Heat output...fire hazard

Mo Smoke · Post by **Mo Smoke** » July 3rd, 2016, 11:02 am

I need to put a tarp/canopy over my smoker to keep rain and sun off me and the cooker. I would Thing is my stack is kinda tall and I'm worried about the smoke/heat coming out of it being a fire hazard. I'm thinking to use a fire retardant tarp for the roof, but I am wondering

1. Is there is a way to measure the temp of the smoke coming out of the stack so I can match it against the temp rating of the tarp material.

2. How much clearance do you think I need between the top of the stack and the tarp material? (I'm thinkin 2-3 ft)

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Post by **Big T** » July 3rd, 2016, 12:18 pm

I'm not sure what the exhaust temp would be but I had my big smoker under a lean to and it discolored the painted metal above the stack(only 6'' of clearance). If I was using a tarp for a roof I would leave as much room as possible between them and I would make a heat shield/ deflector about 8-12 inches above my stack. I'm talking about something makeshift just thrown together, a small piece of scrap metal/tin and a piece of pipe or a stick, something to keep the heat from directly flowing on the tarp. jm2cw

bluecatfish · Post by **bluecatfish** » July 3rd, 2016, 12:44 pm

To measure the temp coming out stick a themometer probe across the stack while using the smoker. Big T is spot on with the deflector above the stack between the tarp. jm2cw

Mo Smoke · Post by **Mo Smoke** » July 3rd, 2016, 2:21 pm

I like the deflector idea... Especially if I have at least 2 feat clearance above the stack.. I'm planning to have 3ft clearance with a fire retardant tarp. Add a thin piece of metal for a heat shield and I should be in business!
I don't care about discoloration... I know the smoke will do that.. I just want to be comfortable walking away from the smoker for a bit. Inside to cool off, wash some pans or cut up some meat.. Whatever.

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Mo Smoke · Post by **Mo Smoke** » July 3rd, 2016, 2:23 pm

I thought about using my thermometer to measure the heat coming off the stack... Just didn't know if it would give me a good reading. Worth a try tho.

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Post by **Rodcrafter** » July 3rd, 2016, 6:01 pm

I would say drop the probe down the stack about 6"..That should give you a real temperature reading. I use a steal cover over mine and I love it

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Dirtytires · Post by **Dirtytires** » July 4th, 2016, 12:10 am

An infrared thermometer should read the smoke temp as well. The laser will need to bounce off smoke however, not clean air to read.

Mo Smoke · Post by **Mo Smoke** » July 5th, 2016, 4:00 pm

So I dropped a probe into the stack about 4 inches.. Basically as far as I could get without it touching or burning my hand. It read around 325 while the thermometer on my pit read around 300. I raised the probe about a foot above the stack, still in the stream of heat/smoke and got a similar reading to the Pit thermometer again. Above 1 ft the smoke started to dissipate and spread out so the reading dropped a lot. Based on this, at 2 feet clearance I'm good, and at 3 feet prob don't even need the heat shield especially with a fire retardant tarp.

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bluecatfish · Post by **bluecatfish** » July 5th, 2016, 5:14 pm

Sounds good to me.

Post by **Big T** » July 5th, 2016, 9:24 pm

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