Timberline 1300 Chronology... New and modding!

SpeedQuest

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Timberline 1300 modding has begun
Just purchased a new Timberline 1300 and brought it home. I'll be using many of the mods and tricks that I've found right away to the grill and wanted to create this post to chronicle it's progress. I want to give credit where credit is due, so RemE, John S., and (others to be mentioned soon):
Thanks for all your guidance, experimentation and wisdom!

Without delay...
 

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Just purchased a new Timberline 1300 and brought it home. I'll be using many of the mods and tricks that I've found right away to the grill and wanted to create this post to chronicle it's progress. I want to give credit where credit is due, so RemE, John S., and (others to be mentioned soon):
Thanks for all your guidance, experimentation and wisdom!

Without delay...
Woot, nothing like receiving a sweet, HEAVY, new box!

Your journey begins, congrats!
 
Like your new box....., when you season the grill, I would consider raising the temp in stages (there is a note on this in the forum)., and if you do not have access to calibrated thermometer (like a FireBoard) you may want to consider this accessory I have found it most useful....
‘Let the forum know how it goes..... ‘welcome to the “1300 club”
 
STAGE 1: Unboxing
Traeger does a great job on the packing of the 1300... The inside of the box being adaptable to a small kids play house was a little unique and unexpected. We don't have kids, but we're seriously considering giving the box to our neighbors 3-1/2 year old. I was initially kind of worried about the 'drip-tray' being bent, but after looking at the manual my fears were laid to rest. Since I haven't used it yet, I don't understand the design but it had me worried... LOL!

Next up... let the disassembly begin!
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Like your new box....., when you season the grill, I would consider raising the temp in stages (there is a note on this in the forum)., and if you do not have access to calibrated thermometer (like a FireBoard) you may want to consider this accessory I have found it most useful....
‘Let the forum know how it goes..... ‘welcome to the “1300 club”
Hoping to get to that stage maybe by the weekend. Tomorrow I need to source some Stainless and possibly start insulating on the barrel.
 
STAGE 1: Unboxing
Traeger does a great job on the packing of the 1300... The inside of the box being adaptable to a small kids play house was a little unique and unexpected. We don't have kids, but we're seriously considering giving the box to our neighbors 3-1/2 year old. I was initially kind of worried about the 'drip-tray' being bent, but after looking at the manual my fears were laid to rest. Since I haven't used it yet, I don't understand the design but it had me worried... LOL!

Next up... let the disassembly begin!
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Progress!

Regarding the drip pan, because of the bow shape, you will find that drippings will flow to the sides, and then towards the front, then draining into the front channel. Once in the channel, flow to the left, then down to the foil pan liner in the bottom drawer.
 
Stage 2: Disassembly

The grill came apart quite easy... The only issue I had was removing the temp probe. It wasn't real apparent whether I should pull it backwards or try push it through forwards. Figured it out though and then on to the insulating...
 

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Stage 3: Insulating...

WARNING: There was a fair amount of trial and error here regarding the order in which to insulate and then 'cover' things in steel. As ReMe mentioned, N95 mask, goggles and a thick pair of gloves are necessary for all stages of the ceramic blanket handling. When cleaning up later, cold shower first to close your pores and keep any irritation from embedding further, followed by a warm/hot shower to open the pores up and then srcub any remaining fibres off...

I started by installing the insulation on the barrel ends, just to get a feel of working with the ceramic blanket material. I don't regret starting there, as it was great for learning about the material, but it put me off-track on the proper reassembly order, which later caused much grief (more about that later). So I took the endplates and simply placed them on the ceramic blanket using them as a rough template for the cut like so...
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The material is EASY to cut with a razor knife, and in some cases you can literally rip it to fit. Putting it into the barrel ends was also very easy as it was very moldable as you can see here, I simply 'mashed' it onto the bolt mounting tabs, pulled it back off and then cut the holes with my razor knife:
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Then I just reinstalled it... Important to note, both ends hung there without any plate or clamps for almost 2 days:
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As you can see in the last picture, I hadn't yet removed the bottom tray. Next up... I switch to the lid!
 
Stage 3: Insulating...(continued)

Looking back, I SHOULD HAVE IMMEDIATELY started working on the bottom of the barrel and proceeded to the back of the barrel. But the squirrel in me got distracted and decided to work for a bit on the lid. The lid was easy and straightforward, but as I used the majority of one ceramic blanket sheet in this picture, I became concerned that maybe (6) sheets wasn't going to be enough!
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Distracted again, I thought 'I should probably take that bottom off and fill it up before I run out!'... So I did, abandoning the 2/3 done grill lid. So now we're working on the bottom of the barrel and again... a whole sheet disappears quite rapidly with only 2/3 being complete.
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So I got wise and used the leftovers from my previous cuts to fill the rest of the bottom...
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And then the squirrel took over again... I'm bored playing with blanket... Let's see how this sheet metal is going to work! LOL!
 
Stage 3B (really 4A): Sheet Metal Fab

I had a real issue finding Stainless anywhere nearby on short notice, so I opted for 26 gauge sheet metal. I hope I don't regret it in the long run, but knowing what I know now of the disassembly/reassembly of the grill, if it starts to rust or have corrosion issues, I'd be willing to revisit these pieces with Stainless. With that said, 26 ga. was fairly easy to work with and I think will offer enough protection. Again, following ReMe's work, I started by fabbing up a template using a manilla file folder. Then I transferred those measurements to the sheet metal. Here's the first part of the left side exhaust port:
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With the bottom barrel/exhaust cover mocked up, I turned my attention to sheet metal that would direct flow to the back of the exhaust port. (Note that the barrel end is installed on the left end... more to come on that!):
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It looked pretty rough at first, but I eventually was able to clean it up (here's the almost finished product also note... now the barrel end is installed AND the ceramic rope?! WTH?!):
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More to come on the odyssey tomorrow...
 
Lookin good! Three comments,
The left side of the horizontal port strip should tuck behind the left side panel (edit, is that your WTH moment?)
The vertical port strip should extent up inside the rear box about 6 inches above the port to distribute the heat in that corner, unless you are adding another plate from the back to go higher.
I added wool insulation behind the strips in the ports, that is the hottest part of the grill those corners in the ports.

Great work

Lastly, if you are considering a Fireboard, you could thread a chamber probe next to the stock probe while you are in there, something I wished I'd done.
 
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Now that I'm looking at this on my PC, I'd missed the previous posts regarding the sheet metal. It looks like it's treated, is it galvanized? I'm sure it will work but do wonder how it will fair on the left side as it's super hot there. Stainless is so inert, I feel safest with it.

Personally I would wait and get stainless, doing this with a clean new grill is the perfect time to get it done, but that's just me. These grills do coat the inside with a nice black patina over time so steel will probably be fine. Just my A/R tendencies coming out.
 
Now that I'm looking at this on my PC, I'd missed the previous posts regarding the sheet metal. It looks like it's treated, is it galvanized? I'm sure it will work but do wonder how it will fair on the left side as it's super hot there. Stainless is so inert, I feel safest with it.

Personally I would wait and get stainless, doing this with a clean new grill is the perfect time to get it done, but that's just me. These grills do coat the inside with a nice black patina over time so steel will probably be fine. Just my A/R tendencies coming out.
Yes, be careful. I couldn't find what temp metal fume fever can occur on galvanized metal.
 
Yes, be careful. I couldn't find what temp metal fume fever can occur on galvanized metal.
I wouldn't use galvanized metal on a smoker or grill. Anything you apply heat to is not a good place for galvanized metals. The gasses given off when heated are toxic
You have food in there and whether you breathe the gasses or not, your food will absorb it while you cook
 
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