Changing water in bowl

[Robpatton1]

First timer here. Will be smoking an 8 lb Boston butt this week.  Do I really need to change out the water in the bowl every two hours?  Looking at probably 10 hours of cooking time.  Any other suggestions?  Thanks!

[Orion]

The water is used to fully extinguish each puck as it comes off the burner. This prevents pucks smoldering long after the wood has burnt and introducing an acrid smell and taste to your food. Fresh smoke only.

For this reason, the bowl of water is only required while the smoke generator is burning pucks. For your eight lb butt I would estimate about 3-4 hours of smoke depending on how you like your meat. Check the bowl periodically during the smoking to ensure the pucks are not piling up in the bowl and smoldering.  Once the smoking is done you can remove the bowl and all the soggy pucks from the cabinet and finish your cooking.

[Robpatton1]

Thanks so much!

[Orion]

You are welcome. It's refreshing when someone  acknowledges their question has been answered.

[Habanero Smoker]

There is another reason for the water bowl, and why you should refresh the water. It prevents the fat/grease that render from meats possibly igniting. You don't want a bowl full of only grease setting next to the heating element. I don't refresh every two hours. I refresh after the smoking period has finished, during that smoking time, I basically do what Orion does. After discarding the burnt bisquettes, and grease I refill the bowl. After that I will refresh every 4 hours. Even if you see the bowl is still full, during the cook it is probably at least half fat.

Many who do not want to refresh the small water bowl, have replace the bowl with a pan or disposable pan that will fit in that area, and slide under the bisquette burner. Doing this allows you to add more water and surface area, and a larger area for the grease and bisquettes; thus you can do a full cook like a butt without changing the water. You may have to check to make sure the bisquettes don't pile up around the burner. Do a search on this forum to learn more about this.

[Orion]

Great points about the greases and oils requiring containment HS.

[Robpatton1]

Thanks for the information!   I do appreciate it.   

[zueth]

The water is used to fully extinguish each puck as it comes off the burner. This prevents pucks smoldering long after the wood has burnt and introducing an acrid smell and taste to your food. Fresh smoke only.

For this reason, the bowl of water is only required while the smoke generator is burning pucks. For your eight lb butt I would estimate about 3-4 hours of smoke depending on how you like your meat. Check the bowl periodically during the smoking to ensure the pucks are not piling up in the bowl and smoldering.  Once the smoking is done you can remove the bowl and all the soggy pucks from the cabinet and finish your cooking.

I wouldn't suggest removing bowl, you need the bowl to catch the grease, especially with a pork butt. 

I switch out water every 3 hours when buring pucks and after that probably around every 4-6 hours.