How much sawdust

[Epicurohn]

How much sawdust should I put in my homemade smoker (just added a 24" x 22" sheet metal sleeve to a 22" Weber kettle grill and placed a 750 watt hot plate on the charcoal grid. 6.5 cu.ft. total volume). It's basically a bullet smoker. Should I put in a whole bunch for the entire session or a little at a time. How much water to humidify the sawdust?

Thanks,

David

[Deer Man]

A biscuit tin full of sawdust should burn for about 6-8 hours depending on the heat source and how you ignite it. The water is down to personal choice, it also depends if you are hot or cold smoking?

What is a bullet smoker? I hope this helps?

[Epicurohn]

Thanks for your help Deerman.

How many ounces or ml in biscuit tin?

Heat source is an electric hotplate 400 watts.

Hot smoke (120 - 220�F) depending on product.

What do you mean by "how you ignite it"?

A Bullet Smoker according to The Smoke Ring and other sources is like the Weber models (it's just a tall kettle to allow for smoking).

Thanks again,

David

[aris]

Deer Man - do you actually use a buscuit tin? Aren't they a bit on the thin side?

[Deer Man]

Sorry, din't make it ver clear!

A buscuit tin is about 12" diameter by 5-6" depth. I only use it to measure the sawdust. The sawdust can go on the floor above the heat plate with a drip tray or water bowl to catch any juices from the meat.

You can use the heat plate to light the sawdust or just newspaper. if the temp is to hot the sawdust will burn to quick and add even more heat.

I hope this is a bit better!

[Epicurohn]

I placed the sawdust on a 12" cast iron flat griddle barely moist. 8" above the sawdust I placed a 16" diameter paella pan as a drip catcher. The 400 watt hotplate could only raise the temperature above 175�F so I had to add a 1,000 watt unit next to it. With this setup I could raise the temp to 220�F and the sawdust lasts for 4 hours with pretty high desnsity (I believe since I have no comparison). There are barely some ashes left.

I've smoked a couple slabs of bacon, pastrami and BBQ. Tomorrow is Kutas' Smoked Andouille sausage. Thanks for the help.

David

[Deer Man]

Sounds like your having fun!