The size of Your pellet grill does play an important role and can factor in if the SD HD would even be a good viable option. I for one wouldn’t recommend the SD HD to anyone with a Tailgater, Small or near Medium size pellet grill...
That's good to know. But an important question is; "who else wouldn't recommend it?”
Take a look at the video in the first post of this thread. It appears that the item is being demonstrated in just the size grill that you recommend against using it in.
That doesn’t look like anything to me but a small to medium sized pellet grill.
I could be wrong. But that looks to me like a Pellet Pro 770 or similarly sized grill.
https://smokedaddyinc.com/product/s...e-stainless-steel-pellet-bbq-grill-model-770/
That model is said to have a bottom grill size of 22in x 19in. About 418sq inches on it’s bottom grate.
My Stampede has about 590 sq in on its bottom grate.
If it is indeed the case that this device is not good for such sized grills, then I’d not only hope, but I’d expect the sellers to say that.
But I doubt that they will or even if that is their position, based on the size grill they’re using in the video to demonstrate the SD HD in action themselves.
Also, if I am right about the make and model of the grill in the video, I’d ask if that model has a PID controller in it?
The narrator indicates that you’ll have to watch your temps for the first couple of hours as you’re turning your grill into a stick burner.
Well a true stick burner has vents/dampers which can be adjusted or even closed to control a fire which is getting too hot. You can turn a flaming log or flaming wood chunk into a smoldering log or wood chunk, literally in seconds if you need to.
My pellet grill does not have dampers or vents and so I cannot do this on my pellet grill.
So about all that I can do is “watch” as my temps get out of control as a result of flaming ignited wood and my PID controller either can’t stop it or will struggle to stop it.
The Smaller the Grill, the less Temp Control You’ll have due to the grills size and the amount of heat the SD HD can produce, In posting .#50 I said that using less wood in the SD HD could also help in temp management and if You’re working with 700 plus sq inches of cooking space, that is definitely something I would do...
I don’t want to be presumptuous here, but I’m guessing that you mean 700 plus square inches on the bottom grate?
My Stampede came with 540 square in of grill space. Now it’s well over that with the 3
Rec Tec shelves in it.
Not doubting your statement, but two things.
1. If that is the case, and again, I'm not doubting that it is, well then why have we not heard it from Smoke Daddy. Are the customers doing the beta testing of this device?
2. Who has taken the time to determine that 700sq in is the "cutoff" and what methods did they use to determine this?
Most of what I'm seeing, including my own comments regarding it, is anecdotal.
And again I point to the demonstration video for the product. That is not a very large grill that the product is being used in.
Using less wood. The heat distribution in a small to near medium size pellet grill would be almost impossible to control burning real wood in a fully loaded SD HD...
Then why is it’s use, and near fully loaded, being demonstrated in such a sized grill?
But to your above statement, I agree and disagree.
If this is completely true, well then why have I been able to do it, albeit inconsistently?
I have, in fact, done it. Managed heat distribution using it fully loaded in a medium sized pellet grill. But I strongly believe that climate conditions may have played a part. My best results using it were when the weather was cooler than it is now.
My PID controller, may have had some "outside help" at controlling internal temperatures while the full SD HD was in use.
So yes, it is in fact possible to load it chock full of wood in a grill with less than 700sq in of cooking space and not have temps run out of control. But from what I can tell, that appears to be dependent upon
at least one external factor, that being ambient temperatures.
Other factors may be at work as well, but I don't know what they are and don't have the time nor motivation to find out what, if any other factors, may or do, influence temperature control in my grill when this item is in use.
My PB Austin XL comes with 1000sq inches of cooking space, so being able to add a water pan was no issue for me and I too don’t fully load my SH HD with wood... Maybe 70-80% loaded with wood... and I have no issues using it in my PB Austin XL and I don’t have to prop the lid on my PB either.. For Someone with almost half that cooking space and the size of the SD HD itself... I can see why some Users are having trouble controlling their grills temps. The larger the grill, the better heat distribution You’ll have. Medium Size Pellet Grills, I would try using 50% of Capacity for loading the SD HD with wood. The larger the Grill, the better heat distribution and temp control You’ll have... Seems logical... As the heat is not focused in such a small space.
All of this sounds good. If 70-80% loaded is good for a grill with 1,000 sq in of grate space, well then that ought to be spelled out in the sales literature and instructions.
I'm not saying that it's not in there. But I have not seen it. Has anyone else?
But the item as marketed, seems to me at least to center around loading it with wood and cooking with it in this fashion, regardless as to grill size or grate space.
Will Your Grills temps ever be within 5*-10* degrees of your set point using the SD HD?? No.. Common Since, it’s burning Real Wood in Real time. I knew when I first saw the Info Video that this device was going to add some extra heat that I was going to have too manage and deal with... I was ok with that. For those willing to compromise a little, the temps can be made very manageable. If anyone is not willing or is able to compromise, this product is not for You. To bad the SD HD doesn’t come in different sizes... and I’ve posted a few times, “One Size does not always fits all”. and to those who may be interested in adding real wood smoke option to their pellet grills, it would be a good idea to reach out too SmokeDaddyinc first for their input and advice. Giving them Your Pellet Grills brand and size.. Not only to see if the SD HD would fit, but also for their input and added information to help you get started.
Good luck.
PB Austin XL in SoCal and Always... Semper Fi
I could not agree more.
It would help if the sellers of this item would be more specific in it's marketing, instructions and recommendations regarding it's use given the two factors that you and I have discussed. Grill size and ambient temperatures. There could be other factors which we have not broached.
If the recommendation is to not fill it completely for grills of less than a certain size, be that size 700sq in of cooking space on the bottom grate, 1000sq in of cooking space on the bottom grate, etc., well then it would help a great deal if they were to come out and say that.
Instead, I'm hearing about propping your grill's lid open with a wood chunk.