Cleaning creosote from a smoker

[Tazz]

Bitter ribs? Time to clean it out.

Mine was pretty bad but I found that hitting it with a propane torch first will melt and crystalize the creosote so it can be easily scraped off. Sometimes it just peels off on it's own. If you let it build up you'll usually end up with a bitter taste from the smoke, especially if you run it at a higher than normal temp to speed things up (275 vs 225)

This took me about an hour to clean everything out.

 

[bmaverick]

I could of saved 1hr of your time in life by removing all of that in under 5mins.

7. What Dissolves Creosote?​

Bleach, industrial cleaners, and Water can be used to dissolve creosote in your chimney and fireplace. It is proven that creosote is soluble when they come in contact with water. This is to say that water can remove some parts of creosote when you sprinkle or pour the water on the creosote. But at the same time, creosotes cannot be fully removed by water alone because their liquid is thicker than water. You need to add bleach or other industrial cleaners to the water to have the creosote removed successfully.


Other things that would easily remove creosote are substances like bleach and other industrial cleaners that are tough on substances like creosote. With these chemicals in place, creosotes can be wiped off from clothes and other places that they have built up themselves.


These are some of the substances that can be used to dissolve creosote when you see them building up in your home.

15. How Do I Get Rid of Level 3 Creosote?​

The following steps can be taken to remove and get rid of level 3 creosote in your house and fireplaces. Just do the following carefully:

• Get your good creosote brush and apply the creosote remover powder to the brush.
• Ensure that you brush all parts of your chimney carefully and very well too. You would need to do this up onto the flue, and you must use the creosote remover powder in all the places you are washing in your chimney.
• Ensure you light up or put on a fire in your fireplace.
• Immediately the fire goes off, quickly wash off the chimney and by so doing you would get rid of level 3 creosote in your home and fireplace.

16. How Do You Remove Glazed Creosote?​

To remove glazed creosote follow the procedure below:

• Get a good industrial-grade creosote remover.
• Spray the remover on the glazed creosote or brush it off with a good brush after you have applied the industrial spray on the brush you want to use.
• Immediately it absorbs, the creosote would become soft.
• Then wash it off by brushing immediately
• This is how to remove glazed creosote in your home.

Creosote Remover: 16 Things You Should Know | ValidHouse

Creosote Remover: Bleach, industrial cleaners, and Water can be used to dissolve creosote in your chimney and fireplace. It is proven that

validhouse.com

 

[m1garand762]

When I clean mine I put it on the grass and hose it out then spray it down with simple green and scrip it really well with a scrub brush and rinse it out it looks like new again. I’ll then let it dry and burn it for a few hours before using it again

 

[jaxs]

Using seasoned wood produces less creosote to be deposited on meat and cooker. If your cooker is belching dark smoke it's making access creosote and imparting bitterness to meat. If you aren't 100% pleased with your smoked meat I suggest trying meat cooked in a Cuban Cooker,aka Caja China so see how little creosote taste is imparted. Starting out or while learning a new cooker I suggest burning wood outside firebox then feeding cooker glowing coals. Add increasingly more wood as you gain experience controlling heat without access smoke until side fire is no longer necessary.