Bull Bad experience with Knotty Wood pellets…

[***BATMAN***]

Due to the high ratings and recommendations, I decided to try Knotty Wood (KW) pellets in the Bull. NEVER AGAIN!

Wild temp swings, warped diffuser, mini explosion, grease fire, and a ton of ash, including chunks building up in the fire pot that KW calls ’clinkers’. All with only KW pellets and one rib session.

The clinkers form in the fire pot, which I read about in the media they sent with the pellets, but didn’t realize how fast they formed in the fire pot. I believe (can’t prove) this is the cause of mini explosion. The igniter was buried in ash and clinkers over the course of my last rib cook. I also had smoke back flowing through the hopper. Now my hopper is tinted some weird color. Just unbelievable.

None of this happened with any other brand. Additionally, I never got any decent bark, color, or flavor. Left a pair of ribs on for six hours unwrapped and never got the color and bark I’d get from three hours with other brands.

Waste of money. I guess I’ll use the KW pellets in a smoke tube, but they’ll never enter the hopper again. Lumberjack (LJ) pellets (my go-to pellets over the past year or so) only from here on out. I did some deep cleaning, put the LJ pellets in and the Bull runs like a champ. Live and learn I guess…

 

[JGW]

I've never understood the appeal of this brand but I primarily smoke with bear mountain gourmet blend.

Hopefully you can get your grill cleaned up and press on.

 

[ol' stonebreaker]

Clinkers tells me they are adding some kind of mineral to the mix for weight.

 

[chadinsc]

i like a good challenge so im going to give this a shot! thanks. nothing like dinner and a show

 

[***BATMAN***]

The clinkers are from the bark of the tree that KW uses…they claim to use the entire tree including the bark. They claimed this is sets them apart from other pellets.

My experience with KW is six hours of smoking ribs…IMO there’s no way I could use these on a longer smoke like a butt or brisket. The firepot was so full of ash and clinkers I couldn’t even believe it. I smoke more than anyone I know, and clean the bull or at least pulling the drip pan, grates and diffuser out every cook (i put the water pan and smoke tube in the bottom of the bull) and I’ve never seen the mess I did after that last cook. Never had a grease fire before (rarely ever get the bull up that high).

And I’m not exaggerating on the smoke or lack thereof…even my wife was like “there’s no smoke coming from the grill, everything ok?” The ribs barely turned amber after 5 1/2 hours before I sauced them up.

Never again. Just glad the ribs made it ok and there’s no damage to the bull.

 

[C. Keeper]

Welcome to the forum, enjoy!

 

[Newb]

Mad scientist BBQ says the addition of bark creates more ash. Pure wood pellets create less, according to him. He says Lumberjack 100% oak is 100% wood, no bark. It’s his favorite Lumberjack pellet, if you can find it. The blends have some bark mixed in.

 

[Newb]

Not that I’m advocating 100% wood only pellets. I have Lumberjack blends and like them a lot.

 

[Pacman]

While I've had pretty good luck with Knotty Wood, I'm not super surprised. I know that my cooks with Knotty Wood Almond and Plum create a lot more smoke (good), ash (not so good), and clinkers (problematic without thorough cleaning) than other pellets I've tried. Their pellet lengths tend to be inconsistent as well.

I like them every now and then, but they are more "high maintenance". I can't get Lumber Jack here (at a reasonable price) so I have pretty much settled on Smoke Ring competition blend as it sounds like it is comparable to Lumber Jack in quality.

 

[Johnshac]

I’ve had good luck with bear mountain or Recteq

 

[sdynak]

Appreciate the heads up..not very familiar with them but good to know in case my Kingsford lifetime supply somehow doesn't last as long as planned.

 

[kstone113]

I've heard of these and seen their ads....thanks for the heads up because some day being bored, might of given them a shot.

Just curious, you take any pics of the inside of your grill from the after math?

 

[ol' stonebreaker]

Maybe they should be named "Nasty Wood Pellets".

 

[Stratratbj96]

I was just about to pull the trigger on some of them, thanks for the information. I will stick with RecTeq for now. I’ve used about 100 lbs so far and they are great. They don’t have a strong smoke profile but that’s fine with me. Some folks tend to overdo the smoke profile in my opinion. I like a little smoke flavor but just enough to know the the meat has been cooked with wood. I just add a little mesquite if I want a smokier flavor. The RecTeq pellets burn very well will minimal ash cleanup. The price is not that bad either. I will give LJ a try in the near future.

 

[GroceryBoy]

Good to know about KW. I was going to try them due to Jeremy Yoder, Mad Scientist. I discovered Bear Mountain last summer and have found a difference from others. Used to buy whatever was cheap at Walmart since I just couldn't tell a difference. The Bear Mountain are different. Also had the same problem with Lumberjack. Can't get them locally and don't want to pay shipping. Bear Mountain are available from Tractor Supply and Home Depot

 

[hogginthegrillbbq]

Due to the high ratings and recommendations, I decided to try Knotty Wood (KW) pellets in the Bull. NEVER AGAIN!

Wild temp swings, warped diffuser, mini explosion, grease fire, and a ton of ash, including chunks building up in the fire pot that KW calls ’clinkers’. All with only KW pellets and one rib session.

The clinkers form in the fire pot, which I read about in the media they sent with the pellets, but didn’t realize how fast they formed in the fire pot. I believe (can’t prove) this is the cause of mini explosion. The igniter was buried in ash and clinkers over the course of my last rib cook. I also had smoke back flowing through the hopper. Now my hopper is tinted some weird color. Just unbelievable.

None of this happened with any other brand. Additionally, I never got any decent bark, color, or flavor. Left a pair of ribs on for six hours unwrapped and never got the color and bark I’d get from three hours with other brands.

Waste of money. I guess I’ll use the KW pellets in a smoke tube, but they’ll never enter the hopper again. Lumberjack (LJ) pellets (my go-to pellets over the past year or so) only from here on out. I did some deep cleaning, put the LJ pellets in and the Bull runs like a champ. Live and learn I guess…

I’ve had a bad experience with these as well. Tons of ash! More than any other brand I’ve tried, including cheaper ones. I also know someone that due to the length of the pellets, it caused jams in their Rectec. I’d avoid these!

 

[FastEddie]

I agree with the ash.
I haven't had an issue with the length jamming things up.
The flavor is amazing.
I like them a lot, so far.

 

[Bassman37]

I recently came across Premium RD Wood BBQ Pellets from Smokehouse Products at Sam's Club. 40# bag for $14.98. Has anyone tried these and how were they? Thanks.

 

[IPlayWithMeat]

I recently came across Premium RD Wood BBQ Pellets from Smokehouse Products at Sam's Club. 40# bag for $14.98. Has anyone tried these and how were they? Thanks.

Yes, they’ve worked great for me. They seem to have very little dust and produce very little ash, and it’s hard to beat the price around here. Funny thing- that same brand is the most expensive brand of pellets at the other stores here.

 

[Wayne1118]

Due to the high ratings and recommendations, I decided to try Knotty Wood (KW) pellets in the Bull. NEVER AGAIN!

Wild temp swings, warped diffuser, mini explosion, grease fire, and a ton of ash, including chunks building up in the fire pot that KW calls ’clinkers’. All with only KW pellets and one rib session.

The clinkers form in the fire pot, which I read about in the media they sent with the pellets, but didn’t realize how fast they formed in the fire pot. I believe (can’t prove) this is the cause of mini explosion. The igniter was buried in ash and clinkers over the course of my last rib cook. I also had smoke back flowing through the hopper. Now my hopper is tinted some weird color. Just unbelievable.

None of this happened with any other brand. Additionally, I never got any decent bark, color, or flavor. Left a pair of ribs on for six hours unwrapped and never got the color and bark I’d get from three hours with other brands.

Waste of money. I guess I’ll use the KW pellets in a smoke tube, but they’ll never enter the hopper again. Lumberjack (LJ) pellets (my go-to pellets over the past year or so) only from here on out. I did some deep cleaning, put the LJ pellets in and the Bull runs like a champ. Live and learn I guess…

Same experience with me!!