Safe way to use wood chunks in my vertical Series 3 (other than Smoke Daddy Heavy D)?

[djsams]

I know, I KNOW! Sounds like a fire waiting to happen and this is probably a dumb question. I have many wood chunks left over from my charcoal smoker and am wondering if anyone has found a safe way to use them to enhance (not replace) the flavor and smoke provided by pellets. I don't want to go all out with a Smoke Daddy Heavy D and I know I could cut them down to wood chips for a smoke tube, although most are around 2"-3" so that will take some time. I was just wondering if soaking a chunk or two overnight and placing near the flame tamer or in a small metal enclosure near the flame tamer (like a mini Smoke Daddy) or some other genius homemade invention already developed by one of you faithful forum experts would offer up an option to use some of my wood chunks. That said, I certainly am not looking to compromise safety or cause damage to my smoker. (Hey, it doesn't hurt to ask and I'm expecting a lot of "no, no, and hell no" replies but I have thick skin. ) Thanks all!

 

[Tim W]

I know, I KNOW! Sounds like a fire waiting to happen and this is probably a dumb question. I have many wood chunks left over from my charcoal smoker and am wondering if anyone has found a safe way to use them to enhance (not replace) the flavor and smoke provided by pellets. I don't want to go all out with a Smoke Daddy Heavy D and I know I could cut them down to wood chips for a smoke tube, although most are around 2"-3" so that will take some time. I was just wondering if soaking a chunk or two overnight and placing near the flame tamer or in a small metal enclosure near the flame tamer (like a mini Smoke Daddy) or some other genius homemade invention already developed by one of you faithful forum experts would offer up an option to use some of my wood chunks. That said, I certainly am not looking to compromise safety or cause damage to my smoker. (Hey, it doesn't hurt to ask and I'm expecting a lot of "no, no, and hell no" replies but I have thick skin. ) Thanks all!

I would like to hear this to I have a lot of firewood . A CNC gives lots of chips and occasional firewood I would love to dispose of my mistakes in a usefull way

 

[djsams]

Well folks, after a few days with no further input I decided to take the lead. The goal is to try to achieve similar results to that of my charcoal smoker where I put 3-4 soaked wood chunks (typically about 3"x3") directly on the hot charcoal. That usually produced about the right amount of smoke for a typical cook of 5-6 hours. So, in the spirit of starting small to avoid a disaster, I soaked one small hickory chunk (about 2"x1") in water overnight. (See before pic. Duct tape shown for size comparison.) I positioned it on top of the flame tamer as shown in the pic. At the end of the cook at 225 degrees for 4.5 hours I removed it and took the "after" pic. No burning, no smoke, no charring, no smoldering.... about all that happened is that it fully dried. It didn't even darken the bottom edge.

I actually find this test somewhat encouraging in that there are now other options to move it to hotter positions. Had it burned up in 10 minutes there would have been fewer options.

Not sure where I'm going to position it next. I could try on top of the center of the flame tamer directly above the burn pot (in which case I would probably move the water pan one level higher), under the flame tamer but near the inside edge, or under the flame tamer close to the edge of the burn pot. Inside the burn pot doesn't seem like a good idea so I'm not considering that.

I'm open to your ideas and/or constructive criticism!

Thanks!

Dan

 

[MikeInFla]

I believe there is another thread here where someone put some charcoal briquettes in a foil pan. Also some wood chunks and then put them on the bottom shelf. Got some great smoke but you really have to watch the temps and make sure they don’t get out of control. Been meaning to try it myself but don’t have any wood chunks.

 

[MikeInFla]

Try this thread, it might be this one:

https://www.pitbossforum.com/thread...at-up-the-brunswick-somewhat.1848/#post-13270

 

[djsams]

Try this thread, it might be this one:

https://www.pitbossforum.com/thread...at-up-the-brunswick-somewhat.1848/#post-13270

Very interesting Mike. Looks like sort of a giant homemade smoke tube for wood chunks! I'm going to continue my tests to see if I can come up with a solution without having to add another heat source but if I'm unable to find one, this approach definitely opens up a new set of possibilities. Thanks!

 

[Redoctapus]

I know, I KNOW! Sounds like a fire waiting to happen and this is probably a dumb question. I have many wood chunks left over from my charcoal smoker and am wondering if anyone has found a safe way to use them to enhance (not replace) the flavor and smoke provided by pellets. I don't want to go all out with a Smoke Daddy Heavy D and I know I could cut them down to wood chips for a smoke tube, although most are around 2"-3" so that will take some time. I was just wondering if soaking a chunk or two overnight and placing near the flame tamer or in a small metal enclosure near the flame tamer (like a mini Smoke Daddy) or some other genius homemade invention already developed by one of you faithful forum experts would offer up an option to use some of my wood chunks. That said, I certainly am not looking to compromise safety or cause damage to my smoker. (Hey, it doesn't hurt to ask and I'm expecting a lot of "no, no, and hell no" replies but I have thick skin. ) Thanks all!

Hi djsams,
I have an offset stick burner.
Often I put small splits that between the burner covers on my gas grill to have a wood fired flavor in the steaks I grill. One split lasts for a couple different cooks.
You might be able to wrap a split/chunk in heavy aluminum foil and place it strategically near your crucible, experimenting with hole sizes in the foil to allow smoke to escape.

 

[djsams]

Hi djsams,
I have an offset stick burner.
Often I put small splits that between the burner covers on my gas grill to have a wood fired flavor in the steaks I grill. One split lasts for a couple different cooks.
You might be able to wrap a split/chunk in heavy aluminum foil and place it strategically near your crucible, experimenting with hole sizes in the foil to allow smoke to escape.

Sounds like a great suggestion. I'll give that a try. I appreciate the input. I may even try it on my gas grill. Thanks!

 

[djsams]

I gave this another try last weekend. I put two "wet" chunks of hickory the size of the one pictured previously right next to the burn pot under the flame tamer. I didn't notice any more smoke than usual but when the cook was finished 5 hours later and everything had cooled down I lifted the flame tamer to see the results. Surprisingly one of the chunks was nearly gone leaving a small pile of what looked like unburned but very disfigured hickory "pulp". The other was similar but a much larger pile - possibly 50% of the original. Neither had a normal shape and showed no burned areas. (Sorry, I didn't take any pics.) Overall, I'm not really sure what happened. It's almost as if they evaporated. I'm wondering if there is so much air flow that they didn't really even burn or give off any smoke. Any thoughts? Maybe the next try should be wrapped in foil with a few holes as suggested by Redoctapus above??

The good news is that I also used a homemade smoke tube with a mix of pellets and hickory chips. The spare ribs turned out great! I just wish I could find a way to use some of my inventory of chunks (Hickory, Oak, Apple, Pecan, Cherry...) rather than chips.

Dan

 

[Redoctapus]

I gave this another try last weekend. I put two "wet" chunks of hickory the size of the one pictured previously right next to the burn pot under the flame tamer. I didn't notice any more smoke than usual but when the cook was finished 5 hours later and everything had cooled down I lifted the flame tamer to see the results. Surprisingly one of the chunks was nearly gone leaving a small pile of what looked like unburned but very disfigured hickory "pulp". The other was similar but a much larger pile - possibly 50% of the original. Neither had a normal shape and showed no burned areas. (Sorry, I didn't take any pics.) Overall, I'm not really sure what happened. It's almost as if they evaporated. I'm wondering if there is so much air flow that they didn't really even burn or give off any smoke. Any thoughts? Maybe the next try should be wrapped in foil with a few holes as suggested by Redoctapus above??

The good news is that I also used a homemade smoke tube with a mix of pellets and hickory chips. The spare ribs turned out great! I just wish I could find a way to use some of my inventory of chunks (Hickory, Oak, Apple, Pecan, Cherry...) rather than chips.

Dan

Did you wrap your chunks with aluminum foil with a couple perforations?

 

[djsams]

Did you wrap your chunks with aluminum foil with a couple perforations?

I didn't this time but that seems like the next logical try. Thanks!

 

[Redoctapus]

I didn't this time but that seems like the next logical try. Thanks!

Once the split heats up next to the crucible it will ignite. The controller will try to slow down the auger in an attempt to control oven temp. I have left splits on top of the firebox of my stick burner and they ignite in the open air. If you want the additional smoke you will need to limit the oxygen getting to the split. Use the aluminum foil with a few fork holes. The foil hack gets used in gas grills quite often.

 

[djsams]

Once the split heats up next to the crucible it will ignite. The controller will try to slow down the auger in an attempt to control oven temp. I have left splits on top of the firebox of my stick burner and they ignite in the open air. If you want the additional smoke you will need to limit the oxygen getting to the split. Use the aluminum foil with a few fork holes. The foil hack gets used in gas grills quite often.

Thanks for the input. This is now my new plan for the next cook!

Pit Boss should design a heat resistant camera so we can monitor what's happening in there!

 

[sparkyv]

This older post has got me thinking (dangerous?)...I may try some charcoal pieces along with pellets in my smoke tube.

 

[Steve In Pa]

I know, I KNOW! Sounds like a fire waiting to happen and this is probably a dumb question. I have many wood chunks left over from my charcoal smoker and am wondering if anyone has found a safe way to use them to enhance (not replace) the flavor and smoke provided by pellets. I don't want to go all out with a Smoke Daddy Heavy D and I know I could cut them down to wood chips for a smoke tube, although most are around 2"-3" so that will take some time. I was just wondering if soaking a chunk or two overnight and placing near the flame tamer or in a small metal enclosure near the flame tamer (like a mini Smoke Daddy) or some other genius homemade invention already developed by one of you faithful forum experts would offer up an option to use some of my wood chunks. That said, I certainly am not looking to compromise safety or cause damage to my smoker. (Hey, it doesn't hurt to ask and I'm expecting a lot of "no, no, and hell no" replies but I have thick skin. ) Thanks all!

Good post. But for now I have my tube with a pellet/chip mix that does the job for me.