# Problems with chips, what brand are you all using?



## mikedaub (Jun 7, 2017)

Just curious what brand of chips everyone else is using in their MES smokers?  I only ask because I have been having some big time creosote problems with my Cold Smoker attachment.

Before every smoking session, I completely scrub and clean out the shoot on the inside of the cold smoker.  And even with it being as clean as I can get it, with in 2-3 hours, there is so much creosote built up, chips don't even fall down anymore.  It gets to be so bad, that the creosote runs down the back of the unit and completely ruins whatever the smoker is sitting on.  I have built a plywood box, 1) to help rise it up a bit and 2)to soak up anything that leaks out of the unit..

Sorry for the horrible photos, but you can see, after about 2 hours, this is what is pouring out the back of the unit..













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As a Mainer who heats his house only with wood, I understand creosote.. When the cold air meets the hot air, that is when things happen and creosote starts to form, usually from non-seasoned wood.  There should be no reason that after a few hours this happens in the smoker...  This last run of smoking was Memorial Day weekend, and temps were in the 70s...

I sent images over to Masterbuilt, and talked to them through email and on the phone, and they said the main reason for this is that Western chips are known to cause this exact problem.  I was told to just head to my local grocery store and get some different chips. However, in rural Maine, the only thing any local store has is Western brand chips..  All the chips I have bought have come from Amazon and are stored in their bags in a temperature controlled basement, at about 55-60 degrees..

Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions here? Think it is the wood, should I dry it out, or just find a different brand?  FWIW, this same thing happens both cold and hot smoking, and I have used about 5-7 different woods that it happens with, so I can't imagine I got that much "wet" wood..


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## daveomak (Jun 7, 2017)

Is the exhaust wide open on the smoker ??  It should be....    Pull the chip loader tube out about 1" to increase air flow...   Have the tube in the dump position...

See if that helps....


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## mikedaub (Jun 7, 2017)

DaveOmak said:


> Is the exhaust wide open on the smoker ??  It should be....    Pull the chip loader tube out about 1" to increase air flow...   Have the tube in the dump position...
> 
> See if that helps....


The exhaust has been anywhere between wide open and near closed, as well as the internal chip loader in place, or completely removed..  No combination has any effect on it..

For the tube in the dump position, I can't have the tube dumper in, as that is where the cold smoker attaches to the MES..


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## daveomak (Jun 7, 2017)

Is there an air inlet on the cold smoker ??


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## mikedaub (Jun 7, 2017)

DaveOmak said:


> Is there an air inlet on the cold smoker ??


No..  The only openings are where you put the chips in, and the ask drawer..  If I try to prop the door open for where the chips go, smoke backs out from there, and never actually enters the smoke box..


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## daveomak (Jun 7, 2017)

Strange....   anyhow.....   dry the chips, in your smoker at 275 to several hours...  the temp needs to be that dry to drive the moisture from the cell walls in the chips...    See if that helps...   

I would figure out where to drill a hole, in the cold smoker, to allow for air flow...   Fresh air will oxidize the creosote to a certain degree.....      

Air inlet when I smoke using pellets....   Air is a very important part of making clean smoke....













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## bregent (Jun 8, 2017)

Mikedaub said:


> Just curious what brand of chips everyone else is using in their MES smokers?  I only ask because I have been having some big time creosote problems with my Cold Smoker attachment.
> 
> Before every smoking session, I completely scrub and clean out the shoot on the inside of the cold smoker.  And even with it being as clean as I can get it, with in 2-3 hours, there is so much creosote built up, chips don't even fall down anymore.  It gets to be so bad, that the creosote runs down the back of the unit and completely ruins whatever the smoker is sitting on.  I have built a plywood box, 1) to help rise it up a bit and 2)to soak up anything that leaks out of the unit..
> 
> ...


Your problem is not uncommon with the cold smoker accessory. There are a few things you can try. First of all, I found that Little Chief Smokehouse chips are very fine, and burn quickly if the power is left on. If you're using a fine chip, try powering the unit off after it gets smoking for a while. You could also try switching to a larger chip, like Western or Weber, or even chunks as these seem to generate less creosote in this smoker. Finally, what many folks do is use a dimmer to reduce the power of the heater to about 75%. Try some of those suggestions and see if it works better.


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## mikedaub (Jun 12, 2017)

Thanks all for the help.  I might try switching over to a different brand of chips or try drying out the bags of chips I already have (I probably have about 8 different bags at this point).  It almost seems ot me like there isn't enough air flow coming from the unit, into the smoker and out the exhaust... Maybe I need to try and modify the cold smoker a bit and put a hole in it, that I can cover up later..


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