Grey ash all over

[PeterD]

When I use my Stoker temp control, which has a gentle 5 CFM fan over one of the vents, I notice that there's fine ash over the top of the food. I only use Comp. K for cooks long enough to require the Stoker (and regular blue-bag K for shorter cooks). How can I prevent this ash from forming?

 

[Dustin Dorsey]

I thought they detected when the lid came off and shut the fan down. If not stop the fan when taking the lid off.

 

[JayHeyl]

You can't stop the ash from forming. It's an unavoidable byproduct of combustion. All you can do is try to keep it in the bottom of the smoker away from the food. The fan is either stirring up the ash collected at the bottom or it's blowing loose ash off the coals. If Dustin's suggestion of shutting down the fan before opening doesn't do the trick, you probably need to rig up some kind of diffuser to break up the air flow. Not stop it, but break it up so it's more like a hose on spray rather than stream. Perhaps something as simple as some steel screening would do the trick. You should probably ask the people who make the Stoker if they have any suggestions. It's their product so they probably deal with this kind of thing all the time.

 

[timothy]

I run natural but I noticed if I pull the lid up quickly it creates a vaccum effect and I get a lot of fly away ash.
Closing the top vent and cracking the lid slowly while pulling it to the side helps alot.
I think Jay and Dustin bring up some good points so it might be as simple as some fine tuning?

Tim

 

[Bob Bass]

I run a Stoker but have never had this ash problem. I also distribute the hot coals relatively evenly across the top of the charcoal so that the likelihood of ash buildup directly in front of the fan is minimal.

And yes, the Stoker has an open lid setting. By choice, I have mine turned off.

Disclaimer... Mine is the WiFi model, Black with Blue LED display.