Pellet Fan
All Things Considered => General Discussion--Food Related => Topic started by: Maineac on October 04, 2017, 01:11:52 PM
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Maybe we can get some creative juices flowing -
I'll start - When I was looking for a pellet grill I went to a dealer who had a MAK 1-Star and a 2-Star side by side. One of the first things I noticed was the difference in cooking heights between the two with the 1 Star being 32" and the 2 Star being 35" which felt like the right height for me. The problem was that I really wanted the 1 Star, so that's what I purchased with the intention of increasing its cooking height. I just made risers for it. I think MAK is making the 1-Star the same height today.
Once the risers were in I made a shelf which was low enough that my plastic pails weren't affected by the heat. This image shows both mods.
(http://www.deansmiley.com/Files/MAK/shelf_pellets.jpg)
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Nice work Maineac - the modification I've done to a Trager has made the largest impact of anything I've done - a PID replacement for the stock controller. Simple plug and play.
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/qmxJ_3PvTAleJ9eloRLvXIVRh-2I6MQsnUtlYn2w3PcbxOJoA15Tbv0VZpCmwQbqSuFJuf-RGvxTiYRnSBLZnW1gH61_ZCt7PsTrDlV1q-XluPYTd36Bgpmg_pn9PAP5ROSkO3udhRFER8BP1ELc6vWfSptJ1SUQUonr68wQLka4Pj1b58q1MppgghD6FI1gtlAAXXlyUZZHJDeig2BfNmMw-5J0RPLliVerVT8V36_GbuMw2cL0CM4wIGwynCqIr9aobVc2ypbL6A12jtGEEgKIV1I2-eMO2u30RcwGIlPQr8xkgcCO0eLbXATAhLWUIVkxBQPuLgZ4G39QZlObFuTGh7BF1yIdYeLaowdmGud0IshZU5i3ImZJCeHuM1Luvt1Ia9-cpdQ3jBCUDWHT9S9CEUbtt8LUceQdWajgOrSAd7u128qGFSmbdczIrezEltyGkoaXdol7AQSyEjRoqCn297fT_rEpq-MESm9zck2gUfLINvMGpF2FP0E0dCw61wl8ex9jKNjCNXxvaXm_J8rTzP-hIaEA5zqUG2RCcasxV4c47b4Qh2fl3wLZPuQfyuzNmDKnayKQTIHW0FNQm9Q3_M7AoJUwvj-7meovHw=w1620-h1082-no)
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Nice work Maineac - the modification I've done to a Trager has made the largest impact of anything I've done - a PID replacement for the stock controller. Simple plug and play.
PZ, the controller is one of the big advantages that MAK had. After reading some about the Pellet Pro, I believe it could be a big game changer. Nice! Plug and play to boot!
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Attached a 5" X 1/4" threaded stainless steel rod to the side of the GMG DC heat shield using two stainless steel nuts. Drilled a corresponding hole into the side wall such that the rod sticks through the hole. Allows you to adjust the heat shield location real time. I will post pictures if anyone is interested.
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Had I to do it over, I'd not have gone with a Traeger, but that was all I knew at the time. In my opinion it is overpriced, and underwhelming when it comes to fire control. I'm definitely not money ahead (behind actually), but because the unit works just fine right now, I'm going to use it until it goes down for the last time, then go with a higher end unit like yours, Rec Tec, Yoder, etc.
Attached a 5" X 1/4" threaded stainless steel rod to the side of the GMG DC heat shield using two stainless steel nuts. Drilled a corresponding hole into the side wall such that the rod sticks through the hole. Allows you to adjust the heat shield location real time. I will post pictures if anyone is interested.
I'm interested in any mods for the Davy - please post pics :clap:
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Attached a 5" X 1/4" threaded stainless steel rod to the side of the GMG DC heat shield using two stainless steel nuts. Drilled a corresponding hole into the side wall such that the rod sticks through the hole. Allows you to adjust the heat shield location real time. I will post pictures if anyone is interested.
Hugh, is that to allow a region of the grill to be hotter?
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Under the Smokin Brothers section on the main page there is a topic "Getting Something Started" I posted Reply #6 about the Kuma style modification I made to eliminate the heat shield and separate drip tray, and make this one piece with a slide open center directly over the fire pot. I have about 25 hours of smoking and searing since this mod and haven't yet had a hint of disappointment. [ Invalid Attachment ] [ Invalid Attachment ] The heat up with the slide open is twice a fast to 225 deg. or about 7 min. and the control of smoking temp of 170 or so is still dead on. No hot spots except along the open inch at the back and front of the cooking area. No grease fires even with dripping brats. [ Invalid Attachment ] The heat shield just vaporizes the splatter. I use a completely solid piece of stainless on the tented slide to block off the center when smoking or baking and have a 1 1/2" baffle along the entire front and rear of the heat shield which keeps the smoke rolling uniformly. This entire mod cost me about $100.00 in material and a little time to do the bends and welds. Probably about 3 hours time with a cheap Harbor Freight Press and some angle iron to do the bends, boring 11 holes in the S.S. with a 7/8 " Ideal carbide cutter that costs about $30 on Amazon was the easiest part. I have no regrets and now love the versatility of my grill, I think I also made a similar post under the Kuma section.
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Hugh, is that to allow a region of the grill to be hotter?
A while back I replaced my warped heat shield with one of the newer stainless steel ones. My original shield had no need for adjustment since the notches were an exact fit. The newer one had wider notches that allowed left or right adjustment. To answer your question, yes, I was told by GMG technical support that moving the heat shield would effect heat distribution and that I should start with the shield 3 1/2" from the hopper side wall. A very slight movement seems to have significant effect on temperature. I've never seen a DB or JB but I think that they have the same shield setup.
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Everything I did in the past has been removed...
I wired up a off the shelf PID on my Traeger Junior, I learned a lot doing it... but now that I have other pellet grills I put the original smoke/med/high back in it.
I had some fire bricks in the Junior for awhile too, but removed them... they never really did much.
I did put a GMG Pizza Oven attachment in my Traeger Texas, that's still inside the Texas, but it can easily e removed .
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PG500 ... Rotisserie!
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Cueball, I'm very envious of your rotisserie. I've wanted one for my MAK since I got it. Some foods are just better cooked on a rotisserie like rib roasts and chickens. Unfortunately most pellet grills don't lend themselves to an easy adaptation as you know, but you got it done. Now you can enjoy the fruits of your labor. :clap:
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I did a rotisserie on my pg500, as well as my louisiana whole hog
(https://i.imgur.com/FW2YBjNl.png)
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That does it.... definitely going to try a rotisserie modification :bbq:
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FMT's PG500 vertical rotisserie
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Nice work Queball! :clap:
Do you have pics of the motor unit and how it is connected to the cooker?
I'd like to do something like this, and perhaps add a gas infrared burner to allow cooking from the side. Gyros are in my mind.
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Second shelf is about it...
(http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n90/lwnna/Pelletheads/IMG_0003-21.jpg)
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My entry level pit evolved into an ongoing quest for improvement..It is a good thing I am good mechanically and electrically..Eventually I could no more then and a major component wore out. The manufacturer didn't want to sell the part for some reason and I ending up replacing it with an almost new part..That did it fore me with that brand..Now I have a Memphis Pro and just can't find anything to modify ...
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PZ,
FMT did that to his PG500. ..... It's not mine. ..... He drilled a hole in the top of his PG500 and attached the motor to the rod there outside of the cooker. The bottom of the rod sat in an existing hole in the bottom of the cooker. When not in use he put a large round magnet over the top hole. The setup worked great, but as I remember it was not easy to get the rod with the meat set up to start, since the unit was hot.
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Cueball, I'm very envious of your rotisserie. I've wanted one for my MAK since I got it. Some foods are just better cooked on a rotisserie like rib roasts and chickens. Unfortunately most pellet grills don't lend themselves to an easy adaptation as you know, but you got it done. Now you can enjoy the fruits of your labor. :clap:
Not sure on the room and lid clearance, but I think you could do one very easily similar to what I did on my whole hog.
(https://i.imgur.com/6ebEDy1l.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/K6YMwhtl.jpg)
Harbor freight magnet on the left side of your mak. One hole drilled in the metal where the lid does not overlap on the right side. Hold the motor mount on with magnets. The motor can be hung upside down if there is not enough clearance for the motor bottom off of the right side shelf.
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That looks awful tight to the back. I believe PZ wants a vertical unit to do gyros like you did with the PG and use a gas burner. Read his previous post.
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FMT, I've got it worked out in my head but haven't drawn it up yet. Basically, I'm going to use the lid pivot holes as the spit center line. When I'm ready I'll draw it in CAD and have at least 2 parts machined. Unfortunately, other projects have higher priorities until at least next spring. :(
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Thanks gents - you've given me plenty to think about during the winter for next years projects :)
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Had I to do it over, I'd not have gone with a Traeger, but that was all I knew at the time. In my opinion it is overpriced, and underwhelming when it comes to fire control. I'm definitely not money ahead (behind actually), but because the unit works just fine right now, I'm going to use it until it goes down for the last time, then go with a higher end unit like yours, Rec Tec, Yoder, etc.
pz have you looked at the Timberline? I don't need an upgrade, but my Texas has been good to me and the Timberline will be the first pit I look at when upgrade time comes.
DK
Fireplace gasket that only lasted two years
Firebricks, still use them
Ortech controller
stainless steel fire pot (this was a great purchase)
second shelf with eye bolts
not much in the way of customization.
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Not so far mainly because my first experience with Traeger has been a cooker too pricey for what I got. For instance, I purchased a GMG for my son for $399 on sale that works perfectly, and sports a true PID. My Traeger cost $599, and the controller was basic, and allowed wide temperature fluctuations. It cost me an additional $200 to equip it with a PID so that it now works like the GMG. At this point I'm still open to anything, but when it comes time to upgrade to a new cooker, I'll be looking at just about everything, and will rely on the helpful folks that have experience with the various cookers, and there are plenty of them. :bbq:
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Not my original idea, but best mod ever. Latch on hopper. I was just looking at it this last weekend as was thinking how great it has been. Four years of a bungee cord was a waste of time.
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See my mods here:
https://pelletfan.com/index.php?topic=761.0
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I've just added gasket to the lid of my CC DLX and resealed the seam from the inside where the top and bottom of the cooking chamber go together at the rear. So far everything has worked very well so not much changing needed.
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I swapped out the carbon steel pro shelves on my Blaz’n with stainless steel. Less maintenance!!
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............................................... ZEP