A-MAZE-N Cold Smoke Generator

Well the first test is complete with some success and some failure.
  • I added a filled the A-MAZE-N with Hickory sawdust at about 2:30. Looking at the pictures it looks like I could have filled it a little more, but I think the picture is a bit deceiving because I pressed down the dust next to the walls to prevent jumping. So, it was a bit higher in the middle of the track.
  • At 2:30 it was 36F degrees and the smoker was right in the sun. It felt much warmer than 36 degrees. The side of the smoker was quite hot to the touch just from the sun before even putting the A-MAZE-N in the smoker.
  • I put one of my Maverick probes on the lowest rack (about 4" from the bottom) and the other on the top rack (about 4" from the top). Both probes read about 55 degrees to start with.
  • I lit the sawdust and let it burn on a rack sticking out of the smoker. It was kind of windy, so the fire kept blowing out. So, I pushed the rack and the A-MAZE-N into the smoker with the door open and lit it again. This seemed to work better.
  • With the A-MAZE-N lit and smoking pretty well, I placed it on the floor right next to the element brace, and then shut the door. I had previously removed the smoke box to allow more airflow from the drip hole.
  • I had thin blue smoke coming out of the #3 and it smelled incredible.
  • The temperature steadily rose from the 50's to the 76 at the highest on the lower probe. The top probe rose with it and pretty much stayed about 5 degrees lower than the lower probe, so maxed out at about 70 degrees.
  • I opened the smoker door at about 4:00 and the smoke had burned through about 1/2 of the first row and appeared to be going strong.
  • I looked again at about 6:00 and the smoke had turned the corner and was about 1/4 of the way down the next row.
  • After the sun went down the smoker temps started steadily going down. At 8:00, the temps were in the lower 60's, At 10:00 they were in the lower 50's, and stayed there until I opened the door at 1:30am.
  • I didn't open the smoker door after the 6:00 check as the smoke appeared to still be rolling.
  • The smoke finally appeared to stop at 1:30, so I opened the door.
  • I found that the dust had quit burning at the end of the second (middle) row. But the weird thing was that it only appeared to burn in a thin line right down the middle of the row.
  • The temps seemed about perfect for cold smoking cheese as they peaked at 76 degrees and spent the bulk of the time in the mid 50 range. I really wish I would have had some cheese in the smoker during this test.
  • I just wish the smoker wouldn't have been extinguished. :(

While I had pretty good smoke for the bulk of the smoke, I think the lack of air flow through the smoker (likely decreased throughout the evening as the wind died down) eventually extinguished the fire and thus the smoke stopped.

So, I think ultimately I experienced the same issue that most have with the Smokin-It smokers, being that there just isn't enough air-flow under normal circumstances to use the A-MAZE-N smoker without some type of modification to increase the airflow.

I certainly think the jerky dryer would increase the airflow. But would it be too much? If I were smoking cheese, would it dry out the cheese too much? I don't think this would be as big of a deal with cold smoking bacon. But, wonder if the dryer would dry the outside of cheese too much?

Should it be too much, I wonder if it would work to set the dryer on a couple of half inch boards to raise the dryer a little bit above the smoke hole to decrease the effectiveness of the dryer?

Any other thoughts or suggestions for the next test (other than drilling holes that is ;))?
 

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I saw your post early this morning and decided to give it a try in the #1.
In the past I've ran the little A-Maze-N sawdust model (with A-Maze-N's fine sawdust) in the #1 without a problem, just to see what would happen.

Some un-burned sawdust along the edges is common, but there really shouldn't be a lot of it.
The texture and consistency of the sawdust makes a difference...and it needs to be absolutely bone dry...that's essential.

My current hickory sawdust is a mixture of the coarse Frantz sawdust from Butcher & Packer and some A-Maze-N dust, which is quite fine.

I fill it full and level it off....jumping rows is usually only a potential issue when hot smoking.

I started at 11:00...it was 30 degrees outside with with a slight breeze and some sun so the inside of the smoker was about 41 degrees.

It's now noon and it's dropped to 27 degrees outside with 84 in the smoker.

XCAGnhy.jpg

 
I am using 100% Frantz dust. But to be honest, the dust I used for the first test had gotten wet at one time, but has since dried.

It seemed pretty dry, but to avoid issues I did put it in the microwave for 2 minutes, stirred, and then another minute before putting in the smoker.

It is possible that my dust was compromised from being wet.

When you fill, do you pack it down at all? I did and maybe shouldn't have.

I am going to try it again this afternoon with some cheese and see how it goes. It seemed like it worked pretty well in the daytime, but as night fell, so did the breeze that was present in the afternoon, which I think was the biggest problem.

Did you place the A-MAZE-N on the bottom of the smoker or on a lower rack?

Any other suggestions on what I could do different/better?
 
Drying questionable sawdust in the oven, set on low, for an hour or two is what works best for me.

I don't pack it in the A-Maze-N, just carefully sprinkle it in and level it off.

I'll try to take a pic of it in the smoker before dark...if it's still burning.  :)

It's 12:30 and the temp in the smoker is currently 86.
 
That is an awesome idea to set on the element rail, for smokes that won't drip that is. :)

I will try that today.
 
OK, I am trying this one more time.

It is 25 degrees out, but there is a pretty stiff wind that makes it feel much colder.

I'm kind of having trouble getting the A-MAZE-N lit today. I put dust in the outside rows and am trying to light both ends to up the smoke production for a relatively short cheese smoke. I have the A-MAZE-N resting on top of the element brace inside the smoker and the wind keeps on blowing the flame out as soon as I let off of the torch. It seems like there is a cherry in there burning, but I let it go for awhile just to come back and find it burnt out. I actually had better luck yesterday when there was less wind. I would have thought that the increased wind would help, but it appears to be hindering.

I created a thread for the cheese smoke here:
http://smokinitforums.com/index.php?topic=2698.new#new

Temp on both racks is 48 and starting to increase a little bit. So, hopefully I have it going successfully now. I'll check back again in a bit with an update.
 

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I think I have mine going pretty good now. Temps have risen up to the mid 50s and seems to be smoking pretty well.

I wonder if the smaller volume in your #1 verses my #3 is causing your temps to run so high.
 
9:00
10 hours and still going....it should wind-down sometime between now and 12 hours...I'll try to check every half hour...unless I doze off.
I haven't opened the smoker since 4:00 when I took the pic and don't intend to until morning.
Currently, 12 degrees outside and calm...84 degrees in the smoker.
 
Just curious... Martin, you were having temp issues earlier.  Has anyone tried adding a big pan of ice between the meat and the AMNPS, like we do with the cold smoke plate?  Seems like it would help keep the temp down 10-20°, but not sure - that's why I ask.  Also, if you partially covered the shelf you put the ice pan on with foil, it would make the ice last longer, wouldn't it?
 
That would help with the temperature issue, but create other issues..issues with moisture mainly...but it would also generally complicate things.
I like to be able to just light the A-Maze-N and walk away from 12 hours of cold smoke without worry...possible with the most basic model but not so easy with the others.
 
Didn't think about moisture, and possible dripping, Martin.  One other question - I've read some folks using an aquarium air pump, with a variable pressure adjustment, through the drain hole, to add airflow.  What's your thoughts on that?
 
Yeah, the dripping is the major problem....I could cold smoke all day every day (and night) in some of the drum smokers and the like that I have...but the condensation and the dripping of stuff off the ceiling and other complications are why I looked for an insulated smoker.
Some folks have experimented with the aquarium pumps, including myself, for extra air, mainly...thinking that lack of air was the major issue...trouble is, extra air means more heat. :) I think the main issue that sometimes makes it so hard for folks to keep these smoke generators burning is moisture...not lack of air.

10:30
Still smokin'.
8 degrees outside and calm...77 degrees in the smoker.
 
Well, my Cheese smoke is done.

The temp stayed at 65-70 pretty much the whole time.

I tried to smoke until I got some color, but the cheese didn't ever really take on much color. So, I ended up smoking for 5 hours. I hope I didn't over smoke them.

They're all packaged up and in the fridge. They were cool to the touch right out of the smoker and didn't look like they got a lot of color. They definitely smell smoky though. Hopefully some mellowing in the fridge will do them good.
 

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