Maybe Smoke Related

[old sarge]

Two, sometimes 3 times a year I find myself cutting back numerous shrubs, rose bushes, and pruning the trees.  And I cut the debris into very small pieces by hand so that it fits trash bags and goes to the land fill.  Very labor intensive.  I got the itch a few days ago and researched electric chipper shredders and after watching a couple dozen videos and looking at online manuals, I purchased a Sun Joe CJ602E from Amazon.  So many different brands but most had the very same cutter head design; only the housing and shield differed. Some heavier duty models had a different cutter design and produce what can best be described at tiny logs.  Long story short:  I will use the chips/shreddings for composting and landscaping and save some for another use. I figured I might try smoking with 'homemade' chips in the future and figured that some of you folks that have pruning chores might want to consider producing your own chips, especially for the Bella or other device.

https://www.amazon.com/Sun-Joe-CJ602E-Electric-Chipper/dp/B0721VFP7L/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=electric%2Bchipper%2Bshredder&qid=1612233608&sr=8-4&th=1

 

[LarryD]

I hope it works out for you.  I owned this one for a few years.  It was still a LOT of work.  I had so many limbs that I found it easier to just load up my little trailer and haul them off to the local drop-off mulch site.

 

[old sarge]

The Troy Built you had looks like a nice unit.  I'm hoping what I get helps and makes some of my yard work a tad easier.  And I might be able to use the chips in the smoker, tree species dependent.

 

[old sarge]

Trial run today with the chipper/shredder. Works really well. Extremely small chips; much smaller than commercially available chips. Later this year I will try smoking with some.  Probably too small for use in Bella or other similar device as the final product packs down with little space for air.

 

[OldeSmoker]

David, I can’t tell by looking at the photo how small your chips are. If they pack together to tightly they might be able to be mixed with pellets and used in the Bella. I have been using commercially produced wood chips mixed with pellets in my Bella. The pellets alone impart a harsh almost acrid taste to the meat. Maybe it’s just the pellets I have. I haven’t made an attempt to use just chips alone but I think I’ll give it a try. I think using just chips would produce a much better quality smoke if they would burn properly in the Bella.

 

[old sarge]

Paul - The chips are fine.  I would call them lumpy sawdust.  Could still work though. 

 

[barelfly]

That looks pretty good! Much bigger than the first photo. Let us know how this goes when you smoke with something.

 

[old sarge]

It will be a month or so but I will report success or failure.

 

[prudentsmoker]

The Troy Built you had looks like a nice unit.  I'm hoping what I get helps and makes some of my yard work a tad easier.  And I might be able to use the chips in the smoker, tree species dependent.

I used to do the purchasing for the Troy Built shredder/grinders when they were here in Wichita and I can assure you Garden Way (the parent company) does it right, e.g. very high quality.

 

[Limey]

The Smoke Daddy smoke generators have a large spring in the body, about half inch in diameter and the same length as the smoke body. It just rest freely inside and acts as an air conduit. If you are concerned about the chips packing too tightly this idea may help.

 

[old sarge]

Thanks Roger.