Should I smoke the meat in foil pans so there is no mess on the bottom?
Do I have to clean it spotless after using it every time?
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Granted I'm not overly experienced with my FEC yet, but I've never even had much grease on the bottom and done a couple of decent loads. I don't put the food all the way to the back or front or sides to make sure it drains down on the slide. Also, with real greasy items, such as butts, I coat the grease slide with 3 or 4 easly removable (0ne at a time) pieces of tinfoil which enable me to take a real messy one off quickly before I crank the heat higher at the end.
I've seen this posted in like three forums. Probably better to focus it one place or the other. I'll respond here.
Two fires is not normal.
You need to diagnose what was causing the fires.
I've got 100's of smoke in 4 different FEC's and only had one fire (when the 45MPH wind blew the fire up the old style auger).
Fire outside the firepot needs a fuel source (usually grease) and either direct contact with the flame or high enough heat inside the unit to cause it to combust.
Think fire detective now.
Where and why is the grease collecting?
Main thing is it's not a normal function for the FE, so something you're doing is "different" than normal. Challenge is to figure that out.
We'll help out.
Two fires is not normal.
You need to diagnose what was causing the fires.
I've got 100's of smoke in 4 different FEC's and only had one fire (when the 45MPH wind blew the fire up the old style auger).
Fire outside the firepot needs a fuel source (usually grease) and either direct contact with the flame or high enough heat inside the unit to cause it to combust.
Think fire detective now.
Where and why is the grease collecting?
Main thing is it's not a normal function for the FE, so something you're doing is "different" than normal. Challenge is to figure that out.
We'll help out.
Here's my pre-cook checklist regarding my FEC:
Firepot emptied of spent pellets.
Bottom of cabinet scraped clean of debris, ash and grease. A baker's bench knife works great for this.
A clean drip shelf relined with foil.
Clean grease channel and drain chute.
Meats placed on wire racks allowing for an inch of clearance on front, back and sides to prevent drippings from over extending the drip shelf.
Firepot emptied of spent pellets.
Bottom of cabinet scraped clean of debris, ash and grease. A baker's bench knife works great for this.
A clean drip shelf relined with foil.
Clean grease channel and drain chute.
Meats placed on wire racks allowing for an inch of clearance on front, back and sides to prevent drippings from over extending the drip shelf.
Also make sure the unit is level. Front to back and side to side.
Funny thing, I never realized it until about my first 15 smokes that that whole grease channel and drain shoot comes out. Man this thing is made SMART!!!!!