New member from Iowa with a new Pellet Grill

[Todd Priest]

Hello everyone. I recently purchased a pellet grill from Sam's, it's labeled as a Members Mark but it's built by Embers Grills. I previously owned an Akorn but didn't use it enough so I sold it and bought this pellet grill hoping it would be easier to use and I would use it more.
I assembled it over the weekend, cured it, and made some Pork Loins in it that turned out great. It seems pretty simple to use but I would take any little tips anyone is willing to offer up.
I do have a question about how guys are routing their probe leads in to a pellet grill. The grill I bought doesn't have any extra probe holes. The temp probe that goes back to the processor was pre drilled with two screws to hold it in towards the rear/top of the grill. I wasn't sure if I should route my temp probes through the lid opening and just close the lid down on them or not. I question if I would lose too much smoke and heat by creating a bigger gap than what it is intended to have.
Looking forward to learning more about smoking and picking up some tips and recipes!
Thanks,
Todd

 

[HalfSmoked]

Welcome Todd glad to have you on board lot of great guys and gals on here with tons of info. Nice looking loin there.

Warren

 

[Jeff Wright]

That is a nice looking cook.

Been considering another smoker besides my MES30 electric, but thinking about something other than electric I question the additional cost of a cook. Guessing maybe $1 per pound of pellets...how much would I be using in a 8 hour cook? I assume this would be cheaper than a wood burner, given how expensive a cord of wood is around here. Just curious.

Enjoy your new smoker. What a fun hobby!

 

[oldsmokerdude]

Welcome to the forums, Todd and congratulations on your new smoker. Those loins look pretty good.

To answer your questions, I don't think you would lose enough smoke to worry about by leading your probe wires through the door. That said, I drilled a hole in the side of my smoker and inserted a silicone grommet to lead the wires through. More for convenience that anything else. A small bit of smoke escapes through the whole but not enough to cause any concerns.

The cost of a cook can vary. You can buy pellets as cheap as 50 cents per pound up to a couple bucks a pound. I tend to use the cheaper pellets for heat only and use an Amazin tray with 100% whatever for the flavor (making sure they compliment each other of course.) For example I'll use PitBoss hickory pellets for the heat and put some BBQDelight hickory pellets in my Amazin tray. That way I keep the cost of the cook down but get the flavor I want.

Keep us posted on your future cooks and let me know if you have other questions!

 

[SmokinLogs]

Welcome to SMF from Indiana! That loin looks great. Good job on your first cook with the new grill. I don’t own a pellet grill but there are a lot of members here more than happy give some tips and pointers.