Re: Another smoker question
Well...
I've not got any experience with smoker units, but have read a bunch of the tanker notes on theirs. Running too little fluid can be as bad as running too much, apparently.
The smoker is basically a heating element, and a fluid that vaporizes to create the smoke. The fluid also maintains the wire at a certain temperature. If it 'runs dry', or as you say, you run it w/o fluid, the element has no limiter on the temperature of the wire, and it can overheat and burn out.
One example of a similar item are those immursion heaters for heating fluids in a car, or ones used to keep livestock water troughs from freezing. If you run it without putting it in fluid, the element will get too hot, and burn out.
Bottom line, if you don't want to run the smoker ALL the time, put a switch in-line, or enable it to be unplugged when not in use. Otherwise you risk a burnout, and the heat could damage nearby items.
Anyone care to back me up?
WhiteWolf
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