Legs for my Smoke Tube

[DenStinett]

Lately, I've found that my Smoke Tube only burns about 1/4 - 1/3 of it's Pellets before it burns-out
Thinking the Pellets could be "damp", I tried Microwaving the Pellets beforehand, heating them in a low temp Oven, even thought about putting a bunch in my Dehydrator
Didn't seem to make a difference
The Pellets start and smolder well when the Tube is stood on its end .... SO, I started propping it up in the Corner of the Grill, and it now will burn a full Tube-full of Pellets

Was thinking (yeah, I know ); "If it had Legs, it could stand-up on its own"
I found a piece of scrap (Galvanized) Wire at work, so I made a quick Prototype of a set of Legs for it:

Next, I'll run a few Tests to see what the shallowest Angle, the Pellets will still give me a 100% burn
When I find that sweet-spot, I'll make a pair out of a piece of heavy Stainless Wire
Hoping it's quite shallow (an inch +/), then the Legs will be replaced by a Stainless Block the right height, or Round-Bar of that Diameter

Will update when all the Data is in

 

[Buckeye1]

Looks pretty neat. I saw somewhere, maybe here, a long time ago where a guy took a u bolt and made a stand out of it.

 

[SmokeZilla]

Looks like you have proven what every firefighter fears most. Fires that burn downhill versus uphill like they should. Lol. I just use a small piece of angle iron as a prop and it also works. I have a friend that places it on the edge of a small cast iron skillet and gets the benefit of a good seasoning and consistent burn at the same time. As I have heard many times, mother is the necessity of invention. Well done.

 

[Maule Guy]

Lately, I've found that my Smoke Tube only burns about 1/4 - 1/3 of it's Pellets before it burns-out
Thinking the Pellets could be "damp", I tried Microwaving the Pellets beforehand, heating them in a low temp Oven, even thought about putting a bunch in my Dehydrator
Didn't seem to make a difference
The Pellets start and smolder well when the Tube is stood on its end .... SO, I started propping it up in the Corner of the Grill, and it now will burn a full Tube-full of Pellets

Was thinking (yeah, I know ); "If it had Legs, it could stand-up on its own"
I found a piece of scrap (Galvanized) Wire at work, so I made a quick Prototype of a set of Legs for it:
View attachment 18131
View attachment 18132
View attachment 18133
View attachment 18134

Next, I'll run a few Tests to see what the shallowest Angle, the Pellets will still give me a 100% burn
When I find that sweet-spot, I'll make a pair out of a piece of heavy Stainless Wire
Hoping it's quite shallow (an inch +/), then the Legs will be replaced by a Stainless Block the right height, or Round-Bar of that Diameter

Will update when all the Data is in

That is really strange I have never had a problem with them burning down. I have two smoke tubes that look exactly like what you are showing and they burn down to ash when they are on their side. The hexagonal (octagonal?) shape keeps them from rolling. I normally light them w/ a butane hand torch for about 30 seconds to get the pellets fully ignited and set the tube on end on a concrete area and let it burn for a couple of minutes then blow out the flames and gently place them on the grill.

 

[Thor8594]

When I use my smoke tube, I prop it up on a chunk of wood and it burns to the bottom, no worries.

 

[Wslayer]

Looks pretty neat. I saw somewhere, maybe here, a long time ago where a guy took a u bolt and made a stand out of it.

Don't need the rear clamp. I welded washers on bottom of clamp so doesn't fall thru grates.

 

[PRC]

Lately, I've found that my Smoke Tube only burns about 1/4 - 1/3 of it's Pellets before it burns-out
Thinking the Pellets could be "damp", I tried Microwaving the Pellets beforehand, heating them in a low temp Oven, even thought about putting a bunch in my Dehydrator
Didn't seem to make a difference
The Pellets start and smolder well when the Tube is stood on its end .... SO, I started propping it up in the Corner of the Grill, and it now will burn a full Tube-full of Pellets

I have never had a problem with the tube burning all the way down. I let it burn for about 10 minutes before I blow out the flames and put it in the grill. When I load the pellets or pellets and wood chips, I tamp the tube on the deck a few times which packs everything in tight, that may solve the problem you are having without having to put it on a stand.

 

[DenStinett]

That is really strange I have never had a problem with them burning down. I have two smoke tubes that look exactly like what you are showing and they burn down to ash when they are on their side. The hexagonal (octagonal?) shape keeps them from rolling. I normally light them w/ a butane hand torch for about 30 seconds to get the pellets fully ignited and set the tube on end on a concrete area and let it burn for a couple of minutes then blow out the flames and gently place them on the grill.

I have never had a problem with the tube burning all the way down. I let it burn for about 10 minutes before I blow out the flames and put it in the grill. When I load the pellets or pellets and wood chips, I tamp the tube on the deck a few times which packs everything in tight, that may solve the problem you are having without having to put it on a stand.

Thanks Guys
I've have had this Smoke Tube since before I owned the Bull (a few years or so)
Haven't had this issue (of it quit burning) until lately, and I haven't changed a thing
Have always / every time:
Fill it within an inch of the opining and tap to pack the Pellets down and tight
Lite it, stood vertical with a Propane Torch, until it has a good Flame going
Then let that Flame burnout on its own, leaving nice, red hot, smoldering Pellets inside the opening
Lay the Tube down horizontally, seam side down, and it would run, putting out a ton of Smoke, for about 4 hours
And it has always worked well .... up till now, and I'm not sure way, or what's changed

Momma's on the RecTec Facepage, and someone said; "it could be (too) old Pellets"
How old is too old, when it comes to Pellets ?

 

[Wslayer]

Not sure about the old pellet theory, but I do "always" microwave my pellets before using in tube. Do 1 min at a time twice. The RT uses up alot of the oxygen , occasionally I have had to re-lite.

 

[PRC]

Momma's on the RecTec Facepage, and someone said; "it could be (too) old Pellets"
How old is too old, when it comes to Pellets ?

Not sure I agree with the old pellet view. Wood is wood and pellets are wood. If they have retained their shape and not blown up in size and/or turned into sawdust like they do when they get wet, they will be fine to burn. I have used pellets that are three+ years old and never had a problem.

 

[Buckeye smoker]

Great post, and great pics guys!..Im going to try this just 'cause...
I havent had a burn problem, but would like to test the difference.
Ive found getting the tube really hot really burning for a good 10minutes makes a big difference also.

 

[DenStinett]

I don't know, seems I've seen something about not letting the Pellets get too old
I kinda remember RecTeq having an email or Post along those lines
No matter, I'm working on finding the lowest angle that will give us a complete , full Tube burn

Hey Buckeye, please let us know what you come-up with too

 

[Bustergut]

Lately, I've found that my Smoke Tube only burns about 1/4 - 1/3 of it's Pellets before it burns-out
Thinking the Pellets could be "damp", I tried Microwaving the Pellets beforehand, heating them in a low temp Oven, even thought about putting a bunch in my Dehydrator
Didn't seem to make a difference
The Pellets start and smolder well when the Tube is stood on its end .... SO, I started propping it up in the Corner of the Grill, and it now will burn a full Tube-full of Pellets

Was thinking (yeah, I know ); "If it had Legs, it could stand-up on its own"
I found a piece of scrap (Galvanized) Wire at work, so I made a quick Prototype of a set of Legs for it:
View attachment 18131
View attachment 18132
View attachment 18133
View attachment 18134

Next, I'll run a few Tests to see what the shallowest Angle, the Pellets will still give me a 100% burn
When I find that sweet-spot, I'll make a pair out of a piece of heavy Stainless Wire
Hoping it's quite shallow (an inch +/), then the Legs will be replaced by a Stainless Block the right height, or Round-Bar of that Diameter

Will update when all the Data is in

Lately, I've found that my Smoke Tube only burns about 1/4 - 1/3 of it's Pellets before it burns-out
Thinking the Pellets could be "damp", I tried Microwaving the Pellets beforehand, heating them in a low temp Oven, even thought about putting a bunch in my Dehydrator
Didn't seem to make a difference
The Pellets start and smolder well when the Tube is stood on its end .... SO, I started propping it up in the Corner of the Grill, and it now will burn a full Tube-full of Pellets

Was thinking (yeah, I know ); "If it had Legs, it could stand-up on its own"
I found a piece of scrap (Galvanized) Wire at work, so I made a quick Prototype of a set of Legs for it:
View attachment 18131
View attachment 18132
View attachment 18133
View attachment 18134

Next, I'll run a few Tests to see what the shallowest Angle, the Pellets will still give me a 100% burn
When I find that sweet-spot, I'll make a pair out of a piece of heavy Stainless Wire
Hoping it's quite shallow (an inch +/), then the Legs will be replaced by a Stainless Block the right height, or Round-Bar of that Diameter

Will update when all the Data is in

Not sure I would use galvanized wire as it can emit zinc fumes which can be absorbed by the food. As I understand it, galvanized steel can emit fumes at 392 degrees.

 

[DenStinett]

Not sure I would use galvanized wire as it can emit zinc fumes which can be absorbed by the food. As I understand it, galvanized steel can emit fumes at 392 degrees.

Thanks for that Buster .... I wasn't going to use them in any of our Cooks
This one's just to run a few (no food) Angle / Hight tests
Yeah, I know about Zink Gasses
I drive for a Galvanizer .... that's where I picked-up the Wire
We can't even weld on Galv'd Material without the Guy wearing a full Respirator and using a Gas Hood for the Parts
We have tons of unfinished Wire at work, but this piece of Galv'd Wire just happened to be lying next to my Truck, so I grabbed it .... some people's trash is another's free material for Prototyping
Got it home and cooked it in our Gasser (open Flame) at 500 just to burn off anything that could get transferred to the Smoke Tube during testing
Once I find the lowest / optimum Angle, I'll get a length of Stainless Wire cut and bent it to that length
Was hoping the Angle / Height was approx 1.125", as I "HADE" a piece of Stainless Rod out of a Hydraulic Ram
I went into the Shop last week to get it, but it looks like someone snatched it from my hiding place

 

[RattleR]

Thanks for that Buster .... I wasn't going to use them in any of our Cooks
This one's just to run a few (no food) Angle / Hight tests
Yeah, I know about Zink Gasses
I drive for a Galvanizer .... that's where I picked-up the Wire
We can't even weld on Galv'd Material without the Guy wearing a full Respirator and using a Gas Hood for the Parts
We have tons of unfinished Wire at work, but this piece of Galv'd Wire just happened to be lying next to my Truck, so I grabbed it .... some people's trash is another's free material for Prototyping
Got it home and cooked it in our Gasser (open Flame) at 500 just to burn off anything that could get transferred to the Smoke Tube during testing
Once I find the lowest / optimum Angle, I'll get a length of Stainless Wire cut and bent it to that length
Was hoping the Angle / Height was approx 1.125", as I "HADE" a piece of Stainless Rod out of a Hydraulic Ram
I went into the Shop last week to get it, but it looks like someone snatched it from my hiding place

Ever arrive at a baseline setup?

 

[DenStinett]

Ever arrive at a baseline setup?

The idea never really panned-out
Seems that it works best as close to vertical as possible though

 

[Roaniecowpony]

Thanks for that Buster .... I wasn't going to use them in any of our Cooks
This one's just to run a few (no food) Angle / Hight tests
Yeah, I know about Zink Gasses
I drive for a Galvanizer .... that's where I picked-up the Wire
We can't even weld on Galv'd Material without the Guy wearing a full Respirator and using a Gas Hood for the Parts
We have tons of unfinished Wire at work, but this piece of Galv'd Wire just happened to be lying next to my Truck, so I grabbed it .... some people's trash is another's free material for Prototyping
Got it home and cooked it in our Gasser (open Flame) at 500 just to burn off anything that could get transferred to the Smoke Tube during testing
Once I find the lowest / optimum Angle, I'll get a length of Stainless Wire cut and bent it to that length
Was hoping the Angle / Height was approx 1.125", as I "HADE" a piece of Stainless Rod out of a Hydraulic Ram
I went into the Shop last week to get it, but it looks like someone snatched it from my hiding place

When I saw the galvanized wire, that same thought crossed my mind. But realistically, the smoldering pellets are not close enough nor hot enough to really worry about.

BTW, I just lay my tube where it can get some of the draft from the fan/firepot below

 

[DenStinett]

BTW, I just lay my tube where it can get some of the draft from the fan/firepot below

Yeah, I tarted-out setting it down (horizontally) for ever
But it would just stopped burning after 30 mins or so
I would burn great standing on end, so I tried leaning it at the best angle I could get
That's where the "Legs" idea came from