How Much Smoke?

I have read quite a few online posts trying to describe in words the quality and quantity of smoke that is desirable. And I found that words alone made it difficult to comprehend so I have taken a few pictures of my smoker while it is in action. Hopefully this will help to clarify things a little.

What you are after is thin wisps of white smoke with a slight blueish tinge to them. You get this by having your wood at a good slow smolder. I have been experimenting with different setups in my own smoker to determine what I need to do in order to get an optimal burn. That is, to prolong the life of my chips in order to get a slow steady burn instead of a quick release.

Thus far I have put my chips into a cast iron pan which then goes directly on top of my burner. However with the burner on, I have found that the chips burn far too quickly as they are exposed to direct heat. As my smoke went on and I accumulated an insulating layer of ash and charcoal on the bottom of the pan, the wood began to burn at a much more modest rate.

I think what I will do next time is to layer the bottom of my cast iron pan with briquettes and then heap my chips on top of that.

Anyway, without further ado, here are some pictures of what you want in terms of smoke. Clearly there are some gaps in my seal and that is why there is smoke escaping from my dampers even when they are closed. However, that is not abnormal and gives a good indication of how much smoke you should have.

Front view

Exhaust damper view