Seasoned my Model 2 tonight and got combustion

[eclecticitguy]

First things first, my model #2 arrived tonight!  Woohoo!!  After the regular steps of taking it out of the box, attaching the casters, etc, it was time to season that bad boy.  Following the instructions in the box, along with the great summary provided by Tony/DM, I put two pieces of hickory provided from Steve into the smoke box and turned it up to 250.  My wife and I were outside talking and the smoker suddenly did the dreaded "belch." 

After the 4 hours of seasoning, I looked in the box and all of the wood was completely ash, and I got the normal black marks on the door.

Has anyone had an issue with the hickory Steve provided combusting?  I ordered some smokalicious wood that'll be here Saturday, but it may not arrive before I start my real smoke.  I'm thinking that I'll heat the wood at 150 for 30 min before increasing the temps to 235.

Super excited to have my Model #2 finally but a little bummed that the wood provided combusted.  Oh well.

 

[NDKoze]

Combustion is not the horrid thing that some make it out to be.

I have had a few smokes where the wood combusted and the food still turned out great.

Just avoid the urge to open the smoker because the resulting flood of fresh oxygen will only make things worse. Just let it ride.

The ramp-up method that you describe works perfectly for the dryer chunks of wood. However, it is usually not necessary with Smokinlicious wood.

 

[eclecticitguy]

Thanks for the feedback, Gregg.  While the belch was a little startling because smoke came out of the front of the smoker as well, it's good to know that it wouldn't have caused any issues if I was actually cooking something.

And even though my first instinct was to open the smoker door and fix the issue, I knew better and just let it burn itself out.  Definitely something to remember for future incidents!

 

[old sarge]

I get a good belch once in a great while. Happened with the Cookshack as well as the Smokin-it. I have always used hickory from Cookshack. The belches can be startling but harmless.

 

[DivotMaker]

It is actually worse (more common) in a brand-new smoker than one that's used regularly, Will.  Not sure what wood Steve is currently providing, but you will definitely get less of it with smokinlicious!

 

[eclecticitguy]

Awesome, great info guys.  Thanks for the help.

 

[Grampy]

Will, one thing you can do with the drier wood to keep it from combusting is put a layer of aluminum foil in the bottom of your wood box. It helps insulate it and helps it smolder instead of burning.

 

[JackT]

Thanks for the feedback, Gregg.  While the belch was a little startling because smoke came out of the front of the smoker as well, it's good to know that it wouldn't have caused any issues if I was actually cooking something.

And even though my first instinct was to open the smoker door and fix the issue, I knew better and just let it burn itself out.  Definitely something to remember for future incidents!

It's common for a little smoke to also come out of the door. Although the door locks down tight, when the smoke gets rolling inside, don't be surprised when a little seep out the door. That's also how it finds it's way completely through the meat you're smoking. When you are done, all there should be is ash. Sounds like it did well to me. Keep everyone updated as to how your first smoke turns out. Enjoy.

 

[NDKoze]

You may see some smoke especially in the upper right corner. But the amount goes down if not eliminated after you get a good seasoning on your smoker.