pucks not completely burned

pensrock · January 13, 2008, 01:13:47 PM

Anyone else have the problem with the pucks not being completely used before they are pushed into the water on a DBS? The last few runs I have noticed the pucks in the water were not completely burned. One side is almost half unburned, I would guess this was the top as it sat on the burner. I have not checked the 20 minute timing before it transfers another puck into position. But there is no adjustment for this that I know of. ???

Habanero Smoker · January 13, 2008, 01:44:25 PM

I've never had this problem. I'm assuming this is an new problem and your other smokes the bisquettes were fully burning.

If it is not a timing issue, then your burner is not getting hot enough. If it is not a mechanical problem, then it could be cause by the smoker not getting enough power. Have you added any appliances to the circuit you have your smoker hooked up to, or having turned on more appliances that are on the same circuit when you used the smoker this time? This will draw to much power, and your smoker will not work efficiently. If you added an extension cord that is less the 12 gauge, not enough power will be supplied.

pensrock · January 13, 2008, 01:53:00 PM

I cannot say for sure it is a new problem because I have never looked at the burned pucks before, just tossed them into the snow. I do have a short, 10 ft., 14ga. extention connected to the unit. 14 ga. is good for 15 amps, the unit has a 500 watt heater and the puck burner is what, 150 watt? Thats less than 7 amps draw over a very short distance. But I'm willing to try anything, I'll pick up a 12 ga. extention before next weekend. I'm hoping to try some salmon next Sat. It will be my first try at doing fish, a friend gave me some salmon so I'm giving Kummoks recipie a try.

Habanero Smoker · January 13, 2008, 02:04:43 PM

I hope the new cord will work. Many members have recommended at least 12 gauge.

pensrock · January 13, 2008, 02:08:19 PM

If it turns out to be a timing issue, is there any way to adjust it? I could not find anything in the manual about this.

Gizmo · January 13, 2008, 02:15:31 PM

Did they look like this?

I have on a few occasions experienced the same thing. They were on cold smokes though. The last cold smoke I did, and the pictures were taken from, it was in the 50s outside, and several of the pucks did not burn through. My suspicion is the puck burner is only as hot as it needs to be to smolder the pucks as they don't want them going up in flames. From these experiences, I would suspect that with a colder box temp, the burner is just a bit underpowered to completely burn them.

Habanero Smoker · January 13, 2008, 02:17:05 PM

I can't recall any of the tips or tricks that resolves that issue. Hopefully someone has a fix for this problem. I would try disconnecting all power for a minute or so and plugging it back in.

Mr Walleye · January 13, 2008, 07:02:56 PM

What type of pucks were you burning at the time?

To explain my question what I have experienced is pecan in particular seems to be made from a finer chip of woodor at least the ones I have purchased. What I have noticed is it the puck itself appears to have finer particles in it and it will tend to be more dense and not burn as complete as the more loosely formed coarser pucks. Anybody else notice this?

Mike

Arcs_n_Sparks · January 13, 2008, 07:07:55 PM

Quote from: Mr Walleye on January 13, 2008, 07:02:56 PM
Anybody else notice this?

I have noticed that the inter-molecular packing of alcohol in my adult beverage seems especially good tonight, contributing to a low, slow burn of the chemical decomposition process. :o

8)

Mr Walleye · January 13, 2008, 07:16:19 PM

Arcs...

***Burp***

I just got home after a few.... ahhhh....refreshments. I can relate! ;)

Mike

pensrock · January 14, 2008, 01:35:48 AM

Gizmo, yes the pucks looked exactly like the ones in your picture. The ones I was using were hickory, but I have seen this also with apple. I was cold smoking at the time also.
Arcs.... ;D

Habanero Smoker · January 14, 2008, 03:04:14 AM

Gizmo;

Did you preheat the generator prior to smoking? I cold smoke a lot, and never had that experience, but I preheat my burner. Depending on the order they went through, it looks like the plate either got gradually hotter, or cooler.

Mike;

I've noticed the difference it density of the various bisquettes. Maple seems to be the one that is made of the finest particles and falls apart easily, and mesquite seems to be the most dense and can take a lot of handling. I try to use mesquite or hickory as the last bisquette to push my bubba puck to the burner. But I've never noticed any difference in how they burned, but then I've never checked that closely.

bullhead · January 14, 2008, 03:15:24 AM

I to noticed my last smoke with apple the pucks looked the same. It was around +5 outside temp. The first ones were burned ok but the last ones were not. I was thinking the burner might need to be cleaned. That's just my though.

Gizmo · January 14, 2008, 09:42:24 PM

Quote from: Habanero Smoker on January 14, 2008, 03:04:14 AM
Gizmo;

Did you preheat the generator prior to smoking? I cold smoke a lot, and never had that experience, but I preheat my burner. Depending on the order they went through, it looks like the plate either got gradually hotter, or cooler.

Sure did. Now, I always preheat the generator prior to smoking as when I first started, the first puck would never be completly burned through. When using the smoke gen and oven together, I always go to 260+. The puck burner gets cleaned prior to each smoke as well. For the cold smoke, the preheat was 20 to 40 minutes. I don't recall exactly. I did a couple of thermal scans on the puck burner during a hot smoke just to see how hot the plate actually got to. Typical reading was around 540 deg. I should look into the smolder point of wood. :D