Thinking about a pellet grill to add

Paging @pgprescott as he deals with all manner of outdoor cookers.  

I've never used one, but I'm sure they are more than adequate. Get some grill grates if you want to grill with it. 

I'd go look at that pellet grill before you buy it.  At 219 sq. in. of cooking area, it can come across as surprisingly small for a pellet pusher.   As a reference, the large egg is approx, 260 sq. in.

I get mobile but remember, you gotta plug into an electrical outlet.  Easy in an RV park, not so much at a camp site or tailgate.

t

Going on Pellet heads.com is somewhat useful. I fond a lot of the issue threads are on that page. It shows the possible things that can and have gone wrong with the units in the GMG lineup. If your on FB, there is a page there as well that has nothing but the positive side of owning a GMG, its called Green Mountain Grill Owners. Check out both to get a sense of what you want to do.

"I recommend a jump pack to run it. something like this."

A cheaper, longer running alternative, assuming you have a battery charger already, is a garden tractor battery for about 1/2 the price.

scdaf said:

219 square inches is 84% as big as a large BGE, so, not exactly tiny.  It will hold 2 pork butts or a decent sized turkey.

To me, a standard weber kettle is an average size grill at 22 1/2" / 363 square inches.  A dedicated pellet pooper that is 40% smaller than a standard kettle wouldn't be for me.  

I just cooked bone in chicken breast on my Cookshack pellet smoker @375 indirect and it was excellent. Very crisp skin and good smoke flavor.

Pellet cookers are nice, but they won't fully replace my egg. My Cookshack is a totally indirect smoker. Most of the pellet grills on the market can do both direct and indirect.

If you can justify the expense I would recommend for you to look at the
https://memphisgrills.com/

Or https://www.makgrills.com/

Cookshack also makes some nice residential grills
http://www.cookshack.com/store/Grills

The manufactures listed above all produce their smokers in the USA, that's not true for the bulk of the pellet smokers on the market.
Trager was once a big name in pellet grills. They moved production to China and their quality suffered. I understand they have worked to get the quality back in their grills.
Pellet grills/smokers like anything, are only as good as the support you can get from the manufacture. Things malfunction and fail with anything, it's how the manufacture stands behind it is what's important.

I can only speak about Cookshack when it come's to support. They are outstanding. They really support what they sell.

When you need a replacement part, It's nice to know it's not on a slow boat coming from China.



 

Hntnhrd said:

@GregW thanks I will look at those. I am no hurry . 
I was at Costco yesterday and they had a traeger roadshow thing going on. I was looking at them and the guy asked me if I had a traeger? I said no I have an egg. He smiled turned around and walked away!!! Lol

I've looked at the Trager at the Costco roadshow also. I got the same reaction when he asked what I cooked on. It's hard to compete against an egg.
All the Tragers he had on display were future rust buckets in the making.

hondabbq said:

Be careful with that thing on here. there are some sensitive people on here that feel they are blasphemy using electricity to cook isn't cooking outdoors.

I bought a JB wifi last fall. only a ocuple cooks with it so far.

Do you like using it? Anticipate more use as we're getting into Spring?

The Traegers have really improved their game in the last three years. I wouldn't hesitate to have one on my deck. The Memphis is kinda a league apart from the rest IMO. The Yoder looks like a great unit, but I haven't massed with them personally. I am confident from their reputation and what I've seen online that they are excellent. This new Traeger is a game changer for them IMO. 
http://www.traegergrills.com/timberline.html
of course most of these aren't very portable. Traeger does make a tailgater with folding legs too, but not wifi. Good luck. 

Hans61 said:

hondabbq said:

Be careful with that thing on here. there are some sensitive people on here that feel they are blasphemy using electricity to cook isn't cooking outdoors.

I bought a JB wifi last fall. only a ocuple cooks with it so far.

Do you like using it? Anticipate more use as we're getting into Spring?

Definitely. I know guys use them all winter but I just put my stuff away for winter to keep it protected.

I will be breaking it out this weekend for its first cook of the season. It will be ribs. First go was a rack of pork then it was 6 butts, then winter hit.

pgprescott said:

The Traegers have really improved their game in the last three years. I wouldn't hesitate to have one on my deck. The Memphis is kinda a league apart from the rest IMO. The Yoder looks like a great unit, but I haven't massed with them personally. I am confident from their reputation and what I've seen online that they are excellent. This new Traeger is a game changer for them IMO. 
http://www.traegergrills.com/timberline.html
of course most of these aren't very portable. Traeger does make a tailgater with folding legs too, but not wifi. Good luck. 

They have upped/innovated their game, kudos to the folks at Traeger.

Double wall is bigly.
Techy peeps will go ape about the built-in controller, WiFIRE.  The SS, cutting board touches are nice.  

Good to see companies like Traeger and PK pushing forward, stagnation sucks.

For sh!ts and giggles Pete, what's the retail on the Timberline 1300?  

pgprescott said:

Focker said:

pgprescott said:

The Traegers have really improved their game in the last three years. I wouldn't hesitate to have one on my deck. The Memphis is kinda a league apart from the rest IMO. The Yoder looks like a great unit, but I haven't massed with them personally. I am confident from their reputation and what I've seen online that they are excellent. This new Traeger is a game changer for them IMO. 
http://www.traegergrills.com/timberline.html
of course most of these aren't very portable. Traeger does make a tailgater with folding legs too, but not wifi. Good luck. 

They have upped/innovated their game, kudos to the folks at Traeger.

Double wall is bigly.
Techy peeps will go ape about the built-in controller, WiFIRE.  The SS, cutting board touches are nice.  

Good to see companies like Traeger and PK pushing forward, stagnation sucks.

For sh!ts and giggles Pete, what's the retail on the Timberline 1300?  

@2K and the 850 is 1600 I think. We can't get them til May/June.

Perspective wise, that's less than 1/2 a Memphis. I haven't played with it really, but we kicked the tires at the show. The app looks pretty comprehensive for the WiFire.

Thanks.  The Memphis line must be solid.  Look forward to checking those out in June. 

2Gs isn't bad for the Timberline.  One of the pulmonolgists I work with has a Traeger, he loves it.

pgprescott said:

Focker said:

pgprescott said:

Focker said:

pgprescott said:

The Traegers have really improved their game in the last three years. I wouldn't hesitate to have one on my deck. The Memphis is kinda a league apart from the rest IMO. The Yoder looks like a great unit, but I haven't massed with them personally. I am confident from their reputation and what I've seen online that they are excellent. This new Traeger is a game changer for them IMO. 
http://www.traegergrills.com/timberline.html
of course most of these aren't very portable. Traeger does make a tailgater with folding legs too, but not wifi. Good luck. 

They have upped/innovated their game, kudos to the folks at Traeger.

Double wall is bigly.
Techy peeps will go ape about the built-in controller, WiFIRE.  The SS, cutting board touches are nice.  

Good to see companies like Traeger and PK pushing forward, stagnation sucks.

For sh!ts and giggles Pete, what's the retail on the Timberline 1300?  

@2K and the 850 is 1600 I think. We can't get them til May/June.

Perspective wise, that's less than 1/2 a Memphis. I haven't played with it really, but we kicked the tires at the show. The app looks pretty comprehensive for the WiFire.

Thanks.  The Memphis line must be solid.  Look forward to checking those out in June. 

2Gs isn't bad for the Timberline.  One of the pulmonolgists I work with has a Traeger, he loves it.

I cook on one at the store for demos etc. I don't have one at home, but that might change soon. It's not live fire cooking, but it does a good job on lots of stuff. TBH, I like ribs off the traeger, A LOT. The grill grates virtually eliminate the searing issue for the pellet grills. Obviously, like all cookers, they do some things better than others. They are not as versatile as an Egg, but a nice addition for sure. The Memphis is just a tank. The fit and finish are way above all others in the category. They are par with the high end gassers. The performance matches the finish too. It's deep water for those.

I'm trying to hook up with a brewer for the fest. We are pretty friendly with the owner of Bent. I'm not a huge consumer of beer any longer, so I'm not very familiar with their products. I would gladly get more familiar though! LOL!

Teaming up with Bent would be epic Pete!  I may need to pass out behind the shop. Lol

 Bumped into the Brewmaster at Hy Vee in the craft beer section.  We chatted for a bit, and he recommended a couple of great beers, super nice guy.  Their Mississippi Blonde is my favorite pale ale, Oatmeal Stout is great too, love pepper stout beef with it.  Jingle Java is a Christmastime QC staple.  They were cranking out craft beers long before the craft beer craze.  Their 20th Anniversary is this year, Front Street Brewery in Davenport is celebrating their 25th this year...pretty cool.