So, in about a dozen cooks on my Blaz'n Grid Iron, I've tried a few different varieties of pellets.  The BBQ Delight hickory pellets that shipped with the cooker gave a nice, mild smoke flavor. 

I have a couple of Rural King stores in the area, so I picked up some ($9 per 20lb) Lumber Jack pecan blend and 100% cherry pellets.  The pecan was a bit lighter in smoke flavor than the BBQ Delight hickory, which was to be expected.  I then tried a few cooks (both long and short) with the 100% cherry, expecting a bit more smoke than the blends.  I was surprised that at any temperature from 180 to 300, there was absolutely no smoke at all.

Has anyone here had a similar experience with a 100% wood pellet?  I'm going to try the 100% hickory next and hoping for better results, but am still disappointed since cherry is my favorite smoking wood.

I'm assuming that the black bag and white bag Lumber Jack pellets are the same, correct?

I use lumberjack 100% hickory and 100% cherry and mix the two together.

Have you had decent smoke output with just the 100% cherry?  Is it possible to get a bad bag?

Never tried 100% cherry but the Lumberjack 100% hickory is my favorite and use it exclusively now.  Have good smoke output up to about 275. 

From my various trials, I think LB 100% hickory give the most smoke. That's all I use in my Blaz'n GS.

Being a pellet grill, they tend to burn clean. It's sometimes hard to detect the smoke during the day.  But at night,  if you shine a flashlight beam above the chimney cap, you'll see a pretty steady stream of smoke.

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I was surprised that at any temperature from 180 to 300, there was absolutely no smoke at all.

I have always wondered if this is more a result of PID controllers? The goal of a PID controller is to burn clean and efficient at whatever temp you set it at. For example if you set it to 180 the goal is to feed just enough pellets for it to maintain 180. I do believe you will get different results with different pellet brands as well.

I have never tried Cherry pellets, as I was disappointed with cooks I have done on a Weber using Cherry chunks. It does give a beautiful color to Chicken, but I thought the smoke flavor was lacking.
If I have the opportunity to score some 100% Cherry, I would mix it in with Hickory as suggested.

I've used LJ 100% Cherry and couldn't taste anything.  I pretty much use 100% hickory for everything.

Thanks for the responses.  I'm going to toss the rest of the 100% cherry...good thing I only bought 2 bags to try.  I'll run over to Rural King and pick up some 100% hickory.  If worse comes to worst, there's a place an hour away in Knightstown, IN that sells BBQ Delight that I can try.

Thanks for the responses.  I'm going to toss the rest of the 100% cherry...good thing I only bought 2 bags to try.  I'll run over to Rural King and pick up some 100% hickory.  If worse comes to worst, there's a place an hour away in Knightstown, IN that sells BBQ Delight that I can try.

Why toss them? Just mix them with the hickory you plan on buying.

Thanks for the responses.  I'm going to toss the rest of the 100% cherry...good thing I only bought 2 bags to try.  I'll run over to Rural King and pick up some 100% hickory.  If worse comes to worst, there's a place an hour away in Knightstown, IN that sells BBQ Delight that I can try.

Why toss them? Just mix them with the hickory you plan on buying.

Yes.  Cherry gives meat a beautiful color.  And after you get used to the pellet grill smoke flavor you probably won't be able to tell the difference in which wood is which anyway.

I thought of that after I posted.  I'll keep them for something that requires less smoke flavor.

I have always wondered if this is more a result of PID controllers?

I'm beginning to think so.  I'm using the same Pit Boss comp blend pellets that I've always used, but with the PG1000 the smoke flavor is definitely more pronounced and also smells even more amazing.  I don't get that with my GMGs.

I'm seriously considering creating an arduino controller to retrofit into my GMGs that will use the HHt/LHt control method of the PG1000.

I believe that the PID produces less smoke as well.  I think by keeping the temperature right on the money, it burns the fuel even more efficiently.  It's my understanding that temperature swings will allow more time smoldering and extra smoke output. 

I'm okay with the less smoke output as I prefer a more mild smoke flavor profile.  As others have stated, I think smoke should be treated as a seasoning and be used in moderation.  My main concern was with the complete lack of smoke (and smoke flavor) produced by the 100% cherry pellets (even at low temps like 180 degrees).  I tried the Lumber Jack 100% hickory pellets last night for quick trial run and they seemed to create more smoke.  I'll try them out this weekend on some beef ribs and pork belly. 

There is a lot of variables involved. More likely ambient temp and relative humidity than type of wood in pellet in smoker. If your getting a great smoke ring then cherry pellets are doing there thing.