Sounds like you are a bit of a renaissance man, and always staying curious. I have the Weber SmokeFire EX6 Gen2 for about three years now. I have been fortunate with mine, but very interested in how the Searwood will do. That being said here are a couple of tips on a pellet smoker I have found to maximize smoke flavor, bark formation, and keeping moisture in the meat.
1. The Pellet Matters: not all pellets are made the same. I have found two types of pellets I use now. One for grilling and one for long slow cooks. I have even blended them. Since your Searwood can get up to 600 degrees I would recommend Royal Oak Charcoal Pellets for grilling. They burn longer, hotter, and are weather resistant (humidity) than wood pellets. They are also cheap. If using wood pellets you will burn through more than charcoal ones. I would imagine they would be great for Manual Mode. For the long and slow cooks I prefer Smokin Pecan SHELL Pellets. They are more expensive than other wood pellets, but they also burn longer and produce the most smoke than any wood pellet I have tried. Not by a little but by a lot. And like I mentioned I also blend the two together for grilling.
2. Use the second shelf for long and slow cooks with a water pan underneath. I have found the water pan does three distinct things for the pellet grill. One it adds needed moisture in the cook chamber. Since all pellet grills use a fan the air circulates and reduces moisture in the chamber. The water pan will help to counter it. Second it will catch the drippings from the meat. Helps tremendously with clean up. And lastly since water boils around 212 degrees the water pan will act as a heat sync stabilizing the cook chamber's temperature. Especially if you prefer to spritz the meat and open & close the lid.
3. Use cold meat (straight out of the refrigerator) when you start, and put the pellet grill to 180 - 200 degrees (smoke boost) until the meat reaches the internal temperature of 140 degrees. Since pellet grills do not produce smoke like the stick burners, this will help to capture the most smoke flavor in the meat. And since meat will stop absorbing smoke flavor into the meat around the 140 internal temperature, putting the cold meat on will extend its exposure to the smoke longer. It does add to the cook time, but it does help. Once the meat reaches an internal temperature of 140, you can increase the pellet grill's temperature to start to really render the fat and finish the cooking process.
4. Foil Boat: this step I have found really helps the meat (brisket/pork butt) in many ways on the pellet grill. One it allows for the bark to be continued to develop and capture smoke flavor. It also allows the meat to cook in its own fat (confit style). Now I use to wait to foil boat once the meat pushed through the stall, but now I foil boat right after the meat reaches the 140 internal temperature. Yes you will have to most likely dump some of the render fat/juices, but this is another reason for have the water pan underneath the meat. By using the foil boat right when the meat reaches the 140 internal degrees I have found the meat retains more moisture at the end of the cook. Especially with brisket in the flat area. It will protect the edges also during the cook allowing you to raise the pellet grill's temperature up to 300 degrees to really get the sugar cookie bark on top.
5. Spritzing and Probing : since the meat is in a foil boat, you can continue to spritz the meat keeping it moist on top. Smoke will attach better to moist meat than dry meat. Another technique needed in a pellet grill to capture as much smoke flavor as possible. And since the top of the meat is open because of the foil boat you can easily check the temperature with a probe or instant thermometer.
If I follow these steps using my pellet grill I typically get results most people say comes very close to a stick burner for smoke flavor. It is unfortunate you have to apply so many techniques to get the most smoke flavor, but I do not think they add too much headache. Hopes this helps.
