Smoke Generator on XL with creosote trap (REVISED MODEL)

littlerascal56

Fired up REV 2 model smoke generator this afternoon.  This time, I only used the air pump for the first 30 seconds to get it going, then unplugged it and let it draft naturally.  I put some mild cheddar and motzerella in the XL for exactly 1 hour.  It was then running out of cherry chips, so I pulled the cheese and let it burn out.  It smells pretty smoky, so it's wrapped and in the fridge for the next 8 days to mellow.

A few observations:

• The creosote trap did catch a couple of tablespoons of the black nasty stuff, per @nolaegghead recommedations.  The pictures show temp at the trap T fitting (140), and temp as it entered egg (107).  It cools off quite a bit in only 16" of conduit.
• I don't need to use the pump at all when connected to the egg in this manner.  There is plenty of air draw from the XL to keep the fire going and smoke moving thru generator and egg.  I removed the pump and plugged the hole, and won't use it on future runs.
• I used a few pieces of lump at the bottom (lit with propane torch), and put a 12" layer of chery wood chips on it. The way it consumes fuel, you would need to refill once an hour. If I used wood chunks, the fire may last burn longer.  Will try chunks on next use.
• Generator still puts out a lot of smoke with pump off (natural asperation).  It put out a TON more with the pump on, which may be usefull if you had a large smokehouse or huge cabinet smoker. You can see the smoke is lazily exiting the top of the egg via natural draft.

Overall it works pretty well, but does generate a lot of smoke in a short time.  I will have to see how the cheese tastes in 8 days, and adjust smoking times accordingly.

nolaegghead

Nice!  Maybe you could slow down the burn rate with a damper on the intake or effluent.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

If I used wood chunks, the fire may last burn longer.  Will try chunks on next use.

So,  I may have this all wrong but in my mind, I like a faster burning chip over a slower burning chunk. A fully or at least more ignited chip should give you cleaner smoke than a smoldering chunk. Discuss. 

littlerascal56

Had a Cookshack 025 smoker for a while.  It used a 2x2 chunk of wood in a tray over a heating element.  That chunk would smoke for 1.5-2 hours!  Made some great food, and never saw any evidence of creosote inside that smoker.
Perhaps I could try a setup like that in this housing, and see the difference in smoke quality?