New Pellet Smoker! Question...

[trillo15]

The wife surprised me today by bringing me home my first pellet smoker! Yea, she is a keeper.. I have been using a masterbuilt propane smoker up until now, with a cast iron pan and wood chunks. I notice a big difference in smoke with the pellet one. Hardly seems to be any at all, especially compared to what I had before with my propane smoker. Is that normal for a pellet smoker?

Its a PitBoss Rancher XL.

Thanks in advance!

 

[KrisUpInSmoke]

In the pellet smoker, your pellets for smoke flavor are also your fuel. So, the hotter you run, the more pellets you use and the more smoke you have. The down side is that the lower and slower you go, the less fuel you need to keep it up to temp and the less smoke you'll get. You may want to add a smoker box, like amnps and the like, for more smoke flavor.

 

[fivetricks]

From everything I read, yes, it is very normal for pellet smokers to give off a comparitively light smoke profile

 

[6GRILLZNTN]

As far as my Rec Tec pellet smoker goes, the lower the temp, the more smoke it produces.

 

[jcam222]

This is my overall reason that I may at some point get a large pellet grill but it will be for grilling purposes only. I do not think for me that I could get one to come close to the smoke flavor I can impart with my charcoal cabinet.

 

[6GRILLZNTN]

I can't speak for other pellet grills, but my Rec Tec set to around 180 will drive off any mosquito within 100 yards. It does seem to attract curious foodies though! In all honesty, I think a lot of people go overboard with smoke production. In my opinion, THIN blue smoke is the best.

 

[WaterRat]

I also have a Pit Boss pellet pooper. Lower temps, more smoke. It burns too efficiently at higher temps - OK for chicken but I do most cooks (ribs, chuckys, butts) at 225-250°F. It works for me as I prefer a lighter smoke flavor. You can get a tube or tray if you're doing a big ol' hunk of meat and want more smoke. You can also then use the tube or tray for cold smoking though your old smoker might be better setup for that. If you want to do a sorta warm smoke (140-180°F) use the "Smoke" setting along with the "P" setting do dial that in, I did that for a batch of tasso last fall. Worked quite well. Lots o'smoke flavor.

 

[mike243]

The lower temp you smoke at the more smoke you will have, Krisupinsmoke must not have a pellet smoker, the higher the temp the less smoke you ,Yours is the same size as my Austin LX ,I have 2 temp probe ports and I think it holds 32lbs of pellets,love mine and with some practice you will enjoy yours also. Set it to smoke for a hour or 2 and set the P setting to 5-6 and watch the smoke roll

 

[RCAlan]

The wife surprised me today by bringing me home my first pellet smoker! Yea, she is a keeper.. I have been using a masterbuilt propane smoker up until now, with a cast iron pan and wood chunks. I notice a big difference in smoke with the pellet one. Hardly seems to be any at all, especially compared to what I had before with my propane smoker. Is that normal for a pellet smoker?

Its a PitBoss Rancher XL.

Thanks in advance!View attachment 395857 View attachment 395859

Your Wife got You a very nice Pellet Grill... To best understand your grill, do your research and never take short cuts in the Preheating of your grill. Preheat for 20-30 mins at 300* degrees Fahrenheit, once the grills temps have stabilized and settled, then You can set it to your desired temp... For the Best Smoke Flavor Profile and after the preheating is completed, set your grill from Smoke mode, 200*, 225*, or 250* degrees... FYI.. Smoke Mode temps on your grill will be between 170* and 195* degrees... The lower the temp, the more smoke it will produce... Anything above 250* degrees and it will produce less smoke. Your Grill also has P-Settings that You can dial in while on Smoke mode and during the preheating procedures. Read Your Owners Manual to get a good understanding of the P-Settings. During the Winter Cold Season in Canada, it’s best to run your grill between 200*-250* for added Smoke Profile. During the Spring and Summer Months, set the P-Settings to P4 or P5 for added Smoke. You’ll see and taste the difference... Try these tips on a few cooks so that you can have a better understanding of what you have with your pellet grill. Lastly, always clean the fire pot/burn pot out with a shop vac after every cook, keep your grill clean of pellet ash and grease and line/cover the flame broiler and the flame broiler slider with aluminum foil to help make clean ups that much easier. Also spray the Flame Broiler and Slider with grill spray or cooking spray after every cleaning/washing to help prevent rust from developing on the metal. Good luck and post back how Your first cook turns out.

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

 

[KrisUpInSmoke]

The lower temp you smoke at the more smoke you will have, Krisupinsmoke must not have a pellet smoker, the higher the temp the less smoke you ,Yours is the same size as my Austin LX ,I have 2 temp probe ports and I think it holds 32lbs of pellets,love mine and with some practice you will enjoy yours also. Set it to smoke for a hour or 2 and set the P setting to 5-6 and watch the smoke roll

I don't have a pellet smoker, but the constant complaint about a lack of smoke flavor is the reason I decided against it. It does seem that some of the manufacturers, like rec tec, don't have the same fuel/smoke problems other pellet smokers were complaining about.

 

[mike243]

I don't know of any of them that wont produce great food,it will have less smoke flavor for the most part but its a very clean burn,there are several methods to add xtra smoke if folks need more, it will never have the same flavor profile as other smokers which isn't bad just different

 

[jcam222]

Your Wife got You a very nice Pellet Grill... To best understand your grill, do your research and never take short cuts in the Preheating of your grill. Preheat for 20-30 mins at 300* degrees Fahrenheit, once the grills temps have stabilized and settled, then You can set it to your desired temp... For the Best Smoke Flavor Profile and after the preheating is completed, set your grill from Smoke mode, 200*, 225*, or 250* degrees... FYI.. Smoke Mode temps on your grill will be between 170* and 195* degrees... The lower the temp, the more smoke it will produce... Anything above 250* degrees and it will produce less smoke. Your Grill also has P-Settings that You can dial in while on Smoke mode and during the preheating procedures. Read Your Owners Manual to get a good understanding of the P-Settings. During the Winter Cold Season in Canada, it’s best to run your grill between 200*-250* for added Smoke Profile. During the Spring and Summer Months, set the P-Settings to P4 or P5 for added Smoke. You’ll see and taste the difference... Try these tips on a few cooks so that you can have a better understanding of what you have with your pellet grill. Lastly, always clean the fire pot/burn pot out with a shop vac after every cook, keep your grill clean of pellet ash and grease and line/cover the flame broiler and the flame broiler slider with aluminum foil to help make clean ups that much easier. Also spray the Flame Broiler and Slider with grill spray or cooking spray after every cleaning/washing to help prevent rust from developing on the metal. Good luck and post back how Your first cook turns out.

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

Great post!!

 

[trillo15]

I have seen this "P" setting mentioned a few times. How do I change it? My control board is a v3.

 

[RCAlan]

I have seen this "P" setting mentioned a few times. How do I change it? My control board is a v3. View attachment 395875

Read pages 20-24 in your Owners Manual for the instructions on how to adjust/change the P-Settings on your grill and the information on what the P-Settings do for your grill while on Smoke Mode... I see it’s v3... If the manual is not clear, You can always reach out to Customer Service via phone call for help as well.

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

 

[RCAlan]

Update... The v3 control boards do not have P-Settings. Read page 13 in the Owners Manual... https://dj4htnsq11to6.cloudfront.net/catalog/manuel/72750_20171127.pdf

That’s one less step to go through in operating your grill, so things should be a tad bit easier.. Good luck

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

 

[texomakid]

Congrats Trillo - I'm gonna bet you enjoy your pellet cooker a lot. What a cool wife & gift!

 

[sandyut]

I have a rec tec, but have researched the auger speed setting (rec tec) and P-setting (trager). they seem to affect the same issue/area. P-Setting on a trager is for Auger Pause (I only know this from helping a guy at work with his trager). the less the pause the more pellets and v/v. its the pause between turns of the auger. I would assume the PB works the same since its called the same thing. So if its runnin too warm at lowest temp setting, increase the pause and v/v. too low can cause flame out, and adjust slowly and monitor.

 

[Winterrider]

Question for the pellet families. If an additional smoke tube or tray is used for enhanced smoke flavor , is there ample fresh air intake to keep pellet/dust burning?

 

[6GRILLZNTN]

I can't answer that one Winterrider since my Rec Tec has never needed additional smoke. I get great smoke rings without an additional source of smoke.

 

[texomakid]

Question for the pellet families. If an additional smoke tube or tray is used for enhanced smoke flavor , is there ample fresh air intake to keep pellet/dust burning?

My Yoder would fit under the description of "pellet burning convection oven"? Plenty of air movement inside of my unit but I only use the tube on Brisket's mainly. Most of the food I cook in mine seems to get a nice amount of light smoke without the AMPS. So to answer your question I think most of these pellet cookers do have ample air circulation for the AMPS.