Anyone Have a Wood Pellet Grill?

[fsumotorhead]

I’m in the market for a new grill and figured I would askthe most opinionated group of people I know, gl4x4!!!

My grill has become a rusted out piece of crap and I need anew one. I have had a charcoal onlygrill for the last 15 years, I don’t want a gas grill.I have also had a wife that has complainedabout the length of time for grilling for the last 15 years….Let me say that until I discovered woodpellet grills online I wasn’t even considering anything but charcoal.

Anyone have any experience with wood pellet grills? Seems to be the magic solution between quicklighting/heating of gas and the flavor of charcoal.The reviews seem to be mostly favorableacross brands, but looking for personal experience and quality of the variousbrands if possible.

[aber61]

I would think that wood pellet grilling would be like charcoal also. What kind of pellets could give off a kind of smoke or flavor.
My brother just got a smoker and he loves it. But if your wife complained about wait time with charcoal she will hate the 10 hour smoke time for a brisket.
Be sure to post pics of your first cook

[GearDrive]

I have a traeger, and love it. So easy to operate that my girlfriend uses it a lot. Chicken comes out perfect. Steaks are the best I had. Beef/venison jerkey is easy also. We have been getting a 40 lbs. bag of blended at Walmart for $16. Traeger bags are $18 for 20lbs.

[greygoose]

Originally Posted by GearDrive

I have a traeger, and love it. So easy to operate that my girlfriend uses it a lot. Chicken comes out perfect. Steaks are the best I had. Beef/venison jerkey is easy also. We have been getting a 40 lbs. bag of blended at Walmart for $16. Traeger bags are $18 for 20lbs.

Dayum, those look nice but they are not cheap!

[aber61]

My brother picked up an Oklahoma Joe smoker. Going to be doing a BBQ this summer for sure. He said be sure to bring the Meat.

[firestorm]

I'd really like to get one, but I did some reading on some serious grilling sites, and many felt they weren't great for grilling. i.e. Steaks and such. They do fine, but wouldn't get hot enough to seer the meat to their liking. They otherwise seem to be well regarded, especially for long, slow cooking. I don't think the price is bad either. Anything under $300-$400 won't last anyway. I'd like to think the Traeger grills will last longer. I haven't looked at one up close in a while though.

I got drawn into looking at higher end models from other brands. Some have some very cool features, including sensors and apps.

I nursed my Brinkman Pro dual zone charcoal along for 2-3 more years hoping to find the perfect grill. Brinkman didn't have a good rep, but damn, that grill was built like a tank. Lasted 12 years, and I neglected it. Never cleaned out the ash pan, and never covered it.

In the end, I decided I need three grills. Charcoal, pellet, and an egg. Too much damn money.

I ended up punting, and snagged a $240 charcoal grill at Costco. It's roughly the same size as the old one, but one zone, and much more cheaply made. It's been great though. I doubt it will last, but I'll keep coating the inside with cooking oil, and that should keep the firebox together for a while (worked on the old one... it's the ash pan and frame that's finally rotted.)

[fsumotorhead]

Originally Posted by firestorm

I'd really like to get one, but I did some reading on some serious grilling sites, and many felt they weren't great for grilling. i.e. Steaks and such. They do fine, but wouldn't get hot enough to seer the meat to their liking. They otherwise seem to be well regarded, especially for long, slow cooking. I don't think the price is bad either. Anything under $300-$400 won't last anyway. I'd like to think the Traeger grills will last longer. I haven't looked at one up close in a while though.

I got drawn into looking at higher end models from other brands. Some have some very cool features, including sensors and apps.

I nursed my Brinkman Pro dual zone charcoal along for 2-3 more years hoping to find the perfect grill. Brinkman didn't have a good rep, but damn, that grill was built like a tank. Lasted 12 years, and I neglected it. Never cleaned out the ash pan, and never covered it.

In the end, I decided I need three grills. Charcoal, pellet, and an egg. Too much damn money.

I ended up punting, and snagged a $240 charcoal grill at Costco. It's roughly the same size as the old one, but one zone, and much more cheaply made. It's been great though. I doubt it will last, but I'll keep coating the inside with cooking oil, and that should keep the firebox together for a while (worked on the old one... it's the ash pan and frame that's finally rotted.)

This is where I'm at lol.


I need to find a Traeger locally to look at the build quality, but I'd only be looking at their entry level, so not sure I can swing that brand as by budget is going to be under $600, but hopefully under $500.


I eyed a Pit Boss in person at Walmart, and have to say I was happy with the quality for $399.


I would probably guess that 90% or better of my grilling is poultry cooked low and slow today. I for whatever reason don't cook too much beef, so I'm not sure I'm worried about the max temps as the pit boss claims to be able to get up to 500deg when it's above 70deg out.

[Kegger83cj7]

I have had my Green Mountain Grills JIM Bowie for 2 weeks. I chose this one as it is much heavier than the Traeger of similar size. Price is similar. I have grilled and smoked on it. Is has adjustable heat grates that allow the heat to either go straight up for searing. It has been a great grill. Smoking is different than my stick burner but the taste is great so far. Ribs turned out awesome! The temp control is set in 5 degree increments. Holds temp even in wind to the tee. Set it and walk away. You even have time to wrench on the Jeep since you don’t have to tend fire. Still getting used to it but so far I’m impressed and happy.

I have had a Weber kettle for 15 years and a Brinkman offset for 3 years. Running the hot box has never been as easy as the GMG pellet grill.

[Kegger83cj7]

[03tjsport]

Traeger here. I like it except it has only has wheels on one end. I keep it in the garage between uses and it’s a bit cumbersome to move around. No problem cooking things, but it is more difficult to get the sear. In the winter it was hard to keep up to temp. I would use the next highest setting to keep it where I wanted it. My favorite food in it is Cornish hens. We use it 3-4 times a week. It makes great bacon too! I am planning on building a shed to keep it in year round. I think that will help with the heat loss during the winter. I bought mine at Home Depot last August. I think I have used my gas grill 3 times since.

[greygoose]

Originally Posted by Kegger83cj7

Attachment 258266Attachment 258264

Dammit, now I'm hungry.

[fsumotorhead]

Thanks for the feedback!


I think I'm going to go with the Pit Boss, the thing from what I could see seems to be built heavy, get good reviews, and for $349 I don't think I'll find a better value.


https://www.lowes.com/pd/Pit-Boss-Pe...ill/1000266679

[Kegger83cj7]

Dammit, now I'm hungry.

Ribs for breakfast! Glad I could help.

I have a coworker that has a Pit Boss. He likes it but does say it is touchy on the temp levels. Different pellets and outside temps you have to mess with a federate and the temp setting. My GMG does not have a federate setting. Just temp. It sounds like another step to worry about but also seems easy. It also has 10 degree increments instead of 5. Other than that he likes it.

[Wood Man]

I have had a Pit Boss for 3 years and love it. Cooking steaks at 500 is no problem, best I have had.
I smoke alot of ribs and it works flawlessly.
The only thing is you have to vaccum out burn pot ashes once in a while.

[jeepfreak81]

I have a Green Mountain Grill with the WiFI and it is fucking awesome. I have no problem with the way it grills, but that said I usually fire up the propane grill for Hot Dogs, or searing the burgers/steaks. It will sear, but for quickie food they are expensive to run IMO.

I use mine mostly to do large pork cuts like pork shoulders. I put them on, and come back to spritz once in awhile while monitoring the temps remotely. Once you get the temps calibrated, it's basically a computer controlled wood fired oven.

The pellets you use make the biggest difference, quality pellets. Lumberjack are the best, but I can't find them locally. Cabelas brand are re-packaged Lumberjack though, and I'll drive to Saginaw for them.

My coworker had a Traeger, and swapped for the GMG and then talked me into it.

[jeepfreak81]

I even have a pizza oven attachment, but can't find any pics of me using it. We do use it frequently though

[fsumotorhead]

I went to buy a grill this past weekend and my wife said I have to wait a month until my birthday


Thanks for all the input, I'm really interested in the GMG but not sure I can justify double the cost of the Pit Boss.

[jeepfreak81]

Originally Posted by fsumotorhead

I went to buy a grill this past weekend and my wife said I have to wait a month until my birthday


Thanks for all the input, I'm really interested in the GMG but not sure I can justify double the cost of the Pit Boss.

The GMG customer service is second to none. There are a few dislikes on the grill. But overall it is great. I've read the cheaper grills don't hold temp well etc. Research them online as well.

I like the Wifi because I can calibrate the food probe temp, I can adjust the grill to be more or less aggressive holding temps for use in winter or summer, and I can upgrade the software in the controller as GMG changes their algorithms. The extra money was well worth it to me, and I only ended up buying one grill.

[fsumotorhead]

Originally Posted by jeepfreak81

The GMG customer service is second to none. There are a few dislikes on the grill. But overall it is great. I've read the cheaper grills don't hold temp well etc. Research them online as well.

I like the Wifi because I can calibrate the food probe temp, I can adjust the grill to be more or less aggressive holding temps for use in winter or summer, and I can upgrade the software in the controller as GMG changes their algorithms. The extra money was well worth it to me, and I only ended up buying one grill.

Thanks again, still considering GMG as I have a month to figure it out lol

[Kegger83cj7]

@wave_crusher. If you are looking for a recommendation on a smoker I love my pellet smoker. Recently got the pizza oven as well and love it.