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Thread: Finally broke down.....

  1. #1
    Join Date
    04-23-02
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    Finally broke down.....

    Well, the fire box on my old Bandera vertical smoker finally rusted out. I could weld a patch on it, but I decided to join the ranks of Man Bun Men and bought a Traeger.

    I'm hoping it is as easy as they say. I have a perfect sheltered place for it now, a luxury the bandera didnt have until late in life.

    My review so far is Its heavy and looks hard to clean.

    Next thing you know I will be buying an e-bike and a 6.5 creedmore.
    "Back after 5 years. I thought you had died.

    don"


    Splitting my time between the montane and the mesas

    The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
    But I have promises to keep,
    And miles to go before I sleep,
    And miles to go before I sleep.

  2. #2
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    10-21-01
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    They work great. You can even buy some Bluetooth thermometers that make using one even more hands-free. The feeding mechanism on ours will clog from time to time though, so needs periodic checking.
    ...............
    “You can vote your way into socialism, but you have to shoot your way out.” — Too fundamental to have an attribution


  3. #3
    Join Date
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    My Son swears by his.
    OPINION....a view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge.

  4. #4
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    Next thing you'll know he be voting for Biden.

    Fred

    "Everyday I beat my own previous record for number of consecutive days I've
    stayed alive."

    'Take care of yourself, and each other.'

  5. #5
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    Like Joe said, now you need to add a good digital remote thermometer. I tried a couple until I settled on an Inkbird from Amazon. It has worked very well for me over the past year and a half. I just used it again a couple of days ago when I smoked a 9 lb pork butt for about 24 hours.

    It has 4 inputs for 4 probes. You can program each probe individually for high/low temp alerts and timers. The remote claims a 1,500 foot range. I haven't tested that, but I have had no connectivity issues even with the sending unit being inside a metal smoker about 300 feet away on the other side of my barn with two metal walls trying to block the signal.
    The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible - Arthur C. Clarke

  6. #6
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    10-22-01
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    I could make all kinds of snide remarks about real men and this "dandy" device----but the fact is---I wish I had one. The thought of going to the store, buying the "wood" and plugging in my smoker---somehow doesn't sound all the bad to me anymore
    Last edited by Dave Grubb; 10-19-2020 at 08:24 AM.
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity, an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty” ---Sir Winston Churchill
    "Political extremism involves two prime ingredients: an excessively simple diagnosis of the world's ills, and a conviction that there are identifiable villains back of it all." ---John W. Gardner
    “You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” ---C. S. Lewis

  7. #7
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    I went out of my way to avoid anything "connected". I spend way too much time disconnected, and the internet is full of complaints about downloading patches and repairs and such.

    I can see Traeger makes a fortune on fuel pellets. WAY more expensive than propane.
    "Back after 5 years. I thought you had died.

    don"


    Splitting my time between the montane and the mesas

    The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
    But I have promises to keep,
    And miles to go before I sleep,
    And miles to go before I sleep.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    10-22-01
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    I would expect (hope) their pellets are pure wood without any "additives". Pellets that include any kind of industrial wood waste are likely to contain contaminants, most likely adhesive residues and wood coatings (finishes). I would not want them near my food.
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity, an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty” ---Sir Winston Churchill
    "Political extremism involves two prime ingredients: an excessively simple diagnosis of the world's ills, and a conviction that there are identifiable villains back of it all." ---John W. Gardner
    “You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” ---C. S. Lewis

  9. #9
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    The place that provided the stair treads for tha cabin sells BIG pellets. They are the waste stream from mainly oak and hickory. They are used by the "commercial" guys who run real smokers. I was always going to try them, but it seems I generate a lot more fruit wood than my smoker could run.

    https://www.muscanell.com/woodchucks-fire-logs/
    "Back after 5 years. I thought you had died.

    don"


    Splitting my time between the montane and the mesas

    The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
    But I have promises to keep,
    And miles to go before I sleep,
    And miles to go before I sleep.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    10-22-01
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    I would expect a planing mill to be producing "clean" waste---the only question would be in how they separate the waste stream for different species.
    Last edited by Dave Grubb; 10-21-2020 at 11:55 AM.
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity, an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty” ---Sir Winston Churchill
    "Political extremism involves two prime ingredients: an excessively simple diagnosis of the world's ills, and a conviction that there are identifiable villains back of it all." ---John W. Gardner
    “You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” ---C. S. Lewis

  11. #11
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    10-21-01
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    San Antonio, Tx.
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    My favorite BBQ joint I have visited in the last few decades was a little one north of Tomball, Texas. The pit master was a old guy who always was there sitting in his raggedy chair. I liked the products they were putting out so much, I struck up a conversation with the owner (not the pit master) and he showed me his pit that he had constructed. It was a mechanical feed operation similar to a Traeger with wood pellets and natural gas ignition at the bottom to produce the heat and smoke with a large vertical chamber outfitted with maybe 15 or more slowly moving shelf/trays each about 4 feet long for the meat. I was amazed that this non-conventional smoker could produce an A+ product.

    The old fellow sadly died about 15 years ago and the joint closed.
    Last edited by wacojoe; 10-21-2020 at 10:41 AM.
    ...............
    “You can vote your way into socialism, but you have to shoot your way out.” — Too fundamental to have an attribution


  12. #12
    Join Date
    04-29-17
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    They just opened a multi-million dollar factory here somewhere to make the pellets so I believe at least some folks think this is the smoker of the future. I'll stick with my tried and true Big Green Egg.
    OPINION....a view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge.

  13. #13
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    Big Green Egg is a smoker?
    ...............
    “You can vote your way into socialism, but you have to shoot your way out.” — Too fundamental to have an attribution


  14. #14
    Join Date
    04-29-17
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    7,516
    Quote Originally Posted by wacojoe View Post
    Big Green Egg is a smoker?
    Yes had over 20 years, they are virtually indestructable.

    https://biggreenegg.com/
    OPINION....a view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge.

  15. #15
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    I had a precursor ceramic egg, when growing up in the 60’s, and it was a great grilling tool, but I never noted it as a smoker...too much direct heat because it’s forte was retaining heat, while smoking is just the opposite goal. How do you overcome that?
    ...............
    “You can vote your way into socialism, but you have to shoot your way out.” — Too fundamental to have an attribution


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