More photo's of Beelonia F5 smoker any thoughts..?

[Headbutchersouthwest]

Been having trouble keeping the sawdust smouldering in our new smoker , so I've taken aload of photos in the hope a pro will iron out my problems


front of smoker


inside view


cold smoke side inlet


smoke outlet to top of smoker , open 75%


outside smoke box


outside smoke box door open baffle fully open


flue leading from top of smoker under roof and out above roof


length of flue leading from smoker


So what do you think guys , really needing help on this one as I'm not getting anything back from the beelonia or the uk distributer

[crustyo44]

Looking at the length of the length of the flue pipe I am wondering if you have enough draught to keep the smouldering going. I know it burns above the heating element but that sort of forces it, away from the heating element it dies slowly.
You might have to make some airflow by putting a small exhaust fan on the outlet side outside in between the oven and exhaust flue. You can regulate the airflow with the inlet and/or exhaust damper.
I use a 240Volt computer fan in my smokers.
Beelonia has a Skype number so you can ring them virtually for free. English should be no problem for them.
Good Luck,
Jan.

[Headbutchersouthwest]

Jan ,
Thankyou for your reply , after reading many other posts & replies on a different thread I realise that the outlet flue maybe too long!
You say fit a fan & I do believe that we have a fan fitted to this unit and it's positioned in photo 2 on the back of the main smoker unit! Would this assit with our problem? I do remember that the fan was an added extra (£700 extra) for fan assisted smoking

[crustyo44]

Hi,
I believe that for 700 quid they had you by the bollocks. I bet they are still laughing. As with all smokers, small, large and professional I believe that the secret is to keep the smoke in the chamber long enough to flavour and colour the meat, long smoking times CAN produce a bitter and sooty taste.
My experience with smokers is to have the intake flaps wide open and the outlets at least 1/2 open, this can vary of course a bit, depending on the smoker itself.
I like an exhaust fan on the outlet side so I can regulate how long the smoke stays in the chamber before being removed by the fan. A variable switch is helpful.
Nevertheless, your unit should work flawlessly. If I owned it, I would be pissed off.
Good Mate,
Jan.

[RodinBangkok]

My last comment was assuming the pan was in the main smoker, thus why I asked about using the smoke box, sorry for the confusion.

It looks to me like from your first photo the adjustable vents on the bottom of the front door are not tight, you may be getting your main flow of air thru the main chamber, thus bypassing the smoke box, and not pulling any air thru the smoke box itself.

To reduce the variables I'd remove the long exhaust pipe at the smoker side, leave the exhaust vent wide open, and then seal the door vents with tape along with any other openings, except the smoke box inlet vent. Then see if you can get a good draft from a single inlet source, that being the smoke box inlet.
Start by having the inlet area and the exhaust opening area about the same, then reduce the inlet if necessary, leaving the outlet alone.

If that works, then re attached the exhaust pipe and see if it still draws. Once you get a good draw with the exhaust vent wide open and the pipe attached then you can start playing with controlled flow and temp control by reducing the inlet vent and outlet vent openings. If the pipe restricts draw start reducing the pipe length or routing. If the smoker is not fairly air tight, it may be difficult to get a draw without forced air, but if it appears to be sealed well at the door and vents then you should be able to get a draw.

I like to put everything at one state, then change only one adjustment or variable at a time and observe the result, that way you can better understand what works and what does not.

[Headbutchersouthwest]

Rod ,

I will tape up the air inlet on the front door of smoker as you suggest and I totally understand where you are coming from and I think that will be a big help , hopefully I'll get chance to start her up tomorrow for another go

[Headbutchersouthwest]

Tried the smoker out again today still no luck , I taped the front air inlet hole up
As suggested but still didn't smoulder too good! I put the heating element on for
Approx 1 hour and it smouldered the sawdust lying directly above it perfectly...?
My next step is to shorten the exhust flue see what happens

[Headbutchersouthwest]

Still no luck !

I would be interested if any pro's out there fancy a day trip down to take a look ? I will cover costs of course

[Dingo]

Hi Headbutchersouthwest....whilst I am most certainly not a pro by any means...i am a tinkerer I have a very very very basic cold smoke set up that conceptually is similar to your...i.e. separate electric element smoke generator plumbed to a chamber.

My questions are...how much sawdust are you putting on the plate?
What is the wattage of the element?

My initial thoughts follows Rods...especially if you are using a fan that is in the main chamber..the fan is pushing outside air into the main chamber creating a higher pressure zone than outside or your smoke generator.

With my set up, i ended up installing an inline duct fan from home depot in between the smoke generator and chamber...this guaranteed that i was pulling air through the generator for ongoing burning. Also...i do not turn off my electric element for the duration of the smoke. Also, i found that depending on where you live, and also the saw dust, it pays to pre-dry the sawdust. I stick in the oven at low heat for 30-40mins directly prior to smoking.
I hope it helps

[Headbutchersouthwest]

Hi Dingo ,

Answers to your questions are ,

Amount of sawdust is approx 250-400g in a line which is approx 1-1.5inches wide , I make a small thin line of sawdust as a fuse to lite the wider area of the line of sawdust! My problem being is that when I put my 800w heating element on it burns all the sawdust in one swoop that is lying directly above the element!
I've tried just lighting it with my gas tourch but it doesn't last that long and it only smoulders the top of the line of sawdust...?
I see on the A Maze N & CSG smoke generators that the sawdust is pressed into the mould & lit from a hole in the side which lights the bottom & top of the sawdust pile , I'm not able to do this as I'm lighting the dust from above with a gas tourch!

So I'm either not lighting the dust properly..?
The line of dust is to wide so won't smoulder properly or not at all?
Air flow problem due to long exhaust flue...?
Sawdust to damp?
Heating element burns all dust that is directly above the element in one go instead of gradually ...?

I'm looking at doing long smoking times approx 12-18 hours and I were thinking about maybe designing a bigger version of the A maze N dust grid to sit on my tray ..?

[Headbutchersouthwest]

I don't use the fan whilist trialling different methods as I think it runs to fast , the fan sits on the inside of the main smoke unit and it only helps to circulate the air/smoke within the unit and it doesn't push air in from outside.

[Dingo]

Here is an idea that might help diagnose the problem....try using placing an electric skillet in the smoke box as your CSG...(obviously not using the boxes 800w element). Fill the skillet up level and cover with aluminim foil with some holes punched in it. Run it as hot as it will go and observe whether the meat chamber/flue combination functions as it should. Hopefully this should tell you if the problem lies in the smoke generation itself or is an airflow problem. If using the skillet method generates and flows smoke through the meat chamber and flue system then I would hazard a guess that there is something wrong with the smoke generation side of things or vice versa.

I dont want to state the obvious, however it seems to me that for a fancy smoker like that to not function correctly you should have some come back on the suppler/manufacturer?


This is my "Aussie engineered" system;


Basically i robbed an electric element and mounted it in the webber. I then sit a pan of sawdust (as described above) in it and, using a fan, suck the smoke from the webber and send it to the brinkman. My experience with doing it this way is that for around 500g of sawdust I get around an hour of good smoke and then have to reload it. Also, i dont get very good combustion of the sawdust...it doesn't really burn down to ashes..more like charred sawdust.

[Ian-MacsBBQ]

Hi Headbutcher, Where about are you in the Southwest, if it's not too far, I'm happy to come and have a look to see if I can offer a solution.

[GUS]

http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk59/studiofreak/bc44f6d63533f25a7489e0e46e923bb7.jpg
The lack of incline to assist with pressure of any kind (ok, i'm aware it's not a woodburning stove) is what i'd get sorted from the outset, the lack of angle to encourage throughflow is my personal bugbear with a tremendous potential to create an imbalance (speaking again only as a wb stove operator) where is the natural inclination for the exiting smoke to travel? ..even with a fan it needs draw, draw needs an exit, so my current perception is for a rocking inflow causing major turbulance without provision to exit in a prompt manner possibly a washing machine effect within, straight up & out, if you can bodge a temporary solution to run all that spare chimney flexible flue upright with minimal angle kinkage that would level the field somewhat as to poor air supply.

TBH being left to dry as you appear to have been i'd question the sale & product being "fit for purpose" & at the very least get that fan refunded here & now, provision for a fan sub £700 is easily do-able & in all likelihood a computer fan for a £5 would draw enough to make a difference once set up & working (ok i'm chancing my arm here & am not the consumate professional, however if a PC fan can assist a wbs or, as I use on my wood gasifying camp-stove ,very low tech to regulate burns to cook a meal, then i'd honestly question the integrity of salesfolks "add-ons" to this degree (if that's what it amounted to) that you've not had replies from in order to get the kit up & running.

it's a ruddy expensive bit of kit, it needs to work here & now! ..all the time it is down for a money making venture (despite the natural learning curve) I'd be incredibly aggrieved, as a former salesman If I left any of my customers in the lurch to this degree on a sale of £30 let alone several thousand I'd be hauled over the coals at head office without a doubt, get them on the phone (look at your sales contract, uk sale of goods act & EU sale of goods for good measure) & get them on the phone to uplift & refund the damn thing or get it sorted, their choice, adding in for good measure an agreed discount for your trouble incurred thus far, to do this you need to be sure in your own mind that you have done everything correctly, starting with that overly long chim-flex imho.( don't cut it, allow it to draw, upright, pole & wire support with a basic form of weather capping , but capping can come later.
(I don't wan't you getting antsy with them on the phone unless you are 100% clean.

New product requires a helping hand, no helping hand, give me a returns label & cart your stuff away as i'd have no faith in a company who neglects their paying customer, German folk i.m.e tend t have pretty good language skills, there is also google translate for basic translation, & ultimately a UK distributor should be the one with the skill to advise, sell & service your goods in a timely manner.