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Sooty cook on my Smoke Vault 24

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    Sooty cook on my Smoke Vault 24

    Had an unusual experience yesterday when cooking pork back loin ribs on my Smoke Vault 24: the burner was producing very a very sooty flame. I've had the SV for several years, and have never seen this before.

    My most recent cook on the SV was about a month ago, also pork loin ribs, and everything was normal.

    I was using a nearly-full propane bottle that I had used on the previous cook. When I initially fired it up, I noticed the flame from the burner looked more yellow than normal. When I crank it up, it usually turns nice and blue. However, this time, the flame remained decidedly yellow and much broader. Nonetheless, I set it to medium and established a stable temp of 250 F for the ribs using my Fireboard. I used a small of chunk of hickory and a small chunk of apple wood for smoke.

    When I opened the SV about two hours in to check on the wood and water pan, I noticed that the ribs had a greyish, sooty color. Later, when I had wrapped the ribs in foil, the foil had a thin layer of soot on it. Not very appetizing!

    I checked that the wood chunks were smoldering cleanly and they were. I turned off the burner and reattached the propane tank, but the flame was the same when I re-ignited. I tried a different propane bottle with the same results.

    This is the first time I've encountered such a problem and am not sure what to try next. I made sure the propane bottle connection and valve were clear. I'm suspicious of the burner now, but am not sure what to check for problems.

    Has anyone else had this issue with the Smoke Vault. Any suggestions what to try to debug it?

    Thanks in advance.

    #2
    I have no idea of how the burner works on the SV and
    I am no expert. I do operate a few different types of gas cookers on a daily basis.
    When I no longer get the clean blue flame it is a sign for me of 1 off 3 things. There is a lack of oxygen or the jet needs a clean or the venturi where it narrows has some carbon (?) Build-up or needs a slight adjustment (rare)
    I'm a kind off hands on guy so I sort things out myself but don't recommend doing it yourself. Probably needs a service.


    Meant to add this would be the cause the soot.
    Last edited by holehogg; November 4, 2019, 11:58 AM.

    Comment


    • holehogg
      holehogg commented
      Editing a comment
      pkadare I have a set of nozzle cleaners of varying sizes and jet holes differ in size and if you try force something in the jet hole that's
      bigger than the diameter you will damage it and it will no longer be effective.

    • pkadare
      pkadare commented
      Editing a comment
      holehogg - Of course, I just assumed that would have been understood.

    • texastweeter
      texastweeter commented
      Editing a comment
      holehogg astroglide...

    #3
    Thanks very much for the suggestions holehogg and pkadare . Will take a close look at the burner jets and venturi.
    Will probably also reach out to Camp Chef for any tips they may have.

    Comment


    • holehogg
      holehogg commented
      Editing a comment
      Good call on making contact with manufacturer.

    #4
    theroc let us know what Camp Chef says. I am curious as to the cause myself. I see this issue on my Bayou Classic SQ14 patio stove burner sometimes, and it usually means I need to adjust the air intake shutter on the burner.

    Comment


      #5
      From the manual for my patio stove:

      Click image for larger version

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      Last edited by jfmorris; November 4, 2019, 02:09 PM.

      Comment


      • holehogg
        holehogg commented
        Editing a comment
        This is one of the possibilities for the yellow flame as I mentioned above. In my experience with my burner type it is not something that needs regular adjusting.
        I stand corrected but I think in the 2 years I've been servicing my burners I have only once made an air intake adjustment. The biggest culprit has been the build up of carbon (?) in the venturi where it narrows. I remove the burner clean it as best I can then flush with water. Once back in place the flame is good.

      • holehogg
        holehogg commented
        Editing a comment
        I have cleaned a jet or two in the same time. My burners run 5 dsys a week and have a total of 8.
        Like I mentioned I'm no expert and but my burners air intakes have not needed regular adjusting. Just a good cleaning has worked to get the blue flame back.

      • jfmorris
        jfmorris commented
        Editing a comment
        holehogg my burner where this has been an issue is one that I move around frequently, as it is only used to brew beer or boil a big pot that I don't want to cook inside on the stove (a 2 gallon pot of artichokes recently). I imagine it just gets knocked around when storing my patio stove, as it gets shoved up on a shelf or in a corner of the garage or shed. I really ought to put some screws in it to tighten it down and lock the air intake damper in place.

      #6
      I reached out to Camp Chef customer support and they replied very promptly. They said that this kind of problem is generally caused by a dirty burner, possibly a spider of something getting into it or some other debris. They recommend removing the burner and cleaning it out, and even provided a nice photo showing how to remove the burner.

      Will work on it this weekend. Hopefully it does the trick.

      Comment


      • mountainsmoker
        mountainsmoker commented
        Editing a comment
        Good deal, glad you went to the source. I have had spiders make there little nests in the burners.

      • holehogg
        holehogg commented
        Editing a comment
        I had a suspicion something like that might be the cause. Good service from manufacturer and when it comes from the horses mouth its reassuring.
        My tip if they didn't mention - Make sure it's turned off before attempting to remove ☺.

      #7
      One thing I have found thru owning many propane BBQ's is your propane burner may be rotten and falling apart.
      You'll know fast enough when you take the burner out to clean it.

      Comment


        #8
        smokin fool got me thinking, and I found this same problem in an old post in a google search:

        Hi, I have a Smoke Vault 24" that is having a burner problem. The flame is extremely yellow and has ruined a rack of ribs by coating it with soot. After further inspection, the burner looks like it may have begun to melt at the orrifices. My question is: Does anyone know where I could buy a...


        The guy there says he burner was "melting" at the orifices. More likely corrosion I would think. I guess I thought the Smoke Vault had a cast iron burner, but looks like it is sheet metal after reviewing the parts diagram, and subject to breaking down.

        Comment


          #9
          Thought I would close out this topic with a report on how my repair efforts went. I followed Camp Chef's helpful directions to pull out the burner. I didn't find any obvious obstructions in or corrosion on the burner or feed tube. Went ahead and blew it all out with compressed air and reassembled. Very happy to report that the flame is now back to its normal blue color and operation appears to be nominal.

          Thanks again to the very prompt and helpful response from the Camp Chef Support Team, and the helpful suggestions from the Pit!

          Comment


          • tbob4
            tbob4 commented
            Editing a comment
            Congrats! I’m glad your problem was solved. It really stinks when things go wrong and you don’t know why.

          #10
          Does anyone have the instruction on how to clean and adjust the burner on the smoke vault 24

          Comment


            #11
            Prince, the helpful folks at Camp Chef user support sent the instructions below as a guide for how to remove the burner assembly from the smoke vault. Cleaning was then simply a matter of blowing out the various tubing and the burner head. I can't offer any advice on adjusting the burner, though. Suggest you contact Camp Chef. They were very responsive.

            Click image for larger version

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            Comment


              #12
              Thanks for the info I disassembled and cleaned the burner. Did a test run with some chicken and sausage and it came out beautiful. Nasty Soot Gone!!

              Comment

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