Where to put wood in the smoker box?

I have a 55 but 200 sounds a little low. I would try again at 225 - 250. Did you see any smoke?

200˚ is plenty hot enough to get the wood smoking. I would call Cookshack Customer Service ASAP. Could be the heating element or the thermostat.

BTW -- You wouldn't happen to be using an extension cord would you? An insufficient gague cord can give you fits with temps!

Like the others have said, you may have a heating element problem. However, when I did my first seasoning in my new Amerique this past December, my wood did not burn, it just smoked a bit and I was left with a charred chunk. I read on this forum that others had experienced the same problem in some CS models. Someone suggested to slightly bend the heating element up, but not touching the wood pan. Now ALL of my smokes have been a success resulting in the wood burning to ash. My personal recommendation is not to let the element touch the pan, perhaps 1/8th inch from the bottom and place the wood over the hole closest to the door.

I love my AMERIQUE! And so does my family!

Hope this helps.

Mike,

Not unusual for the break-in wood not to turn to ash. 250-275 would help, but it will do much better with a shoulder or butt installed on the shelf below the top shelf. Make sure the butt or shoulder does not touch the box temperature probe that sticks out from the rear wall.

I never cover the holes in the bottom or on the sides of the wood box with wood - you need that draft for a proper burn. You can always see the box temperature in the AmeriQue, on top of the readout, and mine never varies over five degrees. Also make sure your wood box top opens from the right to the left, when you are facing the open door.

You Will Enjoy This Toy,

smokemullet

Hey Mike, Same thing happenend to me when I first got mine. Git this advice from some of the others here.

Put some water in the drip pan and put that inside the smoker to "simulate" a real load of meat. First time I tried to season without this I got the same lightly singed wood in the box. After the water filled drip pan, the wood burned down to a nice ash.

It has smoked down to this nice ash ever since, happy smokin' you'll love it!

I still have this problem at times and my smoker is WELL seasoned. However, I'd note that if I put a chunk or two of Kingsford charcoal in the box, the wood always turns to ash

Thanks guys for all your help, I did my first pork butt, 8lb, and the 2 pieces of hickory, about 4 oz did burn to ash although I had put the 2 pieces over the holes, I will try the next time not over the holes. Thanks again, by the way the butt was great. Mike

Do not cover the holes in the firebox. Allow the heat to get to the wood via the holes. I also add a couple pieces of charcoal, but it is to get a smoke ring on the meat.

When I seasoned my amerique the first time, I also noticed that the wood only turned to charcoal but smoked ok. Every cook since it has been ok. On occasion the wood doesn't completely burn away to ash but always smokes just fine.I wouldn't try bending the heating element unless it doesn't smoke after a few cooks.

Just a couple of quick questions, did you get your AQ from CS or from a dealer?
Is the back side of your wood box blocked off so you can only put wood in the front (over the bends/passes)? There was a change made to the early AQ wood box, just curious if you possibly got one with the original wood boxes. If you got your AQ direct from CS, this is most likely not the problem.
Still you need to call CS about this. They are there for you.
Rob

I, too, had a problem with the early Amerique smoke box. Cookshack promptly sent me the newest design and everything is now okay.

So the new box is blocked off from the back right? I didn't get mine from CS but I have what I consider a half box. The back is blocked off.