Offset smoker black tarry liquid

[thicko]

I have got me a basic offset smoker here in the UK, it is made by Landmann.

http://www.gardenfurnitureworld.com/p/L ... tAodonYAxw

For the first fire up I used briquets and ash logs. I have noticed a build up of black liquid (looks like condensation) in the bottom of the cooking end, up the chimney, under the main lid and even some in the firebox end. The temperate according to the thermometer is 225f.
Is this normal for the 1st fire up?. I thought it might be the stuff used to prevent rust, is this possible. Obviously I will clean it all out before using to cook. My main concern is it may be carcinogenic as it looks very tarry.
Another thing is, do you cut the bark of logs before using them. Thanks, Mike

[k.a.m.]

Mike, what your experiencing is creosote build up in the cooker several things can cause this.
1.) Green wood that is smoldering and not burning clean.
2.) Dry wood that is smoldering from lack of air.
You want a small hot bed of coals when cooking, trying to run a cooker on heavy flames and a large fire creates bad smoke.
3.) The cooker temp is being controlled by the exhaust damper instead of he intake. On most cookers the exhaust should be left wide open and your temps are controlled by the firebox intake.
If the bark does not voluntarily fall off I burn it attached to the log, I also preheat my logs on top my firebox to ensure a faster ignition. When placing logs on your coals that has bark make sure the bark faces up instead of next to the coals.
I hope this helps.