Jo the maker Posted January 29, 2021 Share Posted January 29, 2021 I have just entered the world of cold smoking! Started small with a home made cardboard box, old cooling rack on two dowels nearer the top. Bought a cold smoke generator, the round snail design type. Using fine oak chips. I tried using tealight to get smoke going, but found it went better using my small cooks blowtorch. All is fine for a while, then the smoke dwindles and stops completely. I wondered if air flow was the problem, so have waited for a windy day, which today was. Delighted to have steady stream of smoke for a whole hour, then it went out yet again. Relit after a while, another hour of smoke the stopped. At that point it rained, so experiment over for today. I have raised the generator on an upturned roasting tin, so it is fairly level with airflow holes. 3 x 2 cm squarish holes on one side, 1 hole on opposite side and 2 similar on the back. In the top I have a toilet roll chimney! Any help will be appreciated. Many thanks Jo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ripple Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 Hi Jo, I used to have the same problem but following advice from here, I now dry my dust in the microwave for a couple of minutes, spread out on a plate. I had never managed to keep a smoke going but now I have not had one go out, did a bacon last weekend with two fills of the maze, about 20 hours, and no issues. Martin 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 The moisture content of the sawdust is important and it has a greater effect in cooler weather. As Martin says, a good way to reduce the moisture content is to microwave it for a couple of minutes. Also, when filling the maze, press the dust down with your finger to compact it before lighting. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo the maker Posted January 30, 2021 Author Share Posted January 30, 2021 Hi Martin and Wade. Thank you both of you for your advice. Microwave is brilliant idea! Someone also said perhaps my oak chippings were not fine enough, so have blended them in my Kenwood! Interesting that you speak of sawdust, rather than chippings. So maybe dry sawdust is the way to go Warm regards Jo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 Yes, you need to use dust in these small maze cold smokers. You need to form a block of smoldering dust that burns slowly around the spiral. Good move to use the grinder. I mostly use pellets in my smokers and if I need some dust I just put a few of these into a spice grinder. 👍 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo the maker Posted February 1, 2021 Author Share Posted February 1, 2021 Thanks so much Wade. Good to have well equipped kitchen then eh 😉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skagg2000 Posted February 1, 2021 Share Posted February 1, 2021 On 1/30/2021 at 8:36 AM, Ripple said: Hi Jo, I used to have the same problem but following advice from here, I now dry my dust in the microwave for a couple of minutes, spread out on a plate. I had never managed to keep a smoke going but now I have not had one go out, did a bacon last weekend with two fills of the maze, about 20 hours, and no issues. Martin +1 from Me. I suffered the same on occasion when cold smoking cheese. Iceman shared the microwave trick, no problems since. Cheers n Gone Nick 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo the maker Posted February 1, 2021 Author Share Posted February 1, 2021 Microwave, Kenwood blender and finally an extra grind in the coffee grinder and its smoking happily away for hours Hurrah! Thanks guys, your help has been much appreciated 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ripple Posted February 2, 2021 Share Posted February 2, 2021 20 hours ago, Jo the maker said: Microwave, Kenwood blender and finally an extra grind in the coffee grinder and its smoking happily away for hours Hurrah! Thanks guys, your help has been much appreciated Great news! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendy Posted December 24, 2022 Share Posted December 24, 2022 Guys, you have saved my life! It's Christmas Eve and I need to smoke a salmon today for Christmas lunch tomorrow. Having prepped it over the past 48 hours, all I needed to do (or so I thought) was smoke it using my maze cold smoker, which has never let me down before. However, could I keep it lit this morning? No chance. In a panic I Googled the topic and found this thread. I've now followed the advice to microwave the dust, grind it as fine as possible and compress it in the maze and it's worked like a charm! Thank you! Christmas is saved! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted December 24, 2022 Share Posted December 24, 2022 You are welcome Wendy. The cooler damp weather can make them more difficult to keep alight. Making sure your sawdust is dry using the microwave and pressing it down help to keep the dust just in front of the burn hotter and it stays alight. In the warm dry weather you should avoid doing this if you can as ut will result in the dust burning significantly faster. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul C Posted January 27, 2023 Share Posted January 27, 2023 The microwaving of the dust tip is excellent, just don't overdo it. Allegedly it melts the Tupperware and ignites. Ask me how I know. 🙄 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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