Cleaning my smoker

[mapleleafsgurl]

I hate doing it...it's a crappy job.  :-[ Could someone please give me some suggestions to make it easier and less gross?

Thanks

[Wildcat]

The racks and drip pan simply soak for awhile in HOT soapy water, then knock off as much as you can by hand, then into the dishwasher.  I periodically clean the reflector around the heating element by taking it off and washing.  As needed I also take the vent off and clean.  Otherwise I simply clean the door seal and shake/blow out the smoke generator.  You generally do not want to clean the inside of anything but loose stuff. ;)

[West Coast Kansan]

mlg, dont clean the inside of the tower! Folks pay money for that look ;D As above a warm soapy wipe on the door gasket and seal area on the tower and the rest goes inside.

Rack, Drip Tray and Water bowl will clean up pretty good.  I use a power disolver for baked on foods to clean the hard parts of the drip tray.  Also works good on the smokey residue on the other parts.

Every half dozen smoke I will scrape the puck burner with a putty knife and clean out the smoke generator. 

I gave up on the heat deflector on the bulb some time ago. Mine is black and I suppose it loose some performance but i dont notice.

When the black seasoning in the tower looks like it is going to flake off (usually after a high moisture smoke with the vent closed too far) just use crumpled up newspaper to knock the loose stuff down. 

If it aint fun it probably aint worth doing ;)

[Oldman]

If it aint fun it probably aint worth doing   ;)

Good advise.

[NePaSmoKer]

wck is right. the crusty walls will flake off.

nepas

[Consiglieri]

I think the BS manual advises not to clean the smoky walls as they help develop the smoker flavor. 

The seal should be cleaned with warm water so that it doesn't become fused between the unit and door (and rip off when you open the door).  As for greasey trays, etc.  Soaking works pretty good if you don't let the stuff sit for too long.  I've actually put the racks and V shaped drip tray into a high heat grill to loosen/burn stuff off.  haven't been brave enough to put these things into the self cleaning oven during a cleaning cycle, but I'm tempted to try (on one rack first)

I have placed freshly used racks and the tray into the dishwasher with a couple of "Grease Bullets" with some success.

with The Bowl: soaking and scrubbing has worked for me.

[LilSmoker]

As for cleaning, i always clean the racks, the V pan (good soak first), the water bowl and the bottom tray that the water bowl sits on, clean the door seal rubber with a damp cloth and also the edge of the cabinet where the door closes.
Unscrew the top vent and clean every few smokes depending on how gunked up it is. I give the puck burner plate a clean with a scrapper, and after a good few smokes i dismantle the generator and give it a thorough clean and blow it out with a compressor.

I never touch the internal walls of the cabinet, unless there's some flakey stuff which i lightly brush off, that's about it really, outside cabinet gets a wipe down with a damp cloth, and the BS is all ready for more action!  ;D ;)

[West Coast Kansan]

A nice idea i origionally stole of the forum here somewhere - put a little longer screw in the vent with a spring. When gunk begins to show at the vent it is pretty easy to lift the vent and get a rag under it.