Outdoor cooking station with a pellet feeder for smoking food
Embodiments of an outdoor cooking station having a main body with a pellet feeding system integrated with the cooking station for feeding heated smoke to a cooking chamber. The pellet feeding system utilizes a paddle wheel for feeding pellets to be burned and generating heated smoke. The heated smoke moves through a ducting system that is adjustable for distributing smoke to the cooking chamber.
1 . An outdoor cooking station configured to be at least partially heated with burning pellets, comprising:
a main body having panels and frame components extending to define a front side, a rear side, a left side and a right side each extending from a lower end to a cooking chamber in an upper portion of the main body, the cooking chamber having a grill with a grill cooking surface;
a duct system including a heat distribution portion, a lower duct, a peripheral duct, and a peripheral vent, the heat distribution portion having a movable vent associated therewith, the moveable vent configured to be moved between an open position and a closed position, the peripheral duct having a peripheral duct wall extending from the heat distribution portion to the peripheral vent, the peripheral vent positioned adjacent to an outer periphery of the grill, the peripheral duct extending to define a gap between the panels of the main body and the peripheral duct wall such that the peripheral vent is positioned over the gap of the peripheral duct so that the peripheral vent extends along the outer periphery of the grill; and
a pellet feeding system including a pellet hopper, a paddle wheel, and a fire pot, the paddle wheel sized and configured to rotate about an axis defined by the paddle wheel, the paddle wheel including multiple paddles extending radially relative to the axis, the paddle wheel configured to receive pellets from a bottom opening of the pellet hopper such that one or more pellets are received between adjacently extending paddles of the paddle wheel to move the pellets in a controlled manner to the fire pot so that a hot rod burns the pellets in the fire pot so that heated smoke moves upward through the lower duct and toward the heat distribution portion;
wherein, upon the moveable vent being moved to the open position, the heated smoke is moveable from the heat distribution portion to move upward directly below the grill and into the cooking chamber and, wherein, upon the moveable vent being moved to the closed position, the heated smoke is moveable from the heat distribution portion to move through the gap of the peripheral duct along the peripheral duct wall, out of the peripheral vent, and into the cooking chamber.
2 . The outdoor cooking station of claim 1 , wherein the paddle wheel rotates to move pellets about the axis of the paddle wheel in a non-linear manner.
3 . The outdoor cooking station of claim 1 , wherein the paddle wheel is rotatable about the axis in a bi-rotational manner.
4 . The outdoor cooking station of claim 1 , wherein the paddle wheel is sized and configured to move the pellets in a non-linear, rotating manner such that the pellets rotate with the paddle wheel.
5 . The outdoor cooking station of claim 1 , wherein the paddle wheel includes at least six paddles extending radially relative to the axis of the paddle wheel.
6 . The outdoor cooking station of claim 1 , wherein the lower duct extends to a deflector member, the deflector member positioned to deflect heated smoke to the moveable vent below the cooking chamber.
7 . The outdoor cooking station of claim 1 , wherein the front side of the main body defines an access opening with a moveable lid, the access opening sized and configured to receive the pellets to the hopper.
8 . The outdoor cooking station of claim 1 , wherein the hopper is positioned below the cooking chamber such that the hopper is positioned within a cabinet structure of the main body.
9 . The outdoor cooking station of claim 1 , wherein the peripheral vent and the peripheral vent wall are positioned to at least partially support the grill.