A-MAZE-N SMOKER

Doc_Eggerton

OK, I'd like to phrase this in the words I'm really feeling, but that would be indiscreet.  How do you keep the _)(*_(*&)(*&^&^%&*^$ pellets lit and smoking.

This is my third time trying this thing, and I've read every instruction you can find on the internet.

I'm thinking this process is not for me.

Focker

Personally IMHO, I'd ditch the pellets and go with sawdust before giving up.  Much easier to light and more consistent burn. 

The Cen-Tex Smoker

I lit mine with a torch for like 1 minute, let it burn for 10 minutes outside the egg before putting it in. Burned for 14 hours straight. something is amiss.

Doc_Eggerton

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

I lit mine with a torch for like 1 minute, let it burn for 10 minutes outside the egg before putting it in. Burned for 14 hours straight. something is amiss.

I am using their brand pellets, maple.  Did you use sawdust?  I have multiple Eggs, I am thinking of one of the dryer vent rigs to move smoke from the S to the XL for cold smoking.

Doc_Eggerton

Maybe I am expecting too much drama in the smoke.  I just looked, and there is a bit of ember in the pellet, but no visible smoke.  How much do you expect to see?

The Cen-Tex Smoker

I bought Trager pellets from my shop. They carry all the flavors and it's way cheaper than AMS pellets. There was plenty of visible smoke. do you have all your vents open?

CeramicChef

I use the Rube Smoker. It takes me about a minute with my MAPP torch to get everything going well.I let the fire die down naturally and then put it in my BGE. Thing smokes for hours! Try looking on YouTube and seeing the procedures for using A-Maze-N products. You shouldn't be having any problems after that. If you do, about the only piece of advice is to put your pellets I'm a low heat oven, less than 200 degrees, and dry them out! Hater lighting, you should see a pretty good level of smoke.

Doc_Eggerton

I have the bottom vent wide open, and the DW closed,  but turned so all the holes are open?  You do it wide open?

Here's the result from the final try.  After 4 hours, and 4 or 5 re-lightings it had burned a few inches, and then went out.  As you might expect, as the frustration grew the intensity of the lighting increased, so they were good and light last time.  Still went out in about 15 minutes.

On a good note, at least the cheese is no worse off than when I started.  
8-}

The Cen-Tex Smoker

ha! take the dfmt off and run it wide open top and bottom. needs some airflow. where do you have it placed in the egg? mine was right on my clean fire grate. I bet taking the top off will get you going.

nolaegghead

I agree with CeramicChef's idea of drying them in an oven.  Plan B (or maybe plan A), for me would be beating the crap out of the pellets with a hammer - reducing them to sawdust.  Then trying to burn that.  If it doesn't work, at least you'll feel better

Doc_Eggerton

I had a woo in, and a small grid on the bottom ring just above the fire ring.  That is where the smoker was, and the cheese on the top at regular grid level.

Heck, the cheese tastes just fine, we'll try smoking ver 2.0 tomorrow with everything wide open.

Doc_Eggerton

nolaegghead said:

I agree with CeramicChef's idea of drying them in an oven.  Plan B (or maybe plan A), for me would be beating the crap out of the pellets with a hammer - reducing them to sawdust.  Then trying to burn that.  If it doesn't work, at least you'll feel better

Holy C..., that is exactly what the wife suggested about two hours ago!

fletcherfam

I did what ct did, I cleaned out the egg entirely then i liit for 1 minute with a butane torch then set it in the egg and let it burn for 10 Ian minutes, blew it out then put the cheese on. Lower vent was wide open, DW was on but wide open because it was raining. Had smoke "whisping" out for 2 hours no problem.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

hapster said:

Not to sound dumb; but is this thing supposed to do cold smoking using the egg? For stuff like cheese and other delicates? Not trying to be smart, but the idea I think I saw on naked's site of a small metal can filled with hot coals and smoke wood, set down in the firebox seemed like a fairly simple and straight forward approach.

way less heat than lump

nolaegghead

And it's cheap n easy.

nolaegghead

That works fine, Hap, if you're not worried about the temp.  Where you want to cold smoke fish or cheese, the temp can't get above 90F in the egg.  You want smoke and no heat.  This thing burns like a pound of wood over 10 or 11 hours.  So you get lots of smoke and barely any heat.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

nolaegghead said:

That works fine, Hap, if you're not worried about the temp.  Where you want to cold smoke fish or cheese, the temp can't get above 90F in the egg.  You want smoke and no heat.  This thing burns like a pound of wood over 10 or 11 hours.  So you get lots of smoke and barely any heat.

or bacon. cold smoke makes a huge diff.

nolaegghead

Still, where you have smoke you have fire, and you get heat, and the egg is an insulated, closed environment, so it helps to do your cold smoking when ambient temps are low, like right now.  There are some other tricks, like the paint can external to the egg and using a dryer hose to pipe the smoke to your food.  The dryer hose bleeds off most of the heat.

Sundown

hapster said:

Something like a gallon paint can as a starter chimney, get some small pieces of lump going, a few chunks of smoke wood on top, and place it down on the fire grate with the bottom vent wide open. Isn't the goal low temp smoking? Say less than 200 dome temp? Of course I have had a few cocktails so its possible I've missed the entire point of this thread...

You haven't missed the point at all. It seems like the newbies on all forums like to ,make things as complicated as they can. I've a Pro-Q and I've used the soldering iron in a can with chips and rigged up the dryer hose as well.

I put the sawdust in the Pro-Q (same darned things as the A-Maze-N Smoker) light it and place it on top of whatever lump is in the Egg. I leave the lower vent open about half way and the Daisy wheel almost closed. The Pro-Q will go for about 11 hours that way and the dome temp will never even register on the thermometer.

Keep It Simple Son

Focker

If cold smoking is an excuse to get you a small egg along your large in the backyard then I'm all for it.  $40 for a cold smoke generator or $400 for a ceramic cold smoke generator. 

I too, just throw it on the existing lump.  Tried putting it on a pizza stone, fire died out d/t airflow.  

Thanks Sundown for chiming in.

Doc_Eggerton

Well, I finally got this sucker working.  Lighted it and ran it top and bottom wide open on my XL, and it ran for about 15 minutes before it went out.  OK, loaded it up,lit the ship out of it and let it burn until about 2 inches of pellets were burning, then tried it.  It has now been running for an hour.  We'll see how the cheese turns out.

Doc_Eggerton

OK, actually made it work.  Now have to taste and test until I find the right formula.  Got hot enough to melt the cheese into dimples a little.  Done with maple pellets for one line of the tray.

That is two chunks of Jack and a big wedge of gouda.

Focker

Glad you stuck with it Doc.  Looks like the Jack was placed above the cold smoke generator?  May want to play with setups and try using a two-tiered approach with a pan of ice as a barrier inbetween the pellets and cheese. 

jeroldharter

I'm late to this thread but you are being stingy with the pellets. Fill the maze almost to the top. Fire it up with a blow torch until it is on fire. You should feel a little anxiety that you have gone overboard with the torch. Then blow out the flame and you will have plenty of smoke. Put the maze on your grill grate and close the lid. You will have several hours of cold smoke.

Roosh

I agree with Jerold.  Based on the picture, it looks like the pellets are too "loose" in your smoke tube and that may be contributing to the fire going out.  I cant speak from experience but I have watched the YouTube video of the AMAZING Smoke Tube and it appears the pellets are packing in tighter and that connection in the fuel may keep the smoke going for long periods of time.