Thin blue with BGE and Stoker

rossmatt06 · Aug 18, 2011

I've noticed that when I use to stoker on my BGE I can't maintain a constant flow of thin blue. It will smoke while the smoker is coming up to temp but will sputter out once the BGE is heat soaked. The fan rarely blows at this point so airflow is limited. I have at least 10 chunks intermixed throughout the lump. Any advice?

Smoker101 · Aug 18, 2011

i think you need to give it to me and let me test it out. i don't think you are using it right...lol :heh:

Groundhog66 · Aug 18, 2011

You won't see much constant smoke with a BGE due to it's efficiency, but it's there.

NCSU-Q · Aug 18, 2011

I agree... you won't see much smoke, but I firmly believe that it is there.

Especially if you only have the "petals" on the daisy wheel about 1/2 open or less. You aren't producing a ton of smoke, but also, not a lot is escaping. If the stoker isnt blowing it out the top, it is just hovering inside there around the meat. Just make sure that your wood chunks are touching your lit coals.

JS-TX · Aug 18, 2011

Cooking at a higher temp may also help.

aquablue22 · Aug 18, 2011

I think the other problem is when you use a stoker on an egg you end up with a "column" of burn and if there is not wood in that column you get no smoke. I have found that when I use my Auber and blower on my Egg the fire actually burns a round column from bottom of fire up and then spreads out in an almost perfect circle. I did some butts once for 16 hours, cause I could, and was amazed at how little lump was burned and how perfect the circle was. I have since started mixing chunk and chips into the place i think i will get the most burn and get much better smoke.

Grabnabber · Aug 18, 2011

With my eggs I'll often not even be able to see any smoke once the fire is stable, but I can smell the scent of smoke if I take a sniff near the daisy wheel. Whatever meat I'm cooking definitely gets that smoke flavor. :biggrin1:

JS-TX · Aug 18, 2011

aquablue22 said:
I think the other problem is when you use a stoker on an egg you end up with a "column" of burn and if there is not wood in that column you get no smoke. I have found that when I use my Auber and blower on my Egg the fire actually burns a round column from bottom of fire up and then spreads out in an almost perfect circle. I did some butts once for 16 hours, cause I could, and was amazed at how little lump was burned and how perfect the circle was. I have since started mixing chunk and chips into the place i think i will get the most burn and get much better smoke.

I've seen this effect w/my stoker as well. Maybe it's because it uses very little fuel. I wonder if you went 25+ hours if it all would be spent.

Smoker101 · Aug 18, 2011

i work with matt, and i think he said that he went 24 hours with one 8 pound bag of cowboy lump. and still had maybe 4 hours left of what remained at the bottom. all i know is that his food is GOOD!

rossmatt06 · Aug 21, 2011

I went 16 hours and it used about a half a bag of cowboy lump. I noticed the column of burnt charcoal you were talking about so next time I will add more chunks towards the center. The pork butt still had a 1/4" smoke ring so you were correct that the smoke is still there even though you can't see much of it. Thank you for all of your help!

bigsapper · Aug 21, 2011

Grabnabber said:
With my eggs I'll often not even be able to see any smoke once the fire is stable, but I can smell the scent of smoke if I take a sniff near the daisy wheel. Whatever meat I'm cooking definitely gets that smoke flavor. :biggrin1:

This. (but I don't use a Stoker)

Anything @ 250 or below indicated produces little to no noticeable smoke once the temp stabilizes. If I crank it just a little I'll stark getting visible smoke again.

rossmatt06 · Aug 21, 2011

That might be my problem also. I typically run at 230*

GreenDrake · Aug 22, 2011

If I need a quick infusion I will pop the dome and toss in a handful of pellets or chips. What a fella needs to invent is a ratchet like inexpensive device that can be slipped into the draft door and will rotate or shift the base plate to knock loose ash into the catch basin of ceramic grills. I noticed the ash buildup in my base after a long butt smoke yesterday, was choking my remaining coals a bit...stoker had a tough time getting hotter at the end of the cook when I wanted to ramp it up a bit.

Thin blue with BGE and Stoker

rossmatt06

Knows what a fatty is.

Smoker101

Knows what a fatty is.

Groundhog66

Babbling Farker

NCSU-Q

Guest

JS-TX

is One Chatty Farker

aquablue22

Babbling Farker

Grabnabber

Babbling Farker

JS-TX

is One Chatty Farker

Smoker101

Knows what a fatty is.

rossmatt06

Knows what a fatty is.

bigsapper

Take a breath!

rossmatt06

Knows what a fatty is.

GreenDrake

is Blowin Smoke!

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