For those that fear the pellet grill because...

[rwalters]

...of all them moving parts that may break.

I was thinking about this the other day. Here's my rambling 2 cents on the topic.

I absolutely hear what others are saying about the mechanics of pellet grills vs charcoal/stick cookers. What you are saying is absolutely true and something to consider. That said, if I look over the past 6 years... I have done way more fussing with charcoal and/or sticks (lighting, maintaining and managing the fire, adjusting temps, cleaning up after the fire, replenishing charcoal/sticks during a long cook, stoking a stubborn fire, etc.) than I ever have w/ my pellet munchers. I guess I look at it this way. If my pellet cooker works without issue 99% of the time... and the other 1% I am down hard til a replacement part arrives 2-3 days later... I guess I just don’t see the reason for concern. Kind of like a bike vs car... even if the car breaks down on occasion over a 6 year span, I am still light years ahead with the car from an “ease and convienance” standpoint. Please don’t misunderstand me... I LOVE charcoal and sticks, and I can’t imagine ever being without some form of charcoal grill again... but the concern with moving parts on a pellet grill is pretty much a non-issue in my opinion. Worse case we are having an unexpected pizza dinner once every few years... [emoji2371]

Thoughts?

 

[JAKs Q & brew]

I think a big part of that is the quality of pellet grill you use. MAK is one of the gold standard pellet cookers and is made way better than your typical treager or GMG, etc.

 

[rwalters]

I think a big part of that is the quality of pellet grill you use. MAK is one of the gold standard pellet cookers and is made way better than your typical treager or GMG, etc.

This is true, but I have friends with GMG’s, Pit Boss, Traeger’s and Z Grills. Rarely are they down. Not saying you can’t have issues, or worse yet get a lemon… but in general I have come to see pellet grills as pretty dog-gone reliable. Have you experienced otherwise?

 

[Callahan-que]

I have 2 Pit Boss pellets grills that I've had for almost 5 years now. The $295 Tailgater has been used the most and has been a real work horse. It was my only grill when the wife and I were living in our rv while the house was being built. Both have been rock solid.

 

[Bob C Cue]

Coming from a pellet grill skeptic like you, this is very enlightening. Thanks!

 

[gtsum]

I’d agree when I was running pellets I was only down a time or two for a hot rod etc. it’s really a non issue (breakdowns)


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[snadamo]

I have become very intimate with the inner workings of my camp chef. At first, I was taken aback when stuff stopped working. But once I learned of all the components and how to replace them, i am fairly confident in it's usage. I have had a few flame outs on mine. But since I replaced the ignitor rod, among other things, it's been very dependable. Now if it only produced "more smoke flavor"...

 

[LYU370]

I've had an auger motor go out. And because some water got into the controller, the 12V power supply died & the display is unreadable. Can't find anyone who will de-sotter and install a new one, so I just set temp by memory.

 

[TravelingJ]

2 is 1, 1 is none. If you need to count on it, you better have a backup.

I don't trust either of my pellet cookers to start every time I need it. I also don't have time to learn/manage a wood or charcoal cooker, so I keep a spare.

 

[Dr. Trout Bum]

Had a controller failure on my Pit Boss. Building a new UDS this fall. I miss the flavor. The Pit Boss does well for tri-tip, etc, but brisket is never the same as on my UDS.

 

[Whumpa]

7 years of regular use on my Traeger Pro 22. Not one single mechanical problem. Not even a igniter rod issue. I did have one flame out, but that was pellet bridge.

 

[slider2021]

Here are my 2 cents.

My first smoker with a Weber. After using it for a few years, I had no desire to be sitting outside in all types of weather conditions feeding it wood and trying to keep the temps at the correct levels. I then bought an electric Masterbuilt, it was better, but not by much. I sold both on craigslist.

I took the money and then...

Last year I bought a Traeger Pro Series 34. It was the best decision I ever made. It was affordable and works like a charm. I just couldn't see dropping $2000 or more on a smoker. Now, I cook any time, day, night, rain, snow, wind, heat, doesn't matter. I insert my probes into the meat, on the grate, and watch it from the comfy of my couch.

I just did a 16-pound brisket which took 14 hours to cook. Can you imagine sitting outside for 14 hours and feeding wood into an offset? I am sure there are folks who do this, god bless them. I hope they live in warm weather climates and have plenty of time on their hands. Personally, I want to go to bed at a normal hour, wake up, have breakfast, and then check the smoker. I have much better things to do than watch a smoker at 3 am.

Peace

 

[pjtexas1]

Who only has 1 cooker? If my Mak ever fails I'll just light a chimney and use another cooker.

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[ssv3]

^^

I have plenty of cookers as back up but my Yoder YS640 hasn't fail me once yet in 4 years. I bought it used and the previous owner used it exclusively since 2016.

Now, we had t-storms and it got drenched bad this AM since I didn't cover it. Hopefully nothing happened to the electronics/board. :-D

 

[Speeed]

My pellet grill failing is honestly not something that even crosses my mind.
Sure it can happen but it doesn't even register as a concern of mine.

 

[tom b]

I got my start on a pellet rig and absoutley love my MAK 2*, it has never failed me. It is most often used when I cook over night or need to leave the house for a few hrs. I fear not.

I been cooking mostly on the webers and recently pick up a new to me stick burner. The webers can go 5-6 hrs all on there own PBC longer and the stick burner only need me every hr. or so.

Pellet cooking or any of the others, you will mostly find me sitting on the couch watching a game.

 

[jham0077]

I never did anything overnight before my RecTeq came along. I guess you could call me lazy. I may have got up early to put something in my drum so we could have it for supper, but I never had faith in something going overnight. Now a butt will go on at 9pm and be ready for lunch the next day. Probes in the meat and my head on a pillow.

 

[jermoQ]

Walter's, I am with you. Right now I only have my Pitboss 820, that is 8 years old. I had the igniter go out 4 years in. I trusted it to let me sleep all night and cook brisket for my dad this past weekend. I will probably upgrade to a better one whenever this one quits.

 

[rwalters]

Walter's, I am with you. Right now I only have my Pitboss 820, that is 8 years old. I had the igniter go out 4 years in. I trusted it to let me sleep all night and cook brisket for my dad this past weekend. I will probably upgrade to a better one whenever this one quits.

I hear ya! Heck, my wife just reminded me that we need shredded beef for tomorrows nights burrito bowls. Ran out to the fridge, grabbed a couple of chuck roasts… brought them in and applied a little SPG… while that was soaking in I went out and fired up the MAK… 15 mins later I had the meat on the smoker and now it’s time for bed. Would never have done that with another smoker.

 

[kevinstaggs]

Never thought of it quite like that, but you're spot-on.