I used to use the SmokeDaddy Wood burning heat diffuser about 2 years ago... These are the steps I recommend for the best results, but these steps are different from what SmokeDaddy recommends. I tried their recommendations and it didn’t work out so well. Also, I believe for the best smoke flavor profile, there has to be a balance between Hardwood Smoke and Charcoal Smoke... Before you start your next bbq using the SD Wood burning HD, make sure your grills burn pot is completely clear of ash from prior cooks. If your grill is taking almost an hour to get too 250* degrees, then either you’re not starting/preheating your grill correctly or there’s an issue with the controller. Never just plug your grill in and set the temp.. Always, start as the instructions manual stats. Not saying you did, but many people start their grills incorrectly and it takes forever to get too their desired temp when the start up is done incorrectly.
After the start up is done, preheat your grill for 20 mins. at 300-350* degrees “Without” the heat diffuser or flame broiler installed to allow your grills controller to stabilize.
- If you have a chimney starter, I would first burn some charcoal in it until they are white hot and ready, then add charcoal to the SD Wood burning HD, about a 1/3 full, then add some hard wood chunks of your choice, then top it off with some more pre-burned charcoal. Do each side the same way. From my experience and many others on different forum sites, if you add just the Hardwood splits or chunks, once the wood ignites, the fire will burn out of control and your grills temps won’t be controllable. Doing a mixture of pre-burned charcoal with some wood chunks mixed in, will allow for more stable temps, plus the added smoke from the charcoal. Also, if you want to do some testing, do one side as I stated above and do one side like SmokeDaddy recommends in there instructions. You’ll see what I’m talking about.
- Once your grills temp has stabilized during the preheating at either 300-350* degrees, now set it between 200*–250* degrees and now install the Heavy D heat diffuser, the flame broiler main plate, ect. then add your cooking grids and water pan. Then add your meat.
- From previous experience, If You set grills temp higher then 250* degrees, like at 300* plus degrees, the wood will fire off to hot and you’ll see the temps race up and You’ll have a Smokey mess... Set it between 200-250* degrees and the wood will fire off much better. Also adding a water pan will help keep your grills temp very stable when using the SD Wood burning HD. Do you have to add a water pan?? No. FYI. If you do use a water pan, always use caution... Water spillage can damage your grill.
- Once the wood chunks have fired off, you’ll know by the smell of the wood and a nice steady stream of light smoke which will be different then the smoke your pellet grill puts out. To help the wood chunks to last longer, the moment you smell the wood or first see the light steady smoke, Set/keep your grills temp between 200-225* degrees. The lower the grills set temp, then the grills fan will also blow less air, allowing for a longer smoke/burn and more hardwood/charcoal smoke from the SD Wood burning HD as well as more pellet smoke production.
- I hope these tips help.. When I did use the SD Wood burning HD, I also tried wrapping the wood chunks in aluminum foil, which also helped in preventing the wood from burning out of control and it allowed for a longer, slower burn of the hardwood chunks as well. The ends of the wrapped wood was exposed/uncovered to allow ignition of the wood and I also poked holes in the aluminum wrap as well to help. Just another option to consider.
- FYI. I’ve since moved onto using the SmokeDaddy Magnum P.I.G. Cold Smoke Generator as well as a Smoke Basket to produce all the Hardwood Smoke I want... I still use the SD Wood burning HD though, just as a stand alone heat diffuser in my Pellet Pro Austin XL. Hope the info helps and Good luck.
Pellet Pro Austin XL and a few more mods... In SoCal and Always... Semper Fi
. I think I'm going to take it all apart and see what's going on because this last cook I just used it as a diffuser and that's when I noticed the temps were taking forever to heat up, I always started in the traditional smoke start but next time I'll probably leave it on that setting until I hear the fire kicking over that could be it I'll try that and see you when I get home from work,oh btw using it as a diffuser do you keep the metal ends on the wood channels or keep it open? thanks again for the tips!
