Traeger 075 Mod Considerations

Q_Egg and I have chatted about some potential mods to our Traeger 075 pellet cookers to control temp spikes and maybe reduce fuel consumption a bit. Here are some thoughts on Mods that I hope to try this weekend despite the ice/snow storm.

Stack Inversion
The stack on the 075 is bolted on the end of the pit. Removal of a copule bolts allows you to invert the stack to point down. This restricts flow and doesn't send so much heat and smoke out of the pit so fast. This one that Dr BBQ had shared from someone he had heard try this. One negative to watch for will be any moisture that may collect in the stack and drip down onto my deck.

Stack Pie Plate Baffle
The stack isn't adjustable, so I was thinking an aluminum pie plate baffle on the stack might accomplish similar if not more potential restriction than the stack inversion. You could even cut up an beer can and create an aluminum baffle that way, too.

Pizza Stone Mod
I saw this on a site discussing smoker mods where a pizza stone like a water or sand pan would be to more evenly distribute heat from the heat source to across the cooking area. The fire source on the Traeger 075 is in the middle of the pit. The center of the cooking area tends to be a hot spot. I'd like to try a pizza stone on the metal base directly above the fire.

I'll take pictures to better illustrate these ideas. For testing, I'll use three temp probs placed on the left, center, and right of the grate.

Here's a picture of the pizza mod that I found on a different site. This isn't my smoker, its apparently a Klose.

drbbq said:

No, you can't restrict the exhaust. A pellet cooker HAS to breathe like that. If you restrict it the fire will run back up the tube, which makes a mess in the auger tube, will gunk things up and shut down the cooker and in the worst case go all the way back into the hopper and start a fire. I speak from experience.

You need to be thinking more along the lines of insulation for the top.

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Ah, thanks for the insight, Dr BBQ. Pizza stone sound like something to try though?

Just put a pizza stone on. A little small. A larger, rectangle stone would be better. We'll see how it goes.

Sloppy, Tom and I see a lot of swings at lower temps. Seems like 325 and higher stays more steady. I'm more concerned with distributing the heat better across the grate. Trial and error, trial and error.

Kevin said:

Hey plowboy. Maybe head to home depot and get some unglazed quarry tile. They come in 6 X 6 and larger sizes. Easy to cut with a tile scoring tool. If you get the unglazed it's just a ceramic or clay tile with no nastys coating it. Just a thought. Oh yeah, cheap as can be too. I've seen them as low as .39 at menards. They won't take the heat of a firebox, but may work just fine in your situation.

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They'd work great on the drip plate, too. Good idea. Since the drip plate is covered with foil, it won't be an issue. I'll check it out.