I Hate To Kick a Dead Dog But ....
 

Yep. Me to, White Smoke in UDS.

Last time we talked about my issue we discovered I had a major creosote issue. It was determined that I did not have enough ventilation with my 4 3/4" elbowed vents. I was told to use the 2" bung on top instead.

Yesterdays cook was simple. Sausage like you get at Randevouz in Memphis. This was so I could test the using 2" bung and nothing more. Same issue, very thick white smoke, major creosote taste after cooked. Got the crappy taste and numb, burning tongue. Using RO lump at the 250 degree mark. Cooked sausage for 1 hour like I did the first time that it turned out great.

I am thinking a few things:

1) I need to loose them 18" black pipe risers and go ball valves straight out of the drum and still use my black pipe capped intake as well.

2) Start using bricks instead of lump.

3) Let fire settle in long before putting food on.

My first 2 cooks were great and food tasted as it should have. Mouth watering greatness! These last two cooks, I used the same lighting and fire settling in techniques that I used the first 2 good cooks except these last two had issues.

On another note, my lid is covered with dripping black liquid smoke. ( ??? ) Should I clean this off after each use to keep it from dripping back on food? I never cleaned the UDS after the first creosote fiasco.

Thanks for taking a look folks.

Ray

I would wash out drum and reseason it plus what You suggest above. I cook on White smoke more than blue smoke but it is lighter than heavy start up smoke 30-45 minutes oughta be enuff start up time before meat goes on.

I cleAn out and reseason my UDS every 8-9-10 months or so

Dj you have about 1/4 of the exhaust you should have which is causing much of your problems.

Because of that you're not getting as hot of a fire as you need and that's causing the bad smoke and the drippy mess you're describing.

Use the bung holes

Your on the right track I can tell you it is not the lump causing you the problem it burns cleaner that briquettes. I think the problem you having is not letting the fire get burning clean enough from the start.
This is how I light mine:
Pack the basket with 3-5 manfist sized chunks of wood and Lump lower into drum
Light up a chimney with 25 briquettes and when the flames are visible out the top and I see TBS dump on top of the basket of Lump & Chunks
Leave the lid off and watch the installed thermo and the rising smoke
When my thermo gets to 175-200(depending on the atmospheric condt.) the smoke will thin out to Tbs put the lid on and cap off a nipple and close my valve by 1/4 it settles out at 275 producing TBS ready to cook in less than 15- 20 min from dropping the coals.

Start with the same # of briquettes everytime this is key as it make things predictable.
Don't put on the lid until you see TBS rising.
Know your settings for your Desired temp. So when you close up the highhat your in the grove.

It's definitely not the lump charcoal.. I can't use Kingsford briquettes because I am used to the clean burning smell of lump.

I used some "green" wood once and got that nastiness on a couple of chickens. It wasn't so green sap was oozing or nothing, but it didn't split real clean and the little splinters had some bend left to em.
My drum looks alot like yours. I got 4 risers. I couldn't get my temp over 330 ish. I've only cooked on mine once. I'm trying to replace my 18" pipes with 8" pipes. Work, the holiday, kids, you name and it's stopping me.

Wash out your drum and re-season, a good step one. That is not the big problem, but, it won't help. If the inside of your drum stinks, the food will stink.

Now, I think you are not letting the drum come to temperature. There are a lot of drums with the black elbow configuration for intakes, they can work. The 2 inch bung hole should be enough, and you have those others as well. You could figure out a small stack for the bung hole, those are a nice aid.

The real issue, I believe, is timing of the fire. I am a strong believe that at least 45 minutes and better, an hour, should pass before you add food. This makes for a very stable bed of coals, and alleviated the inevitable drop in temps when the lid opens and a large mass of cold meat is added. Further, you should never add food if you see white smoke. There will be some smoking after you add food, but, it should be minimal. If it is TBS or non-visible, before you add food, and then it gets white, your fire was not stable.

That's just it. This time, I left my elbows plugged and used the 2" bung instead. I am going to try and pick up a nice se3ction of pipe and make a stack for it with a decent rain cap.

I did fail to add that the wood I am using is the chunks that come in a bag from Wally World. Some had the bark on them still. Before it hits the basket, said bark is stripped off.

I am taking a wild stab at the fact that everyone is correct in saying I am not letting my fire settle in good enough first. I normally got food on the racks at the 15-20 minute mark.

I am going to clean the old girl out today and re season it as suggested. The barrel does smell like the food tasted. Creosote nasty! Any suggestions on cleaning methods? I am under the impression to not ever use a hose in a smoker.

Hopefully I can get back on track like my first 2 cooks. The wife is loosing faith in me quickly. :doh:

And I REALLY do appreciate all your replies thus far. You all are the reason this is the greatest Que forum on the net today!

I scrub mine with dish soap n water and scrub brush on a stick and rinse with water hose.

Toss it in the bask of the truck and take a ride to the car wash with a bottle of simple green. Use the degreaser/engine cleaner then the simple green. Turn it Bottom up and let it drain, wipe it down and re season. I pressure wash mine a few times a year.

Yea a hot fire is key...and a hot fire doesn't necessarily mean hot temps if you have good ventilation.

time for my two cents worth of opinion....:wink:

click on the link under my signature.....

I wondered how long it would be before ya showed up on this N8man

Remember that just because your drum is at the temperature you want, doesn't mean your fire is ready to cook on just yet.

???

My drum normally takes about 45 mins to 1 hour to stabilize and ready for food.

For example, my sequence is, with everything +- a few minutes:

12:00 - Light ~20 - 25 briquette
12:10 - Add briquettes to basket. Basket in, racks in, diffuser in, thermos set - No rush, let those briquettes flare up some. Lid on Drum. All valves open.
12:40 - 12:50 Drum hitting 250* - 260* @ center. Close nipples, adjust 1" ball valve (typically wide open). Still lots of ugly white smoke at this point.
1:00 - Drum has settled in in the 260* - 270* range, thin blue smoke. I put the meat on here. I like to know that the temp is locked in for a good 10 - 20 mins before putting food on.

After I put the food on, I try not to look at the thermos for a good 30 mins - hour. Typically, the food is so close to any probe that it will lie. Just trust the initial temp you got the drum going to that it will revert to that.


That way has worked for me. Though, I keep thinking about doing it similar to the way BluDawg and Pitbarrelcooker.com does. ie, leave the top off while coming up to temp.