Amazing build I just started working for pellet mill and they make the pellets for heating and not BBQ. You concept gave me an idea to build an indoor pellet heater. I have worked for Traeger Pellet mill making the pelllets and have done this same thing. You made my idea brighter. Thanks for your share.
This is why I youtube. Excellent build. I want to make a smoker that uses an augar pellet fuel source, but is controller by a raspberry Pi / arduino so I can control everything from my phone remotely. Smoke the meat while I'm stuck at work.
GREAT job on this smoker, and thank you for making this video. Very informative. A lot of your pellet hopper housing/tube could be made with sheetmetal (stainless) and rivets. It would be very durable and much lighter. Old refrigerators/microwaves/stoves could be used for the metal, and in some cases the fans/motors. As an aircraft mechanic I have seen different sheetmetals take insane abuse and keep going.
Great job man! Having the same troubles with the high maintenance of a simple smoker I built last year, thanks for the inspiration and tips on converting it to a auto pellet smoker.
I'm in the process of designing one, however I'm doing it out of aluminum. Melting point of aluminum is 1220*F and My plan is to strictly use this for lower temps. I have a 4' long x 30" diameter pit for other cooks. Plus with aluminum, not rust to deal with. No different from cooking in magnalite pots. The firepot shouldn't get over 500* which is well within the specs of the aluminum.
Food Grade NSF FDA RTV Silicone Sealant Adhesive Red High Temp 10.3oz (Standard Version) (Standard Version, 2-Pack) www.amazon.com/dp/B0834C66ND/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_D6PTZVQXPGK60KF1CFPN
You went the hard way on this build. You can buy the pellet hopper assembly ready to bolt on for around what it cost you to piece this one together. Just built a pellet grill out of 1/2 thick oilfield scrap pipe. Had been laying in the south Texas brush for over 40 yrs when i found it. Odd ball size. 18'. Made for a tight fit when installing the hopper assembly. 20" would've been a better choice. I built a dual purpose deflector/grease pan out of 1/8" steel. Very happy with the way it cooks.
@@Scharll1 eBay, Amazon, Wal-Mart. That's just to name the cheaper models. They are everywhere on the web. I get them delivered to my door for around 220. I think the most expensive I've seen is around 600.
Ty for answering. Lots of eBay and Amazon cheap options but are not in stock. The other issue is like 250 for shipping to New Zealand :( I'm looking at buying individual components now which have normal shipping costs
@@Scharll1 Wow! The days of free shipping are almost all but gone. I seek out the vendors that offer free shipping when i can. Didn't realize you were not in the states. I can see how that would be a issue with shipping. Best of luck to you on your quest for parts.
I've been looking too at aftermarket bolt-on hopper assemblies starting a couple years ago. Recently I looked again hoping there was a lot more options but very limited and like Scharll Nextleven said "Out of stock" and "Cheap". This video was Great though... Just made my decision to build my own from scratch. By the way, I repaired a like-new Cabella's hopper then modified my BBQ and turned it in to a Trager-style smoker... I too used 1/8" steel plate for the deflector and the drip pan... I LOVE IT! Better yet... When my friend gave me the hopper assembly, it came with two additional brand new digital control boards that Cabellas sent him... Ended up being a 16.00 PID sensor! Now I'll just order the missing componenets and build another hopper. Thanks for the Video!
Too bad steel is expensive where I live these days that you’d easily be better off just buying the grill or buying the parts and putting one together rather than thick steel. Not that it’d be the same thing, but just saying from a cost perspective. Friend of mine fabricated his own pit, bought a Pitboss, sold his pit and never looked back.. To each their own I guess This is a nice project though, well done
I wonder what it would be like to make something like this that has the burn pot in the same location as the fire box on an offset instead of right under the grill surface? mimicking the flow of smoke and heat like an offset smoker.
You lose a lot of heat through the firebox, more efficient use of pellets to put the flame where you want the heat. If you did an insulated firebox (ceramic?) you might be onto something
Dumb question; I've never seen a pellet grill operate, where all the ashes go? If I'm smoking for 6 hours I'd imagine I'm burning a lot more than is going to fit in that little cup???
It burns pretty efficiently; the forced air through the pot does blow some of the ash into the bottom of the smoker. I’ve done 12 hour smokes on a brisket without issue. I shop vac it out very few smokes
I haven’t had it jam. I did have to upsize the bolt/pin for the pellet feed auger to feed gear motor. Mine sheared off. Upsized it to ~ 1/4” bolt and it’s behaved itself since
@@gregpolkus2981 ok thanks for the info. Our motor is cutting out and jamming. So it might be a week motor. We have just the cotter pin and it doesn't share it off.
Great video. I appreciate the thorough explanation of how these function and the follow up tips also.
Good tip on temperature probe location and configuration, thanks
I've built an entire Pellet Smoker myself. Thanks for sharing your Project, that helped me a lot
I’ve been thinking that thought for a few years. You went ahead and did it!!!! Great job and thanks for leading the way!!!!
Amazing build
I just started working for pellet mill and they make the pellets for heating and not BBQ. You concept gave me an idea to build an indoor pellet heater. I have worked for Traeger Pellet mill making the pelllets and have done this same thing. You made my idea brighter. Thanks for your share.
There's a lot of great information and advice in this video. Thanks for doing it. Cheers.
Good job, I have to give it a go here in Ireland the prices of those are through the roof
This is why I youtube. Excellent build. I want to make a smoker that uses an augar pellet fuel source, but is controller by a raspberry Pi / arduino so I can control everything from my phone remotely. Smoke the meat while I'm stuck at work.
Have you looked at the smoker on rainfall projects channel?
GREAT job on this smoker, and thank you for making this video. Very informative. A lot of your pellet hopper housing/tube could be made with sheetmetal (stainless) and rivets. It would be very durable and much lighter. Old refrigerators/microwaves/stoves could be used for the metal, and in some cases the fans/motors. As an aircraft mechanic I have seen different sheetmetals take insane abuse and keep going.
Awesome quality build! Super detailed! Great job!
I am in the process of planning a pellet fed pizza oven!! Thank you for your Video!!
Good job my friend 👏 👍 👌
Great job man! Having the same troubles with the high maintenance of a simple smoker I built last year, thanks for the inspiration and tips on converting it to a auto pellet smoker.
Really great build... I would only add one suggestion for the drip pan, use aluminum foil on top to save time on cleaning.
I'm in the process of designing one, however I'm doing it out of aluminum. Melting point of aluminum is 1220*F and My plan is to strictly use this for lower temps. I have a 4' long x 30" diameter pit for other cooks. Plus with aluminum, not rust to deal with. No different from cooking in magnalite pots. The firepot shouldn't get over 500* which is well within the specs of the aluminum.
Thank you. Beautiful work
you can buy the whole hopper assembled for about $200 now. yours is a lot beefier thou.
This is awesome. AWESOME. Very doable for even an amateur home hobbyist welder right? Love this video
Very nice job!
what en epic build!
would love to see it in action with some short ribs maybe.
the rtv silicone was a mistake. the fumes when heated are toxic and not great for food.
The RTV used is listed as food safe. Did not use regular old Silicone RTV for this reason
@@gregpolkus2981 Can you give the name? i looked for food safe RTV and was told it doesnt exist
Food Grade NSF FDA RTV Silicone Sealant Adhesive Red High Temp 10.3oz (Standard Version) (Standard Version, 2-Pack) www.amazon.com/dp/B0834C66ND/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_D6PTZVQXPGK60KF1CFPN
Awesome video!! Thanks for sharing
That is amazing!
Cool project
I would have liked your video more with the fabrication steps.
You went the hard way on this build. You can buy the pellet hopper assembly ready to bolt on for around what it cost you to piece this one together. Just built a pellet grill out of 1/2 thick oilfield scrap pipe. Had been laying in the south Texas brush for over 40 yrs when i found it. Odd ball size. 18'. Made for a tight fit when installing the hopper assembly. 20" would've been a better choice. I built a dual purpose deflector/grease pan out of 1/8" steel. Very happy with the way it cooks.
Please tell me where to get the pellet hopper assembly bolt on? I've looked many places and find nothing aftermarket.
@@Scharll1 eBay, Amazon, Wal-Mart. That's just to name the cheaper models. They are everywhere on the web. I get them delivered to my door for around 220. I think the most expensive I've seen is around 600.
Ty for answering. Lots of eBay and Amazon cheap options but are not in stock. The other issue is like 250 for shipping to New Zealand :( I'm looking at buying individual components now which have normal shipping costs
@@Scharll1 Wow! The days of free shipping are almost all but gone. I seek out the vendors that offer free shipping when i can. Didn't realize you were not in the states. I can see how that would be a issue with shipping. Best of luck to you on your quest for parts.
I've been looking too at aftermarket bolt-on hopper assemblies starting a couple years ago. Recently I looked again hoping there was a lot more options but very limited and like Scharll Nextleven said "Out of stock" and "Cheap". This video was Great though... Just made my decision to build my own from scratch. By the way, I repaired a like-new Cabella's hopper then modified my BBQ and turned it in to a Trager-style smoker... I too used 1/8" steel plate for the deflector and the drip pan... I LOVE IT! Better yet... When my friend gave me the hopper assembly, it came with two additional brand new digital control boards that Cabellas sent him... Ended up being a 16.00 PID sensor! Now I'll just order the missing componenets and build another hopper. Thanks for the Video!
Too bad steel is expensive where I live these days that you’d easily be better off just buying the grill or buying the parts and putting one together rather than thick steel.
Not that it’d be the same thing, but just saying from a cost perspective.
Friend of mine fabricated his own pit, bought a Pitboss, sold his pit and never looked back.. To each their own I guess
This is a nice project though, well done
Is there a video of you cooking with it ?
I don’t think RTV is safe
Any chance of a list of Amazon links for the materials?
Added a list of the parts to the description above
I wonder what it would be like to make something like this that has the burn pot in the same location as the fire box on an offset instead of right under the grill surface? mimicking the flow of smoke and heat like an offset smoker.
You lose a lot of heat through the firebox, more efficient use of pellets to put the flame where you want the heat. If you did an insulated firebox (ceramic?) you might be onto something
Dumb question; I've never seen a pellet grill operate, where all the ashes go? If I'm smoking for 6 hours I'd imagine I'm burning a lot more than is going to fit in that little cup???
It burns pretty efficiently; the forced air through the pot does blow some of the ash into the bottom of the smoker. I’ve done 12 hour smokes on a brisket without issue. I shop vac it out very few smokes
You inspired my father in law and I to build one based on your video. We are having issues with jamming. Did you have any issues with that?
I haven’t had it jam. I did have to upsize the bolt/pin for the pellet feed auger to feed gear motor. Mine sheared off. Upsized it to ~ 1/4” bolt and it’s behaved itself since
@@gregpolkus2981 ok thanks for the info. Our motor is cutting out and jamming. So it might be a week motor. We have just the cotter pin and it doesn't share it off.
Just curious, how do you empty the ashes out of your burn pot? my Camp Chef has a sliding bottom with a catch cup underneath.
Shop vac
Where is the list of parts needed
It’s in the video description above