Inconsistent smoke

[DQsmokes]

Bought a pro series 850 from lowes the other day This is my first pellet smoker and I must say I'm a little irritated at the inconsistent smoke I'm getting . My very first cook was some chicken breasts, cooked at 250 for an hour then up to 300 . I got zero smoke that whole cook . Next day I through some ribs on , I had a great cook set it to 250 for about 4 hours took it up to 300 after glaze and got great smoke of and on every 5 minutes or so . Just did some chicken thighs today , did the normal smoke start up, pre heated to 300(took over 20 minutes) put the chicken on and 20 minutes in still no smoke . After about a hour or so of cooking I'd say it actually smoked 3 times maybe. I want to love this thing so bad but as of right now I feel like returning it.

 

[Gecko10]

You are probably getting a thin blue smoke, which is the normal. If you want heavier smoke, then put your dial on Smoke and use your P settings. I use P5 and smoke it for a hour or so before I put it on a higher, cooking temperature. You manual talks about this on p14 IIRC

 

[DQsmokes]

Not sure what you mean by p5 , I have a PID controller if that makes any difference.

 

[Gecko10]

If you don't have the manual then you can get one from the Pit Boss web site. In general the P settings are used when you have your dial set to Smoke. You use the P settings for Low and Slow smoking. I usually start cook on P5 and leave it there for several hours before changi g it to a cooking temperature say 350.

 

[MKinHB]

Not sure what you mean by p5 , I have a PID controller if that makes any difference.

you are right, the 850 pro series does not have a P setting, it is a PID controller.
Mine is smoking better now than it used to, I don't know why but I get pretty good smoke from it now.
The first couple of cooks I thought the same thing, no smoke, but now it smokes pretty good.
maybe these things need some break in time but I would give it a couple more tries.
Good luck

 

[DQsmokes]

you are right, the 850 pro series does not have a P setting, it is a PID controller.
Mine is smoking better now than it used to, I don't know why but I get pretty good smoke from it now.
The first couple of cooks I thought the same thing, no smoke, but now it smokes pretty good.
maybe these things need some break in time but I would give it a couple more tries.
Good luck

Will do thank you sir

 

[Kevinbbqs4fun]

Bought a pro series 850 from lowes the other day This is my first pellet smoker and I must say I'm a little irritated at the inconsistent smoke I'm getting . My very first cook was some chicken breasts, cooked at 250 for an hour then up to 300 . I got zero smoke that whole cook . Next day I through some ribs on , I had a great cook set it to 250 for about 4 hours took it up to 300 after glaze and got great smoke of and on every 5 minutes or so . Just did some chicken thighs today , did the normal smoke start up, pre heated to 300(took over 20 minutes) put the chicken on and 20 minutes in still no smoke . After about a hour or so of cooking I'd say it actually smoked 3 times maybe. I want to love this thing so bad but as of right now I feel like returning it.

Hang in there my friend... I own a PB Austin XL and a PB Series 5 vertical smoker and I love them both; however, it did take some time learning how to achieve the best flavor / results. To infuse more smoke flavor start your cooks at a lower temp--if it is chicken parts I smoke them for an hour on the smoke settings, and then crank it up higher (350 or higher) to finish them. To infuse more smoke flavor I use a smoke tube (amazenproducts.com), which will produce a continuous smoke. Their products come in different size tubes and smoke treys. Hardwoods like hickory & mesquite impart stronger flavors, so if you want a stronger smoke flavor try some of those. Plus, you can experiment with other brands of pellets, too. I like PB pellets, but I find Lumber Jack produces a better flavor. My family will agree with me. Best of luck and God Bless!
-Kevin

 

[DQsmokes]

Hang in there my friend... I own a PB Austin XL and a PB Series 5 vertical smoker and I love them both; however, it did take some time learning how to achieve the best flavor / results. To infuse more smoke flavor start your cooks at a lower temp--if it is chicken parts I smoke them for an hour on the smoke settings, and then crank it up higher (350 or higher) to finish them. To infuse more smoke flavor I use a smoke tube (amazenproducts.com), which will produce a continuous smoke. Their products come in different size tubes and smoke treys. Hardwoods like hickory & mesquite impart stronger flavors, so if you want a stronger smoke flavor try some of those. Plus, you can experiment with other brands of pellets, too. I like PB pellets, but I find Lumber Jack produces a better flavor. My family will agree with me. Best of luck and God Bless!
-Kevin

Thank you sir I will be patient

 

[mcgee7776]

Bought a pro series 850 from lowes the other day This is my first pellet smoker and I must say I'm a little irritated at the inconsistent smoke I'm getting . My very first cook was some chicken breasts, cooked at 250 for an hour then up to 300 . I got zero smoke that whole cook . Next day I through some ribs on , I had a great cook set it to 250 for about 4 hours took it up to 300 after glaze and got great smoke of and on every 5 minutes or so . Just did some chicken thighs today , did the normal smoke start up, pre heated to 300(took over 20 minutes) put the chicken on and 20 minutes in still no smoke . After about a hour or so of cooking I'd say it actually smoked 3 times maybe. I want to love this thing so bad but as of right now I feel like returning it.

I have had mine for a couple months.... Love it.... One of the tricks has to do with letting it "Start Up". Try this, start it up at 400 deg. Open the cover. Let it burn till it smokes heavy. Look to see if you can see Fire. Close the cover and set the temp. I usually use 350 to sear the meat first, then lower to 250

 

[mikenburnie]

I have a new Laredo Platinum with the PID control, mine smokes well on smoke, smokes a little at 180-200 after that there is not much smoke, higher combustion temps reduce smoke considerably, if you want to smoke at higher temperatures I would guess you would have to use a smoke tube. With a tube you can also cold smoke.

 

[DQsmokes]

Well... i got it to smoke really well at 200-250 . Did a brisket point and Bork butt yesterday and came out very good , took 10 hours . It was not as smoky as I like but I had good bark and it was moist. I will try a smoke tube or make smoke bombs next time I do a long cook like that