# First time disaster



## Fish'nSmoke (Jan 21, 2021)

I got a Masterbuilt electric smoker for Christmas and bought a pellet tube to do cold smoking and such. Today I tried to cold smoke a block of Tilamook cheddar and a 1lb block of pepper jack. After 1.5 hours it was looking great! Pellet tube was smoking great, no melting, oil seeping from the cheese. I put cheese on top right, tube on bottom left. As far away as possible. Smoker was off and just used as a vessel to smoke in. At 3 hours I went and checked and WOW! The cheese had melted some, was black, formed a crust around the outside and was gooey in the middle. What did I do wrong? I cut a few small chunks to try tonight and they are in the pic. The blocks got wrapped and put in the fridge from what ive read makes the smoke go through the whole thing. Either way I know this isn't how it's supposed to look. Help. Please!


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## SmokeyLee15 (Jan 21, 2021)

How did it taste?


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## BB-que (Jan 21, 2021)

seems somehow the smoke got stuck in the chamber and just smoked the hell out of it.  A tube generates very little heat so the fact it melted some dodo makes me think you somehow didn’t get a draft going, the smoke had nowhere to escape.  Did you have the top draft open?   Other people are much more knowledgeable about the MES so sure somebody will help.


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## Brokenhandle (Jan 21, 2021)

I believe the tube puts out more heat than the tray does.  Also many that have a mes use a mailbox mod to clean up the smoke and dissipate the heat and many also use dust instead of pellets... still less heat and a cleaner smoke. Did you have an accurate probe at grate level to check your temps?

Ryan


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## indaswamp (Jan 21, 2021)

A pellet tube with pellets will put out thick white smoke when trying to use it for cold smoking. It is best to use Dave's pellet dust when cold smoking using a tube.

Dave's pellet dust - just take the pellets, put them in a bowl and wet them with water then allow them to swell up. Chop the dust up with a spoon to make sure all the pellets are wet and broken apart. Add just enough water to get the pellets to all break up. they should be damp when done-not soaking wet. Place wet pellet dust on a cookie sheet and bake @200*F for 2 hours then turn off oven and leave in oven overnight. Pellets should be dry by morning.


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## Fish'nSmoke (Jan 21, 2021)

Responding to all. Had the chip hopper pulled out and top vent half open.  I thought about the tray but went with the square tube for whatever reason. I think maybe the wind shifted and kept the air from going in where the chip dispenser goes. But really no idea.


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## mike243 (Jan 22, 2021)

Welcome to the site, open top vent all the way and don't lay tube down flat because that can cause it to burn faster/more heat , set it as close to vertical as possible


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## BandCollector (Jan 22, 2021)

I usually use my Big Chief Smoker along with Todd's pellet tube.

The pellet tube creates a great deal of smoke so ventilation is most critical (as mentioned above).

Since the chamber I am using is relatively small,  I increase the ventilation by cracking the door open depending upon how much smoke I see being generated.  The more smoke the wider the opening in the door.







The additional ventilation does the trick, thus a cooler, less dense,  and cleaner smoke for a better tasting cheese.

I hope this helps,

John


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## dirtsailor2003 (Jan 22, 2021)

Looking at the coloring it appears that at some point your tube went from smoldering to full ignition.

Making sure that the tube is just smoldering during the cook is crucial. As mentioned tilting the burning end up a bit or making a tube holder that will keep the tube off the surface will help. In my smoker I put mine partially in the water pan and partially out.

I've never had an issue using just pellets. I did try the dust in the tube and found that the burn time was faster. 

Also as mentioned above for cold smoking more ventilation is better. You'll get better smoke and less heat. I leave all vents wide open.

Here's a few links for you to look at:





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						Cheeesus and nuts! 18" AMNTS (Q-VIEW)
					

Wrapping up the holiday gift crates, just a few more cheeses and Scarbelly's sweet and spicy nuts.    Firing up the AMNTS      Into the smoke!    Out of the smoker. Pepper Jack, Gouda, Muenster    I found these at the dollar store there's two per pack. I modified one for the nuts.    Snipped the...




					www.smokingmeatforums.com
				








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						Oh Sweet Cheesus and eggs!!!
					

Load number two of the Holiday cheese. This time 10 pounds. 5 pounds Tillamook medium Cheddar. 5 pounds Colby. I have been buying the cheese this year at Cash & Carry, average price has been $12 per 5# brick, or $2.40/#.  Just a we bit better than the grocery store. I hate to waste grate space...




					www.smokingmeatforums.com
				








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						Tillamook time
					

Pepper jack and medium cheddar. There's nothing better!  Apple pellets I. The expando tube. Not sure what the temp is outside, but it's cold!        Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk




					www.smokingmeatforums.com
				









						Dirtsailor's Mega Mother of all Cooking links index
					

Well it took me a while to compile all the information, but I finally completed my Links List. Have fun reading, and if you try any of my smokes let me know!  Please note that these are not "Step by Step" instructions. What you will find though, usually in the first post, sometimes a few posts...




					www.smokingmeatforums.com


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## Fish'nSmoke (Jan 22, 2021)

mike243 said:


> Welcome to the site, open top vent all the way and don't lay tube down flat because that can cause it to burn faster/more heat , set it as close to vertical as possible


I was wondering about that. I laid it flat and I think what someone else mentioned happened, that it caught fire and was burning and got way to hot. I will keep it vertical next time.


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## Fish'nSmoke (Jan 22, 2021)

This is how i did it. Next time I'll put the tube vertical and open the top vent all the way and leave the chip hopper out. 

How long do you all smoke cheese for?


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## Brokenhandle (Jan 22, 2021)

I usually go 4 hours with apple pellets in amnps tray. But every one s taste are different,  it's kinda a trial until you find what you like best.

Ryan


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## Winterrider (Jan 22, 2021)

I also did 4 hrs Pecan dust in mailbox mod the other day. Sun shining on smoker, but stayed around 68° the whole time


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## cmayna (Jan 22, 2021)

Yes, it looks like your pellet tube caught on fire.  You might consider doing the mailbox mod, not just for cold smoking but hot smoking as well.  I've had great luck using dust for all my cold smokings.


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## Fish'nSmoke (Jan 22, 2021)

cmayna said:


> Yes, it looks like your pellet tube caught on fire.  You might consider doing the mailbox mod, not just for cold smoking but hot smoking as well.  I've had great luck using dust for all my cold smokings.


What is the mailbox mod? On the pellet tube? 

I used Peach/Pecan chips I got from Bass Pro. They are cabelas brand for what it's worth.


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## Fish'nSmoke (Jan 23, 2021)

Also my tube is a square Carpathean Z Smoker tube if that matters too.


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