Smoking on a Genesis E-330


 
J

JeffKnob

New member
I have the Genesis E-330 with the smoker kit (7575). The first time I used it I couldn't get any smoke. The next time I was able to get the smoke started with some extra heat and then I turned it down to low. After about 45 minutes, the chips were on fire. I put the fire out and replaced them to have them start on fire again later. I am not talking about smoldering but full flames. I contacted Weber's tech support and they are telling me that I shouldn't be doing any long smoking with my E-330 and that is was only good for about 30-60 minutes of smoke. I thought I would be able to at least be able to cook a turkey on there like my dad has done on a gas grill for years.

What could I be doing wrong? I had the smoker box only half full. Should it have been full to the top? Is Weber right about it only being good for 30-60 minutes?

Thanks.
 
I had the same results with my E-310. The chips were gone in about 1/2 hour after they started to smoke/burn, which took a good 1/2 to 3/4 of an hour.

I actually got a lot of smoke once they started on fire. I had the smoker box on top of the left burner which was on high. The middle and right burners were off.

I would have preferred it to start smoking sooner before the meat had cooked at all. I think that would enhance the smoke flavor/effect.

I bought a small charcoal grate, about 15" in dia. I cut about 3-4 inches of off one side. It now sits perfectly over the left burner. So, the next time I will put this over the left burner and the smoker box on top of it. This should get the smoke going much sooner and hopefully provide better results.

On my BGE the chips go right on top of the lump and burn up within an hour or so, depends on good they were soaked before hand

Got my fingers crossed!
 
Years back on a past gasser I tried smoking. Although I produced smoke I never really achieved "real" smokey flavour. There was a hint of it perhaps but not much. And it was too much labour to keep replenishing the chips over and over.

For me I came to one conclusion, gassers are just grills and are not really capable of producing quality smoke. Weber (and other makers) have lots of neat little gimmicky things to add to or use with your gasser that give you the ability to throw some smoke at the meat. BUT none of them compare to the smoke produced by having chunks of hardwood buried in a hot bed of charcoal.

Don't get me wrong, I own and use gassers - they have their place on my patio. But if smokey flavour is the objective, the gassers stay covered. If you want to smoke, get a kettle. If you want to smoke serious get a WSM. Of course this is MVHO.
 
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Never had much luck doing a true smoke on a gasser, just to much air flow to substain the smoke in the chamber. It's okay for a hint of smoke on a burger or steak. If you want more smoke flavor you need at the least a kettle or for serious smoke a WSM.
 
I have done actual smoking on my old Genesis. Turned out great BUT I think it was more work than just using the right tool for the job
 
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