Cold Smoke Generator-Do all of these load up with creosote?

nolaegghead

GrillSgt said:

So the pellet smokers in general deliver an inferior product?

Not necessarily.  Pellet smokers where the pellets are used as a heat source burn more fuel, pellets, en masse.  Like a stick burner that burns only wood, a hotter fire mitigates some of the unpleasant effluents of incomplete wood combustion, which in small doses is not noticeable. 

Pellets burning very slowly in an Amaz-n-smoker or in a way to facilitate a cold smoke can smolder more than those in a pellet smoker that is auger fed. 

But another issue is binders and what goes in the pellets.  This is a quality issue more than anything.  Pellets are sometimes made with less-than-pure wood.  They can have leaves, particle board, melamine, glue (these should not be in smoke pellets) and binders.  The top-quality pellets use the heat of compression to force the lignin in the wood to become the "glue" that hold their shape. 

I would not say pellets in general deliver an inferior product, but the ability in whatever process to deliver "good" smoke without the bitter wood spirits from incomplete combustion is most important.  So a more complete combustion, removal of the bad smoke components and better quality fuel/wood all contribute to the quality.

Or something like that.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

littlerascal56 said:

GrillSgt said:

Just asking, and I understand a desire to conquer something by overpowering it, but why is this better than one of the pellet trays?

Pellets do have fillers and binders that leave an aftertaste in cheese.  Wood chips and chunks are 100% natural and impart the best flavor, without that “ashtray” taste.  Pellet trays are for the guy wanting the least amount of work, which is fine for most people’s taste buds!

Great thread. This whole thing got me thinking about pellets (god, I need help). I found a thread on another fourm where a guy called Traeger and the pellet mill actualy provided the info on their pellets:

Here is the info I found on smoking meat forums dot com:
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I thought I would share what I recently learned about Traeger pellets. After getting my AMNPS I looked to find pellets in my local area. I wanted 100% flavor wood. Went to my local hardware store and was told the Traegar pellets were 100% of what they say on the bag, if they said apple they were 100% apple and so on. Got four 20lb bags of different flavors for $12.99 each and was out the door. A  few weeks later from scanning the web I learned that no one it seemed was really sure what the make up of the Traegar pellets was! Some said they were 100% alder or oak with flavor oils, some said a mix, and on and on. I was told that if you call Traeger and ask they will tell you they don't know or if you send a email inquiring whats in the pellets then they reply that it is proprietary information. I live in Oregon about 15 minutes from Traeger offices so called them to get it straight from the horses mouth. Talked to a very nice rep Lisa. She did not know what the make up of the pellets was, and said that info only the pellet mill knows.  After some back and forth she said she would try and get me some info and took my #. I would have bet anyone 100 bucks that I never would hear back from her but today she called me and said she got a note from the mill with a breakdown of whats in the pellets.

The base wood if you are on the west coast is alder and the east coast is oak.

Mesquite or Hickory 100% base wood (alder or oak) with flavor oils no actual Mesquite or Hickory wood in the pellet 

Apple, Pecan or Cherry 70% base wood 30% Apple, Pecan or Cherry wood

Maple 100% Maple wood

Alder on the west coast is 100% Alder on east coast 70% oak 30% Alder

Oak on the east coast is 100% Oak on the west coast 70% Alder 30% Oak

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He then sited a company that makes 100% flavor wood pellets with none of the fillers and I bought some. Did I mention I need help? I'll let you know if they are any better. I now have a lifetime supply so i'll gladly send you some if you want to try the out in your new rig. I got a blend of Hickory, Cherry, Hard Maple, Apple. 

The Cen-Tex Smoker

sorry about all the hyperlinks- I just cut and pasted from the other forum. 

GrillSgt

Great info. Thanks to all. Now I will go back to one of my earlier questions. What about sawdust. 

The Cen-Tex Smoker

GrillSgt said:

Great info. Thanks to all. Now I will go back to one of my earlier questions. What about sawdust. 

what do you want to know about it? It's just wood and will burn exactly like a log in the same environment. The only issue with sawdust is that it will burn very quickly if you burn it in an oxygen rich environment. Most people use it like pellets and let it smolder (smoking gun, amaze N smoker, etc). It's no different than letting a log smolder. The smoke sucks but it's smoky!

dmourati

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

******

He then sited a company that makes 100% flavor wood pellets with none of the fillers and I bought some. 

The name/web site of this 100% flavor wood pellet company would be a good thing to know.

Thanks for all the research. You sound like me. When we want to get to the bottom of something, we keep pushing past the hurdles.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

dmourati said:

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

******

He then sited a company that makes 100% flavor wood pellets with none of the fillers and I bought some. 

The name/web site of this 100% flavor wood pellet company would be a good thing to know.

Thanks for all the research. You sound like me. When we want to get to the bottom of something, we keep pushing past the hurdles.

I didn't want to shill for them but it's cookin pellets dot com. They are on Amazon too. 

The Cen-Tex Smoker

dmourati said:

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

******

He then sited a company that makes 100% flavor wood pellets with none of the fillers and I bought some. 

The name/web site of this 100% flavor wood pellet company would be a good thing to know.

Thanks for all the research. You sound like me. When we want to get to the bottom of something, we keep pushing past the hurdles.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

dmourati said:

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

******

He then sited a company that makes 100% flavor wood pellets with none of the fillers and I bought some. 

The name/web site of this 100% flavor wood pellet company would be a good thing to know.

Thanks for all the research. You sound like me. When we want to get to the bottom of something, we keep pushing past the hurdles.

"You sound like me"

God help you, sir

HeavyG

littlerascal56 said:

GrillSgt said:

Just asking, and I understand a desire to conquer something by overpowering it, but why is this better than one of the pellet trays?

Pellets do have fillers and binders that leave an aftertaste in cheese.  Wood chips and chunks are 100% natural and impart the best flavor, without that “ashtray” taste.  Pellet trays are for the guy wanting the least amount of work, which is fine for most people’s taste buds!

Food grade pellets do not use fillers and binders. They are all wood with one exception - Traeger uses a bit of soybean oil to help ease the pellets thru the die when they are formed.

The pellets are held together naturally by:

The Pellet Mill

After drying, the sawdust is pressed through dies at high pressure. This process causes the sawdust to heat up and release natural lignins in the wood that bind the sawdust together. The mill also determines the density of the pellet, the diameter, the durability, and the length. All of these characteristics are very important for consistent pellet appliance operation.

++++++

Some pellets are a mix of tree species with the majority of the content being the type of tree they claim. The mix of species can vary based upon the region in which the pellets are made. You can buy pellets that are 100% the species they claim.

GregW

I use and recommend pellets from a company named Lumberjack. The pellets I buy from them are 100% Hickory with no other filler woods or oils.
I use them in my Cookshack FEC 120 smoker.
To me, the primary advantage of the pellet smoker is that it produces clean smoke at all times. It smokes in the thin blue smoke range continuously.

As far as pellet quality goes, Traeger is widely considered to be the poorest quality on the market. Traeger serves as the gateway into pellet smokers for a lot of people. Traeger is promoted heavily at Costco road shows.