? about the location of the flue on the FE100

Before I answer please realise this is just a swag:

The concept of smoking bbq is to impart as much smoke to the product as possible. With the FE100 burning wood pellets, a few at a time, you want to make sure the smoke has a chance to remain in the smoker cavity and bathe the product top and bottom. If you were to place the vent in the top, the ensuing draft created would suck the smoke past the product and out the top. By placing the vent on the right side, opposite the pellet burner, you are ensuring that as the smoke comes around the deflector shield it would then go in a clockwise motion under and then on top of the product before exiting the smoker on the right hand side.

The placement of the "coals" with the vent on the opposite side also closely mimics most offset log burners.

Well, thats my 2 cents.

Timbo...
If I am correct isn't the exhaust of the Cookshack about 1 inch or so in diameter? It was on my CS150.

If you look at all the hybrid custom built smokers you'll notice the exhaust is almost always below the chamber. If you look around on the Internet you'll find those theories of how the smoke moves in a chamber, more like a curling effect because of the heat smoke rising very rapidly then down and out of the exhaust leaving the smoke in chamber longer. In the Cookshack there is more smoke for a limited time that can not squeeze out of that small hole.

With the CS that setup may have something to do with no bark and little shrinkage. Have you ever opened your CS half way through cooking ribs? You'll see a very ugly bark which is because of all the tons of moisture being retained, hence less shrinkage. And why no smoke ring...not that it is important but interesting at that!

I'm not an engineer but that is what I have read and observed and it seems quite logical to me!

Well as a Fireman I know that heat rises and smoke will bank down. I think of it when we go into a house fire we positive ventilate a structure it is kind of like what Eddy is doing by the fan blowing. It is forcing the air in and around the plate and then out of the fue. I don't know about if it goes in a clock wise motion or not, but when we force air in to a house and open one the back windows or doors the smoke and heat will go where we want it to go. So I think that is the thought behind it. I have seen the Cookshacks and they did not have the fan to force the air and also have a very small opening at the top. But I still do not understand how you do not get a smoke ring with a cookshack.

Craig

In an earlier thread FE stated the flue must be the 5" diameter that is now on the FE100's. Dampering the flue will not allow the pellets to burn properly. I'm sure he'll post something soon.

I don't know the anwser to the flue location though.

another theory:
In the CS you don't want the wood to burn, but smolder... the electric element gives the heat, the wood the smoke. If those few ozs of wood burned, they would be gone in no time, without laying on the smoke. hence the small hole and little air movement... not enough to support full combustion and flame... just enough to smolder. Also, I think, not enough wood to form the smoke ring. but it delivers lots of smoke flavor.

in the FE, I assume he is providing enough air movement and flue size to allow full wood pellet burning... otherwise the cooking would not take place.

Yes Eddy has always been adament about the flue being no less than 5" in diameter and said they tested many sizes and this is what is needed to burn properly.

I added an extension to mine last weekend to get the smoke above the unit. I can tell even by venting it up, there was some black soot and the meat had a slightly different taste and much darker than before the 5" elbow and 3 foot extension. I will get smokinokie to post the pictures for me.

Its been intresting reading the theory's. Craig is close to being right. It has to do with physics. Heat rises no mater what. This is why hot air ballons rise! Pellets burn by draft induced air which does several things. It makes alot of BTU's out of a small amount of fuel, it helps the cooking process by cooking by convection ( the process of air moving in an oven that helps speed up cooking time, elemenates product drying out and less shrinkage). The placement of the flue makes the heat bank down before we release it(makes the racks cook more even). Air movement also keeps the smoke from getting old. There are also things like pellets swelling in the feed system if the flue was smaller. Everything is done for a reason and if you block it off lots of BAD things happen.

I hope this helps some.