So I have done several smokes in the big boy smoker and I took the electronic cabinet out to check everything out and I had a heck of a time getting the bottom slide off. The problem was that black sticky tar had just about clued the bottom to the unit. I did not take photos as I was to concerned to get it cleaned up. Sorry!
I could not figure out where the heck all of this crappy tar was coming from. In looking at the following pictures you can see the nice build up of seasoning in the air intake cabinet and also in the heating chamber. Then I stick my finger in the fan outlet and holly crap, it is covered in this tar. This is the same stuff that has welded my Bradley vent in the open position.
You can see the nice seasoning the smoke is putting on in the intake chamber area. Note the holes where the air is coming in from the smoker and then going into the fan to be blown into the heating chamber.
Note the tar build up in the exhaust side of the fan. No tar on the intake side or in the chamber. Remember the unit is upside down and the bottom plate slides on. So the tar has to be dripping out of the fan and running the channel clueing the bottom slide to the rail.
This rail was coated with the sticky tar and had welded the bottom to it. I had a heck of a time to get the bottom to slide off.
So my question for all the
fart smellers Smart Fellers is why is there so much tar building up? I will put a load of sausage in the smoker at ambient temp then bring the temp up to 130 for about 1 hr. Then I will use the AMNPS and apply 2 to 3 hrs of smoke at 140 to 150 degrees. Then bump the temp up 10 degrees every 2 hrs. I have a full sheet pan that is dividing the bottom from the sausage and I do note that the smoke is being drawn down the front and into the intake chamber for the fan and is being expelled in the smoker up thru the back. I did not think this was going to be an issue but I am thinking that is could be a big issue.
I am wondering if the air intake chamber is drawing some outside air that is humid and then it is mixing with the smoke and forming tar. Or if the moist air in the smoker is being drawn down with the smoke and hitting a cooler area where the intake chamber is mixing air and then forming the tar. I don't know the science behind what is causing the tar but I need to get it fixed.
I need that fan to run to keep good air circulation. I have a 3 inch vent on top and it pours out the smoke so the cabinet is well vented. What ever CFM of air that is being ejected from the smoker has to be made up from outside air coming into the cabinet and most likely it is coming from the gaps around the bottom where the unit sits.
Interested in hearing what you all think about a solution to this.
