Cleaning a Cabinet Smoker

I empty out the ashes first into a trash bag. Double bag it in case it gets a hole poked into it. I pour the extra water into the bag with the ashes which helps absorb it. Use a putty knife to gather up the grease that sticks to the pan and paper towels to wipe up the remaining moisture/grease. I've never cleaned the walls. I use either foil or paper towels to clean the grates. I don't have a drain so I try to manage it to where I don't have too much water left in it. After I clean it I try to leave the door open for a couple of hours to dry out any remaining moisture. Usually takes between 5 and 15 minutes depending how greasy it is. Sometimes I'll put a pan on the bottom rack to catch the grease which cuts down on cleanup time.

First , get a weed burner and pre heat it, to the most part you don't need to clean it out, once a yr or so and just scrape it and re season it. If it's getting chunky is when I scape it down. with the racks I usually just scrape em. I don't let them build up thick , a good wire brush or crumpled up tin foil works

I've used my Down East Beast for 4 years now and have never had to clean the inside.... Th racks yes, usually just a simple brushing while they are still hot.

All good tips above. Plan for a three hour warm up. With time you learn the water usage. I can now end up with with little water in the pan at the end. I find I use a beer pitcher of water an hour.

I've had my cabinet 2 years or so. Cleaned it once. Never used water after the first seasoning. Water is a pain to deal with and I have a drain. I clean the grates and dump the ash pan and that's about it. I'm up to temp in 30-60 minutes but I have 2 huge intakes. I also cook in pans which eliminates most of the mess. I would try without water, foil the water pan and run a maze at least once to see how you like it. Saves fuel and cleanup time.

Cabinet style smokers are a bit easier to clean than offsets IMHO. In my vertical cabinet smoker I make sure to clean out the ashes after every cook to prevent rust from happening. The interior walls I clean about every 3 months suing a propane torch (like a self cleaning oven) and a putty spatula. I do not spray or power wash the cooking chamber OR the firebox. The cooking racks I scrape with a spatula once I notice an excess of grease build up on them.

I rarely if ever take the smoker back down to the bare steel, if you do...make sure you re-season it. You always want a nice coating of grease in your pit, think of it like a cast iron skillet.

If you are vacuuming, got to a fireplace store and get the CORRECT VACUUM!

Regarding nasty water, please don't put it down a drain or where it will end up in a creek or pond. In plumbing, yours or the city's, grease is a really big problem. In public water sources, like motor oil, a little destroys a lot of water and hurts wildlife.

Sid Post said:

If you are vacuuming, got to a fireplace store and get the CORRECT VACUUM!

Regarding nasty water, please don't put it down a drain or where it will end up in a creek or pond. In plumbing, yours or the city's, grease is a really big problem. In public water sources, like motor oil, a little destroys a lot of water and hurts wildlife.

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Pretty sure that is a spam post about vacuuming.

Getting rid of the water is another reason I don’t use water in my cookers.

As far as cleaning my IVS, I get rid of the ashes before each cook. Every bunch of cooks I will switch out the foil I line my drip tray with. Scrub the grate I am using before each use. That is basically it.

If you have a weed burner you can dry the water pan out and clean the grates quickly.

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ghooso said:

I’ve been cleaning the floor like that for several years, only with a vacuum cleaner first. but now we have put laminate floors and I actually do not want to ruin them so I am asking how to clean it correctly? Is it ok to vacuum them? I really like vacuuming process and I looked for one here https://cleanhomeguide.com/best-vacuum-cleaner-for-hardwood-floors/, so how do you clean them?

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6 posts today all on the same day of you posting ever and most with links. 5 of the 6 are rebooting old threads.......seems super legit..........

This one is my favorite

As to the proper vacuum, this the one I bought for my pellet smoker clean outs. It has since expanded to see use in all my smokers and even the fireplace. Stainless steel body with metal lined hose and a fire resistant vacuum bag inside. Oddly enough if you buy the larger 4 gallon stainless model on Amazon, it costs less than the 3 gallon model and the 4 gallon comes with all the extra accessories ($87 right now on Amazon):

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0193TKNBE

My tall vertical cabinet (used to be a humphrey's design). Besides cleaning out the ash from the ash pan after every cook. And cleaning the grates. When there is visible ash and black flake from the inside of the cooker that gets under/around the ash pan. I just use a shop style hand broom and small dust pan to sweep that up and dispose. 2 to 3 times a year i use a puddy knife to scrape the cooker door inside to remove some of the seasoning/coating that builds up. And also scrape your flat inside roof. To cut down on build up/flaking.
I would avoid using a weed burner anywhere near your interior roof. As it is only around 16 ga steel and warps easily. Mine came warped causing moisture to drip down on the grates right in the middle. I replaced my ceiling roof.
Your grate slides are pretty much self cleaning. As everytime you slide a grate into one of the slots. It cleans the slots. Mine fit quite tightly. If that makes sense.
Like others mentioned. I do not use water in the pan. (except when I'm burning pure wood). I use a drip pan covered with foil. But do NOT let the foil touch the bottom of the drip pan. Or the drippings can/will burn. I have fire bricks but never found them to be an advantage over just the foil covered drip pan.
If you want to use water. Learn your cooker. And use only enough water so there is always some present. But not 1/2 full or full near the end of your cook.
The double bagged ashes works good to absorb what water is left over.
Typically, the area's around the door seals on the cabinet rusts first. Clean and repaint as required.
Hope that helps.

You can see some of the door build up in this photo. And see how the grate slides stay pretty clean.

I have always spray the interior with pam prior to every cook. This lets me wipe down the walls with a rag and hot water when done. Make for easy maintenance. I also wrap the water pan with foil to make that easier to clean.

I just clean the racks. I don't cook with water, but if I did I would put an aluminum pan in the water pan and just take it out after the cook.

I don't agree with the tribal wisdom expressed above. If you have a container containing nasty smoker eflluent, IMO the very best thing to do with it is to dig a hole, pour it in, and put the dirt back in. Mother Nature knows how to deal with it.

As for cleaning the inside of a cooker, if I were you I'd install a drain valve in the floor, ideally at a low spot. Just knock the heavy off the walls with a pressure washer. Then drain it out the bottom into your effluent container. See above for ultimate disposal.

I have a little electric pressure washer. After I clean out a cooker, there is still oil enough to prevent rust, but not enough to support mold or turn rancid. Works great on grates too.

seattlepitboss

seattlepitboss said:

As for cleaning the inside of a cooker, if I were you I'd install a drain valve in the floor, ideally at a low spot. Just knock the heavy off the walls with a pressure washer. Then drain it out the bottom into your effluent container.
I have a little electric pressure washer. After I clean out a cooker, there is still oil enough to prevent rust, but not enough to support mold or turn rancid. Works great on grates too.

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Your suggestion about the drain would not work on a humphrey's without major modifications. Much easier/cleaner to lift/slide out the pan of water.
And I'd suggest no one pressure washes the inside or outside of a humphrey's. They are not solidly welded top to bottom inside. The outer skin is pop riveted on. You would end up soaking the insulation and causing major rust between panels.
Just for example, Here is only one of my outer skin panels inside only a few months after ownership from new. That is paint overtop the rust. If you look. It came this way from humphrey's. I believe they do not clean and paint their units after welding. Before the outer skin painted panels get riveted on.

I have the LSG Mini. If and when I use the water pan, when I'm done cooking I fully open the intake and stack and just let the water "boil itself out". Sometimes this requires adding slightly more fuel to the firebox. A light scraping to remove any dried debris is easily
accomplished when the cooker is cooled off.

In my cabinet smoker (don't use much anymore), instead of water I would fill the pan with sand and cover it with foil leaving depression to catch grease. Only takes an inch or so of depth. The sand acts as the heat shield/retainer but, is way easier to clean. Just change the foil on top every cook - into the trash. May give it a try. I didn't feel like the water added much.

As far as cleaning, yes weed burner was the way to go. Only did once a year when I was using heavily. Since switching to cans, I use the oven/grill cleaner from Sam's. Works well but that stuff is kind of nasty - keep it off any paint and rinse good. May try that also.

I've had my Pint for almost 3 years and have never washed out the inside. I use a shop vac regularly for the black flakies in the cook chamber, door panels and minor ash in firebox. Light Pam spray a few times a year. I use foil pans to catch drippings and use a single layer of half sized fire bricks on the floor of the cook chamber. Rarely do I use water and it's minimal when I do; I just set a full sized foil steam pan directly on the bricks for a couple hours of extra moisture. I stick my stainless grates right in the dishwasher while they are still warm. Everything is always clean as a whistle. The outside gets polished 1x/yr with my Flex orbital and multiple coats of sealant and stays covered when not in use. Pretty as the day STL BBQ dropped her off.