New member checking in

[Northofthe49]

Hello all,

just wanted to check in and say im looking forward to all the knowledge and help that seems to be floating around i've been a lurker for awhile but now i've finally pulled the trigger and joined your ranks .

i bought a used one last year and so far so good with it. i have however commented the ultimate sin or i think so from what i've seen posted.... i forgot to clean the racks and drip tray before storage for the winter.... i opened it up and bloody hell its like a science experiment gone wrong in there.

How do i go about cleaning it with out ruining the seasoning or at this point is a total loss and kill it with fire. i have pulled the racks and drip tray that had most of the funky fuzz on it plan on bleaching and then tossing in the dishwasher as for the cabnet i dont see any fuzz but im still weary of anything that may be in there.

Do i just crank up the heat and let her go or get scraping?

cheers

[manfromplaid]

I would clean it complete and then season it again. For your health and whoever gets to share the goodness that is produced. food borne illness is not a good thing.. better safe then sorry

[Habanero Smoker]

Hi Northofthe49;

Welcome to the forum.

Completely cleaning it is the way I would also go about it. I would use white vinegar, spray and soak all areas inside the smoker, use a small putty knife and scrape off all the seasoning. Continue the procedure until all surfaces are pretty much clean. After cleaning let it dry out then run the smoker as high as it will go, for about 15 minutes. After cleaning, you can proceed to season as the instruction indicate.

[Northofthe49]

Thanks for your reply.

The plot thickens. After trying to clean it out with water vinegar. ( Left a tray in the bottom and let heat to try and loosen it. I checked on it and now I have no cabinet power. Could humidity kill the the power?

[Habanero Smoker]

What model do you have? Did you turn it on prior to cleaning to see if it was in working order?

If you didn't let it air dry prior to turning it on, you may have had some moisture build up around the electrical contacts of the heating element that could have caused a short. Use a desktop power cord to plug the cabinet directly into a wall socket. If the element begins to glow, the problem may be in your generator. If it doesn't glow, you may have shorted out the inline fuse, or the element may have blown.

If you have a multimeter disconnect the element and test for Ohm resistance. The resistance should read 27 - 32 Ohms. If the reading is within that range, reconnect the element, set the multimeter to Continuity, and clip a probe on each end of the element. If the continuity is broken, it is probably the inline fuse located at the rear of the cabinet. You will need to remove the back panel.