[Marches Farmer]

We have recently purchased a small 'dustbin' style smoker. Initial results have been good but the last lot of sawdust/shavings we bought seem reluctant to burn. We've tried starting with fire-lighters,  using a blow-lamp and have even tried cutting slots in the back of the basket and the drum and positioning a fan to give a draught. At best they will burn for about half an hour. Any ideas/suggestions?

[Womble]

I suspect they may be damp? (many people use smoke dust on top of a charcoal BBQ, so moisture content wouldn't be an issue). I would try drying some in the bottom of a low oven for a while, and see if that makes any difference.

[Marches Farmer]

Thanks Womble, I'll try that. One other question; I usually run the smoker with the lid but if I remove it the draught seems to improve the burn rate. I assume I'll have to smoke for longer if I'm not using the lid?

[Piggerswiggers]

We've got something called a proq cold smoke generator and have found in our home made smoker we actually have to dampen the sawdust to stop it catching fire. Basically the heat comes from a tea light to start it smouldering and it keeps going after you remove the tealight. We've had most success when we've excluded as much draught as possible and have successfully smoked for more than 12 hours from one small amount of sawdust. If you Google proq cold smoke generator you'll be able to see what I mean.

[Womble]

^ Ditto. We also have a ProQ smoke generator (pictured below), and find it works very well. We tend to initially light it with a blowtorch though, rather than a tea-light, and find it works best if we seal everything up.



For cold smoking (that is what you're attempting, right?), I think you want a slow burn / smoulder, and the highest smoke concentration possible.