Food Warmer Pellet Smoker build

Cres Cor food warmer turned into Pellet smoker using the Pellet Pro hopper assembly. Run down of the items done currently in the build. Filmed on a GoPro because the camera video was very grainy and wildly out of focus at times.

[@JeepLJ]

Where did you get the grill grates?

[@Trippy518]

I found a grill maker on line. You only need to put in the size on the order. They were well made and worked out perfect using 3 of them. Allows a lot of space for meat. I can do jerky or to 6 full briskets at one time.

[@HookedUpCatfishing]

I just bought a double door and am thinking of doing the same thing thankfully it already has all of the racks on it. I'm just wondering if the pellet burner would heat up a cabinet twice the size of yours

[@Trippy518]

It would do fine. Main thing is to have enough fresh air flow. If it has insulation in the walls you will have no trouble whatsoever. If insulated and not enough fresh air flow you will get heat creeping higher. It will be running as low as it can but you still climb in temp during cook. I had to go vent in front and back to get enough air flow. Its as easy as using the oven to cook and taste better. I use mine quite a lot to be honest.

[@HookedUpCatfishing]

@@Trippy518 ya its insulated I will probably add a few vents I can always close them if not needed thanks for the info I'm ready to get it started I've always cooked on a large stick burner for my concession trailer but want to try something different

[@Trippy518]

You will like the ease of it. You can add a heavy plate over burner like I did and just put other wood for more smoke flavors. I have a stick burner too but it don't get used as often as this does. Good luck and thanks for the post here.

[@chondominguez6995]

Good job.

[@ToddMitchell62]

Looks great. Impressive!
How has it performed over time?
What would you do differently?
And what was your total cost?
I've got a blanket warmer I can get cheap and am thinking of doing this same thing....

[@Trippy518]

It performs great. I did have to add another vent to the front door to control the heat creep. I had 3 grills custom made to go inside. I have used it in 5 Degree weather and it worked all day same temp. Temps are with in 5 degrees of the settings. The vents are adjustable to close down bottom draft during cold weather. They have to be wide open during warm weather. It’s ready to cook in about 30 minutes or less. It’s as easy to use as your oven. I have cooked about anything you can cook from pizza to 3 half baby pigs. It will easy take 60lbs of meat on the racks.
Cost was around 1200$ the racks being stainless steel they cost the most at 180$ per rack. But when doing big cooks for parties they are needed. I dare ya to find anything better cheaper then that.

[@steveisaacs-d4e]

What door latches did you use?

[@Trippy518]

The latches that came on the food warmer. Those latches are factory items. I have changed the seals out to a fiberglass seal. After making this video I also had to install a vent in front door to improve air flow. That stabilized the temp well and now it stays with in 5 degrees.

[@steveisaacs-d4e]

@@Trippy518 thanks for the info! I am starting on one soon. How did the fan handle the smoke etc.?

[@Trippy518]

@@steveisaacs-d4e Actually I never used the fan. Found that the cook was so stable in temperature that the fan was not necessary. I do put wood on the fire diffuser to add a little more smoke. That seems to help early in the cooks to get a stronger smoke ring. The pellet cooker does ok with smoke but seems the fire burns fairly clean and makes the smoke a little light for my taste. There is a smoke setting that could possibly get you more of that smoke flavor but its down in the 150 degree zone and personally would rather the temp higher. Makes great jerky and that is smoked at 190 degrees. Even after 8 years of using this I still prefer to using it over my stick smoker. Its just super easy to get going and don't have to watch it for hours and hours. I check it every few hours to make sure it has not gone sideways with fire out or something else. Those generally are my fault for not filling the hopper up in the beginning.

[@steveisaacs-d4e]

@@Trippy518 thanks again for the info., I am thinking about using the existing electric heat source in mine and using a smoke generator. Do you like your exhaust? I was thinking about running mine down farther to get somewhat of a reverse flow. I do a lot of snack sticks and I want to ensure consistent heat from top to bottom. My snack sticks hang about 4’ long. Thanks again for all the info. Your build is awesome.

[@Trippy518]

@@steveisaacs-d4e I would imagine you can go that route with it. If it is an insulated food warmer it will regulate the temp quite well. One of the things you would want to watch is how well it controls the temp. Not sure you need a big vent at all for using a smoke generator. Pellet fire creates a lot of heat and you have to have a flow to keep it moderated. The fire box has to burn at a certain level to stay lit. It certainly can go beyond the temp range of the original Crescor warmer. Although I do not feel the aluminum case really likes the high end temps. It has to much expansion and does a lot of creeking and popping. It handles 200 to 325 degrees ok but if you start trying to crisp things at 350+ it gets a little noisy as the box expands. I would test it without doing vents unless your smoke generator causes the heat to be difficult to control. Your vent choice at that point could be simply a 2 or 3 inch pipe with a way to dampen it down. heat rises to the top and the smoke will be with it. The smoke will fill the cavity and stay there till it has a way to escape with the heat. You will have to do some testing and make adjustments as you need to find that perfect zone. I could do snack meats by hanging them over a top bar. The smoker can run at 190 degrees which is good for snake meat temp like jerky. Pouring on the smoke would be good for that too with a smoke generator. I have considered adding that to mine also. With mine the drip shield causes the heat to one side of the box then it has to flow over to the exhaust pipe.