# Protect A-MAZE-N Pellet Smoker From Drippings



## bpscg (Jul 15, 2019)

Haven't been here in quite a while, so apologies if this is a topic that's been beaten to death.

Smoke Hollow 38" is going to be delivered Wednesday* and I ordered stuff to go with it, most prominently the AMPS. I've seen a number of ideas for how to keep the drippings from falling into the smoker, and I was wondering why not just put the smoker into the chip pan and put the lid on top?

It seems like such a simple and obvious solution, so I assume there must be some flaw in the method that will burn down every house on the block and my cat.

* "Having is not so good a thing as wanting. It is not logical, but it is true." -- Spock, "Amok Time"


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## SmokinVOLfan (Jul 15, 2019)

Forgive my knowledge but is the smoke hollow a gas or an electric?  If my knowledge serves its electric but could be wrong. Will the tray fit in the chip pan? I’ve got a propane smoke vault and I put the AMNPS on the pan when I cold smoke but might be difficult doing that while heat is on


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## bpscg (Jul 16, 2019)

SmokinVOLfan said:


> Forgive my knowledge but is the smoke hollow a gas or an electric?  If my knowledge serves its electric but could be wrong. Will the tray fit in the chip pan? I’ve got a propane smoke vault and I put the AMNPS on the pan when I cold smoke but might be difficult doing that while heat is on


It's gas. Don't know yet if the AMNPS will fit in the chip pan. Maybe that's the issue. But assuming it does, why not do it?


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## SmokinVOLfan (Jul 16, 2019)

bpscg said:


> It's gas. Don't know yet if the AMNPS will fit in the chip pan. Maybe that's the issue. But assuming it does, why not do it?



If its anything like my smoke vault the flame hits the bottom of the chip pan causing the wood to catch and hence the smoke. That would be a lot of heat on the AMNPS and pellets and they might just burn up. I believe the AMNTS tube works better in the gas rigs. Might check into that


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## zwiller (Jul 16, 2019)

+1.  Maybe hang on to the tray for cold smoking.  When you get your smoker (CONGRATS!) post some pics and we can offer better ideas.  Highly recommend the @normanaj u bolt mod for the tube.


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## daveomak (Jul 16, 2019)

The gas flame will consume the oxygen and the pellets will not burn...  The chip pan could also be air tight enough, the pellets will not burn...
I solved all the above issues by using a Mail Box mod...


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## bpscg (Jul 18, 2019)

SmokinVOLfan said:


> If its anything like my smoke vault the flame hits the bottom of the chip pan causing the wood to catch and hence the smoke. That would be a lot of heat on the AMNPS and pellets and they might just burn up.



Arrived yesterday, assembled, seasoned, and tested. The flame doesn't hit the bottom of the chip pan, but it comes real close. so you may be right. I tried putting the AMZNPS (or whatever the proper acronym is for the maze pellet smoker) on TOP of the chip holder, but it doesn't fit; not enough room under the water bucket. Thinking maybe I'll just do an aluminum foil tent each time, unless someone else has a better idea (would be shocking of someone didn't...).


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## bpscg (Jul 18, 2019)

zwiller said:


> +1.  Maybe hang on to the tray for cold smoking.  When you get your smoker (CONGRATS!) post some pics and we can offer better ideas.  Highly recommend the @normanaj u bolt mod for the tube.



Here are some pictures. I fired it up and got it to 250 degrees before trying to put the AMZNPS in between the chip box and the water dish, to see if the flame would make the smoking chips simply catch fire. Turned out it didn't fit, so I turned off the gas and just let the AMZNPS do its thing. Put out more smoke than the Chicago fire.

Anyway, here are some pictures. I was going to look for a small handheld butan torch, then I remembered I'd liberated a propane torch from my parents' house many many years ago...


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## bpscg (Jul 18, 2019)

zwiller said:


> +1.  Maybe hang on to the tray for cold smoking.  When you get your smoker (CONGRATS!) post some pics and we can offer better ideas.  Highly recommend the @normanaj u bolt mod for the tube.



Here are some pictures. I fired it up and got it to 250 degrees before trying to put the AMZNPS in between the chip box and the water dish, to see if the flame would make the smoking chips simply catch fire. Turned out it didn't fit, so I turned off the gas and just let the AMZNPS do its thing. Put out more smoke than the Chicago fire.

Anyway, here are some pictures. I was going to look for a small handheld butan torch, then I remembered I'd liberated a propane torch from my parents' house many many years ago...
	

		
			
		

		
	

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## SmokinVOLfan (Jul 18, 2019)

Might be a little tough to run the pellet tray in your propane rig. In my smoke vault I will put 2-3 good size wood chunks on the chip pan and usually get a couple hours of smoke without having to add anything else. Little more than set and forget but not bad at all


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## zwiller (Jul 19, 2019)

Don't be afraid to get creative.  My AMNPS doesn't fit in the bottom of my MES like it was designed so I had to improvise but it still works awesome.  Try removing chip pan and put a paver there with AMNPS on top.  Or place drip (water) pan on last rack on top and place AMNPS on top of chip pan.  I'd do a couple of dry runs and experiments to see if you can get the tray to stay lit awhile and seasoning the smoker.  IIRC the issue with the tray and gassers is lack of oxygen which is used for combustion.  The tube is supposed make up for that.  The ultimate solution is the mailbox mod but you may find something works.  A tube in the bottom left or right could very well work.  Definitely keep vents wide open and no water in pan.  I foil it and use it for drop pan and shield for AMNPS. Remember you want TBS not white smoke.  Less is best.


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## bpscg (Jul 19, 2019)

zwiller said:


> Don't be afraid to get creative.  My AMNPS doesn't fit in the bottom of my MES like it was designed so I had to improvise but it still works awesome.  Try removing chip pan and put a paver there with AMNPS on top.  Or place drip (water) pan on last rack on top and place AMNPS on top of chip pan.  I'd do a couple of dry runs and experiments to see if you can get the tray to stay lit awhile and seasoning the smoker.  IIRC the issue with the tray and gassers is lack of oxygen which is used for combustion.  The tube is supposed make up for that.  The ultimate solution is the mailbox mod but you may find something works.  A tube in the bottom left or right could very well work.  Definitely keep vents wide open and no water in pan.  I foil it and use it for drop pan and shield for AMNPS. Remember you want TBS not white smoke.  Less is best.


 Thanks. Running a test right now with the AMPS on the floor right next to the burner. Have the fire as low as possible because it's 90 in the shade here today and I can't get the temperature below 250. But the AMZPS has been in there about ten minutes and it's smoking happily; I'm going to give it another 15 before opening the bottom door again to see whether it's still smoking or has caught fire. Damper is about 1/2 shut, which, if I understand the process correctly, means lower temperature due to less air, and more smoke. Will report back.


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## bpscg (Jul 19, 2019)

bpscg said:


> But the AMZPS has been in there about ten minutes and it's smoking happily; I'm going to give it another 15 before opening the bottom door again to see whether it's still smoking or has caught fire.


Yeah, it caught fire right at the spot where it's closest to the burner. Looks like a trip to Home Depot for a paver. Or maybe I'll just place it on the bottom rack and tent it with foil.


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## zwiller (Jul 19, 2019)

Don't know how much you smoke but 2 racks is plenty for my family of 4 and we have tons of leftovers.  I put AMNPS on bottom rack and foiled drip tray on rack directly above.  Easy peasy and no trip to Home Despot.  I like your foil idea as well and think there are some that do that here.  If you go to HD I think they carry Amazen stuff so pick up a tube to play with.  Very wise to run some tests before the smoke!


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## bpscg (Jul 19, 2019)

zwiller said:


> Don't know how much you smoke but 2 racks is plenty for my family of 4 and we have tons of leftovers.  I put AMNPS on bottom rack and foiled drip tray on rack directly above.


I smoked 3 racks a week or so ago for a big family gathering on my 10-year old el cheapo Lowe's Master Forge. At 5-1/2 hours, I checked it and when I opened the door, I heard a metallic clank and the flame went out. Turned out the aluminum venturi, connected to a steel plate on the smoker body, had fallen off because the plate was rusted.

I was able to jerry-rig a fix to connect the venturi back to the plate, but the flame was pretty irregular - very yellow - and face it, it was just a matter of time before the steel plate rusted some more and the venturi would fall off again. So I said my farewells to the smoker - it died a hero - and put it at the curb when my new one arrived. Listed it on Craigslist under "free stuff" and it disappeared overnight.

One reason I got this smoker is because it's wide enough to handle full racks without having to cut them in half first. So even if I do three racks again, I'll still have a fourth that I can line with aluminum foil to catch the drippings; the water pan and chip box aren't remotely wide enough to cover the entire width.

(Photo: The late, great el cheapo Master Forge - R.I.P.)


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## bpscg (Jul 20, 2019)

Saturday morning.

Fired up the smoker and the AMNPS. Smoker steady at 220-230. AMNPS smoking cheerfully. One rack inside. AMNPS on bottom shelf.

Check fifteen minutes later. No smoke coming out of the damper. Peek inside. AMNPS not doing anything.

Long story short: I tried all kinds of adjustments to flame size, damper opening, AMNPS position, relighting the AMNPS as necessary. Squat. Bad words. Wife washes mouth out with soap.

Finally, pulled out the chip box - it sits on top of a wire rack. Put the AMNPS on the wire rack. That was about 25 minutes ago and the smoker is holding steady at 220 and I still have TBS.

Not declaring victory yet, but it looks promising.


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## bpscg (Jul 20, 2019)

bpscg said:


> Finally, pulled out the chip box - it sits on top of a wire rack. Put the AMNPS on the wire rack. That was about 25 minutes ago and the smoker is holding steady at 220 and I still have TBS.
> 
> Not declaring victory yet, but it looks promising.


 Clarification: I took out the water pan and moved the wire rack that holds the chip box up in its place, so the AMNPS was less exposed to the flame of the burner. Seems  to have worked well. First smoke here - raspberry-glazed St. Louis ribs. Recipe here: https://www.smoking-meat.com/july-2-2019-jazzed-up-raspberry-glazed-pork-ribs

Note: The pan the ribs are sitting in fits very neatly in the smoker. Since the recipe says you can leave the ribs in the pan while smoking, that's what I did. So no cleanup necessary, and no problem with dripping into the AMNPS.


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