Keep door open or closed

I'd bet the sign on the door is a "legal" thing....I'd go with the book.

have a smokette for several years now, and never noticed either direction

i keep mine closed. I would think that bugs would have a field day if I left it open. would never think of doing that

Hi!!!

I bet the directions which say to leave the door open are to prevent the smoker from developing a musty smell when it is not in use like refrigerators do. However, I have had my CS for over a year and have never left the door open, yet I didn't notice any strange odors developing. I use it at least once or twice a week though, so I don't let it sit long enough to develop any strange odors. As far ass I know, the only reason to leave the door open when not in use would be to let it air out.

G'day,

Micah

Until CS wieghs in, here is my theory... The sign on the door suggesting keeping it closed is probably directed toward times when the smoker is in use or has recently been used. The reason: flare-ups. While it's not common, drippings from the meat can ignite on top of the woodbox shield. If you close the door, the fire isn't able to get enough oxygen to stay burning.

I have only experienced these flare-ups twice, and that is using a Cookshack nearly every day for the last 3 1/2 years. Also, I've never had a flare-up in our small unit, which is more comparable in size to the home built units. Please don't take this as a knock on the fire safety of a Cookshack, though, because the time we shut the door immediately after seeing the flare-up, we left it alone for ten minutes, and the fire was no more. All of the meats surived intact also, leading me to believe the fire went out pretty much as soon as we closed the door.

We leave the doors closed on our Cookshack units except when loading or unloading meat, or when cleaning. My guess about leaving the door open when not in use is to prevent any odor build-up, similar to the refrigerator suggestion above.

If you use your CS at least once or twice a week, I you could probably leave the door open or closed, just let the thing cool completely before leaving the door open and unattended. If you use your CS less frequently, I'd let it cool off after using it with the door closed. First discard the coals in the woodbox. I'd douse them in water before throwing them in the trash, just to be safe. Then, I'd pull out the foil you used to line the bottom of the oven and the top of the heat shield, wash the racks, and scrape the loose food debris from the walls of the smoker with a putty knife. Don't take the carbon build-up on the walls off when you do this, or you will need to re-season your smoker. After completing these steps, you should be able to leave the door open or closed for storage, whichever suits you. Hope this helps!

Mine is closed when I am not cooking. I have a cookshack cover for it and I cover it after it cools down. This is a little baffling that cookshack would sell a cover you can never use? jeff