How much Lumpwood to use

Hi there,
Just bought a 'generic' smoker fro Homebase here in the UK - its looks like R2D2 but without the annoying bleeps.

In the instructions it says fill the charcoal pan with 3-4.5 Kgs of charcoal.

Now that is almost a full bag (5 Kg bag of course) which seems alot - as the charcoal pan would be well over full with that ammount and the coals would be touching the top of the water pan (probably)

Can anyone give me an idea how much you to start with?
Does 3 -4.5 Kg seem too much?

Or is this ammout right - is the charcoal pan only really there to catch ash etc - and I can over-fill with charcoal ??

Many thanks for you help
Rich

Try starting out with about half a pan full for your first cook with two or three chunks of smoke wood then go from there. If you have chosed to do chicken , usually the best bet and a bit cheaper then that should get you in the ball park.

Can you post poictures or a link to the smoker? Try google.

Hi Rich, welcome to the forum.
Pictures would be helpful, as all smokers work a bit differently.
I would suggest using briquettes, unless you can get hold of resteraunt grade lumpwood.

Hi there
Thanks to you both for the feedback

Here is the link to el cheapo R2D2....

http://www.homebase.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=20001&partNumber=1641839&Trail=searchtext>SMOKER&c_1=1%7Ccat_9577037%7CBarbecues%7C9578198

Its called a Ranch Smoker - a very small ranch me thinks..perhaps a small farm

The charcoal pan measure approx 32cm diameter(inside) and 10cm depth.

I tried lighting it for the first time yeserday to cure the smoker (without water pan). The temp got up to 200c for approx 20mins and started to die down. I was using lumpwood ( althought might not be best quality) and was quite full when I let it

As mentioned previously the instructions mentions 3-4.5 Kgs of charcoal. If I put that much in they would be overflowing into the main lower 1/2 of RSD2 I think and sitting outside the charcoal pan.

So I have some concerns about keeping the heat in the thing - but I like your suggestions - wood or briquettes for long lasting heat.

My other concerns about El cheapo R2D2 is that there is no lower vent to control heat (but perahps I can open/shut the lower door to do this ??) - and there are no holes in the bottom charcoal pan for better combustion

Anyway am going to have a go at cooking a chicken tonight - I'll let you know how I get on - if you dont see a reply from me tomorrow its because am in a local hospital with food poisoning

Thanks again for your help
Rich

Sorry I forgot to ask......

When I do add lumpwood/briquettes to maintain heat - do they have to be already burning or cold?
Am just a little concerned about the fumes they give off might give a bad taste to food if they go in cold and are not burning already

Cheers
Rich

Hi Rich, sorry to say... you get what you pay for, but having said that, you should be able to cook some good "Q" on there, it's just a bit more difficult.
Here are a couple of pointers...

• Find some mesh to put in the bottom of the charcoal bowl, this will allow more air to flow around the charcoal, making it burn more consistently. Remember, when "water" smoking the whole idea is to slow down the cooking process, so on most occasions you will want to running at temps of between 220 and 250 Deg F.

• Fill the water bowl with hot water at the beginning.

• Unfortunately, there is no way to adjust the temperature on those units, do not try to adjust it using the top vent (this must remain fully open when cooking), but it should run at about 250 deg F.

• I would use Charcoal briquettes in the UK. Don't worry about the weight, to start with just get as much of it in the pan as possible, wait for it to have a grey ash covering before putting on the food and the lid (I would suggest getting a chimney starter for topping up the charcoal).

• A chicken should take about 3.5 hours, but is best checked by measuring the internal temp with a probe thermometer.

Hope this helps.

Ian

One thing to note is that lump wood charcoal seems to be quite a bit lighter than briquettes and so would take up more space.

I've been using cheap (crappy) lump wood from somerfield but it seems to work ok for me.

You could probably mod the unit to add a vent in the bottom. There are some posts here from people that have added extra vents to ProQ BBQs, which I guess would probably work with your unit also...... Disclaimer, Gandalf accepts no responsibility for suggested mods going wrong and knackering your R2D2 smoker.

Well Guys
Thanks for your advise - I did my first smoked chicken (food for that matter) today and am not yet in hospital.

It tasted great!! and I will post a pic when I upload from the cam.

I did have a few concerns during cooking.

The temp gauge on el cheap R2D2 was showing 125 C for the most part of cooking - and couldnt really find away of increasing it even after adding more fuel. The water in the pan was boiling so I assume this is a good sign. The chicken juices ran clear which convinced me it was OK. So I assume the temp gauge is inaccurate. I will purchase an external one. I cooked for about 4 hrs I think

Just a few more questions..sorry...

Is it OK to add cold briquettes during cooking ?? - as am not sure of what fumes it might give if not buring correctly
I did add a wood log onto the coal during cooking as I thought this might incease heat - it smoked alot so took it off as thought it might be too strong - is adding unburnt log during cooking an OK thing to do?
Is the water pan boling a good sign of a good heat?

Cheers for help

El Cheap R2D2 owner

Rich

...wrong unit...125 F....

Sounds like the gauge is way off, water boiling indicates that it's running at the right temps.
With the stuff we get here, I wouldn't be adding raw briquettes to the fire, a log is fine, as long as it's decent wood.

Have a search for minion method, this may work to give you a longer burn time.

Glad you survived the 1st cook

you only want to add logs if it's seasoned (dried out) hardwood

First off, fill up with unlit charcoal. Then in a chimney light approx 12-15 briquettes and when they are ashed over, place them on top of the unlit charcoal. The lit ones will slowly light the others and you will have a longer burning, easier controlled 'fire'. I can get 18-24 hrs of burn time @ 250*F out of my WSM easily using this method.

mdman1972 wrote:...wrong unit...125 F....

Thank goodness because I just coerted it and I was gonna say ..

Test that thermo as soon as you can and I would buy another one and install it. Companys that make cost -less smokers temd to do the same with the gauge.

If you wanter to or needed to add more air then I would drill a 1'' hole in the lowest section and add a 3/4 ball valve.

Finney has the right plan regarding the coals IMO.