ckreef Posted July 15, 2018 Report Share Posted July 15, 2018 I finally got my hands on a Komodo Kamado Cold Smoker. This thing is awesome. It burns pellets and/or chips and uses an aquarium air pump to inject smoke into your KK either through your Guru port or (for newer model KK's) a dedicated Cold Smoker port. It arrived earlier this week. I've tested it twice so far. I have a high end aquarium air pump and a two gang valve to control the air flow (more air = more smoke). It comes apart without any tools to simplify cleaning. I'm using B&B Cherry pellets. To start it up you put about 1/3 cup of pellets in the hopper tube. You then soak about 2 Tbsp's of pellets in alcohol for a few minutes. Drop the soaked pellets in the tube and light it with a long camping lighter from the side hole, leave the top cap off. After the alcohol burns off (10 minutes) your pellets are burning and smoldering. Fill the hopper with pellets and turn on the air pump and set to high. After a few minutes it's rolling out smoke. Once that was done I set the air pump to low and added a tray with 5 cups of Blueberries. 1 1/2 hours later it's still smoking good. The KK didn't really go up in temp (top temp cold smoker KK, bottom temp KK sitting next to it). Time to pull the Blueberries. After that was done I kept the cold smoker going and fired up the KK for a low-n-slow rib cook. 5 hours after I fired up the Cold Smoker it's still going strong. Temperature running a little high but I didn't try and bring it down as the ribs went on sort of late in the day and I really want to eat sometime tonight. A nice wisp of smoke. Ribs not done yet (lower temperature) but they are coming along bathed in smoke. A look inside the hopper tube. After 5 hours of smoke the hopper tube is still more than 1/2 full. Did I mention how awesome this is. This thing would easily run 10+ hours set to low with a full hopper of pellets. Cold smoked salmon coming soon 7 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacKenzie Posted July 15, 2018 Report Share Posted July 15, 2018 CK, great write-up. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tangles Posted July 15, 2018 Report Share Posted July 15, 2018 Nice review. Looks like a nice piece of kitSent from my iPad using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted July 16, 2018 Report Share Posted July 16, 2018 Glad you're liking it. It is a pretty amazing piece of gear for the KK. Dennis is just a genius! If you saw my post in another thread, I also did some baby backs tonight using the cold smoker. Your suggestion of 100% pellets was the trick! Best run with the cold smoker to date. Ran flawlessly for the entire 4 hour rib cook. I only filled mine 1/2 way and there was about 1/3 of the pellets left that weren't even beginning to light. I just hit the side air hole with the MAPP torch and off to the races! I started out trying the cotton ball in alcohol, but I was using vodka and it had too much water in it to sustain a flame. Should have gone downstairs to the bar and gotten the Everclear! (190 Proof grain alcohol!) LOL 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckreef Posted July 16, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2018 Pellets is definitely the way to go. When I said alcohol I was referring to 91% alcohol. If you went downstairs to the Ever clear you could have taken a shot or three to not only fire up the cold smoker but you would have felt no pain either - 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pequod Posted July 16, 2018 Report Share Posted July 16, 2018 Yes, the difference between pellets and chips is remarkable. However, not all pellets are created equal. I tried pellets when I first got my cold smoker two year ago and found that they left an unnatural, tar-like residue. Cheap, no-name pellets. Tried pellets again earlier this year, but sought out higher quality pellets from cookinpellets.com. Worked like a charm. No going back. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aussie Ora Posted July 16, 2018 Report Share Posted July 16, 2018 Awesome ckreef those ribs look great .as mine is on its way it's good to see .some positive feedback back. Eddie Mac. Has had great success with mini chunks. And now pellets. Like pequod said depends on the quality I will find out soon .have to start looking for a pump any suggestions Outback kamado Bar and Grill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckreef Posted July 16, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2018 2 hours ago, Aussie Ora said: Awesome ckreef those ribs look great .as mine is on its way it's good to see .some positive feedback back. Eddie Mac. Has had great success with mini chunks. And now pellets. Like pequod said depends on the quality I will find out soon .have to start looking for a pump any suggestions Outback kamado Bar and Grill I bought the best single outlet pump the local pet store had. The trick is to get a two gang valve. The valve that's not hooked to anything I use as a bleed off and Control the amount of air going to the smoker with that valve. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Pearson Posted July 16, 2018 Report Share Posted July 16, 2018 Aussie I’m pretty sure the cold smoker comes with a pump. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Pearson Posted July 16, 2018 Report Share Posted July 16, 2018 Charles glad your smoker has arrived. Nice photos and great looking ribs and blueberries. Plus great shots of the cold smoker. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfdrew28 Posted July 17, 2018 Report Share Posted July 17, 2018 I have the cold smoker but the tube going into the KK looks nothing like the one I have. Is that custom? I’ve been using wood chips and sometimes it works fantastic and other times it’s a frustration. I never ventured into the pellets as I believe Dennis mentioned they aren’t ideal. I’m pretty sure it was him. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckreef Posted July 17, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2018 5 hours ago, sfdrew28 said: I have the cold smoker but the tube going into the KK looks nothing like the one I have. Is that custom? I’ve been using wood chips and sometimes it works fantastic and other times it’s a frustration. I never ventured into the pellets as I believe Dennis mentioned they aren’t ideal. I’m pretty sure it was him. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Not custom. It does have both the mounting plate for use with a dedicated smoker port and the guru port adapter. As for pellets they work really well. I think the general concensus is they burn longer than chips and are a more consistent burn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfdrew28 Posted July 17, 2018 Report Share Posted July 17, 2018 I use it in the dedicated port. My tube into the smoker is shorter and just straight without the second air flow control. At least I think that’s what’s on the bent piece of metal you have. I’ll give pellets a try. I thought I read that they gum up the tubes a lot quicker than the chips. Doing a full packer Wagyu brisket starting tonight. Afraid to try them out on that piece of meat but I still might Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckreef Posted July 17, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2018 (edited) 56 minutes ago, sfdrew28 said: I use it in the dedicated port. My tube into the smoker is shorter and just straight without the second air flow control. At least I think that’s what’s on the bent piece of metal you have. I’ll give pellets a try. I thought I read that they gum up the tubes a lot quicker than the chips. Doing a full packer Wagyu brisket starting tonight. Afraid to try them out on that piece of meat but I still might Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk What you see on the bent tube is a SS collar that is the guru port adapter. A guru port is probably bigger than a dedicated smoker port. My KK is older and doesn't have a dedicated smoker port. Yes I can see where pellets would gum things up quicker than chips. Just need to clean it after each use. The up side to pellets is they burn longer and drop through the hopper tube easier. Edited July 17, 2018 by ckreef 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted July 17, 2018 Report Share Posted July 17, 2018 I'll second the 100% pellets route. I started with small wood chips and struggled like the dickens to make it work - almost to the point of ditching the smoker entirely. Then I went with the mix of chips and pellets - better, but still struggled sometimes to keep things lit. This time was the first attempt with all pellets - worked like a charm. I'll deal with an occasional disassembly and cleaning if it continues to work as well as it did on Sunday. YMMV 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfdrew28 Posted July 17, 2018 Report Share Posted July 17, 2018 Okay...you all convinced me to try some hickory pellets on my overnight cook tonight. I figure I’ll go with 1/2 filled as they seem to be slower burning than the chips and I don’t want an overwhelming smoke flavor on the brisket. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckreef Posted July 17, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2018 (edited) 50 minutes ago, sfdrew28 said: Okay...you all convinced me to try some hickory pellets on my overnight cook tonight. I figure I’ll go with 1/2 filled as they seem to be slower burning than the chips and I don’t want an overwhelming smoke flavor on the brisket. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk I would fire them up then fill the hopper half full. Run the pump on high 10-15 minutes until the smoke is really rolling out. At this point you know everything is good to go. Turn pump on low and it should keep going with a fine wisp of smoke for over 5 hours on a 1/2 load of pellets. Let us know how it works out. Edited July 17, 2018 by ckreef 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfdrew28 Posted July 18, 2018 Report Share Posted July 18, 2018 Thank you gentlemen! just did a test run and I’m over the moon on how well the smoker worked. The problem I had doing overnight cooks was I’d worry the wood chips would go out. I’ve just been throwing chunks on the coals sometimes to avoid the hassle. This is with the Traeger pellets sold at local store. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckreef Posted July 18, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2018 Pellets definitely put it out. Can't wait to see the brisket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted July 18, 2018 Report Share Posted July 18, 2018 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
