# It has begun



## LT72884 (Apr 29, 2009)

I started about an hour ago with the smoke out. The mesquite lump seems pretty good. low smoke and no mesquite flavor yet. I am using 3 pieces of apple wood chunks and 1 hickory chunk. 

We will see how long i can get the fuel to last if i dont play with the smoker. I tend to treat the smoker like a bug bite. I always have to scratch it..


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## chilichip (Apr 29, 2009)

Wow how cool is that,I'm goin have to get one of those,How often do check the temp and do you need to keep adding what in there ,what are you smoking?


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## LT72884 (Apr 29, 2009)

chilichip said:


> Wow how cool is that,I'm goin have to get one of those,How often do check the temp and do you need to keep adding what in there ,what are you smoking?


I check the temp every half hour because i have no contorl over airflow because no airvents. I am trying to mod it so i can add some vents to get the fuel to last longer than 1.5 hours. Right now i am at 245 and its been 1 hour 20 minutes. I am trying to get two hours out of one chimney of mesquite lump charcoal and kingsford briquettes. I used 3 chunks apple wood and 1 chunk hickory


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## kitchenelf (Apr 29, 2009)

I'm so proud of you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## LT72884 (Apr 29, 2009)

So far i have over 2 hours on me coals and its about 215 220 so i have started another batch.

I just got a call from a guy named "T" who is a 3 time national bbq champ. He wants me to come to his resteraunt this saturday for an over night smoke. A whole pig, brisket, butts and ribs. He told me to bring my smoker. i told him that it was a 50$ cheapo but he said he wants it to be there.

Kind of an interesting day today.


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## LT72884 (Apr 29, 2009)

kitchenelf said:


> I'm so proud of you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



thanx. im not as nervous as i was last night. LOLOL. i got 2.2 hours out of one chimney of fuel. I had it at 2.5 hours but that was to long because my temps dropped to 200 and i had to wait 25 minutes to get the coal up and runnin.


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## MJK (Apr 29, 2009)

Here's a hint.  If you need to build heat fast (in the winter or when you add new charcoal) try an electric leaf blower spaced with the discharge nozzle a couple of feet away from the open bottom.  It doesn't take long to get the fire burnin!  A minute or two at the absolute most.  Sometimes you will get ash dust but most will be stopped by the water drip tray.  Sometimes you just make noise.  Gasoline power can produce fumes that can alter taste.  But hey, it's a guy thing.  Let us know how it all turns out.  Good luck.


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## LT72884 (Apr 29, 2009)

MJK said:


> Here's a hint.  If you need to build heat fast (in the winter or when you add new charcoal) try an electric leaf blower spaced with the discharge nozzle a couple of feet away from the open bottom.  It doesn't take long to get the fire burnin!  A minute or two at the absolute most.  Sometimes you will get ash dust but most will be stopped by the water drip tray.  Sometimes you just make noise.  Gasoline power can produce fumes that can alter taste.  But hey, it's a guy thing.  Let us know how it all turns out.  Good luck.



ok i will try that out. I have a 1 inch hole in the bottom of the pan and thats it for air flow

in the picture you see the base pan with the hole and then the coal pan that fits in the base pan. I added 4 bolts to the coal pan and added a grate to the pan so that the ash doesnt smoother the coal.


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## LT72884 (Apr 29, 2009)

So far it has been on there almost 6 hours and still not done. Its only 2.8 pounds of pork. the second batch of coal has lasted me almost 3 - 3.5 hours.

i did not let all 4 chunks of wood burn up all the way. after 1.5 hours i took them off so i wouldnt over smoke. The hickory chunk hardly burned but the three apple chunks turned to charcoal so i removed them as well.

thanx for all the help


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## LPBeier (Apr 29, 2009)

LT, haven't seen you around for awhile.  So is the rumour true that you hibernate when it isn't grilling/smoker season?  LOL!!

Sounds great and looks delicious.Glad you are having fun!


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## LT72884 (Apr 29, 2009)

LPBeier said:


> LT, haven't seen you around for awhile.  So is the rumour true that you hibernate when it isn't grilling/smoker season?  LOL!!
> 
> Sounds great and looks delicious.Glad you are having fun!



LOL, yeah i hibernate alot. ALL my friends moved away to go to school out of state and it sucks because now i am by myself. 

It is fun to a point. Complicated though. I really need to mod this smoker alot better so that i can control heat and longevity of fuel better.


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## LT72884 (Apr 29, 2009)

Omg omg omg its done. And it tastes awesome


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## kitchenelf (Apr 29, 2009)

LT72884 said:


> Omg omg omg its done. And it tastes awesome



  AWESOME!!!!  What temp did it get to and how long did it actually take?  I'm so glad it went well!  Beer butt chicken is next!


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## linicx (May 9, 2009)

Here's a tip: Olde Westport Spice and Trading Company has a Mesquite spice I also use as a rub for 20 years. I think it is better than good and the shelf life is amazing. They sell wholesale, too. Bill still mixes it himself.


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