New Meadow Creek TS70 Questions

[NovaBBQ1984]

Hi All,

I picked up my new Meadow Creek TS70 today and started playing around with it and I have a few questions that I was hoping the community could help with. I plan to do my first cook tomorrow but today got it fired up to the do the initial seasoning.

First off, I noticed there is a small hole on the bottom of the tank towards the fire box. At first I was wondered this was a mistake (since i saw smoke coming out of it) but then I started thinking that that was there to let water get out after washing. Just wanted to confirm with anyone that I am thinking correctly there.

Also, just wanted to see if anyone had any tips for fire lighting and getting the smoker up to temperature. I just followed the instructions provided in the manual today but I am sure there are other methods. I bought the charcoal basket insert. This is my first experience with an offset smoker (my first smoker is a WSM).

Thanks in advance!

 

[SmittyJonz]

Meadow Creek makes many of theirs to run on charcoal,I prefer wood in an offset. A few guys actually had trouble running on wood splits and had to modify the tuning plates or baffles in theirs - don't remember the model.
Here is Good Info on running an offset on wood.......

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=209208

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=143736

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=172050
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[Nuco59]

Maybe one day I can get a "big boy smoker" - that's a nice looking rig. There will be a learning curve as compared to the WSM- but if you do decide to burn wood in your offset, the rewards are more than worth it. Crack open your favorite beverage and take advantage of the search bar at the bottom of the page about the care and feeding of an offset. There's way more info than you can digest at one sitting. Take notes and have fun learning your new cooker.

 

[Halibrandet]

I have the meadow creek ts120 use nothing but wood , light it with a weed burner let it get to temp and settle in , and 1-2 splits an hour and it chugs along at 225-250 all day long .

 

[NovaBBQ1984]

Thanks for the tips. I have it going now with some ribs and chicken and so far so good. Did a much better job getting it up to temperature today than yesterday. I am using wood and lump charcoal.