# Need Pellet grill TBS supplement!!!



## Matthew Lebrasseur (Dec 31, 2018)

Hello All,

I am new to the forum but have been creeping hard on it for the last 4 years. I recently purchased a Rec TEC bull 700. The grill’s temp reg is outstanding, the stainless they used is definitely on the cheap side PM me for more info on that. Overall I love the grill and it works as reviewed and advertised. 
     My issue is I am a smoke addict, I can’t get enough of smoke flavor. I knew before I bought this grill smoke quality/volume would be an issue in trying to produce the competition grade bbq I hold as a standard for my cooks. I have researched the forums for months on TBS(thin blue smoke) applications for pellet grills with no solution to my problem. I have tried the pellet tube(but not maze) but it only produces white billowing smoke regardless of where I place it. A smoke daddy application does not work properly in a pellet grill due to a pellet grill’s positive pressure as it needs negative/low pressure to function properly, even so  I have seen no proof a smoke daddy produces TBS in any setting but rather the contrary.
     I need a way to produce TBS in my Rec TEC without compromising the integrity and warranty of my grill, that being said if anyone has a sure fire solution to my problem I am not opposed to exploring the option. I prefer not to use a hole saw if possible just because it’s a mighty expensive grill to be cutting massive holes in. If anyone can point me in the right direction for achieving my goal of high volume TBS it would be greatly appreciated, I realize there is no magic but I am hoping to find someone who has already traveled and finished walking this road.


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## texomakid (Dec 31, 2018)

It's probably one of the more common things I've read is folks with pellet smokers/grills saying they're not getting the Smokey flavor they are wanting. Since joining the pellet revolution I too know this will not produce the "smokey" flavor we can obtain with charcoal & wood but what I've found with my Yoder is I'm actually getting a TBS. It's there I can assure you and some of the "smoke rings" I get on my meat also confirm this process is happening (Yes I know a smoke ring doesn't come from smoke - I too have the internet......) but the process of burning wood is happening and that is making smoke. My YS640 just burns so clean you don't always see it but I see light smoke at low cooking temps. I'm sure you're aware lower temps help with smoke? I typically smoke around 220/230 and with the use of good quality pellets I get smoke flavor in all my meats. I occasionally fill a 12" tube of AMPS and add to the mix trying to obtain more smoke flavor but I've come to the conclusion that this is smoke flavor it's just light and clean. It's one of the reasons I recently purchased the WSM 22. I do enjoy the challenge of cooking on other cookers but there's no doubt any meat I pull off the WSM cooked with charcoal & wood will have a more distinct smoke flavor and aroma. All I can suggest is trying different pellets (I try to buy 100% of the wood advertised) and cook in the 220 deg range?

These beef ribs were cooked @ 230 for 5 hours unwrapped the whole time. I only rotated them ocassionaly during this time. Very tasty and they had smoke flavor. They also have the coveted smoke ring!


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## Matthew Lebrasseur (Dec 31, 2018)

texomakid said:


> It's probably one of the more common things I've read is folks with pellet smokers/grills saying they're not getting the Smokey flavor they are wanting. Since joining the pellet revolution I too know this will not produce the "smokey" flavor we can obtain with charcoal & wood but what I've found with my Yoder is I'm actually getting a TBS. It's there I can assure you and some of the "smoke rings" I get on my meat also confirm this process is happening (Yes I know a smoke ring doesn't come from smoke - I too have the internet......) but the process of burning wood is happening and that is making smoke. My YS640 just burns so clean you don't always see it but I see light smoke at low cooking temps. I'm sure you're aware lower temps help with smoke? I typically smoke around 220/230 and with the use of good quality pellets I get smoke flavor in all my meats. I occasionally fill a 12" tube of AMPS and add to the mix trying to obtain more smoke flavor but I've come to the conclusion that this is smoke flavor it's just light and clean. It's one of the reasons I recently purchased the WSM 22. I do enjoy the challenge of cooking on other cookers but there's no doubt any meat I pull off the WSM cooked with charcoal & wood will have a more distinct smoke flavor and aroma. All I can suggest is trying different pellets (I try to buy 100% of the wood advertised) and cook in the 220 deg range?
> 
> These beef ribs were cooked @ 230 for 5 hours unwrapped the whole time. I only rotated them ocassionaly during this time. Very tasty and they had smoke flavor. They also have the coveted smoke ring!
> View attachment 384229


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## Matthew Lebrasseur (Dec 31, 2018)

Hey Texoma kid, thank you so much for the prompt reply. I too achieve a smoke ring on my meats in the RT no problem, they just don’t have the strongest smoke flavor you would expect from any local bbq joint which is what I am after. I suppose, in short, my ultimate question is this, “what can I do to achieve maximum clean smoke potential with my RT 700”? I am trying out the 12” amzn tube on a prime rib right now but unfortunately it is not burning anywhere close to clean, it’s white and billowing all the way. As for the pellets I’m using the REC TEC recommended competition pellets so I’m not sure I can improve on those.


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## Matthew Lebrasseur (Dec 31, 2018)

PS. I do all my cooking between 200-225 as well


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## okiefisher (Dec 31, 2018)

Matthew Lebrasseur said:


> Hello All,
> 
> I am new to the forum but have been creeping hard on it for the last 4 years. I recently purchased a Rec TEC bull 700. The grill’s temp reg is outstanding, the stainless they used is definitely on the cheap side PM me for more info on that. Overall I love the grill and it works as reviewed and advertised.
> My issue is I am a smoke addict, I can’t get enough of smoke flavor. I knew before I bought this grill smoke quality/volume would be an issue in trying to produce the competition grade bbq I hold as a standard for my cooks. I have researched the forums for months on TBS(thin blue smoke) applications for pellet grills with no solution to my problem. I have tried the pellet tube(but not maze) but it only produces white billowing smoke regardless of where I place it. A smoke daddy application does not work properly in a pellet grill due to a pellet grill’s positive pressure as it needs negative/low pressure to function properly, even so  I have seen no proof a smoke daddy produces TBS in any setting but rather the contrary.
> I need a way to produce TBS in my Rec TEC without compromising the integrity and warranty of my grill, that being said if anyone has a sure fire solution to my problem I am not opposed to exploring the option. I prefer not to use a hole saw if possible just because it’s a mighty expensive grill to be cutting massive holes in. If anyone can point me in the right direction for achieving my goal of high volume TBS it would be greatly appreciated, I realize there is no magic but I am hoping to find someone who has already traveled and finished walking this road.


Between my brother and I we've had 4 different pellet poopers and have tried several different brands of pellets to get a better smoke flavor and have both concluded the lumberjack pellets in pecan flavor seem to work the best of all the pellets we've tried. I've heard the cooking pellets are good also but haven't tried them so I can't say. Try different pellets and I think you'll eventually find one that will give you the flavor you want or at least close to what you want. I still like my offset reverse flow for large cuts like pork butt normally smoking at 225 for about 6 hours then transferring to my pellet grill for the last part of the smoke on them so I don't have to watch them as close. I stick a probe in the butt for IT and one in the smoker for ambient temperature and let the smoker work it's magic.


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## bregent (Dec 31, 2018)

Matthew Lebrasseur said:


> that being said if anyone has a sure fire solution to my problem I am not opposed to exploring the option.



What type of pellets have you been using? I use Lumberjack 100% hickory and get smoke flavor on par with BBQ joints I've visited in Memphis and KC. It's a not a strong, in your face smoke flavor, but IMO food from a good bbq place doesn't either.


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## Matthew Lebrasseur (Jan 1, 2019)

bregent said:


> What type of pellets have you been using? I use Lumberjack 100% hickory and get smoke flavor on par with BBQ joints I've visited in Memphis and KC. It's a not a strong, in your face smoke flavor, but IMO food from a good bbq place doesn't either.


I use REC TEC pellets, a mix of oak and hickory, as well as a Mix of the milder fruitier pellets, I’m down to my last bag so I’ll be sure to look into different pellet types


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## schlotz (Jan 1, 2019)

Amazen also makes a tray that can be used with pellets or dust. I've used it and their tube, both have done a great job providing additional smoke when I want it in my MAK. Case in point for ribs, I usually like more smoke so with hickory in the hopper I also put mesquite in the tray or tube. The choice of pellet mfg'er is somewhat personal and can be for more than one reason.  In the end, I settled on BBQr's Delight due to reduced ash generation.


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## RCAlan (Jan 1, 2019)

Matthew Lebrasseur said:


> Hello All,
> 
> I am new to the forum but have been creeping hard on it for the last 4 years. I recently purchased a Rec TEC bull 700. The grill’s temp reg is outstanding, the stainless they used is definitely on the cheap side PM me for more info on that. Overall I love the grill and it works as reviewed and advertised.
> My issue is I am a smoke addict, I can’t get enough of smoke flavor. I knew before I bought this grill smoke quality/volume would be an issue in trying to produce the competition grade bbq I hold as a standard for my cooks. I have researched the forums for months on TBS(thin blue smoke) applications for pellet grills with no solution to my problem. I have tried the pellet tube(but not maze) but it only produces white billowing smoke regardless of where I place it. A smoke daddy application does not work properly in a pellet grill due to a pellet grill’s positive pressure as it needs negative/low pressure to function properly, even so  I have seen no proof a smoke daddy produces TBS in any setting but rather the contrary.
> I need a way to produce TBS in my Rec TEC without compromising the integrity and warranty of my grill, that being said if anyone has a sure fire solution to my problem I am not opposed to exploring the option. I prefer not to use a hole saw if possible just because it’s a mighty expensive grill to be cutting massive holes in. If anyone can point me in the right direction for achieving my goal of high volume TBS it would be greatly appreciated, I realize there is no magic but I am hoping to find someone who has already traveled and finished walking this road.



Welcome to the SmokingMeatForums...  This posting is not meant to be negative in anyway, I just want to be informative.  The OP from what I read in your  post, never bought or tried the SmokeDaddy Stick Burning Heat Diffuser first hand...  You gave a pseudo engineering theory on why you thought the SmokeDaddy Stick Burning Heat Diffuser wouldn’t work in a Pellet Grill without first hand experience.   I can say for myself that it worked in my PB pellet grill.  I’m not a spokesperson for SmokeDaddy or for anyone else..  I just have first hand experience with this particular stick burning heat diffuser in my PB Austin XL and it worked very well for me.  TBS is possible if your pellet grill temp is kept at 250* degrees or lower and once the wood chunks have started to burn.  Lower temps being better like 180*-250* degrees.  If your temps are greater then 250*, then you’ll have smoke all over the place from the wood chunks burning to hot and too fast.  That’s not what you want while wanting to add smoke too your meat, that being to much smoke..  That’s with any grill, be it Off-Set,  Pellet, PBC, UDS, etc.  I used a water pan in my pellet grill along with the heat diffuser and the temps were rock solid and the TBS was present while the wood burned for the 2 plus hours...  The smoke quality was great, the 2 plus hour smoke volume for some Cooks may not be long enough though.  After the wood chunks were finished in the heat diffuser, then the 100% hickory Lumberjack pellets I used kicked in.  Some Cooks pre-soak their wood prior to adding them to their grills and I would recommend doing that as well...  Also foiling the wood chunks and adding holes to the foil will keep the ash to a minimum while still adding true wood smoke.  There are so many different things that can be tried with this stick burning heat diffuser that’ll work.   Is this stick burning heat diffuser for everyone with a pellet grill??  No, some people have the hardest time following the most basic instructions of their grills, but if you’re looking for that added true wood smoke flavor to your bbq, this I can honestly say works.  A good read on TBS was posted some years ago on Smokingmeatforums for those wanting more information...  https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t...r-tbs-aka-thin-blue-smoke-less-is-more.94658/

Again, this posting was not meant to be negative, but helpful and informative from first hand experience.


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


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## bregent (Jan 2, 2019)

RCAlan said:


> The OP from what I read in your post, never bought or tried the SmokeDaddy Stick Burning Heat Diffuser first hand... You gave a pseudo engineering theory on why you thought the SmokeDaddy Stick Burning Heat Diffuser wouldn’t work in a Pellet Grill without first hand experience.



I could be wrong, but I think the OP was referring to the SmokeDaddy cold smoke generator, not the stick burning heat diffuser.


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## RCAlan (Jan 2, 2019)

bregent said:


> I could be wrong, but I think the OP was referring to the SmokeDaddy cold smoke generator, not the stick burning heat diffuser.



True...  Normally though, BBQ’ers seek TBS smoke while cooking at a low and slow temp..  Cold Smoking would also seek TBS..  The OP wasn’t clear, but if there’s doubt, the wise move would be to contact the Manufacturer of the product in question... 

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


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## bregent (Jan 2, 2019)

RCAlan said:


> True... Normally though, BBQ’ers seek TBS smoke while cooking at a low and slow temp.. Cold Smoking would also seek TBS.



He's not trying to cold smoke. He's just stating that the Smokedaddy cold smoke generator would not work well for low and slow smoking because of back pressure. And he's correct - many have tried and failed although some have claimed success.


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## Matthew Lebrasseur (Jan 2, 2019)

RCAlan said:


> True...  Normally though, BBQ’ers seek TBS smoke while cooking at a low and slow temp..  Cold Smoking would also seek TBS..  The OP wasn’t clear, but if there’s doubt, the a wise move would be to contact the Manufacturer of the product in question...
> 
> PB Austin XL in SoCal and Alway...  Semper Fi


I have never bought or tried the smokedaddy cold smoke generator, however I have read countless reviews and seen hundreds of videos where the smoke daddy csg only produces white billowing smoke. I have also read several reviews stating issues with the smoke daddy and pellet grills due to the pressure/flow issue.  As you know pellet grills work through convection, airflow in and out of the unit is driven by a fan, yes I understand the warm air still rises but in a pellet grill airflow is still driven primarily by the fan, not the rising of hot air like in an offset, electric smoker or grill. Since the airflow driven by the fan is far stronger than that produced by the aquarium pump air from the pellet grill is forced into the SD rather than the other way around, this is referred to as positive pressure. The SD creates low pressure relative to that of the pellet grill and if you ever watched the weather channel or happen to remember 8th grade science class, areas of relative low pressure are influenced and steered by areas of higher pressure, so the air around a relative low pressure is flowing in whereas the area around a high pressure is flowing out and away from the pressure source or center. The more simpler explanation is a scientific fact, “air always flows away from relative high pressure(pellet grill) towards and into areas of relative low pressure(SD).”
This causes the SD to back up and only produce WBS as the air tries to flow opposite of the way it was designed to and stuffs out the burn. I have read countless reviews confirming this. I don’t think it’s fair to call that Pseudo-Engineering, Science would be a more accurate representation. I have seen many videos of people with SD on all sorts of applications claiming its producing the right kind of BBQ smoke, But your average bbq’r is completely unfamiliar with the concept of TBS as the WBS is completely obvious in every video, even the videos on Smoke Daddy’s web-site. That being said I have read credible threads and reviews of people tinkering with the airflow on a SD and achieving a cleaner burn, but none were on a pellet grill. I have used the pellet tube smoker as stated earlier in this thread but no matter where I put it I couldn’t get a clean burn.


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## Matthew Lebrasseur (Jan 2, 2019)

bregent said:


> He's not trying to cold smoke. He's just stating that the Smokedaddy cold smoke generator would not work well for low and slow smoking because of back pressure. And he's correct - many have tried and failed although some have claimed success.


THANK YOU FOR UNDERSTANDING SCIENCE BREGENT!


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## RCAlan (Jan 2, 2019)

bregent said:


> He's not trying to cold smoke. He's just stating that the Smokedaddy cold smoke generator would not work well for low and slow smoking because of back pressure. And he's correct - many have tried and failed although some have claimed success.



The OP states a SmokeDaddy application  wouldn’t work..  He never states which application..  If He’s talking about the SmokeDaddy Cold Smoke Generator would not work, that very well may be the case.  Again, He should reach out to SmokeDaddy for their input on what’s the best options for his goals...   As for the Stick Burning Heat Diffuser, I can say that product does produce TBS...  It’ll just take some effort and different approaches to get it all dialed in to each BBQ’ers liking.

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


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## Matthew Lebrasseur (Jan 2, 2019)

RCAlan said:


> The OP states a SmokeDaddy application  wouldn’t work..  He never states which application..  If He’s talking about the SmokeDaddy Cold Smoke Generator would not work, that very well may be the case.  Again, He should reach out to SmokeDaddy for their input on what’s the best options for his goals...   As for the Stick Burning Heat Diffuser, I can say that product does produce TBS...  It’ll just take some effort and different approaches to get it all dialed in to each BBQ’ers liking.
> 
> PB Austin XL in SoCal and Always...  Semper Fi


RCLAN, I have never heard of a smoke daddy stick diffuser. I was referring to the CSG as I thought that was the only smoke supplement product I was aware they made. Have you used it with good results? I’ll check it out


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## RCAlan (Jan 2, 2019)

Matthew Lebrasseur said:


> I have never bought or tried the smokedaddy cold smoke generator, however I have read countless reviews and seen hundreds of videos where the smoke daddy csg only produces white billowing smoke. I have also read several reviews stating issues with the smoke daddy and pellet grills due to the pressure/flow issue.  As you know pellet grills work through convection, airflow in and out of the unit is driven by a fan, yes I understand the warm air still rises but in a pellet grill airflow is still driven primarily by the fan, not the rising of hot air like in an offset, electric smoker or grill. Since the airflow driven by the fan is far stronger than that produced by the aquarium pump air from the pellet grill is forced into the SD rather than the other way around, this is referred to as positive pressure. The SD creates low pressure relative to that of the pellet grill and if you ever watched the weather channel or happen to remember 8th grade science class, areas of relative low pressure are influenced and steered by areas of higher pressure, so the air around a relative low pressure is flowing in whereas the area around a high pressure is flowing out and away from the pressure source or center. The more simpler explanation is a scientific fact, “air always flows away from relative high pressure(pellet grill) towards and into areas of relative low pressure(SD).”
> This causes the SD to back up and only produce WBS as the air tries to flow opposite of the way it was designed to and stuffs out the burn. I have read countless reviews confirming this. I don’t think it’s fair to call that Pseudo-Engineering, Science would be a more accurate representation. I have seen many videos of people with SD on all sorts of applications claiming its producing the right kind of BBQ smoke, But your average bbq’r is completely unfamiliar with the concept of TBS as the WBS is completely obvious in every video, even the videos on Smoke Daddy’s web-site. That being said I have read credible threads and reviews of people tinkering with the airflow on a SD and achieving a cleaner burn, but none were on a pellet grill. I have used the pellet tube smoker as stated earlier in this thread but no matter where I put it I couldn’t get a clean burn.



Ok, again I’m not trying to have a bash session or debate...  It’s not that serious.  With every application and goals, there’s always going to be some compromises...  Hopefully with Your goals, the best route will be found... Good Luck.
And Yes I have..  the details are in my first post...  

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


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## retfr8flyr (Jan 2, 2019)

Try some Mojobricks in you grill.  https://mojobricks.com/in-a-pellet-grill/


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## Matthew Lebrasseur (Jan 2, 2019)

retfr8flyr said:


> Try some Mojobricks in you grill.  https://mojobricks.com/in-a-pellet-grill/


Fr8flyr, I have never heard of those, that looks pretty interesting and just might work, I’ll give them a try next cook


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## kstone113 (Oct 2, 2019)

Hi, I know this forum hasn't been touched in awhile but I've done research on the smokedaddy cold smoker generator and it does work in pellet grills....at least I've heard from fellow Rec Tec folks it works.  

If you have any links I can look at that proves otherwise, please let me know as i'm seriously considering the cold smoker.  And lots of folks use the cold smoker during actual smokes with temp.  It is not just for cold smoking.  

I also have the SD heat diffuser but it is kind of a pain to use.  RCAlan and I in another forum have figured out how to keep the temps consistent with the SD heat diffuser by lining with foil and poking holes in the foil to allow the wood to heat up but not catch fire and raise the temp of the pellet grill.  

If anyone is interested, here is our long forum:
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t...d-the-heavy-d-stick-burner-attachment.279194/


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