"Sooty" Drips from the top of the Bradley--Inside

[sdcaller]

I smoke a lot of fish in my Bradley and frequently I have drops of "Sooty" water that have deposited themselves on the fillets and then dried out. It come from the area of the centre vent.

It doesn't affect the taste, but does look unsightly.

Any suggestions as to what I'm doing wrong and or how I can eliminate this?

Would appreciate any ideas.

Thanks

SDC

[Quarlow]

Keep that vent open. You are getting black rain from the moisture build up. The vent should be min. of half but if you are smoking something with lots of moisture Like chicken keep it wide open.

[Quarlow]

Occasionally you may want to remove the vent and clean under it and around it.

[dave01]

I agree with Quarlow, I took the vent out of mine and have had no problems with that.

[Jim O]

I put a foil pie plate on an inverted rack on the top rack bracket directly under the vent. Catches anything that may drip. Works for me .

[pensrock]

The pie plate is a good preventer but you obviously have too much moisture building up and not getting out of the smoker. Keep the vent wide open. Pat the fillets dry with paper towels before putting into the smoker. If still happening maybe lighted the load so there is not as much moisture in the smoker at one time. I'm sure other will be chiming in with more ideas.

[Habanero Smoker]

This time of year it can also be cause by condensation build up where the hot moist air come into contact with the cold air. Moisture buildup around the vent and will drip down, even with it  fully open. That is when the pie pan comes in handy, but I just flatten out a coffee filter, and place that on empty rack just under the vent. The only problem with that is you loose some cooking area.

[sdcaller]

I'm wondering about the water in the bowl to catch the burnt out bisquettes?

I boil the water before I put it in the bowl--so it goes in quite hot and steamy.

Is this part of my problem? Should I be using cold or lukewarm water?

Thoughts?

SDC

[pensrock]

I normally use room temp water but once I'm done smoking and only cooking I then empty it out and put a little more room temp water to catch any grease that may fall. Yes it will get hot but I never seen it boil.

[Tiffin]

I always boil my water too to get temps up faster, never had a problem with the black rain. I removed my vent completely long ago as well.

[sdcaller]

Thanks for the tips.

From now on before I start, I will ensure the vent is clean inside and I will keep it open when smoking.

We shall see what happens.

SDC