Dennis,

Thank You for your comment. I would have rather heard you say the amount of smoke from the Big Kahuna doesn't matter. I already used it for salmon, and as long as I kept pushing the chips & pellets down with a screwdriver, the smoke was very thick. I figured if I didn't push the chips down, it would go out. If the guys who said I should not worry about the heavy smoke as long as I keep it moving are right, I'll just slide my "trash can lid open a little more, and keep on smoking. I'm starting 11 pounds of pork belly today, so we will see. I'm hoping they are right, because I doubt I'll hear from you before that.

Thanks,
Bearcarver


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## nickelmore

I think you will be fine,  play with air adjustment.  As a newbie, I was a little concerned with the amount of smoke as well, but my taste testers all seemed to be in agreement that it was good.

I had more consistant smoke if I layered the chips and pellets vs. mixing them together.

Good luck take some pictures!


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## mballi3011

I'm not a great user of the cold smoke unit but I see there quite a few of that could help you out.


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## gnubee

I have found that if you mix the pellets about 1/2 and 1/2 with larger wood chips you get a thinner bluer smoke. I also bleed off some of the extra smoke with a T fitting and a ball valve. I have the medium size and it puts out a lot of smoke, not as much as the kahuna but still a lot of smoke.


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## kingudaroad

I was also going to add that the size of the smoking fuel used makes a big difference. Wood chunks will be nice and thin and blue where as sawdust will be more billowy and white.


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## got14u

what I have done and I don't thin k it has been said yet is to use some lump coal in it as well as wood...I have used my big kahuana man y times and before i did this it billowed out white smoke also. now I crush up some royal oak and mix it with wood chips and it is perfect, I think about 1/4 of lump works good maybe just a tad more. give it a shot.


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## thadius65

One design flaw (at least with my Kahuna) is that after the first or second use, the air adjustment is non-functional.  It pretty much seizes up due to heat at the bottom and/or creasote finding its way to the valve, or ??  Mine is all the way open all the time.  i think moving that elsewhere in the air supply would be best.

Dennis?

Thanks,

Ted


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## hounds51

Think of these smoke guns as the old air tight wood burning stoves! Then design and build it. If you check some of my previous postings you will see mine. There really aint no mystery to them, just some common sense.


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## gnubee

I replaced the plastic valve that it came with. I got a brass one from an aquarium supply store $3.50. I also put it about 8 inches away from the smoke daddy. It now runs cool and has adjustment. I run it mostly wide open anyway but its nice to have the option. 

I forgot about putting in the charcoal chips, I like them because you get a bit of a smoke ring from them as well as they aid in the burning.

I never even thought about layering the pellets and chips , I will have to try that.


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## Bearcarver

Thadius, You're right about the valve. This was only the second time I used my Big Kahuna, and no matter where I move the little lever, it's always full blast. I don't quite understand that. I guess I'll have to put one in line some where.
I struggled through 4 hours of cold & warm smoking yesterday (Too much smoke---open lid a ways----not enough smoke---poke it with a screwdriver, etc, etc, etc), then put my bacon in the Masterbuilt for another 5 hours, bringing the internal temp up to 126* (I wasn't really concerned about the internal). I brought the temp up real slow, not going above 150*. It's cooling in my extra fridge right now. I'll let you all know how good it is when I slice & really test it. I guess I'll be slicing today or tomorrow.
I took a good amount of pics too.


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## thadius65

I poke down through the middle of the Kahuna about once a half hour to keep it rolling nicely.  THe last batch of Pork Tenderloins (brined over night, then air dryed with fan) had a smoke ring that went in over 1/4 " all the way around and the product tasted fantastic.  Used hickory chunks in GOSM and hickory pellets in the Big Kuhuna.

Works like a champ!


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## fiddler252

Hi Group 
This is the Smoke Daddy
Thanks for sharing your experiences with the Smoke Daddy. This helps me address any issues. I will look into the air valve and see if using a different one will work better. I’m  thinking the small aquarium valve inline will work. I think that running it wide open works best. When I use mine I run it wide open and adjust the smoke output  with different size wood chips or open the vents on the smoker. My main objective was to design a cold smoker that you could  use with fuels of your choice. I’m always trying different combination's. I’ve been happy with all the positive comments and feedback's. Do a web search 
for Smoke Daddy 
Thanks Dennis


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## nickelmore

Fiddler, first off great product, I have recommended it to a number of folks.

I opted to use an adjustable air pump with dual outputs which i run into a valve bank.  With this setup I can fine tune the air output and exhaust unused air.  

The other thing I did was run a 3 inch 1/8 inch pipe nipple on the inside of the bottom to bring the air closer to the burn point.   I may play with a cap with holes drilled in at angles to get a more complete even burn.

The best burns happen when I "layer" the chips and pellets.  I am going to trim down a "chunk and surround it with pellets.


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## Bearcarver

Dennis,
Don't get me wrong, I love my SmokeDaddy Big Kahuna. I just got a little worried about the talk about creosote from a lot of white smoke. Maybe it doesn't count when talking about smoke from the SmokeDaddy, because I just smoked some Salmon with a lot of heavy white smoke from the Big Kahuna, and I didn't taste any creosote. I did however keep my lid opened about an inch. I'm just trying to make adjustments to cut the smoke down a bit without letting all the heat out. I'm going to try an inline "T", with an adjustable valve on the leg going to the SmokeDaddy, so I can reduce the amount of air flow to the Kahuna without creating back pressure to the aquarium pump. The extra air flow should go out the other leg of the "T". Don't know if that will work, but that's my plan.


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## nickelmore

Bearcarver,  get yourself an adjustable pump.  They are available on ebay pretty reasonable.   I think I am using an Elite 803.  I open it all the way up when I light it up (about 15 min before I put anything in the smoker) and then throttle it down so it just barely keeps the chips burning.   I have air valve in-line t valve so I can also dump air.  With my setup I really don't think I need the in line valve, and I may eliminate it.

With "forced" smoke I'm not sure if we can ever obtain thin and blue, I just adjust my vents and air flow so that I just barely see any smoke out of the stack.

So far no one has complained,


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## Bearcarver

Thanks Nickelmore !

You woke me up. After you mentioned the adjustable pump, I ran down to my old fishing closet. I used to keep minnows alive in my basement with an electric pump. Then I would use battery operated ones to keep them alive on the road. I looked & looked for that old electric pump. I found it inside my old minnow bucket. IT STILL WORKS !!! It is an "A-807". It is adjustable, and goes from 500cc to 5500cc. That should solve my problem once I get used to using it.

THANKS Nick !
Bearcarver

PS: For long trips, we used to tape a funnel to the outside rearview mirror of my Dodge Pickup. Then run a plastic tube from the funnel, down through the window and into the minnow buckets. The faster I drove, the more air to the minnows.


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## forktender

You know your a redneck if ,

Too funny !!!
I love it..........................


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