Time to get serious about a new smoker.

[YOhio]

Seems a bit pricey, IMO. Not sure it would be worth it.

[Drunk Tank]

i dont think I will ever want or need that size but it certainly looks like a mean machine. That looks more like something for you and The_Tick to use for the biz.

Are those rotating racks that I see in there?

Has a rotisserie and runs on propane, wood, or wood with propane assist.

[FN Phat]

I was thinking of making a flap and hemming the edges, weighting them down slightly inside the liner so that the flap doesnt blow in the breeze and so that looks good when it is lying flat. It would be critical to add the flap. Too annoying taking everything off simply to check or to spritz or whatever.

Im really starting to get pumped about this idea.

How do you like your insulated cover for the cold weather smoking?

[ewth8tr]

So I just picked up a Traeger at Costco. Costco is apparently selling ones made for costco specifically. It's just like the Lil Tex Elite, but didn't have the caster wheels from what I can tell. Same size, digital thermometer, etc. It didn't have a specific name on it, it just said Traeger Pellet Smoker - Costco model. The model number is BBQ07C (Lil Tex Elite is BBQ07E), and it is only $499 as opposed to the $799 price tag for the Lil Tex Elite.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Welcome to the cult!

That sounds like a great deal.

[kccougar]

So I just picked up a Traeger at Costco. Costco is apparently selling ones made for costco specifically. It's just like the Lil Tex Elite, but didn't have the caster wheels from what I can tell. Same size, digital thermometer, etc. It didn't have a specific name on it, it just said Traeger Pellet Smoker - Costco model. The model number is BBQ07C (Lil Tex Elite is BBQ07E), and it is only $499 as opposed to the $799 price tag for the Lil Tex Elite.

I saw those yesterday at Costco. I was in a hurry and didn't stop, but I saw the $499 tag as I walked by and thought it looked just like a Lil Tex Elite.

[Surfah]

So I just picked up a Traeger at Costco. Costco is apparently selling ones made for costco specifically. It's just like the Lil Tex Elite, but didn't have the caster wheels from what I can tell. Same size, digital thermometer, etc. It didn't have a specific name on it, it just said Traeger Pellet Smoker - Costco model. The model number is BBQ07C (Lil Tex Elite is BBQ07E), and it is only $499 as opposed to the $799 price tag for the Lil Tex Elite.

They started selling these last summer. Like you said they're made by Traeger for Costco hence the C in the model number. It's a dang good deal but few Costco stores are carrying it. Rumor has it they were initially sold for $399 but then the price went up to $499. I imagine Utah carries them because of the office Traeger has there now. Congrats. Smoking is a ton of fun.

[TripletDaddy]

what is going in for the maiden smoke?

[smokymountainrain]

They started selling these last summer. Like you said they're made by Traeger for Costco hence the C in the model number. It's a dang good deal but few Costco stores are carrying it. Rumor has it they were initially sold for $399 but then the price went up to $499. I imagine Utah carries them because of the office Traeger has there now. Congrats. Smoking is a ton of fun.

Yes, Utah is carrying them. I noticed them this past week as well.

[ewth8tr]

what is going in for the maiden smoke?

I'll probably do a pork shoulder in it, I'm going to see what I can find today.

[Drunk Tank]

Blaz'n Grill Works PID controller install on my FEC-100

I have an older FEC100 that had a Traeger controller, not the new IQ4 controller they come with now. That controller has been less than accurate and is older technology. I wanted to upgrade to the IQ4, but at over $1k, its a tough pill to swallow. Enter Blaz'n Grill Works.

There are a lot of pellet smokers that use or use some variant of the Traeger controller. Many are now coming out with PID controllers and some (i.e. Blaz'n) have a PID upgrade kit available for their grills. So as I was pondering what I could do and while looking for a used IQ4, member ptpalms suggested that I contact Tim at Blaz'n to see if their upgrade kit would work for my FEC100. That got me thinking and I could not see any reason it wouldn't work with a little modification. So I ordered the kit.

Fast forward a week or so and I had the kit in my possession. I was impressed with the quality of the kit and I like the features that the controller has built into it. We'll last night I was able to get it installed...

First step was to remove the access panel on the FEC so I could disconnect the wires from the Traeger controller. It was pretty dusty and full of cobwebs so I cleaned it out while I was in there.



Next, I traced out all the electrical connections to make sure they matched up with the new Blaz'n controller wiring, which it did, with one exception. The FEC-100 has a high temp kill switch wired in, so I had to make some modifications for that. As you can see in the pic below, the hot lead from the power goes to one side of the kill switch and then goes to the controller.




I modified the Blaz'n controller by separating the hot and neutral leads and adding a quick connect to the hot lead coming from the kill switch to facilitate easy removal later should I need to.






Once that was taken care of, it was time to address the RTD. The Blaz'n kit comes with its own RTD and it is twice as long as the RTD that the FEC uses. I had no idea if the two RTD's were compatible, so a little testing was needed. First step was to remove the existing RTD from the FEC. Now removed, you can see the size difference.



To see if they were compatible, I did a resistance test on both of the RTD's. I boiled a pot of water and put both RTD's in, making sure not to get the water onto the crimped section of the RTD's. Using my ohm meter I measured 1385 ohms of resistance across the leads on both RTD's (which is what it should be @ 100°C). Now that I verified the RYD's were the same, I could use my existing RTD with the new controller and not have to make any additional mods other than crimping spade connectors onto the RTD leads.



I re-installed the RTD and hopper and marked and drilled the new mounting holes for the Blaz'n controller and mounted it up for a test fit. I used the existing hole from the Traeger controller to run the wires through. The Blaz'n kit has weather stripping on it to make a weather tight seal against the hopper.







Last, I tidied up the wiring to make sure it was out of harms way and I buttoned her back up.






By the time I finished, it was already 10pm, but I had to light her off to see if this would work. So I wheeled the FEC from my garage back to the yard and plugged her in. We have power!!! So far so good. I hit start. The fan kicked on and I could hear the auger start to turn and soon the sound of pellets dropping into the firepot. I'm liking this. The initial set point defaults to 350° so I lowered it to 225°. After a few minutes I could smell the pellets start to ignite and could see smoke coming from the stack. I let her come up to temp while I went inside to watch some TV. About 30 minutes later I came out and the pit temp was reading right at 225° and not fluctuating. I opened the smoker door, so I could see how it reacted to lost temperature. I left the door open for a minute or so and then shut it. The temp dropped to about 190° and instantly I hear the auger kick in and pellets started dropping. As the controller got back neared the set point, it started to oscillate the fan to prevent a temp overshoot. Once it hit 225° again, it held there rock steady. No overshoot. Now to be fair, I haven't tested this with any mass in the smoker and I didn't have my Thermoworks temp probe in there to verify the temp, but so far so good. I plan to put it through its paces this weekend and I'll post the results!

For any of you with Traegers, I think this would be a great upgrade if you want to upgrade to a true PID controller. This controller has a cool down mode after you power off, it comes with a meat probe so when your meat hits your desired temp, it goes into a hold mode and holds the smoker @ 140°. It also modulates the fan for more accurate temp control. The cost is approx. $230 shipped.

[Green Monstah]

I almost pulled the trigger on a Traeger this morning, then wussed out at the last minute and went with the 22" Weber SMG. I'm pretty stoked. It will be at my front door on Friday.

[YOhio]

Traeger Jr. for $320.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DUQHAX6/...tag=duiwath-20

[LA Ute]

We're looking at Traegers and are pretty close to getting one. I'm a long-time gas grill guy, so I have a few questions. I'm seeing that some purchasers complain about the smoke that the Traegers emit when starting up. Is there anything to that? I don't want my neighbors to hate me for that! Also, it looks like quite a few people have both a gas grill and a Traeger, and use the grill for things like burgers, and the Traeger for smoking. It's hard to get the Traeger hot enough for searing, thye say. What has been your experience?

[Vic Vega]

I almost pulled the trigger on a Traeger this morning, then wussed out at the last minute and went with the 22" Weber SMG. I'm pretty stoked. It will be at my front door on Friday.

:thumbsup: I'm sure you have already seen this forum, but on the off chance you have not :http://tvwbb.com/

Lot's good stuff on the site. I have a 22.5" and I love it.