cleaning the OBS.

[uniman]

Notice it says in the manual to clean after each use??  Does anyone do this???  What do you do for cleaning??

Oh also, after my first use of the OBS the inside of the door is pretty black, is this normal???

Thanks...

[westexasmoker]

Welcome to the forum uniman!

Nope no cleaning here, except for the racks and V tray!  Black inside the interior is a good thing means you've been smoking alot!

C

[pensrock]

Oh also, after my first use of the OBS the inside of the door is pretty black, is this normal???

The darker it gets the better the food comes out.

All I really clean is the trays, V tray, water bowl and the tray under the bowl.
If I see moisture I'll wipe it up with paper towels and also clean the door seal area real well so its doesn't stick.
Every couple runs I'll clean the surface of the puck burner and the slide area.

[sixx27am]

Hi Uniman,

I have used mine twice so far and both times cleaned the racks, waterbowl, drip pan and tray in the dish washer. I then wiped the inside down with just a wet cloth. hope that helps

[Smoking Duck]

I wouldn't wipe the inside of the smoker down with anything....over time, the interior of the smoker may start to develop some flaking.  I knock the flakes off so as to not getting them on food when smoking, otherwise let the inside go.

Also, I remove the vent on top and wash that area down or your vent will stick. 

SD

[Up In Smoke]

same here,
clean the racks v tray and bowl.
other than that treat it like a good iron skillet.....just keep seasoning!

[AggieBQ72]

When I cleaned my unit after a big brisket smoke, the Vpan was piled up with drippings from the meat...especially the brown sugar from the rub I used.  Any suggestion on how to clean that off besides just elbow grease?

[Smoking Duck]

I always spray my V-tray with some sort of non-stick spray prior to the smoke.  After the smoke, I let the V-tray soak overnight in dish soap.  After that, just a little elbow grease and throw in the dishwasher.

SD

[uniman]

Thanks for the tip guys!!!!  BTW, my very first smoking session was with a beef roast, a challenge for sure, turned out like this:



Pretty good in my opinion!!!!

[HCT]

I'd like to add that wiping down around where the smoke generator meets the box is important also. The circle that forms on the generator and the opening of the box. It would also be helpful to take off the vent disc and get that funky buildup wiped away also.

[drano]

I soak the v-tray and water pan in hot soapy water, scrape w/ a plastic plate scrapper, then into the dishwasher. 
I brush the puck track with my fingers to get loose puck crumbs off the track.  Then I remove the tray that sits on the floor of the smoker and dump any puck crumbs etc on the lawn.
Put all the stuff back inside the smoker, put cover on, and wait for my next smoke. 
One of these days I need to take the top vent off.  It sticks because it has so much smoke goo on it. 
get smokin
drano

[westernhunter]

Just like the others, I only clean the racks, v-tray and water pan.  However, now and then after a LOT of use and then letting it sit, the black smoke residue that has built up on the walls will start to peel or flake off.  If that starts to happen be sure to wipe off as much as the loose residue as possible so it does not end up on your food.

Enjoy the new smoker!!!

[Smoking Duck]

Nice deer, Western!