Has anyone used the "Heavy D" Stick burner attachment?

[kstone113]

Just an update... I just received the SD Magnum P.I.G. Cold Smoker about 2 hours ago... After going through and inspecting all the parts, I discovered a defect in one of the parts. I reached out to SD and their Customer Service and Management were very helpful. A replacement part is on the way... I asked them to inspect and test the part prior to sending it out and they said that they would. I’ve ordered many items from them in the past and never had any issues and I wouldn’t hesitate ordering from them in the future... Great Company... I’ll post my results with the Magnum P.I.G. in another thread once I have everything together. And as for the SD Wood Burning Heat Diffuser, I still use it and the foil wrap does work for me... I just want a little more consistent smoke.

Pellet Pro Austin XL and a few more mods... in SoCal and Always... Semper Fi

My thoughts exactly RCAlan......since you have a pit boss, I plan to reach out to some Rec Tec folks who have installed and use it.

 

[kstone113]

Hey RCAlan - any luck installing the SD cold smoker? I read in another forum on here that others think it won't work with a pellet grill. From the research I've been doing, it does work...at least from talking with others who have or had it.

 

[RCAlan]

Yes I did... Was typing My new thread, when I just saw your posting...


Pellet Pro Austin XL and a few more mods... in SoCal and Always... Semper Fi

 

[kstone113]

Thanks RCAlan for the review on the other post! Your post got me excited about getting a Magnum PIG. Does seem like it will take some time to learn how to manage the fire within the SD but I would only be using for like briskets, ribs, and maybe a few other things.

I've been doing a lot of research lately on it and actually had seen the post about smoke you posted in that thread.

I'm lucky enough(with in this case - not when it comes to taxes...)to live in Chicagoland so I'm going to visit smoke daddy in person and talk to Dennis about the Magnum PIG and buy it there.

Look forward to hearing more about the SDM in the other thread. BTW, man, you are lucky being in Cali b/c Tri Tip prices are so much cheaper there than here. I LOVE Tri Tip and we have to usually pay $9.99 a lb or more around here.

Smoke on!

 

[shawnthomas]

reading through this thread I thought I would comment. I have two pellet smokers and I have installed pid controllers on both, put fire bricks in both, and have the biggest smoke generators that smokedaddy makes (big kahuna??). they work awesome! have the convivence of pellet set it and forget it with similar smoke to stick burner. I also bought one heavy D, I have not tried it with wood, I mainly bought it for its better heat diffusion, I think the extra wood chambers do a better job of distributing the heat and minimizing some hot spots in the corners of my pellet grill and it wont warp either. have not tried to put wood in it yet. I will if for no other reason just to see what it does.

My next modification to my treager is going to be remove the added on cold smoking chamber (that I use a food warmer) add a side shelf, set an old electric cabnet smoker on shelf and pipe the exhaust out of my treager into the side of the electric smoker!

 

[kstone113]

hey Sawnthomas - sounds like you've done a lot of mods, won't mind seeing some pics of all of them. If there is another thread, let me know and I'll go there.

What do those bricks do? Just absorb heat and help keep the heat up?

 

[SlowmotionQue]

reading through this thread I thought I would comment. I have two pellet smokers and I have installed pid controllers on both, put fire bricks in both, and have the biggest smoke generators that smokedaddy makes (big kahuna??). they work awesome! have the convivence of pellet set it and forget it with similar smoke to stick burner. I also bought one heavy D, I have not tried it with wood, I mainly bought it for its better heat diffusion, I think the extra wood chambers do a better job of distributing the heat and minimizing some hot spots in the corners of my pellet grill and it wont warp either. have not tried to put wood in it yet. I will if for no other reason just to see what it does.

My next modification to my treager is going to be remove the added on cold smoking chamber (that I use a food warmer) add a side shelf, set an old electric cabnet smoker on shelf and pipe the exhaust out of my treager into the side of the electric smoker!

This might actually be the saving grace of the SDHD. It’s heft and resistance to warping.

It’s made of very heavy gauge steel and will not warp.

However burning wood in it, is nothing from a tricky proposition.

 

[RCAlan]

Thanks RCAlan for the review on the other post! Your post got me excited about getting a Magnum PIG. Does seem like it will take some time to learn how to manage the fire within the SD but I would only be using for like briskets, ribs, and maybe a few other things.

I've been doing a lot of research lately on it and actually had seen the post about smoke you posted in that thread.

I'm lucky enough(with in this case - not when it comes to taxes...)to live in Chicagoland so I'm going to visit smoke daddy in person and talk to Dennis about the Magnum PIG and buy it there.

Look forward to hearing more about the SDM in the other thread. BTW, man, you are lucky being in Cali b/c Tri Tip prices are so much cheaper there than here. I LOVE Tri Tip and we have to usually pay $9.99 a lb or more around here.

Smoke on!

Brisket prices are always high, unless You live in Texas... lol. Tri-Tip prices in Cali are always nice because they are a tradition with bbq here... Every store and butcher shop carries them and they are super easy to prepare. When You make it over to SmokeDaddy, ask Dennis does he still read and post on the SmokingMeatForum.?. and if possible, pick his brain on the Creosote buildup in their Cold Smokers and the best way to solve the issue. Much appreciated and thank you...

Pellet Pro Austin XL and a few more mods... in SoCal and Always... Semper Fi

 

[kstone113]

Definitely will do because I'll be in the same boat as you and also the reason why I wanted to go buy in person to pick his brain. Those cold smokers I believe have been around since 2010....crazy huh. I have seen he has changed things over the years.

 

[shawnthomas]

hey Sawnthomas - sounds like you've done a lot of mods, won't mind seeing some pics of all of them. If there is another thread, let me know and I'll go there.

What do those bricks do? Just absorb heat and help keep the heat up?

I will take some pics when I complete my latest project. yes the fire bricks just help maintain a more consistent temp.

 

[crashbowman]

Looking for a little info from RCAlan and others who have had good success with the Heavy D. I just got one of these that came with the Pellet Pro pellet grill I purchased. I decided to try following the directions sent with it, rather than following the advice of this thread. I figured I knew what would happen, but also thought sent it was a Smoke Daddy Grill that maybe it would work better. Well, it completely went as expected and the temp went out of control and was a complete failure.

From reading this thread I have a pretty good idea on the foil wrapping and all, but I was more interested in knowing how you guys are starting your grill. Are you doing the "recommended" start at 350 and come down or are you just starting at your planned temp such as 225? Also, are you cracking the lid as recommended? Thanks for any info.

 

[SlowmotionQue]

Looking for a little info from RCAlan and others who have had good success with the Heavy D. I just got one of these that came with the Pellet Pro pellet grill I purchased. I decided to try following the directions sent with it, rather than following the advice of this thread. I figured I knew what would happen, but also thought sent it was a Smoke Daddy Grill that maybe it would work better. Well, it completely went as expected and the temp went out of control and was a complete failure.

Try using it with no wood in it.

Your temperatures will likely be a lot more manageable.

From reading this thread I have a pretty good idea on the foil wrapping and all, but I was more interested in knowing how you guys are starting your grill. Are you doing the "recommended" start at 350 and come down or are you just starting at your planned temp such as 225? Also, are you cracking the lid as recommended? Thanks for any info.

As long as you don’t put any wood into the Smoke Daddy Heavy D, you won’t need any foil and you probably won’t need to prop open your lid.

However the minute you decide to put wood into the SDHD, all bets are off as to your temperature control.

If you do decide to keep putting wood into it, well then foil might help. Propping the lid open might help. Crossing your fingers might help. You’ll just have to experiment. Much like you just did in your prior cook. This will help you to determine what does or doesn’t work and when and under what conditions whatever you try, does or doesn’t work.

RCAlan seems to have moved on to experimenting with one of the canister type smoke generators.

The other gentleman who was using the SDHD with foil wrapped wood appears to be contemplating going with a similar setup.

I’ve gone back to a smoke tube and running in Xtreme smoke setting.

Good luck. And do keep an eye on it if you do decide to put wood in it and use it like the directions indicate.

 

[RCAlan]

Looking for a little info from RCAlan and others who have had good success with the Heavy D. I just got one of these that came with the Pellet Pro pellet grill I purchased. I decided to try following the directions sent with it, rather than following the advice of this thread. I figured I knew what would happen, but also thought sent it was a Smoke Daddy Grill that maybe it would work better. Well, it completely went as expected and the temp went out of control and was a complete failure.

From reading this thread I have a pretty good idea on the foil wrapping and all, but I was more interested in knowing how you guys are starting your grill. Are you doing the "recommended" start at 350 and come down or are you just starting at your planned temp such as 225? Also, are you cracking the lid as recommended? Thanks for any info.

I would recommend that if You do try to use the SD HD with wood in it, that you wrap the wood in aluminum foil and leave the ends of the wrap foil exposed to allow for some controlled ignition of the wood. I would start the grill between 200*-250* degrees and not any higher. Low and Slow bbqing works best when using wood in the SD HD. Once the wood ignites, depending on how well You wrapped the wood chunks and not wood chips, the wood will burn, but with the wrapping, it’s more of a controlled burn and not have your grill in an all out inferno... Will your grills temps rise?? Yes.. Can it be managed? Yes, but it is no ways perfect and can be frustrating to use for some. Propping the grills lid will help allow some of the extra heat to escape as the owners manual states, just know that once there is complete ignition of the wood, the temp will shot up.. and in most cases, a lot.., the aluminum wrapping helps to control that. You can also reach out to SmokeDaddyinc and see if they have any updated steps and instructions for the use of their SD HD and if they do have any additional recommendations, please post them here so others will know. As a Heat Diffuser without wood, the SD HD is very effective and it should last a very long time. Lastly, try Your new Pellet Pro Grill with the SD HD without adding any wood to it and see if you enjoy the flavor profile of your cook... Then on Your following cook, try it with your desired wood chunks and any updated recommendations from SmokeDaddyinc if there’s any or try the aluminum foil wrapping of the wood chunks and give it a shot. Adding wood to it may or may not be for You. Good luck and keep us posted.

Pellet Pro Austin XL and a few more mods... in SoCal and Always... Semper Fi

 

[RCAlan]

As already been stated, I’m using the SD Magnum P.I.G. Smoke Generator on my Austin XL as a offset smoke Gen. add on for hot smoking bbq. I still use the SD HD in my grill just as a heat diffuser only. I don’t want to highjack this thread as I’m not the original poster and I’m sure there will be others looking for input and advice about using the SD Wood Burning HD...

Pellet Pro Austin XL and a few more mods... in SoCal and Always... Semper Fi

 

[crashbowman]

I would recommend that if You do try to use the SD HD with wood in it, that you wrap the wood in aluminum foil and leave the ends of the wrap foil exposed to allow for some controlled ignition of the wood. I would start the grill between 200*-250* degrees and not any higher. Low and Slow bbqing works best when using wood in the SD HD. Once the wood ignites, depending on how well You wrapped the wood chunks and not wood chips, the wood will burn, but with the wrapping, it’s more of a controlled burn and not have your grill in an all out inferno... Will your grills temps rise?? Yes.. Can it be managed? Yes, but it is no ways perfect and can be frustrating to use for some. Propping the grills lid will help allow some of the extra heat to escape as the owners manual states, just know that once there is complete ignition of the wood, the temp will shot up.. and in most cases, a lot.., the aluminum wrapping helps to control that. You can also reach out to SmokeDaddyinc and see if they have any updated steps and instructions for the use of their SD HD and if they do have any additional recommendations, please post them here so others will know. As a Heat Diffuser without wood, the SD HD is very effective and it should last a very long time. Lastly, try Your new Pellet Pro Grill with the SD HD without adding any wood to it and see if you enjoy the flavor profile of your cook... Then on Your following cook, try it with your desired wood chunks and any updated recommendations from SmokeDaddyinc if there’s any or try the aluminum foil wrapping of the wood chunks and give it a shot. Adding wood to it may or may not be for You. Good luck and keep us posted.

Pellet Pro Austin XL and a few more mods... in SoCal and Always... Semper Fi

Thank you very much for the info! I had planned to reach out to SmokeDaddy as well. I felt like the recommended start at 350 degrees was as big of an issue as anything. I will definitely play with it some more, because pellets alone do not give me what I desire. I'll try out foil and such a few times and then go on to pellet tubes or something like one of the SmokeDaddy cold smoking attachments. Again, I greatly appreciate the tips and info.

 

[MikeyP78]

RCAlan - Does your SD HD fit in the XL ok? It seems to be quite a tight fit in my Pit Boss 700FB and causes the PB drip pan to sit with less angle and really close to the grates on the left side. By the way, great information. Hoping to make this work and get similar results.

RCAlan, did you have to make any modifications to your Austin XL to get the SD HD to work? does it still go under the arched drip tray?

Hey, I'm having a similar issue. I bought this for my austin xl based on the review. When I take out the tray underneath the drip tray ( the one that screws in around the burn pot)and position the diffuser over the burn pot, the drip tray doesn't sit where it's supposed to. Is that ok, is it supposed to?

Thanks for the info!
-Mikey

 

[RCAlan]

Hey, I'm having a similar issue. I bought this for my austin xl based on the review. When I take out the tray underneath the drip tray ( the one that screws in around the burn pot)and position the diffuser over the burn pot, the drip tray doesn't sit where it's supposed to. Is that ok, is it supposed to?

Thanks for the info!
-Mikey

For the SD Heat Diffuser to fit perfectly in your PB Austin XL, you’ll have to have the base of the heat diffuser sanded about a 1/4 an inch and on the top, just enough to allow the heat baffles to still fit properly if you’re using the heat diffuser that burns wood. If You have the non wood burning HD, then you can sand more off the top. In the meantime, You can position the heat diffuser from center covering the burn pot to a couple of inches too the left towards the pellet hopper. That couple of inches will really help to fit better, it won’t be perfect, but it’ll work. Every brand of Pellet Grill comes in different lengths and sizes, so one size doesn’t always fits all. Reaching out to SmokeDaddyinc first and inquiring about the dimensions, then asking them to trim the heat diffuser for you would have been easier. If You do have the wood burning HD, make sure you wrap the wood chunks in aluminum foil like instructed in this thread. Good luck

Pellet Pro Austin XL and a few more mods... in SoCal and Always... Semper Fi

 

[TNTODD]

This is going to be along post, sorry, but I hope the info helps... I’ve been looking for some extra smoke flavor for a while... Saw the OP a while back and watched the video and did some research. I also watched the video of the JenUwineJerry stick burning heat diffuser and thought it was a good design also... hard choice, but I went ahead and got myself the Heavy D stick burning heat diffuser from SmokeDaddyinc.com last week and fired it up for the first time today. I have a Pitboss Austin XL which is a Non-PID controller pellet grill... I had some concerns with the possibility of abnormal temp swings because of the extra heat being produced. Its design is a much better heat diffuser then the stock one which is designed for direct flame grilling. I experienced no wild temps swings at all.. Didn’t need to prop/crack the lid at all and temps were within 10* degrees +- all day for a Non PID controller Pit Boss.. Now for the added smoke flavor... I used Hickory wood chunks and lump charcoals in the “Heavy D”, mostly the Hickory Chunks.. The added wood flavor was great true wood flavor.. I could truly tell the difference because of the size of the chunks and the amount of wood that can be added. The chunks will burn for a couple of hours and then the wood pellet smoke will kick in after the chunks have burned out, but that 2 plus hours of wood smoke is huge. Pellet smoke is nice, but those who miss that “Extra” that only true wood can produce, this is the direction you should go.

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

Just bought, today, my 1st pellet smoker/grill. I'm coming from a wood burner. Got the Pellet Pro 1190 stainless steal model along with the cover, front shelf Heavy D and the Sear Station. Glad to hear you like the Heavy D. I was a little concerned about the smoke flavor using pellets only. Should be delivered next week. Excited to get it going.
Todd

 

[RCAlan]

Just bought, today, my 1st pellet smoker/grill. I'm coming from a wood burner. Got the Pellet Pro 1190 stainless steal model along with the cover, front shelf Heavy D and the Sear Station. Glad to hear you like the Heavy D. I was a little concerned about the smoke flavor using pellets only. Should be delivered next week. Excited to get it going.
Todd

TNTODD, Welcome to SMF... I’m going to give you a quick, but honest review of the SD Heavy D. heat diffuser. First, read this entire thread... The info, effort and time put into trying to figure the SD Heavy D. out by all the posters...

As a heat diffuser only, it’s very durable and effective as a heat diffuser... When You add wood to it as directed by the instructions, temp management and fire management can be very difficult. I and a few other users here of the SDHD have figured out that if You add wood to the Heavy D, it’s best to wrap the wood in aluminum foil with the ends of the wrapped wood exposed to allow for a more controlled ignition of the wood. It’s also best to start your grill/cook at 250* degrees or lower with 225* being the best temp. It’ll take a couple of cooks with it to get a better understanding of the Heavy D... Just to be up front and honest, if you don’t wrap the wood in aluminum foil, You’re going to have a hot Smokey mess on your hands because once the wood ignites, it’s going to just burn out of control and your grills temps will shoot up. The Aluminum Foil wrapping helps to control that from happening. Again, as a heat diffuser alone, it’s great... Adding wood to it, then the aluminum foil wrapping is a must. I see you’re coming from a Stick Burner, so Pellet smoke will be an adjustment for you as well... The Pellet smoke flavor profile is going to be very light compared to what you’ve been accustom to with your stick burner. Always try to buy and use 100% wood type top quality wood pellets like the Lumberjack Brand pellets if possible. After breaking in/initial burn off of your Pellet Pro 1190, do your first cook with pellets alone and see how you like the smoke flavor profile of the cook. If it’s great, then it’s all good... Then try the Wood wrap with the Heavy D. and see if you have enough smoke flavor in your bbq cook. If it’s still to light and that true hardwood smoke flavor is missing and you just have to have it... SmokeDaddy has a Hardwood Smoke Generator called the SD Magnum P.I.G. that will solve all your problems. I have one on my Austin XL and it works great... Just something to consider and another option, if you feel you miss and need that real hardwood smoke flavor in your pellet grill bbq experience. Good luck and post back your results from your first cook.

Pellet Pro Austin XL and a few more mods... in SoCal and Always... Semper Fi

 

[SlowmotionQue]

I agree with all of the above.

Those of us whom I would consider have significant use of the SDHD, learned quickly and know it's quirks, limitations, and how to get the best results with it, as well as how to inadvertently end up with the biggest messes with it.

As already mentioned, wrapping your wood in aluminum foil with the ends out can give you a leg up when using it, if you're looking for smoke without possibly running into a significant heat control problem. If I were running wood in it, then I would only consider foil wrapped pieces of wood with the ends open, but that's just me.

Limiting the amount of foil wrapped wood that you put into it also may make your experience with it more enjoyable and less problematic. You don't have to stuff it to the brim and chocked completely full of wood in order to get results with it. In fact doing so, might even be a disadvantage, at least from my observations my own experiences with it. YMMV.