aluminum foil question

[stout]

this might be a stupid question and maybe i missed the information

for the people who smoke regularly(not once every few months) weekly or more than once a week .. do you replace the aluminum foil on the smoke box and bottom every time or do you let it stay there for a few smokes?

just kinda curious about this

 

[swthorpe]

I replace all AL foil after every smoke.  This allows for clean up of the floor of the smoker, which will always get some residual from the smoke.

 

[Durangosmoker]

+1. The only times I have not replaced the foil is when smoking something in a foil casserole dish (smoked shrimp). if the foil gets dripped on, it gets replaced.

 

[Limey]

+2. The only times that I do not replace the foil is if I am smoking a beer can chicken placed in a small skillet, in which case there is no cleanup.

 

[stout]

good

i was hoping i wasn't throwing away something i shouldn't

or rather throwing it away too fast

on a side note.. my wife was commenting on how good the grease in the drip pan smelled
i told her yeah that is what they should be making scented candles out of

 

[Meatball]

A friend of mine got lazy between smokes and let the foil sit for a few smokes. It was a mess to deal with and the lesson was learned the hard way. I highly suggest avoiding this at all cost. I use the cheaper foil for lining and save the better quality for wrapping food with.

 

[Pork Belly]

I started changing it after every smoke. After a while I switched to every few smokes. Eventually I began changing it when I saw it was ripped from moving the firebox. The winter of 2014 I didn't change it until spring because it was too damn cold to mess with it.

None of it made a noticeable difference, do what pleases you.

 

[SuperDave]

With my ability to use an internal drip pan, I rarely replace the foil. 

 

[volscrazy65]

Dave, can you tell me about using an internal drip pan?  I guess you are using the drippings?

 

[SuperDave]

Dave, can you tell me about using an internal drip pan?  I guess you are using the drippings?

Some times I do to make gravy and other times it is simply to help not make such a mess.  My model 4 affords me enough shelf space that a foil pan does not interfere with airflow in the smoker.  Some with smaller smoker models have said that a internal pan disrupts airflow and they have trouble keeping temperature.  If you leave a couple inches of space all the way around, there shouldn't be a problem, at least in my experience. 

 

[volscrazy65]

Gotcha.  Thanks.