SmokeDaddy Magnum P.I.G and Pellet Pro PID upgrade for my PB Austin XL

[DocShadownix]

You will not have any smoke flavor with a pellet grill above about 300°. You will have smoke flavor from a Kamado regardless of the temp, just due to the fuel used.

Very true. Love my Kamado Big Joe (I see you have one too :) )

 

[RCAlan]

Can you post a pic of your mod with the copper tube?

The smoke from the grill is being produced by the SD Magnum P. only... The pellet grill was off.

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

 

[RCAlan]

I see some people are unhappy with my honest assessment and experience with the SD Magnum P.I.G. Cold Smoke Canister in this Forum. When others try to post false information and jokes, their posts stay and when I try to reply, my posts are removed... I wonder why? I’ve never post any false information or attacked anyone’s choice’s on this forum. I post from honest first hand experience and research... It’s called Integrity and I wouldn’t do it any other way.

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

 

[RCAlan]

I get great smoke flavor bbqing hot and fast from my pellet grill now, since I’ve added the SD Magnum P to my Pellet Pro Austin XL.... Temps 275*-300* plus degrees are not a problem, the smoke generated by the SD Magnum P is completely independent from the smoke produced by the pellet grill... So when pellet smoke gets lighter as the grills temps raises above 250* degrees, the smoke from the SD Magnum P. is not affected and I still enjoy great hardwood smoke flavor while bbqing at 275*-300* plus degrees. Some Pellet Grills fans may kick in a little stronger when the temps go up... Those users can adjust the exhaust cap if necessary.

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

 

[kstone113]

I'm not sure what that guy up there was talking about. When I cook pizza on my Rec Tec Bull at 425, my kids tell me they can taste the smoke flavor from the wood. It is very light but still there.

I'm not sure if that guy was referring to my comment about the ribs but that was just less smoke flavor that 250....that's a duh but I wasn't sure until I tried and frankly I wanted to get those ribs done. Just had some left overs and they were FIRE!!!

I could not be happier with my investment in this cold smoker. Most people I've talked to who have gotten them love them!

 

[SlowmotionQue]

I’m glad to see this working out for those reporting on their results using it.

Sounds like a very welcome alternative to the SDHD.

 

[mike guy]

This whole pellet grills not producing smoke above 250 or whatever is rather off topic so I'll just say one thing about it. It seems to be a myth propagated by people that own other types of grills and want that type to be the best.

Maybe this deserves it's own thread, but I'm really surprised at the amount of misinformation out there.

I own all three types, a BGE, an offset, and a rt700.

Kamado: I wouldn't put wood in it an run it above 300. It would ignite the wood and run away, or it would burn the wood in a way that would be disgusting. Charcoal adds a bit of flavor with indirect cooking, but it's not really an advantage if you are looking for wood smoke. I like charcoal flavor on things like pork, but really dislike it on things like chicken thighs.

Offset: The hotter you go, the more oxygen you need, the cleaner the burn you get and the less visible smoke you see. It has a slight advantage over pellet grills here because the amount of combustion gasses is just greater.

Pellet grills: Same as above. The hotter you go, the more oxygen you need to use, so the cleaner the burn. You also get less visible smoke here and the myth that you need to see smoke to taste it is where people get this wrong. There are fewer combustion gasses here, so it won't be the same as an offset burning larger amounts of fuel, but I regularly smoke chicken at 325 and on a pellet like hickory, you get a great smoke flavor. At 325, the rt700 still has MORE visible smoke here than my offset at this temp by the way, so let's just get that myth busted please.

Adding an external smoke generator is just trying to increase the combustible gasses in the cook chamber. It really has nothing to due with fuel vs fuel, just the amount of it. If you added equal, by weight, of pellets to wood splits you would probably have very similar tasting food. You just can't do that in a pellet cooker, because 1. The density (and increase surface area) of the pellets burns hotter than wood and 2. The proximity of the burn pot is too close to the cook chamber to burn the same weight of pellets to splits. 3. since pellets burn more efficiently it would be a waste to burn that many.

If you made an offset pellet cooker that could use the same weight of pellets as you do log splits, you'd have a closer amount of combustion gasses.

That's all just academic. Even with less combustion gasses, one can make food extremely close to an offset with a pellet cooker, IF you are also running your offset with the correct amount of airflow and using similar wood choices. A dirty stick burn will taste smokier. that's not inherently better, but it may be preferable to some. Clean burning stick burners taste quite similar to pellet grills. But there is a small gap. Which I suspect is what external smoke generators are trying to close.

 

[kstone113]

That's all just academic. Even with less combustion gasses, one can make food extremely close to an offset with a pellet cooker, IF you are also running your offset with the correct amount of airflow and using similar wood choices. A dirty stick burn will taste smokier. that's not inherently better, but it may be preferable to some. Clean burning stick burners taste quite similar to pellet grills. But there is a small gap. Which I suspect is what external smoke generators are trying to close.

Exactly....that "small" gap to some people or even most people is so super small, they just love the convenience of the pellet grill able to keep their temps. That gap to me was a bit bigger. But not to where I didn't like my grill. I love my Rec Tec Bull! There was just a few items where I like a deeper smoke flavor like when I do smoked chicken, ribs, brisket. To me, I have the best of both worlds now with the Magnum P.I.G. and my Rec Tec's ability to hold temps.

 

[SlowmotionQue]

......

That's all just academic. Even with less combustion gasses, one can make food extremely close to an offset with a pellet cooker, IF you are also running your offset with the correct amount of airflow and using similar wood choices. A dirty stick burn will taste smokier. that's not inherently better, but it may be preferable to some. Clean burning stick burners taste quite similar to pellet grills. But there is a small gap. Which I suspect is what external smoke generators are trying to close.

If you think that's academic, well then the position that a non PID controlled pellet grill yields better smoke flavor than a PID controlled pellet grill, and by extension is "better" in regard to taste difference is really academic.

But we hear that myth thrown around all the time, and some manufacturers actually attempt to "market' it.

 

[RCAlan]

If you think that's academic, well then the position that a non PID controlled pellet grill yields better smoke flavor than a PID controlled pellet grill, and by extension is "better" in regard to taste difference is really academic.

But we hear that myth thrown around all the time, and some manufacturers actually attempt to "market' it.

I think Mike Guy had a good idea about starting a new thread about Myth’s pertaining to Pellet Grills... I don’t want my thread to go off the rails in that direction though. Great topic for sure... Thanks

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

 

[Little-m]

I'm still on the fence with this. I look at all the smoke in that pic and think about the Big Chief I had - Blah! I guess I will just take the next step and snag a tube to see if that is enough for me.

Thanks for posting everything guys.
Mark

 

[RCAlan]

Not trying to convince you... at the end of the day, everyone has to do what’s best for them. Have you every seen smoke from a pellet grill while it’s on Smoke mode when the lid was open? I’m sure You have. How much smoke did you see when the lid was open? Did you see the picture of the smoke coming from the exhaust stack that I posted? That smoke is coming from the SD Magnum P.
Pellet smoke and Hardwood smoke or any smoke for that matter is not for everyone... Buy a smoke tube first and give it a shot, it just might be exactly what you need. Here’s a good read about smoke management. I’ve posted the link before... Good luck

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/understanding-smoke-management-updated-12-08-14.139474/

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

 

[kstone113]

I'm still on the fence with this. I look at all the smoke in that pic and think about the Big Chief I had - Blah! I guess I will just take the next step and snag a tube to see if that is enough for me.

Thanks for posting everything guys.
Mark

Big Chief sounds familiar....that is a smoker right? I'll look it up.

I would always recommend someone tries pellet tube, wood chips on heat diffuser, meat loaf pan trick in front of fire pot with wood chips or some other kind of trick before going this route. I did all of that and even got the Heavy D heat diffuser and that still wasn't enough for me. For most though....I dont' think this device is necessary. For me, I LOVE IT!!!

 

[RCAlan]

I wish I had bought the SD Magnum P.I.G. first instead of going around in circles buying everything else and chasing real hardwood smoke flavor... The price is a little much and they do sell smaller, less expensive canisters... Finally though, the Magnum P. solved my lack of Real Hardwood Smoke flavor profile that the common Pellet Grills today simply cannot duplicate with pellets alone... The Pellet Pro PID Controller allows me to dial in rock solid temp settings too. No WiFi at the moment, but I never used it or needed it in all of my years of bbqing anyways...

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

 

[kstone113]

RCAlan - I second that. I wish in retrospect I would of held off on the heavy D and researched more. Though I think things happened the way they should of. People I talked to with the Heavy D loved it. But it just didn't do it for me cook after cook.

Second time around I researched like crazy this one and still was nervous about pulling the trigger even after your great results but now that I have it and used it a few times, man, gets me excited about smoking even more and I love my pellet grill already. Even after I pretty much made up my mind on this, I waited a month to really make sure I wanted it. I'm glad b/c I lucked out getting a 15% discount through a Rec Tec group.

And the wi fii is nice but if I was in your shoes, it definitely is not necessary. Maybe Dennis would give you a deal since you got one of his PIDs? What I do like about the wi fii is being able to monitor from my phone and adjust the temp if I need/want to and the chart history of the cook the Rec Tec app does.

Anyone reading this, this device is the best way to get real hardwood smoke flavor into a pellet grill if the pellets themselves aren't enough smoke flavor for you.

 

[SlowmotionQue]

While I also would have skipped the Heavy D, I still find use for it as a sturdier diffuser.

At any rate I'm glad to hear that the new Magnum P.I.G setup is working for the both of you.

 

[RCAlan]

While I also would have skipped the Heavy D, I still find use for it as a sturdier diffuser.

At any rate I'm glad to hear that the new Magnum P.I.G setup is working for the both of you.

Much appreciated... I know we’ve had our battles and debates over the SD Heavy D... Getting it figured out was kinda frustrating... In the end, everyone was just trying to enjoy the hobby of bbqing the best we can.
Happy Holidays everyone, it’s going to be a very interesting 2020... And Great bbq can help ease the stress..

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

 

[bobbytuck]

Great thread.

Any tips for drilling the 1 1/8" hole for the Smoke Daddy?

I've got a new Traeger Timberline 850 -- and I've already got the SD Heavy D and Universal Sear Station -- but SD's medium size smoke generator is what I'm going to go for next.

There's one place on the Timberline where I can install it -- on the left side -- below the shelf, near the back. But I'm a little worried about the drilling.

I've got a 2x4 I'm going to cut down to size to brace the Timberline's side walls so the bit doesn't go everywhere when I start drilling, but I'm not sure what bit to actually use. I've got a normal Dewalt cordless drill -- nothing fancy -- but pretty powerful.

Any tips on the bit (or a link to what you used)?

 

[RCAlan]

Great thread.

Any tips for drilling the 1 1/8" hole for the Smoke Daddy?

I've got a new Traeger Timberline 850 -- and I've already got the SD Heavy D and Universal Sear Station -- but SD's medium size smoke generator is what I'm going to go for next.

There's one place on the Timberline where I can install it -- on the left side -- below the shelf, near the back. But I'm a little worried about the drilling.

I've got a 2x4 I'm going to cut down to size to brace the Timberline's side walls so the bit doesn't go everywhere when I start drilling, but I'm not sure what bit to actually use. I've got a normal Dewalt cordless drill -- nothing fancy -- but pretty powerful.

Any tips on the bit (or a link to what you used)?

What I used was a Cobalt Steel Step Drill Bit Set, 2 Pc. to drill the hole on the side of my Austin XL. https://www.harborfreight.com/Cobalt-Steel-Step-Drill-Bit-Set-2-Pc-64647.html

You can buy a Titanium 2 Pc Drill Bit Set for half the price that’ll work, but if you’re drilling into Stainless Steel, then the Cobalt Steel Bit will make the drilling a little easier. https://www.harborfreight.com/2-pie...oated-high-speed-steel-step-drills-96275.html

Start with the smaller drill bit first to establish the hole and then step up to the larger drill bit to finish it. Drill the hole to about an inch and then test the size of the hole to see if the tube will fit. You don’t want to make the hole to large, you just want the tube to be able too fit just right... I would wear safety Goggles and a dust mask as well, to prevent any accidents. It should take all of 15-20 mins. Getting the hole started is the hard part... Good luck.

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

 

[kstone113]

Bobbytruck - I used a cobalt 1 inch bit I got at Mendards. They didn't have any 1 1/8 bits there so I went with the 1 inch because I had heard it would still work. It did....the tube did not fit with the original hole but use the bit to make it slightly bigger moving around the bit.

One thing I've noticed since I have mine on the right(side of the smoke stack) is that when the pump is on a higher setting, some of the fat dripping miss the bucket so I probably will start putting foil around the whole bucket.

I just made pecan smoked chicken the other stuff and everyone loved it! I still haven't done brisket or ribs but all I've done has been great.

I did talk to Dennis about leaving the pump on if I was say doing brisket and wanted to go to bed and he said that's fine.

One other thing to note. I know it has been said this is a pain to clean....I haven't had that issue. I"ve just been taking that brush that came with it and scraping the inside and creosote just flacks off easily. I will have I have pretty much just been using charcoal to start and I wait till it is very hot and only been using wood chunks and occasionally chips but mostly chunks.