Traeger smoker

[Ranger R61]

Has anyone had experience with these somkers? They use wood pellets.

Thanks

[cajun fryer]

I have one I really like it. I do pork chicken and beef.
There are recipes on there web sight and lots of utube videos also.

[Stickburner]

Traeger makes one of the most popular "Pellet Pooper" smokers. Just set it and forget it, it doesn't take a lot of talent or special attention to turn out good meat. I heard you can even buy pellets that smell like different kinds of wood when they burn.

I've been told meat cooked in a Traeger tastes almost as good as meat I cooked in my oak burning reverse flow.

[cajun fryer]

Do you have a picture of your oak burning reverse flow?
I am not sure what that is.
I have use several different kinds of cookers and built a few but I am not sure what a reveres flow is.

[Stickburner]

No pictures but I think can describe it.

The cooking chamber was made from a 250 gallon LP gas tank and it is horizontally mounted on the trailer just like it was when it was used as a gas tank. The three expanded metal meat racks set on rails welded horizontally inside the tank along the center. Two doors are located on one side of the tank provide access to the meat racks. The meat racks extend between where the rounded end caps are welded on the tank.

A six inch diameter heavy steel pipe is mounted approximately one inch above the bottom of the tank and extends from where the left hand end cap begins and continues horizontally through a hole cut in the right hand end cap. The right hand end of the pipe extends about one foot beyond the end of the tank and is welded into the center of top left hand side of the firebox.

The fire box is 24" square was made from 1/4" sheet steel. It has a 2" X 22" adjustable damper along the bottom of the right hand side of the box and a 19" X 22" side hinged door just above the damper. A heavy wood rack is mounted horizontally from side to side just above the damper.

The exhaust is a 4' long section of the same pipe that carries the heat from the firebox into the cooking chamber. There is no damper in the exhaust - it is unnecessary.

To get the cooker up to temp I open all the doors and build up a large rick of seasoned oak on the wood rack above the damper. I light the wood with an LP gas weed burner wand, leaving the fire box door open untill the flames begin coming out the fire box door. Then I close all three doors and open the damper and use it to regulate the heat until the thermometer (mounted in a threaded hole between the cooker doors with the probe about one inch above the meat racks in the cooking chamber) levels out at 250 degrees. That's the temperature I normally cook at.

In one session I can smoke 22 slabs of spare ribs in about 7 hours, 21 (8-10 lb. bone in) boston butts in 12-15 hours, or 50 chicken halves in 2 1/2 - 3 hours. I usually add two 20" X 3-4" sections of split oak to the fire box about every half hour. I always turn the meat over halfway throught he cooking.

Hope this helps. For a lot more information try the forums at the BBQ sites.

[cajun fryer]

Sounds good. I am going to build me a big cooker like that. I have most everything I need ,500 gallon tank smaller square tank. That I am going to mount on the side for a smoke box. I am going to build the racks like you are talking about to slide out. I will make them out of old shopping carts. I also have a round chrome basket. Like you would put tickets in to draw. I have a motor to turn it slow. All I need is time. I have been blessed with a ton of work so I have had no time for this project

[Stickburner]

After reading my reply, I realized I didn't tell you what makes my smoker a "reverse flow". The exhaust stack on my cooking chamber is on the same end of the tank as the firebox.

This design causes the hot air and smoke to travel from the firebox through the pipe to the end of the cooking chamber, exit the pipe and then travel back to the opposite end of the cooking chamber before going out the exhaust.

The exhaust pipe does not extend down into the cooking chamber. In order for this design to work well, the damper must be capable of staying in whatever position is required to allow the correct amount of air into the firebox to maintain the temperature inside the cooking chamber at the level at which you want to cook. Also the doors must seal to prevent cool fresh air from entering the cooking chamber and lowereing the temperature.

Good luck with your project.