# My Traeger Mods...So Far



## ironhorse07

Let's see what mods people are doing to their pellet poopers.

Here's my 075 so far:













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__ ironhorse07
__ Dec 21, 2012






Fire Bricks













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__ ironhorse07
__ Dec 21, 2012






Larger, thicker heat shield













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__ ironhorse07
__ Dec 21, 2012






Lid gasket













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__ ironhorse07
__ Dec 21, 2012






Second cooking shelf and folding front shelf













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__ ironhorse07
__ Dec 21, 2012






PID controller

Still to come:

SSII

Hopper extension

Pellet savers

Thanks for looking,

Doug


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## daveomak

Doug ,evening.....   Did your Treager need the mods ?? How did they come out ??  List the stuff that the mods improved so others can consider those mods for their Treagers.....   We all need to learn how to make better Q.....    Dave


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## tjohnson

*ORTECH Controller*

Factory Hi/Med/Lo Traeger Controller is marginal at best

My Pellet Grill came with a digital controller, but this too was not great

I ordered an ORTECH Controller, and the Wild Temp Swings Stopped













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__ tjohnson
__ Dec 23, 2012






*12" A-MAZE-N-TUBE-SMOKER*

For Supplementing Smoke at Cooking Temps or Cold Smoking

Pellet Grills/Smokers burn wood pellets. 

In-order to increase the unit to cooking temps, the pellets must burn more efficiently. 

This causes the more heat, but less smoke.  At 25°, the unit produces little smoke. 

The AMNTS does a great job supplementing smoke.













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__ tjohnson
__ Dec 23, 2012






*Rope Seal on Lid*

*FrogMats*

The rope seal was easy to install, but use the "High Temp Silicone" to attach to lid

Ince I sealed the lid, the the unit does a better job holding temps. 

The cap on the stack must be raised, or the unit can overheat

FrogMats are nonstick teflon coated mesh mats the almost nothing can stick to!

Expensive, but work well













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__ tjohnson
__ Dec 23, 2012


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## tjohnson

Hey Doug,

How about a little more info on your PID Controller?

What are "Pellet Savers"?

Thx!

Todd


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## ironhorse07

As far as needing them, probably not, I just have to tinker though. They did help even out the temps across the pit. I originally put on the gasket to keep the smoke in with  my AMNTS (thanks Todd) but I think that helped even out temps also. The PID is an Auber SYL-2372, I am waiting for the SSII and got bored and needed a project. I got the wiring diagram and initial parameter setting off of another forum. I had an old 3 position controller around so I canabalized that for the wire harness and faceplate. I really took care of any temp swings, almost too good, with a PID you really need the AMNTS to get any smoke. I would like to modify or have this modified for the rock stoker input and move it over to my MES so I could do ramped cooks on sausage. Pellet savers are those little ramps that go in the bottom of the hopper to stop the "cone"








The second cook shelf comes in handy at times for that I bolted a couple pieces of angle iron to the sides about 4 1/2 inches up and I had one of the original front shelves from Traeger (what a piece of @#$%) so I cut the brackets of af it and it works great, they say it is made the same as the grates.

Any additional info? just let me know.

Doug


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## 2011redrider

Where do you get the pellet savers?  My Traeger Texas grill cones all the time and would like to find a set of these.  Google was of no help?


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## ironhorse07

http://shop.pelletgrillaccessories.com/product.sc?productId=222&categoryId=8


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## 2011redrider

Ironhorse
Thanks forthe info and link. That will be my first mod. Their cold smoker looks pretty good too.


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## kerstingm

Has anyone tried to do a DIY enclosure around the bottom half of their Grills? I'm really thinking about trying to fabricate something with sides, shelves, and doors along with using something to insulate the bottom of the grill.
If anyone has done this please post pictures and what you used.


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## kerstingm

ironhorse07 said:


> Let's see what mods people are doing to their pellet poopers.
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> __ ironhorse07
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> Second cooking shelf and folding front shelf
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> __ ironhorse07
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> PID controller
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> Hopper extension
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> Pellet savers
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> Thanks for looking,
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> Doug





How thick did you go with your lid gasket and where did you get it from? any suggestions on the instillation, take the paint off sand to bare metal before gluing it on?


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## ironhorse07

The gasket is just a flat wood stove gasket. It is about 3/4 in wide and 1/4 in thick, it is more than is needed but I just got it at the local Ace hardware and that was what they had. Just glued it on with red (high temp) RTV, cleaned the gasket area real good with a degreaser (believe I used acetone, left the paint), final wipe down with 90% isopropyl alcohol (Walmart has it and it does not leave any kind of a film), glue on gasket. cover with plastic wrap to prevent sticking, close the door, let set overnight. I also shimmed the hinges out with a couple washers under the hinge at the screw locations. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Doug


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## kerstingm

ironhorse07 said:


> The gasket is just a flat wood stove gasket. It is about 3/4 in wide and 1/4 in thick, it is more than is needed but I just got it at the local Ace hardware and that was what they had. Just glued it on with red (high temp) RTV, cleaned the gasket area real good with a degreaser (believe I used acetone, left the paint), final wipe down with 90% isopropyl alcohol (Walmart has it and it does not leave any kind of a film), glue on gasket. cover with plastic wrap to prevent sticking, close the door, let set overnight. I also shimmed the hinges out with a couple washers under the hinge at the screw locations. Let me know if you have any other questions.
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> Doug


I was wondering if adding the gasket would effect how the lid closed, that's a good idea using the spacers under the hinges.
last question
what did you use for your second cook rack? that looks bigger and better than what Traeger sells
thanks for the info


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## ironhorse07

kerstingm said:


> I was wondering if adding the gasket would effect how the lid closed, that's a good idea using the spacers under the hinges.
> last question
> what did you use for your second cook rack? that looks bigger and better than what Traeger sells
> thanks for the info


That rack was an old Traeger front shelf, pre-folding shelf, that hung on the front of the grill. I had replaced it with the folding shelf, cut the mounting brackets off. mounted a couple pieces of angle iron inside the grill, done. The way I have it if you are not careful the shelf will slide off the angles. One of these days I will flip the angles over so a flange is up on the outside and put spacers on the left side so it fits tighter to the shelf and that would leave space for the RTD to pass behind the angle. Hopefully that made sense.
Doug


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## mgbgt

I was looking to purchase a pellet grill and had my mind set on a Traeger also, I happened across a Grilla Grills SilverBac pellet grill, It is a double wall smoker that has a nice enclosed cabinet. The hinged lid is 1/8" Stainless steel and does not leak smoke. While doesn't have a PID controller, my temp swings are very minimal as indicated by my fireboard thermometer graphs. I won't say anything bad about a Traeger but I feel that the Silverbac from Grilla Grills is one of the best pellet grills going right now for the money ($699.00 with free to your door delivery) I have no plans to do any mods to it.
https://grillagrills.com/grills/silverbac-wood-pellet-grill/


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## kerstingm

I just replaced my hopper and fire tube assembly courtesy of Traeger and all of my current temp swing issues,  I pulled my old auger so I could modify it for a back up auger. From what I can see the restrictor tube is not here, or am I missing something?


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## kerstingm

What size fire bricks did you use?


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## ironhorse07

kerstingm said:


> What size fire bricks did you use?


They were just some I had laying around. They came out of a boiler and are keystone shaped. Any size will work, it's just about adding thermal mass.


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## ravenclan

i don't have any problems with mine but i am curious about the fire bricks. Does it take longer to heat up to temp?

I have done this with my propane and stick burner and it made a big difference but that does add to the time to get to temp.


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## MEGASKINS

Good reads.  Curious where folks are getting their Fire bricks like you have pictured here. Are there any specifics I should be looking for when shopping for them?


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## Bearcarver

MEGASKINS said:


> Good reads.  Curious where folks are getting their Fire bricks like you have pictured here. Are there any specifics I should be looking for when shopping for them?




The last ones I got, I got at "Tractor Supply".
That was a long time ago, but I imagine they still sell them.

Bear


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## kerstingm

I picked up some 2-1/2" thick fire bricks from a local supplier $1.60, I will adding to smoker today to hopefully get better temps for my weekend smoke


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## vaffanculo403

Did you notice a difference in the amount of pellets you use with the bricks vs without the bricks?  I would think that you would use fewer pellets since it will hold the temps better once it got there?  Also could that be the reason for the decreased smoke (decreased pellet use)?


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## kerstingm

vaffanculo403 said:


> Did you notice a difference in the amount of pellets you use with the bricks vs without the bricks?  I would think that you would use fewer pellets since it will hold the temps better once it got there?  Also could that be the reason for the decreased smoke (decreased pellet use)?




After two long cooks the past two days I have to say I only used a quarter of the pellets I've used in the past. I also noticed it hit my set temps quicker and only had a 5 to 10 degree temp swing 
The smoke was about the same as before,


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## mrq

I'm catching up with all of you.  I finally put my Ortech TR100 and a box of fire bricks in my junior.  It happily craddled 4 racks of ribs, in my rib racks.  A lid gasket is next.  Thank you for sharing all of your ideas and implementations.


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## mrq

MEGASKINS said:


> Good reads.  Curious where folks are getting their Fire bricks like you have pictured here. Are there any specifics I should be looking for when shopping for them?


I bought mine at Ace Hardware.  I think you want kiln bricks, from a pottery supply store, or other high temp bricks, like those from a pizza oven.
When I combined these with my Ortech controller upgrade, my smoking temp's smoothed out.


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## AzRabbitHole

Just finished a mini tabletop smokehouse for my Traeger with 5 racks. Time to make some jerky.


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## Bearcarver

AzRabbitHole said:


> Just finished a mini tabletop smokehouse for my Traeger with 5 racks. Time to make some jerky.




That's pretty Neat, Az Rabbit!!!
You should start a new Thread, and tell us more about that, with Pics!!!
Looks like a Great Idea!!

Bear


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## Mambo D

subbed to this thread for learning


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