Diy pellet conversions

[Hockeydudde]

It's been 12 long months since I bought a new smoker, so I'm getting the itch.
Anyone here done a pellet conversion? I was looking at pellet poopers when I started thinking it would be cool to have the option to use the firebox or set it and forget it. Or even better, start with an offset fire for flavor but then turn on the pellet control to finish a long cook.
As far as I can tell there are 3 options.
1. NO name pellet hopper assemblies off Amazon. $120 to $250
2. Direct Igniter pellet hopper assembly. $260
3. Smoke Daddy pellet pro. $490.

Any experience here with any of these?

 

[DieselTech]

It's been 12 long months since I bought a new smoker, so I'm getting the itch.
Anyone here done a pellet conversion? I was looking at pellet poopers when I started thinking it would be cool to have the option to use the firebox or set it and forget it. Or even better, start with an offset fire for flavor but then turn on the pellet control to finish a long cook.
As far as I can tell there are 3 options.
1. NO name pellet hopper assemblies off Amazon. $120 to $250
2. Direct Igniter pellet hopper assembly. $260
3. Smoke Daddy pellet pro. $490.

Any experience here with any of these?

I have thought about putting a Smoke Daddy hopper on a upright masterbilt cabinet smoker. But I have held off.

 

[Chris_in_SoCal]

I have been using a pellet smoker for over 5 years and recently upgraded to an offset smoker. So far I love everything about it but before it arrived I have thought about gutting the parts from the pellet smoker and installing them in the offset.

I am not convinced yet if it is worth it. The pellet is set and forget but so far the offset has been pretty good at holding temps as long as you chuck in a few splits every half hour or so.

I did a lot of research before buying it and learned with a home offset smoker to split wood into smaller pieces and add them more frequently to keep the temps even.

I bought a hydraulic log splitter to make it easier to do that. It is also fun to use.

I have only used it three times since I just got it but from that I am thinking the idea of converting it would be a bad choice. Now I will have to decide to give away the pellet smoker or trash it.

There is no way I will go back. The offset is better in every way.

 

[Hockeydudde]

I have thought about putting a Smoke Daddy hopper on a upright masterbilt cabinet smoker. But I have held off.

I'll let you know if I do it and how it goes

I have been using a pellet smoker for over 5 years and recently upgraded to an offset smoker. So far I love everything about it but before it arrived I have thought about gutting the parts from the pellet smoker and installing them in the offset.

I am not convinced yet if it is worth it. The pellet is set and forget but so far the offset has been pretty good at holding temps as long as you chuck in a few splits every half hour or so.

I did a lot of research before buying it and learned with a home offset smoker to split wood into smaller pieces and add them more frequently to keep the temps even.

I bought a hydraulic log splitter to make it easier to do that. It is also fun to use.

I have only used it three times since I just got it but from that I am thinking the idea of converting it would be a bad choice. Now I will have to decide to give away the pellet smoker or trash it.

There is no way I will go back. The offset is better in every way.

I've cooked on others pellet grills, and mostly agree. My main use case would be for brisket and pork butt. Currently I smoke on the offset the day before then cook/hold for 18 to 24 hours in an MES. This works but has limitations. 1) I have to get the MES set up and it's another thing to clean. 2) it's much smaller than either of my offsets. The amount I can smoke is limited by the MES even though my offsets could hold much more.
If I had the pellet hopper set up on one of my offsets, I could let the fire die down and turn on the pellet hopper and seamless transition to the over night cook/hold.

 

[C.ray]

It's been 12 long months since I bought a new smoker, so I'm getting the itch.
Anyone here done a pellet conversion? I was looking at pellet poopers when I started thinking it would be cool to have the option to use the firebox or set it and forget it. Or even better, start with an offset fire for flavor but then turn on the pellet control to finish a long cook.
As far as I can tell there are 3 options.
1. NO name pellet hopper assemblies off Amazon. $120 to $250
2. Direct Igniter pellet hopper assembly. $260
3. Smoke Daddy pellet pro. $490.

Any experience here with any of these?

I have a Pellet Pro smoker, been using it for 7 years and never had a problem.. It only goes up to 450 but i never run it that high...

 

[Hockeydudde]

I have a Pellet Pro smoker, been using it for 7 years and never had a problem.. It only goes up to 450 but i never run it that high...

Thanks for sharing your experience.
Yeah, I'd probably never run it higher than 325.
I have too many grills to want to try to use it as a grill.