Pellet Grill – Help !!!!

I think I’ve decided to purchase me a pellet Grill. I was about ready to purchase a smoker but, after a little more thought and eating some food that was cooked / Smoked on a pellet grill I changed my mind. That being said. What brands does everyone here have. I’d like to hear the pro’s and Con’s to what others are using to help me make a good decision. My buddy just purchased a Pit Boss and I thought it worked real well and put out some excellent food. It seemed like it was built real good and was really sturdy. I did a little research online and looked at a lot of reviews, and the reviews seemed to be all over the place. It seems like those from Traegar, Z Grill, Rec Tec, and Green mountain are on most reviews as the top 4 brands. I think I want a middle of the road model. I don’t want a cheap low end one that I either don’t want to use or end up wanting to replace right away. I don’t plan to do enough cooking and smoking on one to justify a High end one. I primarily want one that is fairly easy to use, Is well built and will last, and one that turns out good tasting food. Lets here what all of you have and your thoughts on them.

I’ve had a Traeger for about 4 years now and love it! I use it all the time for grilling and smoking. I haven’t had any problems and it makes some amazing food. They are easy to use – turn the knob to your desired heat and make sure the pellet hopper is full.

I have had a Pit Boss for 3 years and love it. It is very versatile, I chose the Pit boss because you can slide the middle plate open to cook over a direct flame which is awesome for steaks. Also use it to smoke and it works good but I added an Amaze smoke tube to add more smoke.

I was all set to buy a Rec Tec and then I discovered the Masterbuilt Gravity Series. You can set the temperature and walk away like a pellet grill, but it still uses real wood and lump charcoal. I’ve been really happy with it. Plus you can crank it up to 700 degrees and sear a steak!

One thing I did notice with my buddies Pit Boss was that the Temp. seemed to not stay real steady. He had the temp set at 300 and it would swing from about 280-320 during the time his chicken was cooking. Is that somewhat normal with pellet grills? I’m guessing it has to due with the rate he had it set to add more pellets. He said his setting was like 10 seconds of pellet feed followed by 3-4 minutes of cooking before more pellets were feed. He said he could increase the Speed at which more pellets were fed. I’m not sure if this was the cause of the temp swings or not.

Justin riegel wrote:

I have had a Pit Boss for 3 years and love it. It is very versatile, I chose the Pit boss because you can slide the middle plate open to cook over a direct flame which is awesome for steaks. Also use it to smoke and it works good but I added an Amaze smoke tube to add more smoke.

Ya I noticed that Opening in the middle to sear food. I was not sure if all pellet grills were like that or not. To me that would be something I would want.

I have had a few. Trager and my original one is still going strong but the new ones made out of country have some quality issues. I have a Memphis and it is a higher end pellet grill however it is stainless steel 100% has temp probes to monitor what you are cooking is insulated and of very high quality. It it is also made in the USA I believe in Bloomington. It will smoke at 180 deg. and sear a steak at 700 deg. Best of both worlds in my opinion but they are expensive. You get what you pay for. I use less than 1/2 the pellets I did in my good Trager. Memphis also has a centerplate to get direct flame on steaks etc for searing.

Good luck in your search. You will not be sorry you bought one.

Pat McSharry wrote:

I was all set to buy a Rec Tec and then I discovered the Masterbuilt Gravity Series. You can set the temperature and walk away like a pellet grill, but it still uses real wood and lump charcoal. I’ve been really happy with it. Plus you can crank it up to 700 degrees and sear a steak!

I’m not sure if the option for real wood or charcoal use would really matter to me. But then again who knows.

Temp swings are normal for pellet grills. I’ve had my traeger for 8-9 years now and have used it ALOT and haven’t had one issue. For the price now days I would be interested in a green mountain prime series pellet grill

I have a pit boss and love it, as stated above the temp swings can vary so the temp settings are basically a reference, I know many have put the rec tec temperature control panels in the pit boss as they are supposed to be more accurate. The pit boss is not as expensive as the 2 big names and does the same thing plus you can sear food wit it

fishthumper wrote:

One thing I did notice with my buddies Pit Boss was that the Temp. seemed to not stay real steady. He had the temp set at 300 and it would swing from about 280-320 during the time his chicken was cooking. Is that somewhat normal with pellet grills? I’m guessing it has to due with the rate he had it set to add more pellets. He said his setting was like 10 seconds of pellet feed followed by 3-4 minutes of cooking before more pellets were feed. He said he could increase the Speed at which more pellets were fed. I’m not sure if this was the cause of the temp swings or not.

When it is warmer out the temp swings are not as great, When it is colder out the swings seem to be greater. Colder would mean right around freezing and lower.

Green Mountain and Daniel Boone model

Temp stays very steady with the digital controller. Couple nice features over a Traeger. ex. backflow of air pressure through the hopper, down to the auger, and fire chamber. It’s at the cabin so I’ve not used it 32 or colder yet.

If the food does or does not taste good it’s on the chef. No blaming equipment. The only other pellet I’ve used is a Traeger that had a dial not a digital controller. Wasn’t impressed but could have just been the controller.

Old boss and a friend jumped up to the Yoder. They absolutely love them but a different price point.

I have a Rec Tec based on a recommendation here. I love it. I don’t have another pellet to compare it to, but 2 years old and zero issues. It’s temp control is insanely good. I’m actually making pork chops as I post with the WiFi connections.

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I have the small Rec Tec and love it. I can cook more than enough food. It ho!ds temp within 2 degrees all the time. Stainless steel build won’t corrode. Good luck with you decision.

I have a Traeger and like it a lot. But, the lack of a searing heat option with it is a bummer. I fire up the Weber for all steaks and sometimes burgers because of this. A couple buddies have Pitboss’ and the are happy with them.

I have a stick burner and have no direct experience with pellet grills but look at the Camp Chef ones. I’ve heard great things about them and I have a good amount of other Camp Chef products and have been happy with all of it. Their customer service is top notch.

Just took dinner off mine

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I have the camp chef smoke pro dlx. We also have the small pit boss model at our camper. Both smokers are good but my camp chef has more bells and whistles and bigger pellet box. One tip I learned is the temp swings are not as bad if you clean it out every so often. Best way I found to do this is with a little shop vac to get all the fines.

Joe Jarl wrote:

I have a Traeger and like it a lot. But, the lack of a searing heat option with it is a bummer

That’s what gets me. All my steaks are cooked at 500 degrees. What kind of pellet grills offer high temps like that? Or would I need two separate grills?

Always wondered get the grill or smoker ? As all talk seems to sat the grill works great for smoking so where’s the huge advantage for the dmosker, can you still grill on the smoker ?

Justin riegel wrote:

I have had a Pit Boss for 3 years and love it. It is very versatile, I chose the Pit boss because you can slide the middle plate open to cook over a direct flame which is awesome for steaks. Also use it to smoke and it works good but I added an Amaze smoke tube to add more smoke.

What model do you have?

Pit Boss Pro 820 – had mine for two years and love it. No issues if you keep it clean, vacuum out debris and scrape down the grates and diffuser every few months. I use mine 2-3 times a week. Smoked everything from cheese and fish to chicken and pork shoulders (it can fit 2 shoulders).

I’ve got a stick burn Pitts and Spitts that I absolutely love. I also have a Pitts and Spitts pellet . The flavor is noticeably better off the stick burner but time isn’t always in the favor of watching the pit. These are high end units but they’re worth every penny. For camping I do have the Green Mountain Davey Crocket. For the price it’s great for what it is.

I have the Green Mountain Davy Crockett.
It’s the small Green Mountain grill.
Things I like are the portability, take it from my lake home in Central MN to my seasonal at Leech Lake.
Will run on 120v or 12v if needed.
I recently ordered the Don Godke’s Downdraft to be installed which arrived a couple days ago, looking forward to some ribs.
http://dongodkesdowndraft.com/

B-man wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Justin riegel wrote:</div>
I have had a Pit Boss for 3 years and love it. It is very versatile, I chose the Pit boss because you can slide the middle plate open to cook over a direct flame which is awesome for steaks. Also use it to smoke and it works good but I added an Amaze smoke tube to add more smoke.

What model do you have?

820, my neighbor built me a side and front shelves as that is one thing I think they could improve on

I had a Pit Boss that broke after the 3rd time. If I recall it had a strange startup and shutdown procedure as well? I got a Traeger pro 20 and it has been rock solid. I did the same thing of trying to be the middle of the road because how much will I use it…Well I use it more than I ever thought and wish I had a bit bigger one. I’m still able to do two pork shoulders but it is a tight squeeze. Yes mine only gets to about 425-450 so searing it not the best, although I do reverse seared steaks and don’t complain it wasn’t seared enough. I recommend people try a reverse seared T-bone or Filet. I will never make a steak a different way! I think the Traeger Ironwood will get to 500.

Also, I bought the insulating blanket. It really helps in the winter with consistent temps and not burning through all your pellets.

I’ll echo what some others have said…pellet grills are amazing but there are some temp swings when the auger start ups.

Regarding online reviews, you’ll go crazy trying researching these.

PitBoss has a great bumper to bump warranty.

tbro16 wrote:

Joe Jarl wrote:
I have a Traeger and like it a lot. But, the lack of a searing heat option with it is a bummer

That’s what gets me. All my steaks are cooked at 500 degrees. What kind of pellet grills offer high temps like that? Or would I need two separate grills?

How many fishing rods do you have? Do you expect one to do everything well?

Outside of maybe the Memphis brand, think about having a second grill if you can swing it. Cheapest is the old school weber kettle. Fire up a batch of charcoal when you want steaks. Next up is a gas option for convenience and ability to sear.

Only grill I know that does everything are the kamado style ceramics. However this is a pellet grill thread. I use both pellet and kamado, each has their advantages.

I have a traeger tailgater at my house and my brother and I bought a traeger 700 or 800 for the cabin. I’ve modded my tailgater a fair amount; added a 2nd rack, installed a PID controller, added fire bricks, hopper extension, and stack extension.

patk wrote:

Green Mountain and Daniel Boone model

Temp stays very steady with the digital controller. Couple nice features over a Traeger. ex. backflow of air pressure through the hopper, down to the auger, and fire chamber. It’s at the cabin so I’ve not used it 32 or colder yet.

If the food does or does not taste good it’s on the chef. No blaming equipment.

I agree. I have a Daniel Boone going on two years. Absolutely one of my favorite purchases ever.

I smoke foods all winter long. Green Mountain sells a thick, silver heat blanket cover for the grill that helps keep the heat in. I’ve smoked pork butts for 8 hours on a day off in windy -20 weather, too cold for ice fishing. Only downside was that I had to use $10 worth of pellets instead of $7, and probably a few bucks more in electricity. The temp stays steady regardless of temperature.