The Texas BBQ Forum

I've noticed a fair amount of temperature swings while cooking, up to 12 degrees.

My pit it pretty heavy guage and I'm using a pellet pro.

After watching, timimg and experimenting, I've come to the conclusion that the very large varieyy of pellet size is the main culprit.

The pellet pro has no idea when it turns the auger if 3 little pieces are going to fall, three large pieces or a combination.

I'm currently using Traeger pellets I bought at Costco, but I may switch if I can find a brand that's more uniform in size.

Anybody know of a brand that isn't to costly which is better?

Here is a picture of a random grab of a few pellets. See how much the size varies.

All that I have ever used is B & B from Academy, 20 lbs for $13 and I've never had any problems or dusty pellets ?so far?
To me Grilling Pellets are like tater chips - - - - IT depends on the Store and HOW THEY ARE HANDLED when shipped and stocked.

OldUsedParts wrote:All that I have ever used is B & B from Academy, 20 lbs for $13 and I've never had any problems or dusty pellets ?so far?
To me Grilling Pellets are like tater chips - - - - IT depends on the Store and HOW THEY ARE HANDLED when shipped and stocked.

I'll give those a try. Thank you very much.

Actually long pellets are the most problematic In that not as many will drop per auger cycle and sometimes they will catch and shear off you hear the crunch. i have had them jam the auger or once (@ a comp) cause the coupling screw on the auger to shear... .

I think most name brands are good but will vary.

Papa Tom wrote:Actually long pellets are the most problematic In that not as many will drop per auger cycle and sometimes they will catch and shear off you hear the crunch. i have had them jam the auger or once (@ a comp) cause the coupling screw on the auger to shear... .

I think most name brands are good but will vary.

a temperature swing of 12 degrees is not enough to change any of your cooking dynamics. a hundred degrees or more maybe...depends on the mechanism.
I have burnt many different brands of pellets, most hold a good stable temperature, the ones that do not hold a stable temperature may have manufacturing problems. I did find one brand of pellets that would not hold a stable temp (Nameless on purpose and shall remain) so I had a conversation with the owner of the pellet mill and never bought any more of them, to my knowledge they arn't making pellets any more, just cattle feed, a mill can make both or several different types of pellets depending on what it is fed.

A 12 degree spread would be a blessing to most of us. 20 degrees is the norm for me. I've used B&B before and it didn't give me the flavor profile I wanted, but burned well and temp swing was a non issue. I use Lumberjack since I found a local dealer and have been very happy with any 100% flavor I've tried for the last two years. Some pellets are longer then others, but if the auger can't break a wood pellet, I'd be looking at another cooker. I've never had a pellet so hard I couldn't break it like a toothpick. Your auger tube will be full so don't sweat not having enough being fed.