The topic of smoking came up in another group I'm in. I
suggested the use of sandbox sand in the water tray as
opposed to water. (Covered with foil of course) A guy came
back with the following question which I don't know the
answer to although from the searching that I've done, I
seriously doubt that there is any reason for concern.

************** His post ********************************
question i have on that is at a direct heat won't the sand
break down thus giving off fumes into the meat?
I happened to think that my grandma has an old bed with a
heat box. If one doesn't know what it is( heat box is under
the bed heat stones place inside keep you warm all night)
************************************************** **********

Comments?

--
Steve

I doubt a water smoker is going to get hot enough to melt sand. I've
heard many people on here using sand before without any problems. I
personally piled my water pan full of "lava rock" or whatever they call
those briquets that people use for heat retention in gas grills. But I
think sand would be OK too.

"Steve Calvin" > wrote in message
news
> The topic of smoking came up in another group I'm in. I suggested the use
> of sandbox sand in the water tray as opposed to water. (Covered with foil
> of course) A guy came back with the following question which I don't know
> the answer to although from the searching that I've done, I seriously
> doubt that there is any reason for concern.
>
> ************** His post ********************************
> question i have on that is at a direct heat won't the sand break down thus
> giving off fumes into the meat?
> I happened to think that my grandma has an old bed with a heat box. If one
> doesn't know what it is( heat box is under the bed heat stones place
> inside keep you warm all night)
> ************************************************** **********
>
> Comments?

Sand break down? Did he miss 6th grade science class? By the time it get
hot enough to melt sand, the entire cooker and his meat will be a tiny bit
of ash flying in the breeze. Please tell him to look up things like lave
and glass making for the answer.

"Steve Calvin" > wrote in message
news
> The topic of smoking came up in another group I'm in. I suggested the use
> of sandbox sand in the water tray as opposed to water. (Covered with foil
> of course) A guy came back with the following question which I don't know
> the answer to although from the searching that I've done, I seriously
> doubt that there is any reason for concern.
>
> ************** His post ********************************
> question i have on that is at a direct heat won't the sand break down thus
> giving off fumes into the meat?
> I happened to think that my grandma has an old bed with a heat box. If one
> doesn't know what it is( heat box is under the bed heat stones place
> inside keep you warm all night)
> ************************************************** **********
>
> Comments?
>
> --
> Steve

Sand (silicon dioxide, or Quartz) melts at 1723 C or over 3000 degrees F.
The smoker would melt before the sand would. That being said, as far as
fumes are concerned, be sure to use clean sand.

- A -

Thanks all. That's what I thought as well. I've actually
never used water in my WSM. It's been full of clean sand
since I first fired it up. I just didn't know how to
technically explain it to the guy



--
Steve

In article >, says...
> The topic of smoking came up in another group I'm in. I
> suggested the use of sandbox sand in the water tray as
> opposed to water. (Covered with foil of course) A guy came
> back with the following question which I don't know the
> answer to although from the searching that I've done, I
> seriously doubt that there is any reason for concern.
>
> ************** His post ********************************
> question i have on that is at a direct heat won't the sand
> break down thus giving off fumes into the meat?
> I happened to think that my grandma has an old bed with a
> heat box. If one doesn't know what it is( heat box is under
> the bed heat stones place inside keep you warm all night)
> ************************************************** **********
>
> Comments?
>
>

Maybe his cat uses his sandbox.

Bill

On 18-Feb-2006, Steve Calvin > wrote:

> The topic of smoking came up in another group I'm in. I
> suggested the use of sandbox sand in the water tray as
> opposed to water. (Covered with foil of course) A guy came
> back with the following question which I don't know the
> answer to although from the searching that I've done, I
> seriously doubt that there is any reason for concern.
>
> ************** His post ********************************
> question i have on that is at a direct heat won't the sand
> break down thus giving off fumes into the meat?
> I happened to think that my grandma has an old bed with a
> heat box. If one doesn't know what it is( heat box is under
> the bed heat stones place inside keep you warm all night)
> ************************************************** **********
>
> Comments?
>
> --
> Steve

I never gave it a thought, but I'm using very clean sandblasting sand
from a building supply. Given that the typical water/sand pan is so
close to the heat source, it likely gets more then hot enough to burn
off any aromatics the sand might contain. The sand itself will never
reach a temperature that could break it down (melt it). I would hope
that most folks would avoid using topsoil and calling it sand.

--
Brick(I'm paddling as fast as I can)

"Steve Calvin" > wrote in message
news
> The topic of smoking came up in another group I'm in. I suggested the use
> of sandbox sand in the water tray as opposed to water. (Covered with foil
> of course) A guy came back with the following question which I don't know
> the answer to although from the searching that I've done, I seriously
> doubt that there is any reason for concern.
>
> ************** His post ********************************
> question i have on that is at a direct heat won't the sand break down thus
> giving off fumes into the meat?
> I happened to think that my grandma has an old bed with a heat box. If one
> doesn't know what it is( heat box is under the bed heat stones place
> inside keep you warm all night)
> ************************************************** **********
>
> Comments?
>
> --
> Steve


If it isn't pushing the question to much...............would someone please
discuss the reason for sand in the water tray......I've used the smoker as
an oven of sorts but not with out the water in the pan. New here, learned a
lot......................Thanks

lorin merriam wrote:

>
> If it isn't pushing the question to much...............would someone please
> discuss the reason for sand in the water tray......I've used the smoker as
> an oven of sorts but not with out the water in the pan. New here, learned a
> lot......................Thanks
>
>

The virtual weber bullit site has a good write up on the
topic:
http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/wa...age.html#other

--
Steve

On Sat, 18 Feb 2006 20:44:24 GMT, "Brick" >
wrote:

>
>On 18-Feb-2006, Steve Calvin > wrote:
>
>> The topic of smoking came up in another group I'm in. I
>> suggested the use of sandbox sand in the water tray as
>> opposed to water. (Covered with foil of course) A guy came
>> back with the following question which I don't know the
>> answer to although from the searching that I've done, I
>> seriously doubt that there is any reason for concern.
>>
>> ************** His post ********************************
>> question i have on that is at a direct heat won't the sand
>> break down thus giving off fumes into the meat?
>> I happened to think that my grandma has an old bed with a
>> heat box. If one doesn't know what it is( heat box is under
>> the bed heat stones place inside keep you warm all night)
>> ************************************************** **********
>>
>> Comments?
>>
>> --
>> Steve
>
>I never gave it a thought, but I'm using very clean sandblasting sand
>from a building supply. Given that the typical water/sand pan is so
>close to the heat source, it likely gets more then hot enough to burn
>off any aromatics the sand might contain. The sand itself will never
>reach a temperature that could break it down (melt it). I would hope
>that most folks would avoid using topsoil and calling it sand.

Toy box sand woks well - don't get the stuff from construction
companies - the stuff they use to make concrete - as it may contain
impurities.

Harry

Based on my own experience, my charbroil electric water smoker has
serious trouble getting up to 250 with water in the pan. My theory is
that the evaporation of water from the pan is like a heat sink... that
is to say that significant heat energy is lost to the process of
turning water to steam. In fact, the temperature at the food level
seems to hover around 210-220 maximum when I use water. Since water
boils at 212, it kind of makes sense, or at least it sounds plausible
anyways. But with the pan full of lava rock or whatever, then my
smoker maxes out at about 250-260. And since using water requires
refilling, there is extra heat loss when you open the lid... and you
also have to deal with at least some greasy water when you're
finished... AND, water collects on the inside of the smoker and runs
down the sides and makes a mess... so in my book, lava rock (or sand or
whatever) wins over water in a heartbeat. I've never found any benefit
to using water at all.