DIY Downdraft - Traeger Big Tex

[albinva]

Hey all,

I have had the Traeger for 5-6 years now and have become very proficient at most all meats. My typical temp range on a 225 cook is between 215 and 240, which isn't too bad of a swing IMO. I will monitor my next cook to see if it improves. I am doing a cured pork belly (bacon) next weekend. I do not keep up with pellet use so no baseline to determine savings of pellets. Hopefully a bit more smoke flavor will result.

Had some spare time today, decided to try a home made downdraft setup with about $12 in parts from Lowes. I bought a sheet metal damper plate and an adjustable 3" elbow (22.5 to 90 degrees) and ss bolts and nuts. Here is the process:

• Removed vent stack, placed plate over opening and marked existing bolt holes. Bolted plate in place. I used the plate to help seal opening.
• Marked the opening from the outside and drilled 2.5" core in center of stack. The stack opening is about 3.5" in diameter. Snipped excess metal and bent back to form tabs.
• Inserted elbow into opening. (Had to manipulate tabs with a tack hammer to get elbow to fit).
• Hammered tabs back down to fit tighter on elbow.
• Done

The elbow will swing up to allow for removal,placement of grill grate. All in about 3 hours to complete.

Maybe not the prettiest of finish work, but I believe it will work. Will report back after cook next week.

 

[miatawnt2b]

Those parts are galvanized. I wouldn't use them unless you soak them in muriatic acid first for about 30 seconds.

 

[albinva]

Thanks for the heads up on the galvanized material. I will remove.

 

[motocrash]

Unless you plan on getting your grill between 800-900* Fahrenheit,I wouldn't worry too much.However,if it can flare up to where the flames were near/touching it,remove it.

 

[sweetride95]

How has this mod helped/hurt your grilling performance. I read mixed/inconclusive reviews on how these mods work.
I have considered making something for mine, but my pro22 has the shelf to work around, so the machining would be a little involved. I was considering machining something up that would plug into the exhaust port when I would smoke jobs. Think flat stock that would pop on, having a channel in the back that would run down to the grilling surface.

 

[miatawnt2b]

I used this technique on my OK Joe's stick burner to get the grate temps more even even after installing the tuning plates. It did help that setup quite a bit. However, now that I've removed the firebox and converted that pit to pellets, I found that extending the stack to grate level was unnecessary. The convection effect that I get from the pellet hopper in itself does a good enough job of distributing the heat with only the tuning plates. Traeger's that I have seen basically have a thick metal plate that is installed under the cooking surface. I would imagine this performs the same function as my tuning plates.
I would think that your temp fluctuations are probably a result of the controller on the Traeger and not one of flow up the stack. In order to even out those type of fluctuations, I would layer fire bricks in the bottom of the Trager underneath the metal plate. The bricks will heat up and their radiant heat will limit those temp swings as the controller adds pellets. There is no substitute for thermal mass.
Just a thought.
-J