Traeger Pro 780 + Smoke Daddy Magnum PIG cold smoke generator = HEAVEN

[Slimpicker]

Glad to help!

I'll also add that - creosote build-up is a reoccurring thing that must be addressed after every single use of the Smoke Daddy. After about 3-4 hours of use, so much creosote formed inside of my 25" extension pipe that smoke would no longer flow into my Traeger, even with the air pump on high. So, I'm re-evaluating whether I'll continue to use the 25" extension and just stick with the factory length, or buy an extra-long pipe cleaner to clean out my extension pipe after every cook. This of course adds a little more time and cleanup after every use (about 5-10 minutes), so again - something to keep in mind.

For my own personal use, I think it's 100% worth it. For everyone else, YMMV...

I made mine only 12" long, stopping right by the firepot... it still gets clogged but only after a few uses, not every cook.

 

[DJDDay]

I made mine only 12" long, stopping right by the firepot... it still gets clogged but only after a few uses, not every cook.

Yeah, stopping it right in the middle by the firepot (on the outside of the heat shield) might be a better option - much easier to clean out such a short pipe - even with the included Smoke Daddy wire brush. I just might do that as well. Originally I thought the powerful convection fan would force air back into the Smoke Daddy (which is why moved my outlet to the far side), but obviously that's not an issue.

On what speed setting are you running your air pump at? Do you also find you need to be above the 55% mark for it to work well? Do you have the Smoke Daddy Magnum PIG? Please post some pics of your setup!

 

[DoyleS]

Very nice writeup and pics. I have a Traeger 075.04 BigTex and have been looking at smoke generators. I guess the question I have is in regards to the amount of creosote that has to be cleaned out each time. That seems to suggest that the combustion is creosote heavy. I am thinking that a shorter extension might but more creosote into your cook chamber. Maybe the exit pipe is actually condensing the undesirable creosote. I think you said the smoke color changed after 20 minutes or so. It would be good if you could add a few pics of the later smoke and some more comments on creosote buildup. I just ordered a Savannah Stoker PID Controller for my Traeger as I do smoke a lot of sausages and really need more accurate temp control below 200 F. It is scheduled to arrive in a couple days. I also want to cold smoke cheese and fish and the controller has a cold smoke setting where it just turns on the fan, coupling that with a good smoke generator would be ideal. Ok, one more question, you said you only use wood chips and not pellets in the Smoke Daddy. Give us a few more words on that. Thanks again for the excellent review.

 

[RayClem]

How easy was it to drill the hole in the side of the smoker? What type of drill bit did you use?

I doubt I will do the modification, although I only live about an hour away from Gurnee where the company is located. I do not need my meat to be super smoky as I have never had an offset smoker and have not used charcoal in years. The Ironwood has a Super Smoke setting and if I need more smoke, I will get a smoke tube.

However, I have been toying with the idea of drilling a hole in the dome of my Ironwood to mount a standard grill thermometer. I realize that that might not be the most accurate way to measure temperature. but most grills and smokers have one, even Pit Boss and Louisiana Grills pellet grills. I miss having the large analog thermometer which can be seen for several feet away. This is a deficiency I should be able to correct.

 

[DJDDay]

I guess the question I have is in regards to the amount of creosote that has to be cleaned out each time. That seems to suggest that the combustion is creosote heavy. I am thinking that a shorter extension might but more creosote into your cook chamber. Maybe the exit pipe is actually condensing the undesirable creosote. I think you said the smoke color changed after 20 minutes or so. It would be good if you could add a few pics of the later smoke and some more comments on creosote buildup.

So, couple of things - the length of the extension tube (or the complete removal altogether) doesn't change creosote build-up at all. It's just the nature of burning solid wood - you're going to get creosote. It's really not a big deal - a 5 second scrub with the included wire brush and you're good to go. For the record, I've ran the Smoke Daddy with the extension, with a shorter extension, and without the extension at all. Same results.

As for the smoke, the color really isn't that big of a deal honestly - at least for hot cooks when your convection fan is running. It only burns super thick white for a few minutes when you first add wood. After that, it thins out to the desirable thinner "blue wispy" that everyone seems to prefer (but still noticeably thicker than what you get with a pellet grill by itself).

How easy was it to drill the hole in the side of the smoker? What type of drill bit did you use?

Super easy, barely an inconvenience. I just bought the properly sized hole saw (that is meant for cutting steel) from Home Depot and used a cheap Ryobi hand drill. My bigger concern was just getting it in the "right spot", which I did. And I didn't even measure - I just "eyed" it (I wouldn't recommend not measuring unless you're reaaaaaaally comfortable around drilling by guesswork... LOL)!

Now that I've been using my Smoke Daddy Magnum PIG for a good couple of months, I can comfortably say that I simply cannot imagine using a pellet grill without one. There simply is no comparison. Pellet grills by themselves - even the more expensive Traeger's with the "Super Smoke" settings - cannot supply the right type of smoke. Smoldering pellets (which are mostly sawdust) simply do not compare to burning actual chunks of wood and wood chips. But if you and the family are OK with the super mild smoke flavor that stock Traegers can do, I wouldn't bother. But if you've ever cooked on a stick burner or Kamado style grill using lump charcoal and you enjoy that heavier "bacon-like" thicker smoke taste, adding a Smoke Daddy or similar is your only option on a pellet grill.

 

[DoyleS]

Good input, I’ll put the pig on my next upgrade. I just installed the Savannah Stoker and am really impressed with temp control and automatic re light. A very powerful PID controlle.

 

[Julius Chen]

Awesome DIY.

How do you compare this to using smoke tubes?

Any difference to do this DIY on a smaller Traeger 575?

I wonder if the convection fan moves air in a consistent direction inside the barrel? If yes, pointing the PIG smoke pipe to specific direction may help minimize how hard PIG air fan has to work?

 

[Shedd]

Awesome DIY.

How do you compare this to using smoke tubes?

Any difference to do this DIY on a smaller Traeger 575?

I wonder if the convection fan moves air in a consistent direction inside the barrel? If yes, pointing the PIG smoke pipe to specific direction may help minimize how hard PIG air fan has to work?

I really believe that the fan is pushing the smoke out before it can really penetrate the meat. I just smoked a butt and a rack of ribs today. My clothes have more smoke than the butt. The ribs are decent but it doesn’t take much for smoke to penetrate ribs. I used a long smoke tube and a large smoke box. Smoke was rolling out of the stack, just not leaving the flavor on the meat. I don’t think it’s really worth the trouble with the smoke tubes and hassle of trying to safely light and handle them, not to mention how the fan blows all the ashes around all over the meat too.

 

[Julius Chen]

I really believe that the fan is pushing the smoke out before it can really penetrate the meat. I just smoked a butt and a rack of ribs today. My clothes have more smoke than the butt. The ribs are decent but it doesn’t take much for smoke to penetrate ribs. I used a long smoke tube and a large smoke box. Smoke was rolling out of the stack, just not leaving the flavor on the meat. I don’t think it’s really worth the trouble with the smoke tubes and hassle of trying to safely light and handle them, not to mention how the fan blows all the ashes around all over the meat too.

Just to verify - you are advocating this DIY over smoke tubes? The fan will push smoke out in both cases but smoke tube creates more air borne ashes in the barrel?

 

[Shedd]

Just to verify - you are advocating this DIY over smoke tubes? The fan will push smoke out in both cases but smoke tube creates more air borne ashes in the barrel?

That was my “point”. You asked the question of “how does this compare to smoke tubes”. I was just implying the smoke tubes don’t really work like people think and in combination with the fan, they make more of a mess. The Traeger already pushes ashes from the pellets all around the grill, I can only imagine a different more aggressive controller would only worsen the situation.

 

[Shedd]

I really like how DJDDay went through in great detail about the Magnum Pig, that took a lot of time for your detailed information, thank you.

I knew when I received my 780 (gifted by friend) it wouldn’t infuse the smoke flavor I’m accustomed too but part of the agreement with my friend is I’m giving it a fare try. I don’t think the extra expense and aggravation of installing the pig as well as trying to figure something else out is really what I’m looking for. I’m truly just giving this thing a try. I like my gas Webber flavor better on grilled things because it cooks so much faster, I like the flame broil taste, the cleanup is easy and the Lp is a lot less expensive than pellets. My egg is very easy to use for me (had it over 30 years) and no issues with achieving the smoke flavor but does require a little babysitting, but cleanup is a breeze. I have a convection oven that also has the air fryer setting, however during Thanksgiving I did use the 780 to hold food warm. When I eat beef (burgers and steaks) I don’t like them smoky I like them rare and enjoy the beef flavor. I am going to keep experimenting and try different things but I’ve proven to myself and a couple friends that it’s not a smoker but a grill. So now to see where this leads me.

 

[Julius Chen]

I am thinking to do this DIY on my Pro 575.

Trying to decide if I should mount it to the rear side next to the chimney (refer to the area marked blue in attached photo).

Feel this location is further away from me and safer because I will have to walk to it in order to touch it. If mounted to the front, I could accidentally touch it when folding the front shelf or handling food in a rush.

Any concerns using this location?

 

[Shedd]

I am thinking to do this DIY on my Pro 575.

Trying to decide if I should mount it to the rear side next to the chimney (refer to the area marked blue in attached photo).

Feel this location is further away from me and safer because I will have to walk to it in order to touch it. If mounted to the front, I could accidentally touch it when folding the front shelf or handling food in a rush.

Any concerns using this location?

Hopefully DJDDay will see this and help guide you. He definitely had some great detailed information. You could message him too. I don’t know but isn’t the 780 and 575 very similar. He said he put his on his 780. If you do let us know how it works and if it’s really worth it. I read other information about how you can use it to cold smoke. My friend has a smoke house that he cold smokes in but would be cool if you could do it in the Traeger. I wish you luck!

 

[RayClem]

I am thinking to do this DIY on my Pro 575.

Trying to decide if I should mount it to the rear side next to the chimney (refer to the area marked blue in attached photo).

Feel this location is further away from me and safer because I will have to walk to it in order to touch it. If mounted to the front, I could accidentally touch it when folding the front shelf or handling food in a rush.

Any concerns using this location?

Do NOT mount it next to the smoke stack. The smoke from the generator will enter the grill chamber and immediately be drawn up the chimney. The generator needs to be on the opposite end of the chamber from the smoke stack. so there is good smoke contact.

 

[Shedd]

Just curious, can the smoke stack on the Traeger be modified to close part of it off to help keep the smoke inside the grill a little longer? Has anyone tried?