Questions for PK 100 Owners

[Jamieson22]

My Pitts & Spitts 1250 smoker only goes down to 180F so planning to pick up a PK 100 for snack sticks/jerky/sausage/etc and have a few questions:

• 1. It comes with 5 but holds 6 shelves. Worth buying one extra?
• 2. Looks like they don’t make a cover for it, so what covers are you all using?
• 3. Was thinking of ordering an extra electric burner plate to have on hand. Good idea?
• 4. They make metal hanging “rods” for it. Are they worth it over using wood dowels?
• 5. How many dowels/metal “rods” fit for hanging snack sticks (19mm)?
• 6. How many cooks will a 5lb bag of wood shavings last? Is that a lot?

Thanks for any help!

[lkrfletcher]

Jamieson22

1. I hardly ever use more than 4 shelves
2. It is mounted on nice wheels, so I keep in my garage and just wheel outside for use.
3. Not sure about getting an extra burner plate - Never had any issues with mine
4. I just use some dowels to hang sticks and such on - works great.
5. I made 4 dowels, but I used some 1" doweling I had lying around. I think you could do a couple more maybe if you did 1/2 inch dowels. I usually only do 12.5 pound batches.
6. Actually a single pan of dust goes a long way. Remember that the PK100 imparts a lot of smoke flavor, so don’t over smoke. I like to wet my chips, I see that TEX does his dry. You have to do what works for you. I have not tried a pork butt or brisket yet, but a longer smoke might take 2-3 pans. I 2 new trashcans with tight lids and labeled one for hickory and one for apple. Bought 40lb bags of sawdust from waltons.

Some pics that might help you reference:

[Jamieson22]

lkrfletcher Thanks for info.
I’ve been doing 25lb batches of snack stick (19-21mm) and they did verify that should fit.
Was thinking for jerky (usually 15lb batches) an extra shelf would help, assuming the lowest shelf spot isn’t too hot to be very useful.
I don’t expect to do any briskets/pork in it as I’ll just use my P&S pellet smoker for that.
I was going to grab 3 x 5lb bags of dust to start (hickory, cherry, and apple).

[twilliams]

Jamieson22

1. I would not buy an extra shelf right now, do a couple batches and see how it goes. Not sure how much 15lbs of jerky would spread out.

2. I also keep my smoker in garage uncovered when not in use. I did use the plastic bag it came in for a little bit, I think wife threw it away…grrrr

3. Absolutely order an extra burner, that way you have it in case it goes out in the middle of a cook. Could always finish in oven if it came down to it. I bought the round burner and big cook burner for my 100SS to have on hand.

4. The only time I would be concerned on wood rods is if you are making a big batch of 3-4lb logs of sausage and packing them tight giving a lot of weight. Then the aluminum ones might be suitable. Mine came with the aluminum ones so that’s what I stuck with.

5. If I remember right I use at most 5 rods for 25lbs

6. I would think you would get around 20-30 cooks for a 5 lb bag. I don’t like a lot of smoke on my snack sticks so I may use less than others. I buy the 40 lb bags and put them in a big sealed pet food container. Hickory, mesquite, cherry and apple. I have yet to use the mesquite and used a lot of hickory but since then moved to the apple and cherry more.

[Willy from Dakota]

Great questions:
I’ve had my PK smoker about 12 years, so lots of experience.
i’ve rarely used all the shelves, it has so much space.
i’ve left mine uncovered all the time.
Burner has had no issues, 12 years
i use the Walton’s bacon hangers and hang my bacon slabs from one of the racks set in the highest position. i am able to hang 3 slabs in a triangle fashion. i remove the racks, except the top one and remove the drip pan. i also do pork loins, back bacon in the same fashion.
i would estimate that a 5 lb bag might last about 10 cooks or so. The PK delivers a lot of smoke and i rarely use more than 1 pan of filled chips or dust.
i have had to replace the electronic control twice, but probably due to me leaving the unit outside uncovered in the elements.
it is cheap though, $45 through any on line parts wholesaler. and reprograming instructions are available too.
hope this helps. i love my PK 100!
Willy from Dakota!

[[[global:former-user]]]

Willy from Dakota Which Dakota?

[YooperDog]

Jamieson22 I remember some folks had covers made for theirs through a company, unfortunately I can’t recall Much more than that. I have had awning companies make covers for me in the past. Usually the one that make custom boat covers can do the same.

[TexLaw]

Jamieson22 I pretty much echo the other comments, but here you go.

1. I don’t see any reason to get another shelf. If you find you want it later, get it later.

2. I ordered a cover from Covers & All (see below for details). It wasn’t cheap, but it looks as good as new after being outside for over a year, and it’s done the job very well.

3. No need at all for another burner. The one included is plenty.

4. Wooden dowels are the way to go. Cheaper, and they don’t get hot! An account executive at Pro Smokers actually recommended 1/2" dowels cut to 17.5". That’s what I did, and that’s perfect. I found a deal on some 1/2" hickory dowels, so that’s what I’ve used.

5. You can get 3 hanging sticks on there easily. You can probably get 4 hanging sticks on there for snack sticks and other small stuff, but that will be very tight for larger sausage.

6. Yes, 5 pounds is a lot, but you’ll use it if you cook a lot. I bought different kinds, so that I can mix them according to what I’m smoking.

Details on the cover:

1. Height 48" (but it’s a little too long–46" would be a better fit–I wanted to make sure it wasn’t too short, so I guess I’m the guinea pig)
2. Width 22.5" (perfect fit)
3. Depth 21" (perfect fit)
   Fabric Type: Cover Tuff (has held up good as new for over a year)

No need for tie downs, grommets, or other add-ons. The included clips work just fine. I suppose those will break eventually, but I can deal with that then.

[Jamieson22]

Thanks all for the info, really appreciate it!

TexLaw - When I look at online dimensions for the PK it shows H 48" x W 21" x D 21". Just checking your 22.5" cover width is accurate. I also looked on that site and seems they add 1-2" to measurements to ensure easy on/off. Just verifying what you gave is as you entered them and not after that 1-2" extra allowance. I did find this on Amazon for $25 that is 28x22x39" but thinking it will be a bit loose: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PCQ2J8G/

Also, the extra burner was just to have the spare part on hand vs find out it died with a load of sausage ready to smoke.

twilliams / Willy from Dakota - Seems like 15lbs of mixed sawdust will be plenty to start. Don’t have time to make sausage more than a few times a month and will use my Pitts & Spitts for larger cuts like butt/brisket.

lkrfletcher Sounds like dowels is the way I’ll go, thanks!

Guess what I am still torn on is that 6th shelf. Just thinking if that would be the make/break between doing a single batch or a second on jerky, etc as long as lowest rack spot isn’t too hot to use. But guess this is only a $30 problem and am thinking it over too much. LOL

[lkrfletcher]

Jamieson22

[lkrfletcher]

I usually do jerky in the dehydrator, have never smoked it.

[TexLaw]

Jamieson22 said in Questions for PK 100 Owners:

When I look at online dimensions for the PK it shows H 48" x W 21" x D 21". Just checking your 22.5" cover width is accurate.

I got out my tape measure and measured the thing, and those dimensions were what I ordered. As I mentioned, the only thing I would change is the length. That was tricky to estimate because I didn’t know how the cover would hang over the control panel.