Good smoke vs Bad smoke

[Cobra7]

Bought my first off-set today and wanted to know what the difference was between good smoke and bad smoke?

[grantw]

That looks pretty white man, smaller hotter fire, ya got abit of smoldering going on there

[IamMadMan]

When a wood fire is choked down, incomplete combustion is the result forming unburned carbon (soot), unburned resins (tar), forming creosote compounds. These don't taste very good and you don't want them on your food, so this is why you don't want to choke down a wood fire with no airflow and no exhaust.

Charcoal is a wood product created by heating away most of the moisture, resin, and other impurities leaving mostly carbon. This is why a piece of lump charcoal weights less than the same size piece of wood, and why it burns so much cleaner than wood. The flame of a charcoal fire is an exothermic chemical reaction between heat, carbon, and oxygen, during combustion.

Different charcoal vendors have different manufacturing processes, and add or leave different amounts of impurities in the charred wood. You may have noticed that some charcoals seem heavier than others. Heavier charcoals are closer to the original wood, while lighter ones are closer to pure carbon.

The white smoke/blue smoke issue doesn't really occur with charcoal; it occurs with the added wood.

When a fire stops flaming, it begins to smolder. At this point, combustion stops occurring in the flame, and begins occurring on the surface of the wood/charcoal. Less oxygen is required of the fire at this point. As long as there is enough oxygen and fuel being converted to heat, then this an ideal cooking heat source as the fire will be burning very clean.

At the point where flaming stops and smoldering begins, there is too little oxygen for clean burning. I believe this to be the "white smoke" point, and when the cooker begins to come up to temperature and the fire is stabilized, this will become the blue smoke state.

You don't need a big piece of wood to get a good smoke, in fact, when it comes to making "thin blue smoke," bigger is NOT necessarily better. The key is to have small amounts of wood burn efficiently, so you get the sweet smoke flavor, and not a bitter, over-smoked flavor.

It is also common for visible smoke to be present in stick burners due to water content in the wood. Dampened wood or cold wood on a fire can give off white smoke until the wood is heated and dry. This type of smoke is mostly moisture escaping from the wood and may not be from poor combustion. White smoke from poor combustion or from poor airflow in the smoker is heavy, smells overpowering, and it can cause that bitter creosote taste that everyone fears. Rule of thumb is to follow your sense of smell. Bad smoke is overpowering and smells bad.

Sweet blue can be seen even when it's "invisible" but you have to get the right angle of light on it. It's very thin, and wispy, and almost invisible. follow your nose rather than your eyes. If you smell wood smoke, leave it alone, if you do not then add a few wood chunks, right on top of some red-hot coals, the best smoke is smelled, not seen.



.

[grantw]

Assuming you are using sticks?

[SC_Dave]

I'm no expert but I learned this the hard way. The smoke you are looking for is thin white smoke. Sometimes it will appear light blue. This is clean smoke and will impart good clean flavor on you meat. You don't want thick yellowish smoke. This will make your meat have a bitter taste at worst and too strong of a smoke taste at best. Try not to smother your coals with the wood. This cuts the oxygen and chokes everything. I tend to put my wood under my lit coals or at least to the side. Hope this helps.
SC

[Cobra7]

Assuming you are using sticks?

Yep. First picture was sideways so but I fixed it. It's a Old Country Smoker.

[Cobra7]

When a wood fire is choked down, incomplete combustion is the result forming unburned carbon (soot), unburned resins (tar), forming creosote compounds. These don't taste very good and you don't want them on your food, so this is why you don't want to choke down a wood fire with no airflow and no exhaust.

Charcoal is a wood product created by heating away most of the moisture, resin, and other impurities leaving mostly carbon. This is why a piece of lump charcoal weights less than the same size piece of wood, and why it burns so much cleaner than wood. The flame of a charcoal fire is an exothermic chemical reaction between heat, carbon, and oxygen, during combustion.

Different charcoal vendors have different manufacturing processes, and add or leave different amounts of impurities in the charred wood. You may have noticed that some charcoals seem heavier than others. Heavier charcoals are closer to the original wood, while lighter ones are closer to pure carbon.

The white smoke/blue smoke issue doesn't really occur with charcoal; it occurs with the added wood.

When a fire stops flaming, it begins to smolder. At this point, combustion stops occurring in the flame, and begins occurring on the surface of the wood/charcoal. Less oxygen is required of the fire at this point. As long as there is enough oxygen and fuel being converted to heat, then this an ideal cooking heat source as the fire will be burning very clean.

At the point where flaming stops and smoldering begins, there is too little oxygen for clean burning. I believe this to be the "white smoke" point, and when the cooker begins to come up to temperature and the fire is stabilized, this will become the blue smoke state.

You don't need a big piece of wood to get a good smoke, in fact, when it comes to making "thin blue smoke," bigger is NOT necessarily better. The key is to have small amounts of wood burn efficiently, so you get the sweet smoke flavor, and not a bitter, over-smoked flavor.

It is also common for visible smoke to be present in stick burners due to water content in the wood. Dampened wood or cold wood on a fire can give off white smoke until the wood is heated and dry. This type of smoke is mostly moisture escaping from the wood and may not be from poor combustion. White smoke from poor combustion or from poor airflow in the smoker is heavy, smells overpowering, and it can cause that bitter creosote taste that everyone fears. Rule of thumb is to follow your sense of smell. Bad smoke is overpowering and smells bad.

Sweet blue can be seen even when it's "invisible" but you have to get the right angle of light on it. It's very thin, and wispy, and almost invisible. follow your nose rather than your eyes. If you smell wood smoke, leave it alone, if you do not then add a few wood chunks, right on top of some red-hot coals, the best smoke is smelled, not
.Thank you. I understand it a lot better.

[Bludawg]

It need more air open the door on the end of he fire box.

[jasonville43]

I have found that in both my little off set and my big boy that preheating the wood to where it is starting to burn and keeping the door to the firebox open a little darn near always keeps my smoke the pretty blue kind! And as stated earlier sometimes even preheated wood might have mostiure in it that will produce whiter smoke but doesnt really affect flavor.

[Ron_L]

This picture series in this post...

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showpost.php?p=2318433&postcount=14

Shows the transformation from white smoke to thin blue smoke. There is also a side by side picture of the same thing from an offset around here somewhere.

[ironmanerik]

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=82108&d=1373919017

intake wide open, exhaust wide open, small hot fire, 260*

[Ron_L]

Found it :-D

http://www.soezzy.com/bbq/images/tsr/p1010224.jpg

Left bad. Right good.

:becky:

[J-Rod]

Yep. First picture was sideways so but I fixed it. It's a Old Country Smoker.

Still looks sideways to me!:becky: Not to derail, but which model is it? Pecos? Wrangler? How do you like the construction of it? I'm looking at them but since I will have to ship it here I can't actually see them up close and personal. If you'd be willing to share some close up pix of it's internals etc that'd be great.

[Cobra7]

Found it :-D

http://www.soezzy.com/bbq/images/tsr/p1010224.jpg

Left bad. Right good.

:becky:

That's a great picture!!!

[Cobra7]

Still looks sideways to me!:becky: Not to derail, but which model is it? Pecos? Wrangler? How do you like the construction of it? I'm looking at them but since I will have to ship it here I can't actually see them up close and personal. If you'd be willing to share some close up pix of it's internals etc that'd be great.

It's the Wrangler. It's smaller than the Pecos but the metal is thicker, 3/16 on the Wrangler. Not sure what it is on the Pecos but its a lot thiner. You could really tell it in the doors. I will post some pictures shortly.

[Cobra7]

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=82108&d=1373919017

intake wide open, exhaust wide open, small hot fire, 260*

Do you burn wood and charcoal. I wanted a Lang but they wanted $500-$600 just to ship it. Nice Dolphin by the way!!!!

[Smokin' Greene]

My example of cobra7's invisible smoke description.

82960

Here, I have hickory and apple chucks. It is almost invisible, but it is putting out a wonderful sweet smelling smoke.

[Smokin' Greene]

Sorry, props to IamMadMan for a nice description of smoke!

[roksmith]

As a general rule, the easier it is to see, the worse it will taste.
When my smoker is running right, I sometimes have to put my hand over the stack to know its still cooking.

[Cobra7]

Pictures of new Wrangler. http://i527.photobucket.com/albums/cc352/Cobra7_01/image-16.jpg (http://s527.photobucket.com/user/Cobra7_01/media/image-16.jpg.html) http://i527.photobucket.com/albums/cc352/Cobra7_01/image-17.jpg (http://s527.photobucket.com/user/Cobra7_01/media/image-17.jpg.html) http://i527.photobucket.com/albums/cc352/Cobra7_01/image-14.jpg (http://s527.photobucket.com/user/Cobra7_01/media/image-14.jpg.html) http://i527.photobucket.com/albums/cc352/Cobra7_01/image-15.jpg (http://s527.photobucket.com/user/Cobra7_01/media/image-15.jpg.html)

[ironmanerik]

Do you burn wood and charcoal. I wanted a Lang but they wanted $500-$600 just to ship it. Nice Dolphin by the way!!!!

just wood that pic was hickory, the dolphin was 42 lbs

[1buckie]

Found it :-D

http://www.soezzy.com/bbq/images/tsr/p1010224.jpg

Left bad. Right good.

:becky:

I'm pretty sure this photo was taken by Alien BBQ of Roswell, N.M.
(of a seasoning burn of his own cookers)
just credit where due.....great pic, huh?

[Cobra7]

Just got a truck full of Pecan. And it's pronounced PECAN not pecon!!!! At least in South Carolina where mustard/vinegar rules!!!!! http://i527.photobucket.com/albums/cc352/Cobra7_01/image-18.jpg (http://s527.photobucket.com/user/Cobra7_01/media/image-18.jpg.html)

[DownHomeQue]

looks like you are all set my friend! start your fire with a little charcoal.. and then switch to straight preheated splits..

[cholloway]

A pee can is what I use out in my shop.

[SmittyJonz]

:wacko:

[mikemci]

Pecan....(Pi' ka:n) as pronounced in Wikipedia and Texas, where it is our state tree. Also my preferred smoking wood.

[Pappy Q]

When a wood fire is choked down, incomplete combustion is the result forming unburned carbon (soot), unburned resins (tar), forming creosote compounds. These don't taste very good and you don't want them on your food, so this is why you don't want to choke down a wood fire with no airflow and no exhaust.

Charcoal is a wood product created by heating away most of the moisture, resin, and other impurities leaving mostly carbon. This is why a piece of lump charcoal weights less than the same size piece of wood, and why it burns so much cleaner than wood. The flame of a charcoal fire is an exothermic chemical reaction between heat, carbon, and oxygen, during combustion.

Different charcoal vendors have different manufacturing processes, and add or leave different amounts of impurities in the charred wood. You may have noticed that some charcoals seem heavier than others. Heavier charcoals are closer to the original wood, while lighter ones are closer to pure carbon.

The white smoke/blue smoke issue doesn't really occur with charcoal; it occurs with the added wood.

When a fire stops flaming, it begins to smolder. At this point, combustion stops occurring in the flame, and begins occurring on the surface of the wood/charcoal. Less oxygen is required of the fire at this point. As long as there is enough oxygen and fuel being converted to heat, then this an ideal cooking heat source as the fire will be burning very clean.

At the point where flaming stops and smoldering begins, there is too little oxygen for clean burning. I believe this to be the "white smoke" point, and when the cooker begins to come up to temperature and the fire is stabilized, this will become the blue smoke state.

You don't need a big piece of wood to get a good smoke, in fact, when it comes to making "thin blue smoke," bigger is NOT necessarily better. The key is to have small amounts of wood burn efficiently, so you get the sweet smoke flavor, and not a bitter, over-smoked flavor.

It is also common for visible smoke to be present in stick burners due to water content in the wood. Dampened wood or cold wood on a fire can give off white smoke until the wood is heated and dry. This type of smoke is mostly moisture escaping from the wood and may not be from poor combustion. White smoke from poor combustion or from poor airflow in the smoker is heavy, smells overpowering, and it can cause that bitter creosote taste that everyone fears. Rule of thumb is to follow your sense of smell. Bad smoke is overpowering and smells bad.

Sweet blue can be seen even when it's "invisible" but you have to get the right angle of light on it. It's very thin, and wispy, and almost invisible. follow your nose rather than your eyes. If you smell wood smoke, leave it alone, if you do not then add a few wood chunks, right on top of some red-hot coals, the best smoke is smelled, not seen.



.

That right there is as good of an explanation as there is.

[caseydog]

My simple theory is kind of like the old adage that children should be seen, not heard.

Good smoke should be smelled, not seen -- or barely seen.

To get that smoke, you need to get your wood up to efficient burning temperature as quickly as possible. Toss a little bit of wood on your established coal bed at a time. That will make the smoke-wood burn efficiently. Thick white smoke comes from wood burning inefficiently. It is like a car engine running too rich.

So, feed your hot coals often, with a little bit of wood at a time.

CD

[Ron_L]

I'm pretty sure this photo was taken by Alien BBQ of Roswell, N.M.
(of a seasoning burn of his own cookers)
just credit where due.....great pic, huh?

Thanks! It's been posted and reposted enough that I couldn't find an original post either here or on other forums.

[trufunk]

Just got a truck full of Pecan. And it's pronounced PECAN not pecon!!!! At least in South Carolina where mustard/vinegar rules!!!!! http://i527.photobucket.com/albums/cc352/Cobra7_01/image-18.jpg (http://s527.photobucket.com/user/Cobra7_01/media/image-18.jpg.html)
Nice truck! I just bought a 2013 CM about a month ago. Nice wood too!

[Cobra7]

Nice truck! I just bought a 2013 CM about a month ago. Nice wood too!

Thanks. This is how I broke in the bed!!!