new to the forum - question re pellet parts

[rushcreekoutdoor]

hey guys, i'm new to the forum. i am from southwest kentucky and we mostly cook pork on brick pits wiyh wood burnt down in a firebox and transferred by shovel, old style.

i am the local prosecutor, but i love to spend my time cooking. i used to compete in bbq contests, but not so much lately. also guide a little for whitetail deer and crappie on Reelfoot lake.

i have a friend who bought a traeger and loves it. does anyone know where i couldfind the parts needed to convert my brick pit to a pellet pit? i like the idea of thermostat control wood cooking, especially as i get older.

surely someone out there has built a homemade pellet cooker. any help is appreciated.

rushcreek

 

[richtee]

Heya Rush... stop into the Roll Call forum and give us a formal intro. Like your Q methods, it's kind of traditional here.

As far as a pellet pooper... That COULD be done. You into things electrical/mechanical? It won't be easy, and some skill would be required. I bet between a couple others here and I it could be designed, then the build? Unless you are quite adept at fabrication, I'd advise just go buy one.

I still happen to like tending a fire, but that may change.

 

[rushcreekoutdoor]

Thanks for the reply. Posted my intro. As for tending the fire, I like it, but I also have come to like that convenience of the Thermostat on Bro. Tom's Traeger, and his meat turns out pretty good too!

I have an idea of how to attach it to my existing pit, but sources for the unit are unknown. My dad is a genius when it comes to building and fabricating skills, so if you guys don't mind helping, I think that it can be done.

rco

 

[richtee]

OK..well..first thing that pops into my head is stealing Traeger's concepts. It's a screw feed, no? And I believe it's a simple timing circuit that just trips the feed for X amount of time with X being the amount of pellets that get dropped by the auger. Sooo..two times involved here...time between feeds, and time <length/amount> OF the feed. Need to figger out the average time of useful burn time of a given pellet amount.

Now I also believe those things have settings for light med and heavy... amounts of smoke. They must either vary the time between loads or the time of feed <more or less pellets>

I have never seen a traeger- but is this close?

 

[gunslinger]

I'm pretty sure the auger turns all the time, feeding pellets constantly. It just turns at a different speed, depending on the amount of heat required. I may be wrong though.
I have a question for you pellet heads. What is used for a binder in the pellets? How is the saw dust held together? I know it is extruded to get the shape, but how is it binded?

 

[huntnhawg]

The auger is on a timer. On high it runs all the time. On medium it runs for 2 min. then off for 2 min. On smoke it runs for 1 min off for 3 min. As for the pellets, my understanding is that they are form under high presure and the heat that creates holds them together.