My 3D smoker- where's the smoke taste vs my #2?

[DivotMaker]

I wonder if the tight temperature control of the 3D doesn't produce as much smoke.

I have never cooked anything in my 3D that wasn't smoky enough.  I still think Gregg is right - if you aren't using good wood, or any wood that catches fire, you won't get good smoke flavor.  Very short smoke duration if the chunks burn.  The controller doesn't have anything to do with the amount of smoke...the wood does.

[RSNovi]

How can you say for certain the controller had no impact?

[DivotMaker]

How can you say for certain the controller had no impact?

Not trying to be argumentative, Chris, but through 3 1/2 years of use with the analog 1, 2 and 3, and the 2D and 3D.  No difference in smoke production, other than the wood. 

[NDKoze]

The bottom-line is that if your wood burns up in 30 minutes, you aren't going to get very much smoke production. I don't care if you put in 10 ounces of wood, if it burns up in 30 minutes you aren't going to like the results.

Try to find the hot/warm/cold spots and then place your wood chunks accordingly and this will help prevent the combustion. Your goal should be to find wood chunks that are solid, black, and much lighter than they were when you put them in. This could take a little experimentation to perfect the location/s.

Use good (non-big box) wood and either foil or ramp-up or a combination of the two and you'll find that your wood will smolder for a good 2-4 hours or so and by that time your meat will most likely hit the magic 140-degree mark where meat doesn't take in any more smoke and you are good. There are times where you may not see a lot of smoke coming out of the smoke hole, but there is still a lot of smoke in the box yet.

I have done hundreds of smokes in my #3 and I always get plenty of smoke. If anything sometimes I get a little too much. And I like it smokier than most.

I agree that the controller is not the problem. It was obviously hot enough to burn your wood to ashes. I still contend that the problem was that with the big element in the #3 hitting the wood at full blast until the box temp got up to your smoking temp was just too much 100% element at one time. This is why I prefer the ramp-up method. Just at the point where the wood is ready to combust, the element turns off and gives the wood a break before hitting it again.

We're just trying to help. So, take the advice for what it is worth I guess. Our goal is to help everyone get the most out of their Smokin-It smoker. Sometimes it takes a little trial and error, but don't give up. We'll get you there.

[40 caliber]

OK guys, I'm in. that makes perfect sense
  next smoke.
1. change to 8 ounces of my smokin licious
2. foil the smoke box or ramp the temp

which step should i try first? any suggestions? probably both would just help me not figure which made the difference.

I guarantee you i didn't worry about placement. i just tossed the wood in the box. I've read about combustion but never understood why i should care! now i know. and yes, i keep meticulous notes on every smoke! right down to outside temp and where i bought the meat!

I'll give it a shot guys- thanks

Tom

[Dead👁Daniel]

I use big box store wood from Wally World and get great smoke flavor but been wanting to try some from another place but haven't yet. I have read that some people are getting there wood from smokinglicious and it has mold on it so just keep that in mind.
I found when using the box store wood that the bigger the chunk the better! Last night I smoked pork tenderloin and wow did it have smoke flavor. I used 2 big chunks (I do not weigh the wood) and one piece I had to trim down to get the lid to shut. And I look for solid pieces.
When the ole lady was done eating her pork tenderloin she said that even her napkin smelled like smoke.

And tony is right that the big box store wood has no moisture at all. I bought a moisture meter and tested the wood my self.

This just another thought in trying to help you achieve your smoke flavor and my 2 cents.

[DivotMaker]

I use big box store wood from Wally World and get great smoke flavor but been wanting to try some from another place but haven't yet. I have read that some people are getting there wood from smokinglicious and it has mold on it so just keep that in mind.
I found when using the box store wood that the bigger the chunk the better! Last night I smoked pork tenderloin and wow did it have smoke flavor. I used 2 big chunks (I do not weigh the wood) and one piece I had to trim down to get the lid to shut. And I look for solid pieces.
When the ole lady was done eating her pork tenderloin she said that even her napkin smelled like smoke.

And tony is right that the big box store wood has no moisture at all. I bought a moisture meter and tested the wood my self.

This just another thought in trying to help you achieve your smoke flavor and my 2 cents.

John, there has been one report of mold on some pieces of smokinlicious wood, shipped during high heat/humidity conditions, so it's not a common problem.  I have 60 lbs of it, and haven't seen one spec of mold (it's half gone, and I keep it in the house). 

That's a good tip about the size of chunk for big box wood.  Even though it's dry, maybe it doesn't run out of smoke as fast as smaller chunks!  I will note, too, (for others) that some folk's tolerance to smoke flavor is more than others, so keep that in mind.  When your wife says she can taste smoke in the napkin, it may barely register for others.  Subjective, just like the taste of different woods.

[SuperDave]

Had a brain fart a couple of smokes back and forgot to load my wood.  The meat still had a smoke flavor purely based on the seasoning of my smoker.  Don't underestimate the impact of smoking on new units without all the flavor build up in it.  They aren't broken in just because we burn some wood in them for 4 hours to initially season.  That's really just getting the factory oils burned off.

[40 caliber]

Well here's an update. on my latest pulled pork, i amped the 3D up to 7 ounces of wood and foiled half of the box bottom. the wood on the foil turned black but barely smoked. the remainder of the wood turned to black ash in the back half of the box. the smoke was much better and had the right amount of smoke to my taste.. I have a set of chicken breasts in there at the moment with 7 ounces of cherry and no foil. we will have to see what happens. this may put it on the high end of smoke quotient but we will see. The 7 ounces is smokinlicous and i have split the wood so i have them strategically placed in thinner pieces throughout the entire smoke box.

[DivotMaker]

Sounds like you're on the right track, Tom!