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

[TNTODD]

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

Thanks for all the advise, I really appreciate it
I will let you know how it goes. Thanks again.
Todd

 

[crashbowman]

Thanks for all the advise, I really appreciate it
I will let you know how it goes. Thanks again.
Todd

Hi Todd,

I posted here a bit back asking for advice when I got my Pellet Pro that included the Heavy D. I have done my own testing, but hadn't posted back because I wanted to do a significant amount of testing and in all honesty, a lot of the comments here were pretty negative and I didn't want to get things stirred up. RCAlan has always been super helpful and I think the tips he has given you are great. I will say that my experience has been ever so slightly different and I have now had about 10 straight cooks that functioned perfectly. Ill outline my process in case it becomes helpful for you.

1. I use the absolute biggest chunks I can find. This is the only thing from the included instructions I agree with. I use one piece that fills the cavity. I think they are something like 7" x 3 1/2"
2. I start my grill at 270 degrees, but the second it hits 225, I back it off to 215 (really this is just the temp I want to smoke at...nothing special about the 215).
3. Normally after about 15 minutes my temps are stabilized if not sooner. They might climb into the 230's for a minute or so, but they stabilize very quickly.

Here are the reasons I have arrived at this solution. First, I never had much luck with the aluminum foil thing, but in all honesty I only tried it a time or two. Also, for a bit I was setting my grill at 225 and letting it ride, but I found that sometimes my wood wouldn't ignite well and I would wind up with a smoke that didn't utilize most of my log. When I start it at 270 it seems to get a bit more flame that helps get the log going, but backing it off once it gets to 225 seems to help it not go out of control. The reason I set mine at 215 is that much of the time I smoke on my upper rack which is about 10 degrees hotter than my probe in my Pellet Pro. So my grill is at 215, but my upper rack is about 225. I do think if you use the Heavy D with anything set above 225 you will likely be asking for trouble.

Just wanted to post a different method and hope you have a good time. I have really loved my Pellet Pro as the PID has been rock solid and I have been very pleased with the overall construction.

Like I said, I have about 10 straight cooks with this method and my temps are always rock solid and my logs are nothing but ash when my cook is done. Also, it adds a bit more smoke than pellets alone. I use it because it came with my Pellet Pro. If I were someone with a different brand grill, I would probably look at something like Magnum Pig or even just a pellet tube. I don't know that the Heavy D provides enough benefit for the cost. I think there are other options out there that are probably easier or more economical that would provide a similar or better experience.

 

[TNTODD]

Hi Todd,

I posted here a bit back asking for advice when I got my Pellet Pro that included the Heavy D. I have done my own testing, but hadn't posted back because I wanted to do a significant amount of testing and in all honesty, a lot of the comments here were pretty negative and I didn't want to get things stirred up. RCAlan has always been super helpful and I think the tips he has given you are great. I will say that my experience has been ever so slightly different and I have now had about 10 straight cooks that functioned perfectly. Ill outline my process in case it becomes helpful for you.

1. I use the absolute biggest chunks I can find. This is the only thing from the included instructions I agree with. I use one piece that fills the cavity. I think they are something like 7" x 3 1/2"
2. I start my grill at 270 degrees, but the second it hits 225, I back it off to 215 (really this is just the temp I want to smoke at...nothing special about the 215).
3. Normally after about 15 minutes my temps are stabilized if not sooner. They might climb into the 230's for a minute or so, but they stabilize very quickly.

Here are the reasons I have arrived at this solution. First, I never had much luck with the aluminum foil thing, but in all honesty I only tried it a time or two. Also, for a bit I was setting my grill at 225 and letting it ride, but I found that sometimes my wood wouldn't ignite well and I would wind up with a smoke that didn't utilize most of my log. When I start it at 270 it seems to get a bit more flame that helps get the log going, but backing it off once it gets to 225 seems to help it not go out of control. The reason I set mine at 215 is that much of the time I smoke on my upper rack which is about 10 degrees hotter than my probe in my Pellet Pro. So my grill is at 215, but my upper rack is about 225. I do think if you use the Heavy D with anything set above 225 you will likely be asking for trouble.

Just wanted to post a different method and hope you have a good time. I have really loved my Pellet Pro as the PID has been rock solid and I have been very pleased with the overall construction.

Like I said, I have about 10 straight cooks with this method and my temps are always rock solid and my logs are nothing but ash when my cook is done. Also, it adds a bit more smoke than pellets alone. I use it because it came with my Pellet Pro. If I were someone with a different brand grill, I would probably look at something like Magnum Pig or even just a pellet tube. I don't know that the Heavy D provides enough benefit for the cost. I think there are other options out there that are probably easier or more economical that would provide a similar or better experience.

Thanks Crashbowman
I will give this a try as well. Like I had mentioned this is the first pellet smoker I have owned so Ive got a lot to learn.

I'm glad to hear you like your Pellet Pro. I'm excited for mine to arrive and put it to use.

Todd

 

[RCAlan]

As long as the ends of the wood chunks are exposed, you should have ignition of the wood.. Over wrapping the wood chunks to much will limit the ignition/burn and the wood will not burn. The aluminum foil wrapping allows for a longer, controlled burn as along as the ends of the wood chunks are exposed... and you can even poke a few holes in the wrapping as well to further enhance the ignition. It can be the difference of a 15-20 min. burn if left unwrapped, to a burn that can last over an hour wrapped. Both will work, it’s just how long and how hot you want the burn to be. If You want more pellet smoke, then getting a tube or tray could be a good option. Pellet Smoke isn’t bad, but for many, it’s not the same as true Hardwood smoke. Most true PitMasters prefer Hardwood smoke and that’s what they use. You know what’s funny, it’s when people that don’t have a clue about Smoke Management will post about their bbq tasting like shit from using true hardwood, when it was really them not being able to manage the smoke and their bbq properly. To much of anything is never a good thing, be it pellet smoke or hardwood smoke. Manage the type of wood and smoke you prefer correctly and you’ll always produce great bbq. Good luck with the SD Heavy D and keep us posted.

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

 

[kstone113]

I noticed from all my experiments that I needed to run at 250 the whole time to get the wood chunks I used (in foil) to burn up. The times I tried a lower temp, there was wood left and others had similar experiences.

Your method of 270 and then 225 with the wood exposed....if it works, great and thanks for posting!

 

[crashbowman]

I noticed from all my experiments that I needed to run at 250 the whole time to get the wood chunks I used (in foil) to burn up. The times I tried a lower temp, there was wood left and others had similar experiences.

Your method of 270 and then 225 with the wood exposed....if it works, great and thanks for posting!

You bet...I actually tried the tin foil again the other day with the ends exposed, but it was another failure. At the end of a six hour smoke there was still wood that had hardly burned at all. Right now I have another of my 270 to 225's with no foil and it is going perfect. I have had a steady wood burning smell and my temps have stayed between 225 and 235 for a little over three hours now.

 

[SlowmotionQue]

It’s been awhile since there’s been any activity in this thread. So I thought I’d post this up as sort of a PSA.

Apparently, heating aluminum foil to extremes, can cause the foil to give off toxic chemicals that you don’t want to eat or inhale.

Thus wrapping wood chunks, logs, etc. in foil and placing them in close proximity to say, a pellet grill’s fire pot for long periods of time, may warrant further consideration before doing it.

I long since gave up on using the SDHD with wood in it, wrapped in foil or not.

However, those of you who are wrapping wood inside of foil in an attempt to keep the wood from igniting and using it that way in the SDHD, you may want to do a bit of googling regarding aluminum foil and high heat.