The belch has been discussed in several posts, and it does seem to be related to the wood catching on fire. Tony uses the ramp up method to slowly heat the wood, and I have tried that as well a few times (BTW, I have a SI #2). I have settled on wrapping the wood in foil and have done this in a couple of ways. The first few times I completely wrapped the wood in foil and punched a few BB-sized holes in the foil around the wood to allow the smoke to escape. This method worked, but now I don't completely wrap the wood--I leave the top open and just have the foil underneath and around the sides of the wood which seems to block the air flow in the box pretty well. This method is working fine, although I still get a few "puffs" when the temp reaches about 180F, and then the smoke resumes normally. I have not experienced the BIG BELCH at all with the foil method.
I should also note that I have been using home depot hickory wood that is probably pretty dry, but I will be switching to one of the other online stores suggested in other forum posts when I next need wood.
I should also note that I have been using home depot hickory wood that is probably pretty dry, but I will be switching to one of the other online stores suggested in other forum posts when I next need wood.
