New Owner of SI#2

[CUTiger80]

Hey Guys,
My SI#2 arrived yesterday and I unpacked it and set it up.
I WAS ABSOLUTELY BLOWN AWAY BY THE QUALITY OF MATERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION!!!
I am planning to season it up tonight for a smoke on Sunday afternoon.
I have a question about water pans/trays, and the like.
I noticed on the video that Steve put on the website that he uses a folded up aluminum pan with some water sitting in the bottom of the smoker.  This seems a little chincy, so I wondered what some of you experienced smokers are using?
I come from a background of trying to smoke things on my gas grill.  I always used a large shallow pan with water/apple juice placed under the meat I was smoking.  Can I do the same thing in the SI#2 by putting the pan on a low shelf or will this mess up the smoke/heat distribution?  It would seem like a larger pan would also help to catch some of the drippings, etc.
Do you always smoke with some liquid in the smoker?
My first smoke is going to be some chicken wings (recipe I got from Jeff @ smoking-meat.com).  Should I use a liquid for this?

 

[swthorpe]

Welcome, Ravel!  I think you will find that the SI smokers are well insulated and maintain a good moisture level during the smoke.    Nevertheless, I use a small AL disposable loaf pan with apple juice, and I put it right next the smoke box so that it gets the heat from the box.  I have never tried putting a bigger water pan under the meat, and I suspect this would affect the heat distribution.    For short smokes under 2 hours, I would not bother with a loaf pan, but for longer smokes (like boston but) I think it is worth adding the extra moisture.

 

[Pork Belly]

It is important to really review this section:  http://smokinitforums.com/index.php?board=50.0

 

[CUTiger80]

Guys,
Thanks for all of the great advice.
I have read the Basics for Beginners post and now know not to use the large water pan and to "boat" my wood chunks.
In that post, DivotMaker talks about how it is important where your smoking wood comes from.
So that I would have some wood to get started with when the smoker arrived this week, I went ahead and ordered hickory, mesquite, apple & peach wood chunks from Amazon.  They are manufactured by Weber and Western.  I am assuming that this is the stuff DivotMaker is warning against using.  Since I now have $30 worth of wood chunks, is there anything that you guys would recommend that I do with them to make them work better in my new smoker?  Will soaking them in water make them less flammable?

 

[NDKoze]

I definitely would not put a pan on any of the racks. We have found that this causes temp problems.

You don't need that large of a pan. A mini-loaf pan 3/4 full is more than enough even for a long Boston Butt smoke.

Typically, I do not use a water pan for poultry, Jerky, or raw sausages. But for everything else, I do.

I would also check out the following thread which answers a lot of questions new users have about smoking times/temps/woods/etc:

http://smokinitforums.com/index.php?topic=2151.0

Regarding the Weber wood chunks, I think you will be OK to use them. What Tony (DivotMaker) has been using lately and really recommends it is to make a foil boat for the chunks. The following post (also in the for beginners section) discusses this:

http://smokinitforums.com/index.php?topic=2210.0

 

[Pork Belly]

There was a link posted dome time back to a video. It showed how little soaking chunks actually affects moisture content. I don't foil and don't have any issues, but your welcome to do it. It cant hurt, if it makes you more confident then you should do it.

 

[swthorpe]

Go ahead and try your wood with the foil method and see what happens.  I had purchased some hickory chunks from Home Depot before getting more from fruitawood.  The HD wood worked fine for me with the foiled wood...no combustion/belch.  I think you will be OK.

 

[CUTiger80]

Thanks again guys for all of your advice/comments.
And Tony/Gregg, your chart is a terrific help!!
Maybe tonight when I break in the smoker, I will use one wood chunk as is, another in a boat and yet another in a boat after soaking.  I could then evaluate all of them after the 4 hour break-in period and decide what to try on my first smoke.

 

[Pork Belly]

You could, but it would be better to spread four blocks out in the fire box and let run. Four hours at 250, you should have basically ash and a heavy layer of smoke residue in the smoker. You want all the smoke you can get during break-in.

 

[swthorpe]

Yes, for the seasoning run, I would not use the foil...just let it go.  I think SI recommends 3 dowels of the hickory to get a good coat on the metal.

 

[DivotMaker]

Congrats, Ravel!  I'm late to the party, but see you've received better advice than I can give, anyways!  I need to modify the Basics post about using a little foil on the bottom of the wood.  I think, even the dryer Western and Weber chunks will be fine, doing this.  You might try a little soak, too, as Brian mentioned.  I haven't tried that yet.  When I put together the Basics post, I was addressing the moisture content in some of the wood you get, as it does make a difference.  The larger elements in the models 2 and 3 get really hot, really quick, so wood that's too dry can catch fire....not good! 

I agree with Brian about break-in - just throw the wood in and let her rip!  After you get it seasoned, though, it would be interesting to see how your experiment goes!

Let us know how we can help, and I look forward to your first success pictures! 8)

 

[old sarge]

Welcome from Southeast Arizona.