[Dr_KY]

Originally Posted by mistertom

I think that I will move the venturi/ smoke outlet to the top for sure. It still seems to get a cemented mass of char just above above the outlet. In all of my previous hot smokers my wood (maple) has burned completely to a white ash. I was hoping to use this for cold smoke only. Without an external source of heat/combustion it seems that the pellets only char and do not burn completely.

Dr KY, was that your experience? Or do your pellets combust completely?

I agree with Mo-Dave and do much the same. I ran a mixture of pellets and chips and do tend to get a bit of resin inside only if the air is at too high a pressure. Haven't had any problems with bridging or masses though. I truly believe that blowing from the top works out best and keeps the design simple. In the past I did the bottom thing but had more issues.