Wood usage on SM 20..

It's due to the moisture content of the wood itself and it's placement in the firebox. Put the wood towards the front and see if that has an impact.

Not many 20's out there, but in the smokette's that's been the fix.

It's not normally impacted at all by the food that's being cooked.

Thank you for the reply! On all my smokes so far I've placed the wood in the front and used the same hickory. 14 hours for the pork roast(wood not burned) and 4 hours for ribs and beans (wood burned).
This doesn't bother me in the least...i'm just curious as to the variances as I "learn" my smoker". Obviously, the wood I received might not have been from the same batch even if it came in the same box. Thanks for your answer!

I'm the proud owner of a new SM025! Thanks everyone for their recommendations, advice, etc. I've just seasoned it with wood only, and I'm about to do a Pork Butt for the final seasoning process. Like Tennvol, my wood didn't really burn. There was some smoke that came out the vent initially, but after a while it stopped smoking. I followed the seasoning instructions and smoked just wood for 4 hours. When I opened up the smoker, all the wood was still in there! I had it up towards the front. I figured that couldn't be right, so I pushed it more towards the middle/back and left it running overnight. When I opened it up this morning, one of the wood chunks was ash but there were still 2 remaining whole chunks of wood!
To the smokers credit, the walls are definitely lined with a coating of "something" now! So, I think it's seasoned. However, I would love to get others inputs on how their smoker burns wood, and what I should expect to see when it's finished.
I'm a pretty sharp guy, but just to confirm, I slide the box out, place the wood on top, and slide the box back in right?

Muzick--

If by "placing the wood on top" means inside the box then you are correct.

Pags

Here is the exact process and results:

yes,yes,yes,no,,no,no,no,sometimes,always,occasionally,yes,no,yes,the girl in the front row in the 3rd grade has red hair.

The 4th grade she didn't,but maybe it was a boy,yes,yes and no.

My neighbor on the right is lefthanded ,but don't know my neighbor in back.



The results could also be at random,and the results will be the same.

Smile,be happy, cook something,move on.

Whew Tom! I wore myself out just trying to read that. You been hittin' the relatives homebrew?

I have the SM025 also. When I seasoned it the first time using the Hickory from Cookshack, the wood barely turned black after five hours. Using a Hammer and Wood Chisel I started to split my wood chunks into pieces about 3/4 of an inch wide. I seasoned again and the wood burnt a little more. My first smoke was a Tri-Tip and most of the wood was consumed. Now, after that first piece of meat, when I smoke something, the wood is completely burnt to a white ash. I also place my wood in the front of the firebox over the element. I don't know why this happens but it sounds like some of us have had the same experience.

My advice above still holds,after much thought,reflection, and study.

Move on,quit looking at wood chunks,and cook something.

After the first 500 cooks,if you take very,very,careful notes,you'll say " o'that's what he meant"

Thanks Tom!
Like you said, the Pork came out great, so I guess that's all that really matters!
Nonethless, I'm going to post a picture, so you can see 2 of the 3 remaining pieces of wood after a 15 hour smoke.
On a different note, when I cooked my first Pork Butt today and when the temperature probe read 190, I took it out. I have a party tomorrow, so I loaded it up with 2 more Pork Butts. However, this time when I put in the temp probe, it went offscale “Hi.” I unplugged it, made sure it was thoroughly dry/clean and plugged it back in. Same thing. I unplugged it, replugged it, every which way. But, each time I do, it goes to “Hi.” I starts out at 120, then 175, and goes to Hi. I’m not sure if it’s the controller or the probe itself. It worked fine before, and I didn’t change anything. So, I’m really stumped as to what the problem could be. It's just a bummer that the first time I use such a fabulous piece of equipment, it fails. (okay the second time)

I wasn't able to attach 2 pictures in the previous post, but wanted to show you this amazing creature that grew out the bottom of my smoker during my last smoke!

Muzick -- You be a neighbor dude! This chilly weather we've been having will cause those little fat-drippings stalactites to form Just move your drip pan a tad occasionally.