Traeger 075 Modifications Considered

I’ve been considering some potential mods to my Traeger 075 pellet cookers to control temperature spikes and maybe reduce fuel consumption a bit. Here are some thoughts on mods that I hope to try this weekend despite the ice/snow storm.

Stack Inversion
The stack on the 075 is bolted on the end of the pit. Removal of a copule bolts allows you to invert the stack to point down. This restricts flow and doesn’t send so much heat and smoke out of the pit so fast. This one that Dr BBQ had shared from someone he had heard try this. One negative to watch for will be any moisture that may collect in the stack and drip down onto my deck.

Stack Pie Plate Baffle
The stack isn’t adjustable, so I was thinking an aluminum pie plate baffle on the stack might accomplish similar if not more potential restriction than the stack inversion. You could even cut up an beer can and create an aluminum baffle that way, too.

Pizza Stone Mod
I saw this on a site discussing smoker mods where a pizza stone like a water or sand pan would be to more evenly distribute heat from the heat source to across the cooking area. The fire source on the Traeger 075 is in the middle of the pit. The center of the cooking area tends to be a hot spot. I’d like to try a pizza stone on the metal base directly above the fire.

I’ll take pictures to better illustrate these ideas. For testing, I’ll use three temp probs placed on the left, center, and right of the grate. What I hope to see is fewer temp swings, smaller range in those temp differences, and more even cooking at different locations within the pit.

Here’s a picture of the pizza mod that I found on a different site. This isn’t my smoker, its apparently a Klose.