Pellet grill

[zrock]

Whats everyone's experience with Pellet BBQ's? Iv been thinking on getting one especially now that the prices have dropped. My main concern is dampness getting into the pellets during the wet season. Don't really have a good place to pull it in out of the elements easily. A cover is out of the question as well as all they do is trap moisture. All of my BBQ failures have been do to a cover. Also pissed off with the manufacturer of my current BBQ. I spent a good amount of $$ on it as it was advertised as lifetime warranty on everything. The next year teh exact same bbq went to a 2 year warranty. I went to get warranty as the tub had rotted out in it and my receipt was washed out and unreadable since stores make sure their receipt it unreadable after a year.. The manufacturer and the store argued with me that it was not lifetime and i had to pay for a Micky mouse repair kit.. I did not pay $1200 for a BBQ with a 2 year warranty... Needless to say i have barely used it in the last few years as i do not trust their cheep repair...

The BBQ im looking at seems to be really heavily constructed. Even the shield for the fire pot is a 2 hand job to get out

 

[festerw]

I've had a Traeger for about 10 years had to replace a couple pieces. First was the drip pan about 5 years in for under $100 with a heavier stainless piece. Second was the burn pot that was $250 but was the entire control/hopper/auger/pot assembly. 3rd was the heat deflector for about $40.

Not terrible considering it gets used nearly daily in the summer and at least weekly all winter. If I were buying today I'd look at Green Mountain and RecTec.

 

[greg13]

I've got a pit boss grill. only issue so far has been an igniter. I keep the pellets in their bag inside a metal garbage can, no moisture problem so far.

 

[zrock]

good to know... do you use regular heating pellets or the flavored pellets? Quite the price difference of 6 for normal to 40 for bbq pellets..

 

[festerw]

I use flavored because of the unknown binders in the heating pellets. Lowe's has the 40lb Pit Boss Competition Blend pellets for $15. That's for the regular grilling but I'll used flavored for long smokes.

I missed your question earlier about moisture. Mine get stored in a plastic tub on the porch, no issues there. If I leave pellets in the grill for any length of time (2 weeks or so) I'll notice it won't get up to temp as fast.

Mine is under a roof though but I did go a few years with the cover and it worked well. The Traeger covers (at least mine) don't cinch down on the bottom so they do allow airflow to the grill while it's covered.

 

[zrock]

So during the damp season it would probably be a safe bet to run the feed empty and just fill it up when needed...

My current BBQ i spent allot on the cover it had side vents in it for air flow and does not attach to the BBQ.. every time i took it off the BBQ was soaked so i have given up on covers... Plan is to get a size that i can pull in the shed during the winter and wet season..

 

[festerw]

Correct on the pellets. I keep a large plastic mug in the bin and usually a scoop is more than enough for a 30-45 minute cook.

 

[Twigster]

Buy a Yoder! very well built in the USA.

 

[zrock]

those are some serious units.. Would love to get something like that but living up in northern canada my choices are limited. Shipping would kill me on that. By the time i paied exchange, border fees, shipping a $1400 unit wuld be upwards of $3000

 

[RSNovi]

I have a Cookshack PG500 and just grilled some steaks tonight. I got rid of my gas grill.

 

[Don2222]

Hello
The price, quality and features of the new prime direct drive GMG pellet grills that debuted last April are unbeatable! IHMO. Just got my Daniel Boone last summer the day before July 4th and they were open July 4th for free technical and recipe support!
See my write-up here with pics!

Amber beer Brats on a new GMG prime DBSSWF pellet grill 250 Deg F for a 3 hour smoke.

Hello What do you guys have and smoke? Just got the smoker so we tried some smoking. This Daniel Boone model has a temp range of 150 to 550 Deg F. The new Prime direct drive motors keep the set temp plus or minus only 2-3 degrees! We used apple wood pellets to smoke the Bratwurst in a disposable...

www.hearth.com

 

[zrock]

Nice...
So when using food grade pellets do they actually produce smoke so you can smoke foods? I would like to smoke the odd ribs and roast if its possible... Just waiting for them to go onsale locally before i pull the plug and get one

 

[festerw]

Nice...
So when using food grade pellets do they actually produce smoke so you can smoke foods? I would like to smoke the odd ribs and roast if its possible... Just waiting for them to go onsale locally before i pull the plug and get one

They do indeed and it's as easy as turn the knob and walk away. I've left mine to smoke a pork butt for 12 hours.

 

[Highbeam]

Nice...
So when using food grade pellets do they actually produce smoke so you can smoke foods? I would like to smoke the odd ribs and roast if its possible... Just waiting for them to go onsale locally before i pull the plug and get one

On lower settings (temperature) they smoke but when cranked up to sear a nice tri tip, there’s no smoke.

I’ve run pork shoulders overnight and while it worked fine, I don’t sleep well thinking about it. Whole chickens or turkeys really turn out well in the pellet roaster.

Don’t use heating pellets. They have plastic and other junk in there that can taint your food. Taint. I said taint!

 

[Seasoned Oak]

They add a good deal of smoke flavoring to the food. My only pet piever is i have to break mine down about every 3rd burn and clean it otherwise it tends build up a black liquid smoke tar that gets on the food. Probably comes with normal maintenance . Cant beat the convenience.