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Bad smoke

K

kcquer

Guest
I've been getting a little bad smoke from time to time, not white pre ignition smoke, black nasty stuff. Some of it was grease inside the smoke box (cleaned up) getting hot. Is this more likely to be from insufficiently seasoned wood or adding too much unlit fuel at once. Would switching to lump (been using kingsford) for coalbed maintenance help?
 
Would switching to lump (been using kingsford) for coalbed maintenance help?
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Yes, but you will probably have to refuel more often. Lump burns hot and quick. I use a combination of the two. You probably need to pre light your Kingsford.

I don't like putting kingsford in that is not pre-lit. I have use Bill's back burn method, but most of the time I take 2 or 3 lit briquettes, put them in the charcoal starter and pour my unlit charcoal over them. If my temps are dropping before these are ready, then I'll add some lump directly to the firebox.

Five or six briquettes set on the back side of the fire to back light usually won't cause a black smoke effect. 20 to 30 I'm sure would!

Hope this helps, it's the way I do it. I'm sure others will give you an opinion as well........
 
Does Binky fire black instead of white smoke?

When adding lump or briqs I have never gotten black smoke, ever (to my recollection)

Your not using Match Light kingsford or anything are you?

This is a mystery to me.

Lump burn white for a little bit, starts that pinging sound while igniting, the clean and clear heat.
 
BINKY!? Did I miss something? I have Binkie. KC, is yours called Binky?
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Cue'lio, think Bill got us confused. As a matter of fact, my cooker has yet to be named, matter for another thread.

Because its warm today and I'm cooking brisket and want a low fire I'm not using my firebox heat shield mod. For one of two reasons its really helping. Pre heating of the wood is vastly more effective. I think maybe the mod reduced the volume of the firebox enough that I was having problems with good combustion. Seems to be chuggin' right along perfect so far. Have been pre heating my kingsford too and nothin but thin blue.

Bill, no match light, just another kc don't try this mod.
 
I'm now 3 1/2 hours in and been fighting my problem for 90 mins or so.

As my initial charge of briq coal bed fizzles out, chamber temps are too warm to get replacement fuel added, then its so far gone I can't get fresh fuel lit fast enough to recover. As my lid mod is out today, I've gone to the adding lit fuel mod, waiting to see if it helps. When I get past this initial roller coaster I got it whupped, but this first 3 hrs is challenging me.
 
When im having trouble getting stable temps, i switch to either lump or kinsford and use some wood chucks mixed in. Keep the logs for when u have good coalbeds. I always prelight kingsford in a chimney over a turkey fryer burner and add it when fully ignited. Lump you can add cold, its has no impurities, even the white smoke generated by lump is flavorless.

As far as your problem with bad smoke, Best thing is to never add unlit fuel unless you have a coalbed sufficent to ignite it completely and quickly. The thing your describing does point to insufficently seasoned wood, including and especially the temp variations. I would be preburning those logs before adding them to the firebox.
 
I did several thing a bit different yesterday so I have no clue what the true fixes were and what was just stuff I tried. Avoided my suspect wood, used lit fuel the one time I needed it, used more lump than usual to augment the wood. One or more of these took care of the problem.

Wanted to thank DF for speaking highly of red oak and giving me inspiration to try it. I didn't use it early, was still skeptical of its flavor, but after wrapping one of the briskets I broke out the bucket of scraps from the shop and wow. What a neat wood for the dera, real wood smoke and its sturdy enough it leaves its own coal bed. I added only a dozen or so briq in 5 hrs after starting with the oak. Talk about instant ignition, preheat some 6-7% moisture content wood thats flat enough to achive full contact on the lid and when you toss it in the fire box and woosh insta fire. Thanks Dave, never would have tried it without your comments.
 
Thanks Dave, never would have tried it without your comments.
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Glad to help. I've got a neighbor (sign maker) that keeps promising me a load of red oak pallet spacers :D

I use live oak or whatever variety I can get around here -- I think my trees are most white oak. I love the smell of burning oak and the flavor it give the 'que -- and yes, when it's seasoned it does just burst into clean flame!! :mrgreen: I've got a couple of 5-gallon buckets of chunks seasoning in the shed right now.

Need to trim several LARGE limbs on my tress so I can start curing the next batch :D
 
preheat some read oak on top of the firbox and smell it when it warms up. Smells like sugar. Great wood to smoke with.!!
 
How can you tell the difference between red oak and white oak?

Wasn't someone going to do a gallery of "How to Identify Wood"?

My wood source is a Mexican guy (that is not meant anyway in a deragatory sense) and his English and my Spanish barely get to a goal.

R
 
Maybe this will help and then maybe not! :D

Now, these pics are "flooring samples" so don't space out on me.
 
rusold said:
How can you tell the difference between red oak and white oak?

Wasn't someone going to do a gallery of "How to Identify Wood"?

My wood source is a Mexican guy (that is not meant anyway in a deragatory sense) and his English and my Spanish barely get to a goal.

R
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i will post some pictures of both. But the easiest way to tell if you have both is to preheat them. Red oak smells like sugar or candy.. white oak smells nutty, more like hickory.

White oak has a lighter/ grayish bark, red oak bark is darker more towards brown. White oak wood is light, like hickory, red oak is darker.
 
How can you tell the difference between red oak and white oak?
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As far as the trees go, the easiest way to tell the difference between red and white oak (two main families) is the leaves. Red oak leaves come to points similar to maple leaf. White oak has rounded points looks like 3 fingered mitten. Boards are easy too. Heart wood of red oak is pink, white oak is grayish almost green cast to it. Some one else can probably fill in the bark thing.
 
Probably way too late now, but I wonder if you farked up like I did a couple weeks ago. When I lined the grease pan with foil, I completely blocked off the heat opening between the firebox and cook chamber. Completely unstable temps and some nasty smoke episodes. If your wood is well seasoned (preheated also helps), your dampers and chimneys are wide open, and you don't have a grease build-up on the bottom of the cook chamber, you should be good to go. I burn wood only now and other than that episode a couple a weeks ago, fires have been real clean.
 
The Amish sawmills here do almost all red oak. I've built a couple barns out of it - hard to nail when it's green, impossible when it's dry! I'm just going through the warped pieces that are still in my personal "lumber yard". Bunch of 2X6's & 1X10's. Nice flat surface to preheat on the firebox!
 
rusold said:
How can you tell the difference between red oak and white oak?

Wasn't someone going to do a gallery of "How to Identify Wood"?

My wood source is a Mexican guy (that is not meant anyway in a deragatory sense) and his English and my Spanish barely get to a goal.

R
Click to expand...

Yeah; everyone should post their pics here (with some description):
http://www.bandera-brethren.com/mod...ame=gallery&file=index&include=view_album.php

At some point, when we get sufficient pics) I will make these ( into a wood scrounging guide. So far only Kick's posted.
 
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