New #2

[Woodee]

Anticipation is rough. Ordered the model 2 last Saturday. Expected delivery according to fed ex isn't until tomorrow (Friday). I'm in Houston. Oh well, at least the waiting only occurs once. Meanwhile, I'll shop for some ribs and turkey for the maiden smoke!  Looking forward to some great smoky weekends. This model is replacing a nine month old master built electric that died and went to hell last Saturday, which is where she belongs. I expect great things to come!

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[NDKoze]

Great to have you here Woodee!

The best fix I could offer you is to read the many awesome posts on this forum. That is what I did while I anxiously waited for my #3 to arrive.

I would focus in on the "Chicken and other Birds" and "Pork" sections if they are going to be your first smokes.

A trip to Costco/Sams/Restaurant supply store would be good to get some 18" wide Aluminum foil for your to line the bottom of the smoker and the smoke box during your smokes. This makes for much easier clean-up.

Let us know if you have any questions.

[swthorpe]

Welcome to the group!   I purchases a #2 over a year ago and it is going strong!   These units are built solid, so I doubt you will experience anything but a lot of happy smokes!    ND provides good advice on the foil, and I would recommend a dual probe therm for unit and meat temp if you don't have one already...you won't need it for the ribs but it will be helpful for measuring the IT of the turkey while smoking.   Lots of great recipes in the various forum boards as well!  Cheers

[DivotMaker]

Congrats on a major upgrade, Woodee!  You'll enjoy lots of stress-free time with your new #2!  Hang out here when you can, and let us know how we can help!

[old sarge]

Welcome Woodee.

[Woodee]

Thanks for the great tips and warm welcome. Two questions I have right off the bat: when seasoning, should I line the bottom with foil?  I've heard to schools on this. Second, I ordered the hickory dowels from here. How many dowels are needed for a typical smoke?  I don't want to over smoke anything. Thinking one or two, but just not too sure. I don't have a scale to measure by ounce. Thanks everyone!

[DivotMaker]

Hey Woodee, you don't need to foil anything for seasoning.  That stuff is expensive, so save it for when you cook.  Use 3 dowels for the 4-hour seasoning.  It may be too much, but you need to keep smoke rolling the whole time.

If you've spent much time on here, you know the importance of weighing wood.  I'd highly recommend getting a cheap scale that will weigh ounces - it's worth its "weight" in gold. 

I have weighed the hickory dowels, and came up with approximately .64 oz. per inch of dowel.  So, if you need 2.5 oz. for ribs, think in inches.  You'd need about 4" total of dowels.  A pork butt or brisket will need 8-9" of dowels.  This is a temp solution...get a scale.  It makes life so much easier!

Pork baby back ribs - 2.5-3 oz
Pork butt or brisket - 5-6 oz.

[Woodee]

Thanks. Going scale shopping

[swthorpe]

Woodee,

I got an Ozeri Touch digital scale from amazon (about $25) that works great!

http://www.amazon.com/Ozeri-Professional-Digital-Kitchen-Tempered/dp/B003MSZBSI/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1395412598&sr=8-7&keywords=food+scale

[DivotMaker]

Here's another option for you, Woodee:

http://smokinitforums.com/index.php?topic=1477.0

I have been very happy with this scale.  The thing I like about it, as opposed to the flat styles, is that you can place an over-sized container on it and still read/use the controls.  It passed several tests with weights down to 1 g with flying colors!