Calling all GMG owners.

[zueth]

I have a new to me GMG Daniel Boone and wondering what temp gives the most smoke, seems a lot of people use 180 or recipes call for 180.

2nd when using a maverick to see cabinet temp where do you place the probe? I am thinking middle of grill on left side.


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[bspitt]

I have a jim bowie.

I get the most smoke from 150F to about 225F. Lots of white smoke at start-up. Perfect thin blue smoke at these temps.

I have two analog oven thermometers. I keep one on each side of the pit. I keep my digital grate level in the center.

[Roget]

I sometimes start with 180°-200° but actually get enough smoke on longer cooks @ 225°.
I put the cabinet probe from my Thermoworks Smoke on left side of the grate.  (when  I use it, I usually don't as the GMG sensor is pretty accurate).

[TentHunteR]

2nd when using a maverick to see cabinet temp where do you place the probe? I am thinking middle of grill on left side.

I think Roget already gave the best advice when he said, "he doesn't normally use the pit probe because the GMG's sensor is pretty accurate!"


My advice is to keep the digital pit probe out of the grill period, or you will just end up driving yourself nuts worrying about any differences in temperature readings (which can vary depending on what food, where it's placed, etc.).

Keep your grill's temp sensor clean, and let it do its job.  Trust me; as you cook on it you will quickly learn what temp settings work best for you for various cooks, foods, etc.

I think it's better to spend your energy cracking open a cold one and relaxing! 

[bspitt]

2nd when using a maverick to see cabinet temp where do you place the probe? I am thinking middle of grill on left side.

I think Roget already gave the best advice when he said, "he doesn't normally use the pit probe because the GMG's sensor is pretty accurate!"


My advice is to keep the digital pit probe out of the grill period, or you will just end up driving yourself nuts worrying about any differences in temperature readings (which can vary depending on what food, where it's placed, etc.).

Keep your grill's temp sensor clean, and let it do its job.  Trust me; as you cook on it you will learn what temp settings work best for you for various cooks, foods, etc.

I think it's better to spend your energy cracking open a cold one and relaxing! 

Better pellet grill advice has never been spoken! I was the one going crazy chasing 10 degrees here, 23.7 degrees there....... Trying different mods, attaching a downdraft, etc, etc - The pit works great weather I'm stressing about temps or just letting it work! Do a simple biscuit test to learn your pit, and roll with it!

[HighOnSmoke]

I ran a couple tests on my GMC Davy Crockett and the left and center are within 5 to 10 degrees of the digital controller. The right side burns about 25 to 30 degrees hotter. I just adjust my cooking temp now instead of worrying about grate temperature. I still monitor grate temp on my charcoal grill and that works for me.

[zueth]

So is the Down Draft not necessary? I was reading a few different discussions jay said the down draft really helped even out grill temps and helped with pelllet consumption.


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[TentHunteR]

The other big thing the downdraft baffle will do is force smoke down at grate & food level instead of just exiting out along the top. 

[Old Dave]

Mr Jim Olson (Facebook GMG Group) has done a lot of testing with one of those units and here is one of his findings.

Jim Olson
Admin · January 7
Down Draft testing is complete. Today ended up being perfect as the temp fluctuation all day was very minimal. Both tests the ambient outside air changed less then 2 degrees during the test. We did have a slight breeze, as well and the test ranged from 8-10 degrees. The grill used was a completely stock DB, heat shield measurement was 4.25 drip pan vent was closed but not covered in aluminum foil. I weighed out 5lbs of GMG Texas Blend pellets (I zeroed out the container the pellets were in to get as close as possible). I am running firmware 6.5, which is the icy setting in the climate slider for 6.7. The grill was running at 250 degrees during this test, I also pushed all the pellets to the auger to make sure it used up all 5lbs and then let it run out and burnout on its own as you will see in the graphs. Also on a side note, I did not dial the grill in, I set it at 4.25 knowing that whatever happened in one test, should replicate itself in the other test.
I tried to cover as many variables as possible, but I likely did not hit them all
I will quickly run through the Downdraft claims below and give

[bspitt]

So is the Down Draft not necessary? I was reading a few different discussions jay said the down draft really helped even out grill temps and helped with pelllet consumption.


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In my personal experience - the Downdraft causes temp differences to be greater than they should be - it causes my pit to run hotter. However I like to do lots of low temp jerky and use bull rack trays which further hinder the airflow. Also long cooks of brisket or pork butt - I found no difference in pellet consumption nor any difference in amount of smoke.. Lots of people swear by it, - just did not work out for me.

[smokeasaurus]

The other big thing the downdraft baffle will do is force smoke down at grate & food level instead of just exiting out along the top.

Exactly, I would get one in a heartbeat.

[Roget]

I ran a couple tests on my GMC Davy Crockett and the left and center are within 5 to 10 degrees of the digital controller. The right side burns about 25 to 30 degrees hotter. I just adjust my cooking temp now instead of worrying about grate temperature. I still monitor grate temp on my charcoal grill and that works for me.

The right side of mine was running a bit hotter ( I didn't check to see how much. I could just tell by the IT of the meat & the amount of char, if any.)
I moved the heat deflector as far right as possible & it seems to be much more even (left to right side) now.

[HighOnSmoke]

I ran a couple tests on my GMC Davy Crockett and the left and center are within 5 to 10 degrees of the digital controller. The right side burns about 25 to 30 degrees hotter. I just adjust my cooking temp now instead of worrying about grate temperature. I still monitor grate temp on my charcoal grill and that works for me.

The right side of mine was running a bit hotter ( I didn't check to see how much. I could just tell by the IT of the meat & the amount of char, if any.)
I moved the heat deflector as far right as possible & it seems to be much more even (left to right side) now.

Mine is all the way to the right. I did cut off another 7/8 inch on the heat deflector so it would move even further right. This seemed to help a lot.

[zueth]

The other big thing the downdraft baffle will do is force smoke down at grate & food level instead of just exiting out along the top.

Exactly, I would get one in a heartbeat.

Good to hear, since I ordered one the day I picked up the GMG, was hoping it was a good purchase.

[smokeasaurus]

I had a downdraft hood in a GMG Boone and a Bowie and in a Rec Tec, a must have I say.