Costco Louisiana Grills Series 7 Pellet Vertical Smoker

[Chris_in_SoCal]

That could very well be. I picked up a 6 probe bluetooth thermometer so I can test it compared to the built in ones.

 

[Jon Williams]

That could very well be. I picked up a 6 probe bluetooth thermometer so I can test it compared to the built in ones.

Nice. I had a huge smoke this past weekend. Had 5 full racks of spare ribs so I had 5 shelves going. I couldn't get the internal temp over 200...even setting it to 300. I realize that when you fill your smoker up with 40 degree meat, temps will go down, but after 45 minutes I was running out of patience. I read in some other forums that others struggled with temps when there was a lot of meat in it, and the solution was to remove the water pan and just use a foil pan filled with water on the bottom rack. I did that and temps shot up quickly and stayed within 15 degrees of target the entire smoke. Toward the end it started running a little on the hotter side (as the meat was pretty much cooked). So my guess is that the internal thermometer takes into account this stock water pan in calculating temps at the grate level...just a hunch. When I used this smaller pan the next day for just one small item, the temps were running 20 degrees hotter....with stock water pan they were consistently 35 degrees cooler. I think I'm going to cut an additional air vent or 2 in the stock water tray and see if that gets me somewhere in the middle. At least I'm not getting huge swings during the cook. Once I figure this thing out I'm pretty confident I can set it and forget it.

 

[Chris_in_SoCal]

I have read that as well with the Pit Boss series 7 brothers. I quickly replaced the drip pan with disposable aluminum pans from Costco. Easier cleanup and toss them after a few uses. They fit perfectly in this smoker.

Next up.

 

[Chris_in_SoCal]

I used an external 6 probe temperature gauge with bluetooth to compare the LG to another device to see it's accuracy. On the actual LG we will use Cook, Actual, Probe 1 - meat and probe 2 is hanging off the rack near the top. External 1-3 are in the meat. External 4 is hanging next to probe 2. I watched it for about 15 minutes and it seems to be pretty constant. The good thing is even though it reads low the swing isn't near as bad as it seems. All three external in the meat are the same so I will put them as the same.

There was a little variance like the actual would sometimes drop to 245 as the pellets started burning but would quickly jump back up to 250. A few times it also jumped up to 265 for a second but quickly dropped back to 260. The max I saw either hanging probe change was 3 degrees and as little 1 degree but usually 2 degrees. To me that's not much swing at all. Clearly not a 30 degree swing.

 

[Chris_in_SoCal]

I would like to add The temperature sensor (Actual) probably needs to be within the firebox because that small area does have a huge swing but the cooking area seems to be more even. Perhaps they should have included another sensor in the actual cooking area with cooking temp. I had filled up the foil tray about half way with water and there was only about 1/4" by the time it was done. That is supposed to stabilize the temperature and having about 4 times the capacity even half filled as the stock pan that might be what helped to keep the temp swings in check.

 

[Chris_in_SoCal]

What I cooked?

I made a couple of Bison burgers since I knew the brisket would be a long cook. They finish pretty fast but always come out amazing in this smoker and are fast to cook.

We are going to my parents house tomorrow for mothers day so along with the brisket I made some beans with bacon and red bell peppers. I have seen too many others make this so I had to try it. It came out great.

Sorry for the blurry pics, my phone just didn't want to cooperate tonight.

The main course was a 8.4 Lb brisket. I pre-seasoned it with mustard for stick, a Weber dry rub and the special ingredient is a OX roast from Sanoma Cheese Factory. I buy it by the pound, unfortunately they are closed right now due to family issues. I hope that is fixed soon. When close to done I pour apple juice on it then sprinkle brown sugar on top. I do this three times at the end so the brown sugar caramelizes without getting burned.

This is about 180* almost there. Sorry for all the probes but I was testing things out. See above.

The end result was nothing less than incredible. I have cooked a few briskets in my time but none have come anywhere close to how this one came out. This is better than any brisket I have even eaten in a steakhouse. From California to Texas. I sure hope Sanoma CF gets things figured out soon because I'm almost out of OX.

 

[ISmellSmoke]

Wow that is an incredible looking brisket. Did you remove the the water pan and replace it with the foil pan? I bought my Louisiana Grill a couple of months ago when Costco first had them on sale. I’m still tinkering with it if it would quit raining so much I could get in some more tinkering. I roasted some raw peanuts in it a couple weeks ago and they turned out great. Nice Job on the brisket.

 

[Chris_in_SoCal]

Wow that is an incredible looking brisket. Did you remove the the water pan and replace it with the foil pan?

Thanks, mom loved it, dad did too. Yes I replaced the original pan. It does give room for the smoke to breathe much. The foil pan has clearance all around and holds much more water to keep the temps stable.

 

[Chris_in_SoCal]

Another brisket, overnight smoke. No issues.

 

[Jaimo]

Does anyone know where I can find a manual for this smoker?

 

[mike243]

I wood start at the pitboss web site , not a real lot in the little 1 that came with my smoker.

 

[cmpaula]

I have misplaced the instructions for the Costco vertical smoker but I think I remember reading that it had to be prepped. Can anyone confirm this?

 

[RCAlan]

I have misplaced the instructions for the Costco vertical smoker but I think I remember reading that it had to be prepped. Can anyone confirm this?

Cmpaula, if your pellet grill is the Louisiana Grills Vertical Smoker, give the PB Copperhead 7 Series Owners Manual a look.. It’s the exact same Smoker and made by the same company... Here’s the link... https://images.pitboss-grills.com/catalog/manuel/77700_20171016.pdf

Good luck and for best results with your grill, read the Owners Manual completely and don’t take any short cuts..

PB Austin XL in SoCal and Always... Semper Fi

 

[cmpaula]

Many thanks, my friend!

 

[Chris_in_SoCal]

3 1/2 months in and it hasn't let me down once. from today.

St Louis style ribs.

Bison ribeyes and Elk medallions smoked then seared on the SM pit.

 

[jmevox]

My father bought the same smoker and I absolutely love it. I think I'm going to buy one for myself but they are hard to find in stock now. I have done several rib cooks, a ham and stuffed venison backstrap. I need to test out a brisket and some venison jerky in the next few weeks. I have had no issues at all and clean up is pretty simple.

 

[dward51]

I keep hoping they run them on sale again (either the Costco 7 model or the Walmart Copperhead 5). I missed both the Walmart 2018 model clearance for $108 and the Costco sale earlier this year. Bummer....

 

[shamilton]

Alright - I need help addressing two issues. I've tried to read a 1000 forums on this for the LG Vertical Smoker...and really haven't found much.

1) Temperature swings - with the metal water pan (that came with it) at the bottom, closest to the firebox in, I see about 15-20 degrees consistently (without any meat). With a full 17 pound pork butt, swings between 40-50 degrees. *Using Thermapro thermometers)*

Question: Has the placement of the water pan affected anyone's temperatures in a positive way (less swings) --- i.e. moving it HIGHER up the racks?
Question: Has removing the metal water pan and replacing it with an aluminum one really made that big of a difference?
Question: How about not having the water pan at all? Results? Thoughts?

2) Packing Meat w/ Smoke - Smoked a pork butt last week. Wanted the smoker to stay at 250 degrees, had to switch the unit to 300 because of the 50 degree difference. Very little smoke flavor. *Used Pit Boss Pellets*

Question: Smoke mode...should I just keep it on smoke mode for 2-3 hours if this is the case?
Question: Any other thoughts about getting more smoke into it outside of using smoke mode?

3) Meat Placement & Temperature - I usually keep what I'm smoking on the top few racks (if I'm not doing that much).

Question: Any experience with where your smoker is the most accurate? Top, middle, bottom?

 

[Jon Williams]

Alright - I need help addressing two issues. I've tried to read a 1000 forums on this for the LG Vertical Smoker...and really haven't found much.

1) Temperature swings - with the metal water pan (that came with it) at the bottom, closest to the firebox in, I see about 15-20 degrees consistently (without any meat). With a full 17 pound pork butt, swings between 40-50 degrees. *Using Thermapro thermometers)*

Question: Has the placement of the water pan affected anyone's temperatures in a positive way (less swings) --- i.e. moving it HIGHER up the racks?
Question: Has removing the metal water pan and replacing it with an aluminum one really made that big of a difference?
Question: How about not having the water pan at all? Results? Thoughts?

2) Packing Meat w/ Smoke - Smoked a pork butt last week. Wanted the smoker to stay at 250 degrees, had to switch the unit to 300 because of the 50 degree difference. Very little smoke flavor. *Used Pit Boss Pellets*

Question: Smoke mode...should I just keep it on smoke mode for 2-3 hours if this is the case?
Question: Any other thoughts about getting more smoke into it outside of using smoke mode?

3) Meat Placement & Temperature - I usually keep what I'm smoking on the top few racks (if I'm not doing that much).

Question: Any experience with where your smoker is the most accurate? Top, middle, bottom?

I’ve experienced similar:

1. Temp swings - I’m generally OK with small-medium amounts of meat. For that I leave in the stock water pan. For larger loads I’ve found it can’t quite keep up. In these cases I remove it and place an aluminum half pan on the bottom rack. Stays pretty steady after that. May run a little warmer so for 250 I may need to set at 225, but the swings are pretty small.

2. Smoke flavor. You don’t get a lot of smoke flavor out of this. That’s ok. Easy fix. For fuel I load the unit up with Lowe’s Pit Boss Competition Blend pellets. They’re good and you’ll get the fuel to run the smoker and a little smoke flavor. For smoke...get one of those cold smoke tubes off Amazon. They’re only $12-$15. I’ll load that up with good quality pellets from Lumber Jack. A full tube will go 5 hours or so. Light it with a kitchen torch and let burn a few minutes and the flame will subside and you’ll get a light smolder. Place the tube on a low rack above the fan on far left or right of smoker. The tube needs air. You’ll get a perfect thin blue smoke throughout the entire cook. Honestly without the smoke tube...I’d likely return this smoker. But I consider it with the smoke tube a perfect combo and get great results.

 

[dward51]

One thing to remember is these smokers do *NOT* have PID controllers. They are analog controllers, so larger temp swings are not uncommon. I don't think it matters one bit though. The swing is more pronounced at lower temps and reported to be more stable at 250* and up smokes. Also not all pellets are created equal. Some burn easier and hotter than others so there are other variables at play here.

Some of the threads I've followed on other forums seem to recommend leaving the stock water pan in place and adding a disposable foil pan on the lowest rack setting, also with water. Yes you loose a rack, but the original pan then serves as a heat baffle and the new pan becomes your water pan and also the drip pan.

Most people are reporting they switched to Lumber Jack Pellets, which are 100% flavor wood. A lot of pellets are some base wood with flavor wood added in smaller amounts. The base wood is often not really imparting much if any flavor to the smoke. So if you have a pellet made from 75% base wood (say alder) and 25% flavor wood (say apple), you will not get as much apple smoke flavor from the same amount of pellets at the same temp and time as a pellet made from 100% apple. Also if you are used to stick burner smoked food, pellet do no product the same strength flavor profile in general. But they can still turn out some excellent smoked food.