# Grates inside the smoker



## Paulie Walnuts 440 (Apr 17, 2020)

Ive recently purchased a standard flow off set 250 gallon smoker and just got done seasoning the smoker. I cooked some food on it and noticed that on some of the plates we were eating on had some black residual left behind. Can anyone help me figure out what's going on because I did clean the grates.


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## kruizer (Apr 17, 2020)

If it is a used smoker, It may be flakes of creosote from the inside of the smoker. Just use a putty knife or similar tool and scrape the flaky stuff off of the inside and you will be good to go.


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## Paulie Walnuts 440 (Apr 17, 2020)

kruizer said:


> If it is a used smoker, It may be flakes of creosote from the inside of the smoker. Just use a putty knife or similar tool and scrape the flaky stuff off of the inside and you will be good to go.


Thank you for the information and it's a brand new smoker that I just seasoned. So I'm not sure why it's like that


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## Fueling Around (Apr 17, 2020)

I'm thinking some of the oil you used for seasoning charred  a bit.
It could also be creosote as 

 kruizer
 suggested from a cold smoker.


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## Paulie Walnuts 440 (Apr 17, 2020)

ok thank you both for replying and i followed the instructions to season the smoker. So i should try and scrape it off and reseason? I don't really see flakes just that the grate seems kind of dirty.  I'm new to this whole smoker world and i feel so over my head. I seasoned it with vegetable oil and brought temps to around 300 almost 325 for a couple hours . I attached pictures of what inside looked like before.


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## Fueling Around (Apr 17, 2020)

Hmm
Lots of maybe this maybe that.
I would season it a couple more times.  The grates need to get a cross between a flat top and cast iron seasoning.
Search for cast iron seasoning. I've never used it, but some swear by it for the proper treatment.


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## daveomak (Apr 18, 2020)

If the meat was "wet" on the surface, did not have a pellicle formed, the moisture sucked up the creosote from a "not clean fire"...  not enough air flow to consume the creosote...  not hot enough fire...
Get a good bed of coals and use splits about 2-2.5" square and have them dry and preheated...   make sure the wood is seasoned at least 6 months...
A good bed of coals should have the splits burst into flame within 30 seconds...  add a split about every 20-30 minutes to maintain the temp....
upper air inlets will add oxygen to consume creosote without adding air to the fire and increasing the smoker temp....










.....


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## ozzz (Apr 18, 2020)

Not sure how you seasoned it. But for me when I seasoned my offset the first time when it was new I cleaned the inside first all the dust and rust as much as I could. Then fired it up with the grates inside and keep the temp between 300 to 375 for 2 hours . Then after 2 hours I sprayed it with olive oil inside I really used a lot soaked everything real good. Then ran it for another 3 hours at 300 to 375 again. Now my grates are like non stick and the inside looks so good no flakes any where. I used sugar maple  wood for the seasoning because that's all I had at the time.  The manufacturer recommended apple wood.


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## Paulie Walnuts 440 (Apr 18, 2020)

Thank you guys for all of the great info! I cleaned the.grates up real good prior to seasoning then I used vegetable oil and sprayed all inside and used oak wood burning around 300 to 350 at times and did that for hours. I actually did a second day of just burning oak wood in the smoker at around 300 degrees to 325 for.hours. maybe i should get another nice burn in there? I noticed the black stuff from the hot dogs and the bacon but not really the beef or chicken


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## Paulie Walnuts 440 (Apr 18, 2020)

I just took out one of the grates and found them looking like this..i cleaned them up good before seasoning them..maybe needs more time to.season?


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## ozzz (Apr 18, 2020)

Is that rust on the grates


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## Paulie Walnuts 440 (Apr 18, 2020)

I think so I swore I cleaned everything up


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## ozzz (Apr 18, 2020)

I would clean up the rust spots with a wire brush and season again for a couple of hours.


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## Paulie Walnuts 440 (Apr 18, 2020)

Ok thanks it's weird because while I ran the smoker and seasoning I cleaned the grates and let air dry. The next day I added the grates and then sprayed them with oil and continued to season. I just noticed them when I took a picture and saw that


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## Paulie Walnuts 440 (Apr 18, 2020)

Any ideas how that may have happened? When I smoked meat yesterday non of it had any on it so I doubt it was dripping from the top


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## ozzz (Apr 18, 2020)

Maybe the rust formed when they air dried. When I washed my grates I had the smoker burning to start to burn off any crap before the seasoning so as soon as I finished washing them I put them in the hot smoker to dry.


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## Paulie Walnuts 440 (Apr 18, 2020)

Good idea and I'll clean them up with a wire brush and redo using your method.  Since they have been "seasoned" what method of cleaning would you suggest? Thanks for all your help by the way


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## ozzz (Apr 18, 2020)

I would just use wire brush to take off any rust and then wash with soap and water and put on hot smoker right away so no rust forms on metal. After they have been on smoker for a hour or more go ahead with the seasoning. Use lots of oil get it everywhere in the smoker also on both sides of the grates then let it run 300 to 375 for a couple of hours.


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## Paulie Walnuts 440 (Apr 18, 2020)

Ok sounds good thank you for the tip. I have a friend repairing some issues i discovered with a newly shipped smoker.  Had to tow it out to welder to repair and paint.


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## ozzz (Apr 18, 2020)

You only need to paint exterior of smoker. I would not paint inside just clean rust as much as possible and go ahead and season.


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## Paulie Walnuts 440 (Apr 18, 2020)

Yes I'm just removing the rust after the welds are fixed them painting outside . I just didn't expect to spend thousands to find rust on my product I only had for one day.


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## Fueling Around (Apr 18, 2020)

Seeing more of the picture, I'm disappointed in the manufacturer of the smoker.
They know that raw steel and especially welded seams rust very quickly.
They should have sprayed with mineral oil.

Ask for a return


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## Paulie Walnuts 440 (Apr 18, 2020)

Ya I'm extremely disappointed not because I spent money on it but the fact that the product was sent out like that and only for me to find. I'm told I can't get a refund and that he will pay for the repairs. I'm waiting until this gets fixed and then paid by them and then I will expose this company as they are based in TN and people should he aware of them . I don't know if they constantly produce this way but i did find a YouTube video with the same company and complaints.


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## ozzz (Apr 19, 2020)

The right thing for the manufacture to do would be to send you another new smoker that is in perfect condition plus some extra options or a discount on the price for your inconvenience. The welds and patches are very unacceptable.


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## Paulie Walnuts 440 (Apr 19, 2020)

I agree with you entirely and it came from western TN and i live in PA so it was shipped to me on a flat bed trailer and was custom built which really wouldn't be hard for him to sell it. Im kicking myself and wishing i went with a Lang or like east texas smoker co. This guy is a hack


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## ozzz (Apr 19, 2020)

Well the weld repairs should not cost to much. Best to get it done so you can put this behind you and start some good smoking.


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## Paulie Walnuts 440 (Apr 19, 2020)

Ya that's kind of where I'm at right now I have a friend taking care of the welds for me now and sending bill to the manufacturer. I checked all my grates and found only one had that rust on it the others were.black.but still had some residual on it. What kind of brush and bristles they made of thay you recommend


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## daveomak (Apr 19, 2020)

Do NOT use a wire bristled brush....   Emergency rooms have found broken off bristles lodged in throats of folks that have eaten BBQ....


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## ozzz (Apr 19, 2020)

A wire brush that welders use or even a good bbq brush with wire bristles.


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## ozzz (Apr 19, 2020)

Yes this is correct about the wire brush but to use once just for this and wash and inspect grates after to make sure there are no wire pieces on them should be fine.


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## BG-IA (Apr 29, 2020)

Paulie Walnuts 440 said:


> Ya I'm extremely disappointed not because I spent money on it but the fact that the product was sent out like that and only for me to find. I'm told I can't get a refund and that he will pay for the repairs. I'm waiting until this gets fixed and then paid by them and then I will expose this company as they are based in TN and people should he aware of them . I don't know if they constantly produce this way but i did find a YouTube video with the same company and complaints.



I have a feeling I know exactly who you're talking about.  My build took about 5 months longer than quoted with ZERO communication, but after hearing other people's horror stories I feel like I got out of there relatively unscathed.


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