# Any experience with wood pellet grills/smokers? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 20, 2019, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-experience-with-wood-pellet-grills-smokers/829865 "2019-02-20T01:10:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2019, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-experience-with-wood-pellet-grills-smokers/829865/21 "2019-02-23T13:56:02Z")
Based on my relatives’ experiences: they break down easily and even after taking them into a shop they still don’t work right. YMMV ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2019, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-experience-with-wood-pellet-grills-smokers/829865/22 "2019-02-23T14:07:22Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Based on my relatives’ experiences: they break down easily and even after taking them into a shop they still don’t work right. YMMV I’m coming up on 3 years with mine. The only issue I’ve had is leaving pellets in the hopper and the smoke uncovered. The pellets swell up and jam the feeder and it has to be cleared by hand. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Burden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/958977/32.png) [@Jack\_Burden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Burden)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2019, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-experience-with-wood-pellet-grills-smokers/829865/23 "2019-03-01T16:12:10Z")
I’ve had a Rec-Tec pellet smoker for a couple of years now and highly recommend it. Very sturdy construction and spot-on temp control. I made the switch when the side firebox of my old smoker finally wore through. The pellet does not get the same level of flavor as true wood-fired slow and low barbecue, but it does a good job on long cooks, is light years more convenient, and has a great deal more versatility. For ribs I can lay 4 racks flat with room to spare, or 2 briskets or 1 hog. The hopper is larger than most and will take a full 28 lb bag of pellets. On long cooks there’s an extra smoke feature up to 225 degrees, which is needed for heavier cuts but not poultry or fish. For steaks or other cuts needing a sear, Grill Grates are recommended. I usually get 1.5 inch steaks and smoke at 200 degrees until internal temp hits 120, then pull off the steaks, crank the temp to max (supposedly 500) and finish them on the Grill Grates. Reverse searing delivers a wonderful steak experience with delicious smoke flavor. For long cooks, usually 16 hour brisket, I put on the night before and forget it until the next morning. That’s so much easier than getting up at 4 a.m. and tending the fire all day; as noted the final product is a cut below true woodsmoke BBQ but due to the convenience I’m doing a lot more cooks and sharing with more people. The pellet smoker really shines with poultry and fish, it’s the perfect level of smoke for lighter cuts. Last night I smoked a 6.5 lb hen that was spatchcocked and dry-brined the day before. Got home from work and threw it in smoker for 1.5 hours at 225, then popped up to 375 to finish. Absolute perfection and I’m free to focus on the sides (risotto & green beans). It’s cold and wet outside and I’m not having to deal with that. I would never be doing weeknight cooks without the pellet smoker. I keep a Weber charcoal grill for things that need real fire, between that and the RecTec all my outdoor cooking is a breeze. ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2019, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-experience-with-wood-pellet-grills-smokers/829865/24 "2019-04-20T01:22:26Z")
> [@Spud](#): > > Thanks everyone for the responses. I would say there is a better than average chance I’ll bring one home in a few months. Well, I was right. Yesterday I took delivery of my new Traeger Pro 575. It is the new model of the Pro 22. Of course I bought it on Saturday and the earliest they could deliver it was Thursday. Gorgeous days Sat thru Wed… rain ever since so I haven’t used it yet. I got it seasoned and tomorrow is supposed to be nice so I’m getting some nice rib eyes and and will let you know how it goes tomorrow. Oh, and the new version does have WiFi so I can control heat etc. on my phone. ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2019, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-experience-with-wood-pellet-grills-smokers/829865/25 "2019-04-20T01:45:00Z")
I understand that the new line has a better feeding system, but the one thing I would caution on is not leaving the hopper full of pellets between uses especially during damp periods. The pellets pick up moisture, swell, and then jam the auger. You need to then dump the hopper and clean out what’s is now damp sawdust that won’t ignite. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2019, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-experience-with-wood-pellet-grills-smokers/829865/26 "2019-04-20T03:23:09Z")
If the auger gets jammed, you won’t correct that by cleaning the hopper - it requires disassembling the hopper/auger motor from the system and working the auger out - cleaning the auger tube and putting it back together. I’ve had to do it twice now - and neiter was due to ‘moisture’ - in that in the second case - I had cooked just the night before and there was no rain, and the grill was covered. I do tend to keep my bin full of pellets - and I have read that ‘long’ pellets can cause this or you can just get some in there that just wont break. I think they use cheap auger motors - pitboss is sending me a free replacement because this one apparently killed the current one. TL/DR - auger jams are not uncommon - not hard to clean up from, but a real mood killer when you’re trying to get a cook going. ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2019, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-experience-with-wood-pellet-grills-smokers/829865/27 "2019-04-20T04:27:34Z")
> [@FinsToTheLeft](#): > > I understand that the new line has a better feeding system, but the one thing I would caution on is not leaving the hopper full of pellets between uses especially during damp periods. The pellets pick up moisture, swell, and then jam the auger. You need to then dump the hopper and clean out what’s is now damp sawdust that won’t ignite. That’s one of the big features they are promoting for the new line. It has a stronger brushless motor with a direct drive auger. > [@](#): > > If the auger gets jammed, you won’t correct that by cleaning the hopper - it requires disassembling the hopper/auger motor from the system and working the auger out - cleaning the auger tube and putting it back together. In addition to being stronger, another feature is it has a “Clear Auger” mode that reverses the auger briefly and hopefully clears the jam. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2019, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-experience-with-wood-pellet-grills-smokers/829865/28 "2019-04-20T12:55:38Z")
> [@Spud](#): > > That’s one of the big features they are promoting for the new line. It has a stronger brushless motor with a direct drive auger. That’s great! For the record, the current PitBoss(s) are ‘Direct Drive’ as well. (Auger Motor is directly attached to the Auger) > [@Spud](#): > > In addition to being stronger, another feature is it has a “Clear Auger” mode that reverses the auger briefly and hopefully clears the jam. My experience with jams (twice, so limited) is that once they are jammed, the auger simply doesn’t move in either direction - it took some significant effort to get it cleared. I doubt ‘reversing briefly’ would do it. Maybe Traeger has a better solution - I like the sounds of the idea - can’t wait to hear feedback of it in practice - if they truly have a better solution - I’ll replace my current with it. ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2019, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-experience-with-wood-pellet-grills-smokers/829865/29 "2019-04-20T14:27:57Z")
Since my experience with it so far has been to season it and connect it to my network (that’s a bit embarrassing to say) I don’t really know if it will work or not. Their marketing materials say it does and surely they wouldn’t exaggerate at all. Hopefully I won’t ever have to see if it does or not. And it was supposed to be nice today… nope, more rain. I think I’ll end up wheeling it so the smoke stack just sticks out of my garage (where it is currently keeping dry) and grill anyway. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2019, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-experience-with-wood-pellet-grills-smokers/829865/30 "2019-04-20T14:35:11Z")
Enjoy the grill - not meaning to be a downer - I’m sitting here waiting on a replacement auger motor - so I’m kinda glad its raining and cold. Things in your future Smoked Meatloaf home made jerky ribs pork shoulder DAMN GOOD BURGERS Pizza Chicken Smoked Turkeys angry neighbors ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2019, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-experience-with-wood-pellet-grills-smokers/829865/31 "2019-04-20T14:40:46Z")
[This recipe](https://barbecuebible.com/recipe/chinatown-ribs-2/) for pork ribs has received more love than anything else I’ve made. Buy a copy of Project Smoke by Steve Raichlen! ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2019, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-experience-with-wood-pellet-grills-smokers/829865/32 "2019-04-20T16:50:08Z")
> [@simster](#): > > angry neighbors I’m not concerned with that… we are all good friends, and I told them that any time I’m going to be smoking and have extra room they are welcome to bring some meat to add to the grill. Turns out it is going to be Chicken and Veggies tonight since my daughter told me she doesn’t care much for red meat anymore (I’m a failure as a parent). ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2019, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-experience-with-wood-pellet-grills-smokers/829865/33 "2019-04-20T17:03:43Z")
> [@Spud](#): > > I’m not concerned with that… we are all good friends, and I told them that any time I’m going to be smoking and have extra room they are welcome to bring some meat to add to the grill. > > Turns out it is going to be Chicken and Veggies tonight since my daughter told me she doesn’t care much for red meat anymore (I’m a failure as a parent). Angry neighbors as in “always making them hungry with the smells of good eats”. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-experience-with-wood-pellet-grills-smokers/829865/35 "2019-10-18T19:16:12Z")
I’ve got a Camp Chef XXL vertical pellet smoker - i.e. it’s NOT a grill in any way shape or form. It’s very convenient- just dump the pellets into the hopper, set the temp, and it’ll keep it there without any issue. Where it falls down, IMO, is that even on the “high smoke” setting generating what appears to be a lot of smoke, it doesn’t really impart a whole lot of that to the food relative to other methods. It makes pretty good barbecue if I supplement the smoke early on with smoke mazes (a metal contraption that is filled with pellets and lit from one end and smoke tubes (tubes filled with pellets lit from one end) to make sure the smoke density is enough to actually stick to the food. I’m not entirely convinced that if I had it to do over again, that I might not have just got a charcoal bullet smoker and one of those thermostat & blower temperature controllers instead. ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-experience-with-wood-pellet-grills-smokers/829865/36 "2019-10-18T23:02:51Z")
Glad this got bumped. I’ve had my Traeger for 6 months now and I absolutely love it! I’ve used it tons of times with many different woods and many different meats. Nice smoke rings when smoking and great flavor when using for things like burgers etc. I got hit with an unexpected heavy rain storm before I could get the cover on once and feared the worst. After the storm I checked the hopper and the pellets were bone dry. Haven’t had a clog or anything more difficult than cleaning the grate and changing the foil on the drip pan. Tried the reverse sear once and it worked ok, but 450 isn’t quite as hot as I would like but I have my Weber gas grill two steps away so I just get that blazing hot and when the meat gets almost to where I want it I move it over for a quick sear. Works like a charm. A few nights ago my wife brought me a big slice of prime rib that she got from an upscale grocer but I didn’t get a chance to eat it that night. A day or so later I set it to 180 put the slab on and let it get up to temperature. My wife was sure it would be dried out but it was perfect and not dry at all. Plus it had a nice hint of hickory to it. I think I may have to grab a brisket to smoke this weekend. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2019, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-experience-with-wood-pellet-grills-smokers/829865/37 "2019-10-19T13:31:25Z")
[Moderating] Despite his name, **bump** was not the bump, here. It was bumped by a now-deleted spammer. ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2019, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-experience-with-wood-pellet-grills-smokers/829865/38 "2019-10-19T14:12:59Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > [Moderating] > > Despite his name, **bump** was not the bump, here. It was bumped by a now-deleted spammer. I considered reporting it but since the link the one post wonder included was to a site that although heavily skewed to the brand he said was the best did actually include a few categories where they listed another brand as the best. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-experience-with-wood-pellet-grills-smokers/829865.md?page=1)