Learned a hard lesson....

[EdCaffreyMS]

DO NOT use your Pit Boss smoker with only a smoke tube! Explanation: Just now getting around to posting this, but just after Thanksgiving, I smoke several blocks of cheese on my Pit Boss PB1100PSC2 Smoker/grill combo, WITHOUT the smoker being on/running. I used only a smoke tube, packed with the same pellets I use in the smoker. It was a chilly day, with temps in the teens, and with the smoke tube rolling out smoke, the internal temp never exceeded 45F. I turned the cheese once, and smoked for approx 1 hour on each side. Pulled it off, vac packed it, and into the fridge.

NOW>>> The MEAT of my Post..... Fast forward to last week.... I wanted to smoke a pork butt for pulled pork, and tried to fire the smoker as I normally do.... the combustion fan would not work! After pulling the bottom cover, I could see that the entire fan and it's assembly were covered in gummy smoke/residue, and was not turning with power applied?!?! I ended up pulling the fan, and it had been totally "gummed up" by the smoke tube! Even turning the fan blades by hand...I could feel the resistance. I had to disassemble the fan, and use an entire can of electric motor cleaner to get all the smoke/gum removed. Three hours of hassles, and I got the fan cleaned and working properly again. Moral of the Story: IF you use your Pit Boss for "cold smoking" without actually running the smoker, be prepared for the problem of internal compnents being "gummed up" and possibly require cleaning, or even replacing, before things will work again. I've been thinking about this...and the only real solution I can come up with is...so not use your Pit Boss (or any other pellet grill/smoker for cold smoking. If any has any viable solutions other then just not using the smoker for cold smoking..... please feel free to comment with your solution(s).

 

[Jimsmokes]

In my 1150 I use a small fan cooling fan in/on my hopper. I empty the hopper and run most of the pellets out of the auger tube. This keeps air moving through the grill and keeps you from having stagnant smoke which can have a bitter/burnt taste.

 

[Steve In Pa]

I haven’t done a cold smoke yet but it’s on my radar. For my vertical I was going to pull the fire pot and with the stack wide open air would draw freely from the bottom

 

[brewersfan73]

When I did a cold smoke, I didn't do anything to prep the grill. I just put a smoke tube in there and let it go for a couple of hours. I didn't take out the pellets or empty the auger. No issues after the fact. The internal temp on the day I did it was probably closer to 70 or 80°, if that matters.

I was thinking that being able to run the fan to help generate some airflow would have been better, but I didn't take any steps to do that. I was half tempted to power the grill on, turn it on a temp setting for a couple of seconds, and then turn it off so the fan would stay on during the automatic "cool down" session. Maybe do that a couple of times over the course of the smoking session to generate some fresh air movement. Maybe next time.

 

[mixed up]

thanks for the heads up on the matter

 

[ANT0407]

When I did a cold smoke, I didn't do anything to prep the grill. I just put a smoke tube in there and let it go for a couple of hours. I didn't take out the pellets or empty the auger. No issues after the fact. The internal temp on the day I did it was probably closer to 70 or 80°, if that matters.

I was thinking that being able to run the fan to help generate some airflow would have been better, but I didn't take any steps to do that. I was half tempted to power the grill on, turn it on a temp setting for a couple of seconds, and then turn it off so the fan would stay on during the automatic "cool down" session. Maybe do that a couple of times over the course of the smoking session to generate some fresh air movement. Maybe next time.

I've had the same results as @brewersfan73 . When I smoke cheese I have never turned my smoker on or empty the pellets. I only use a smoke tube and have never had any issues.

 

[920cody]

DO NOT use your Pit Boss smoker with only a smoke tube! Explanation: Just now getting around to posting this, but just after Thanksgiving, I smoke several blocks of cheese on my Pit Boss PB1100PSC2 Smoker/grill combo, WITHOUT the smoker being on/running. I used only a smoke tube, packed with the same pellets I use in the smoker. It was a chilly day, with temps in the teens, and with the smoke tube rolling out smoke, the internal temp never exceeded 45F. I turned the cheese once, and smoked for approx 1 hour on each side. Pulled it off, vac packed it, and into the fridge.

NOW>>> The MEAT of my Post..... Fast forward to last week.... I wanted to smoke a pork butt for pulled pork, and tried to fire the smoker as I normally do.... the combustion fan would not work! After pulling the bottom cover, I could see that the entire fan and it's assembly were covered in gummy smoke/residue, and was not turning with power applied?!?! I ended up pulling the fan, and it had been totally "gummed up" by the smoke tube! Even turning the fan blades by hand...I could feel the resistance. I had to disassemble the fan, and use an entire can of electric motor cleaner to get all the smoke/gum removed. Three hours of hassles, and I got the fan cleaned and working properly again. Moral of the Story: IF you use your Pit Boss for "cold smoking" without actually running the smoker, be prepared for the problem of internal compnents being "gummed up" and possibly require cleaning, or even replacing, before things will work again. I've been thinking about this...and the only real solution I can come up with is...so not use your Pit Boss (or any other pellet grill/smoker for cold smoking. If any has any viable solutions other then just not using the smoker for cold smoking..... please feel free to comment with your solution(s).

I have the same grill. Do your cold smoking on the propane side. Throw in a small fan to circulate the air and you'll be fine.

 

[mdfck]

I have a Series 3 Vert Smoker. I smoke cheese with only a pellet tube, smoker off. Because weather here is on the warmer side, I use blocks of ice to keep the temperature cold and prevent cheese from melting. I use a USB powered fan to circulate the air. The smoker still runs fine after 2y.

The only issue I had with the smoker was actually caused by moisture expanding pellets in the auger and jamming the whole thing. But that was because I was reckless and let the smoker uncovered for a couple of very wet weeks.

 

[ANT0407]

I have a Series 3 Vert Smoker. I smoke cheese with only a pellet tube, smoker off. Because weather here is on the warmer side, I use blocks of ice to keep the temperature cold and prevent cheese from melting. I use a USB powered fan to circulate the air. The smoker still runs fine after 2y.

The only issue I had with the smoker was actually caused by moisture expanding pellets in the auger and jamming the whole thing. But that was because I was reckless and let the smoker uncovered for a couple of very wet weeks.

I cold smoke cheese in my 1600 with no issues as well.

 

[achillez01]

I have a Series 3 Vert Smoker. I smoke cheese with only a pellet tube, smoker off. Because weather here is on the warmer side, I use blocks of ice to keep the temperature cold and prevent cheese from melting. I use a USB powered fan to circulate the air. The smoker still runs fine after 2y.

The only issue I had with the smoker was actually caused by moisture expanding pellets in the auger and jamming the whole thing. But that was because I was reckless and let the smoker uncovered for a couple of very wet weeks.

Do you place the USB fan inside the smoker facing up? Or did you place the fan below the augur box where the air intake is?

I have a 5 series and just picked up a smoke tube. My attempts at smoking cheese on the 5F/smoke setting was...stressful and wasteful.

 

[mdfck]

Do you place the USB fan inside the smoker facing up? Or did you place the fan below the augur box where the air intake is?

I have a 5 series and just picked up a smoke tube. My attempts at smoking cheese on the 5F/smoke setting was...stressful and wasteful.

Fan goes inside. I've tried a couple of different setups.

With the tube, smoke is hot so it will go up anyway and the challenge then is to keep it lit. First, I take the chamber cover off to fit the tube properly. My fan tilts to an angle up to about 30⁰, so I try to position it in a way that it pushes the smoke up to create some airflow and blow the tube as well. You don't want a direct blow to the tube as this will increase the temperature, and your pellets will burn faster.

The biggest challenge is to keep the temperature low. The heat of the tube is still enough to reach the melting point of softer/creamy cheeses.

Last time, I tried using lots of ice on the top to keep the cheese as cold as possible. Worked well, but I noticed more grease at the end.

The ideal setup would be to place the fan outside the smoker and just blow some air, but I didn't try anything like that. You could probably use a small air pump and a hose connected to the air intake hole.

I once tried connecting a Smokai to my smoker using a hose, but lost too much heat and the smoke became heavy. Didn't work. I still consider drilling a hole on the smoker just for that.