Smoke colour out of the stack

[SheffSmoker]

Hello all,

Got a pork shoulder (butt) smoking today, but try as I might I can't get light blue smoke out the stack at the temp I need to smoke at.

If I have just charcoal on and the FB vent wide open it's thin blue smoke, but a CC temp of 300.

Close down the FB vent and get it settled to 225-250 and it's white smoke. Worse when I throw a chunk of oak on.

The last smoke was like this too, but the food tasted amazing - no bitterness at all to it. It's not a lazy stream of smoke either, a good draft around 4 feet tall out of the stack, so it seems to be breathing ok.

Any pointers? Am I doing something wrong? Is it just the wood smouldering causing it?

Thanks in advance.

[SheffSmoker]

Then just as I'm posting this, we have blue smoke, then back to greyish again!

Should I just stop worrying as long as it tastes ok at the end?

[hogaboomer]

When you put a fresh log on, it starts out grey or white. Once it gets going good, it turns to blue. Only way to cure that is to start your logs in a separate starter barrel before you put them in. Or give them a shot with a propane torch.
Preheating your logs on the firebox also helps them get fired up quicker.

[towtruck]

Can you look at the inside of your stack and see if that white smoke is just steam...there will be droplets on the inside of the pipe.....it might be your wood is the issue.

[SheffSmoker]

When you put a fresh log on, it starts out grey or white. Once it gets going good, it turns to blue. Only way to cure that is to start your logs in a separate starter barrel before you put them in. Or give them a shot with a propane torch.
Preheating your logs on the firebox also helps them get fired up quicker.

Got it - thanks! I was tempted to place them on top of the CC but didn't want them to flash up when I wasn't there. Will just have to sit in the garden supping beer.

[SheffSmoker]

Can you look at the inside of your stack and see if that white smoke is just steam...there will be droplets on the inside of the pipe.....it might be your wood is the issue.

Cheers, it is white smoke definitely, I think Mr. Boomer has hit the nail on the head. It's bone dry seasoned oak from a reputable source here in the UK, it does seem to be when I add them so pre heating seems to be the way to go.

[hogaboomer]

That's why I did all this:
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/501 ... 1812_k.jpg

[Dirtytires]

Ditto on the torch. I keep a soldering torch screwed to one of those disposable 1 lb bottles next to my smoker. New splits of wood get a quick hit, just enough to get them to flame over, usually 10-15 seconds is enough. I find it helps keep the smoke running clean and the fire burning more consistently.

[hogaboomer]

I have a small weed burner on a 20 pound tank that I use to get the fire started. I didn't have to use it for adding logs on my last cook, that new log rack gets them so hot, they catch fire immediately when I throw them in.

[BurnBern]

I put my splits on top of my F/Box so that they warm up before I use them. I have a few on top waiting to go in at all times. Also the size of the split is very important. When I started out I was using too big of a split and it would take awhile to catch alight and it would send out loads of smoke until it ignited.
Try and get your splits to the size of a cool drink can.

[SheffSmoker]

Hi and thanks, I'm using oak chunks, they are about the size of half a beer can. Got some cooking on top of the FB now.

[dacolson]

hey Sheffsmoker - how’s it working out? Are you finding a balance between airflow, charcoal, wood and heat? Preheat working out? If you have room in your FB, have you tried sitting a chunk or two off to the side inside the box?

On your comment about charcoal either being 300 deg or having white smoke, how long are you letting it come up to temp? I start with a chimney of charcoal that is good and hot - no longer smoking - and add it to the firebox. I can damp it down then without getting bad smoke. I add wood at that point and wait for it to stop smoking. I then put some wood to the side inside the FB and some on a rack on top of the FB (I’ve had wood start on fire sitting directly on the FB). I rotate wood through that way - wood pile to rack to inside to coals. I’m using splits, not chunks so I assume yours will heat up faster. I never add cold charcoal to a fire either. It will smoke. If I have to add coals - say if I fall asleep b/c I sipped too much delicious brown liquor and my coals die down - I always light them outside first, then add them after they stop smoking.

Not sure if you have access to charcoal chimneys there (I’m probably being wildly ignorant), but you can make one very easily with a big tin/steel can by punching big holes in the bottom and around the sides at the base. I have a buddy who has a fire pit next to his smoker and gets a big fire going w/ larger splits and just shovels live coals into the pit. He never puts unlit wood into his FB. He burns 3x the wood that I do though.

[SheffSmoker]

hey Sheffsmoker - how’s it working out? Are you finding a balance between airflow, charcoal, wood and heat? Preheat working out? If you have room in your FB, have you tried sitting a chunk or two off to the side inside the box?

On your comment about charcoal either being 300 deg or having white smoke, how long are you letting it come up to temp? I start with a chimney of charcoal that is good and hot - no longer smoking - and add it to the firebox. I can damp it down then without getting bad smoke. I add wood at that point and wait for it to stop smoking. I then put some wood to the side inside the FB and some on a rack on top of the FB (I’ve had wood start on fire sitting directly on the FB). I rotate wood through that way - wood pile to rack to inside to coals. I’m using splits, not chunks so I assume yours will heat up faster. I never add cold charcoal to a fire either. It will smoke. If I have to add coals - say if I fall asleep b/c I sipped too much delicious brown liquor and my coals die down - I always light them outside first, then add them after they stop smoking.

Not sure if you have access to charcoal chimneys there (I’m probably being wildly ignorant), but you can make one very easily with a big tin/steel can by punching big holes in the bottom and around the sides at the base. I have a buddy who has a fire pit next to his smoker and gets a big fire going w/ larger splits and just shovels live coals into the pit. He never puts unlit wood into his FB. He burns 3x the wood that I do though.

Hello Dave! Cheers for asking. Been a while but it's took a few cooks to get used to the nuances of the el cheapo and it's small firebox.

I've got it nailed now. A full bed of charcoal to get everything up to temp, get the CC to 110C with use of the FB vent. Food in, add one small chunk. That needs the FB door opening only an inch to get it flaming and lovely thin blue smoke, and the temp just about creeps up to 115-120C so I can live with that. If I close the FB door the wood goes out and we get white smoke.

I keep adding oak for the first 5 hours of the cook, replacing the charcoal with a fresh chimney already started as required.

Last bit of the cook I use pure charcoal and it happily sits stable at 110C with the vent open an inch for almost an hour.

Last cook was 12 hours and lowest it got was 90C when I had to pop out to run an errand, and highest was 125C when I got giddy and chucked a few chunks on at once.

[dacolson]