I'm still on a trial and error relationship with my electric smoker but the biggest issue is getting the wood chips to start emitting smoke.

I use hickory chips most of the time with the smoker set at 225.They light pretty fast except for the one time I set the temp at 200 and it seemed to take forever.The mesquite chips took forever to light even at 225.

The book says to bring the smoker up to the set temperature...put the food in and then load the chips in the hopper.Unfortunately there are times where the food is almost done and just a little smoke is starting to come out.

Hickory chips seem to do okay at 225 but the mesquite seems to need a little higher temp.I haven't even tried any of the other "flavors" out there yet.

Some answers about your experiences would be greatly appreciated.

I always put the wet chips in first, with the meat. That way they get the smoke flavor even if the meat needs to cook a while longer after the smoke stops.
The wood smoker tray in mine is very close to the heating element, which I think is universal with them. I don't see the advantage of waiting any amount of time before putting the wood in. Especially if cooking at a low temp.

What brand do you have?
My electric masterbuilt makes smoke OK at 225. But, not so good at 200.
You can always add an additional source such as A-maze-n. The a-maze-n uses pellets . Just fill it up, light it with a propane touch. All the smoke you could ever want.

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An added thought... I've found that I can add too much smoke flavor if I'm not careful. That's why I start early and stop when the smoke does. The meat has already absorbed the smoke flavor and more smoke added means more smoke tasted.

Electric + Smoker = Traeger

It's not really a smoker in the true sense of the word. It's more of an electric grill that offers a smoke feature. It uses pellets.

The smoke setting averages about 175° (depending on outside air temperature and wind), and the dial's setting goes up to High -- about 400°. I prefer low and slow.

There ain't anything I can't conjure up with this thing. It's all about the Traeger and nothing to do with me. The smoked deviled eggs are a thing of wonder.

__________________
Wrangler of stray Chiefs
Bob

The wood tray sits directly on top of the heating element.The book says nothing about soaking the wood chips and I doubt that they would ever ignite as quick as the dry chips.I don't wait to put the wood chips in the smoker.I load what ever meat I'm cooking and then immediately pull out the hopper...fill it up and put it right back in.

I also have a Masterbuilt.Like I said in my post I don't have an issue with hickory chips as long as the temp is set at 225 or above.The mesquite chips take longer to ignite at the same temp.

Too much smoke is not my problem and if it was I could always take the meat out for a minute or so until the smoke cleared.

Maybe I should refine my question a little better...

Hickory chips light fast (at 225) and give off a lot of smoke.Mesquite takes longer to ignite (at 225) and doesn't give off any where near as much smoke.I haven't tried any of the other chips yet.

My question is simply...Do different wood chips vary as far as the amount of smoke or the time and temp it takes to ignite them?

I think you just answered your own question. As far as wetting chips I read that a lot of the smoke you see is actually just steam and that makes sense to me. I have cherry trees around my property and use a chunk of that directly on the burner instead of in a pan. The chips burn up too quickly in my experience.