Pellet grill reviews?

[Rob]

My propane BBQ is finally on its last leg.  I have been debating replacing it with a pellet grill/ smoker.

I was originally thinking Traeger but it seems like there are some quality issues associated with their move to China manufacturing.

I did some searching on this site and it seems as though there are many good options.

What do folks have and like/dislike and why?

I am leaning towards the green mountain grills based on what I have read.

With Black Friday deals coming up I am hoping to see a deal pop up!

[Rob]

I should mention that I am looking for one of the more compact models (not a travel version) as I seldom cook for more that 2 to 3 people.  I would like to do a brisket though!

[wadu1]

I have a Z-Grill that I purchased at a Sears outlet. The price was right, (under $300) and I wanted to try a Pellet grill. I went cheap to see if I liked using one, this one is still going strong. The customer service has been great, had a controller go bad and a critter chewed the temp sensor in half both replaced at no charge. I use it a lot in a normal year 8 - 12 bags of pellets (20 pounders). 

[ASHQUACK]

I have the Pit Boss Lexington. Can't complain, cooks well smokes great and it has a lot of features for one of the lower end (pricewise) grills. I use it for everything from pizzas to rib roasts. Can't complain one little bit.

[wadu1]

My Z-Grill is a 550B the smallest. https://www.zgrills.com/

[Longfield1]

I have the traeger jr which is the smallest one they make. I got it free used and had to replace the board and igniter which was 70$ total. Perfect size and have done briskets kebabs shoulders ribs burgers and more. Love it and we don’t even use our gas grill anymore.

[ducks4days]

I have a Traegar Pro 780 and love it for things like jalepeno poppers, roasts, casseroles, pizzas, basically anything I would normally use the oven inside for the Traegar does better and adds a bit of smoke.

It will not produce lots of smoke flavor, or hold low temps well. I tried maybe a dozen times to smoke salmon and duck and it just wont do it. The end result is over cooking and less smoke in the meat. I ended up buying a Masterbuilt electric smoker and use the same pellets in both with no complaints.

It also will not get hot enough to sear. It wont do steaks or kebabs or burgers with the nice crisp sear on them. I fortunately already had a propane grill, but now I have 3 outdoor cooking things taking up space. I have a lot of space to spare so it doesnt matter much, but if you have a small porch or deck or something it is worth thinking about.

All of that without any manufacturing issues as you mentioned, I clean it every 3 uses and have not had any ignition issues or welds break. It seems that just by the design it is a half step between a propane grill and a real smoker, but doesnt do either well enough to fully replace them. I dont have experience with other pellet grills, but I imagine Traegar is either killing it with the propaganda game, or their grills are above average and the design for pellet grills in general leave something to be desired.

[Mtnwalker]

Just went from a regular old school Traeger to the Ironwood xl. Pros of the new one is maintains temp better with less pellet burn due to being an insulated unit. Bluetooth/Wifi operation is nice. Cons are I don’t like all the fancy touch screen electronics, I can see it failing over time and I honestly don’t like the flavor of the food as much out of the new one. It’s got more of a harsh campfire smoke flavor to it than the old one did. No idea why, same pellets. Less ventilation maybe?

[92xj]

I’ve had traeger, green mountain and recteq. 

Recteq blows them both away.    It holds temp great and is very accurate on actual temperature.    The gmg and traeger were always +\-35 degrees during the cook cycle, the recteq is around 5 degrees max.    Also, 6 year warranty is nice.  Never had to use it, but my dad has in his high humidity place in Florida.   Had some corrosion issue on a fan, called them and they overnighted a fan for his 4 year old cooker.   Also, it’s so nice having a giant hopper where I don’t worry about running out of pellets during a long cook.   I think mine holds around 40lbs of pellets when full. 

[JJJ]

Sorry Guys.... Beat me up if you must....Keep it simple....

Horizontal Barrel shaped CHARCOAL BBQ is the only way to go. You can BBQ, smoke, all in one... The flavor cannot be compared.  Yeah, ya gotta babysit it more, but it's a BBQ EVENT for crying out loud! - that's what beer is for... 

[Rob]

I started looking at Rectec after my post and I like what I see quite a bit.  Now leaning that way.

Looked at Yoder as well but those are out of my price range for sure.

[Rob]

Sorry Guys.... Beat me up if you must....Keep it simple....

Horizontal Barrel shaped CHARCOAL BBQ is the only way to go. You can BBQ, smoke, all in one... The flavor cannot be compared.  Yeah, ya gotta babysit it more, but it's a BBQ EVENT for crying out loud! - that's what beer is for... 

Hank Hill would be disappointed...  taste the meat not the heat!

Kidding.  If I had time charcoal would be great.  But I like to be ready to cook faster than charcoal allows.  Not to mention the cleanup and such. 

But I agree that would be my goto if I had the time.

[JJJ]

Sorry Guys.... Beat me up if you must....Keep it simple....

Horizontal Barrel shaped CHARCOAL BBQ is the only way to go. You can BBQ, smoke, all in one... The flavor cannot be compared.  Yeah, ya gotta babysit it more, but it's a BBQ EVENT for crying out loud! - that's what beer is for... 

Hank Hill would be disappointed...  taste the meat not the heat!

Kidding.  If I had time charcoal would be great.  But I like to be ready to cook faster than charcoal allows.  Not to mention the cleanup and such. 

But I agree that would be my goto if I had the time.

I hear ya! Charcoal can be a nightmare if you're timing is off for some reason and yer wife and guests are looking at you funny because you said it would be ready at 5:00... Hence, more beer is needed to bridge the gap....

[elkaholic123]

I have had Traeger. Lasted 11 years! I purchased a Recteq 2 years ago and love it!
Big step above my Traeger!

[Badhabit]

Yoder or Cookshack.