Grilla OG problems

[big_mack]

I had a non wifi controller board go on me. Power was there but none of the 3 components (fan, ignitor, auger) worked. I had to replace it myself and I fried the new one because of a short from the thermometer wire when I had the board unscrewed. Its bound to happen when you have to do your own work as it is with the way grilla is setup. They sent me another board no questions. But it was throwing my GFCI outlet and it turns out it was a fried ignitor from the short. I was able to get another ignitor from a local retailer and replace it and I'm back in business. At this point I could be a grilla grills repair technician. The smokers are quite simple parts wise. Power in, board, auger, fan, ignitor and then the cooker.

I find grilla has great, responsive customer service. They have to if they want to succeed as a direct online business. Ive had them call me off hours. All emails replied to promptly. I find the parts and build quality is good. 8 out of 10. I don't find my chimp is good at high temps though. takes a while to get to 500. Open the lid and you lose it right away. But I bought the chimp for easy no hassle plug and play low and slow 225 smoking. and some 350 grilling. Pellet smoker sweet spot. High temps are handled by my 20 year old weber silver.

[DVal]

Following up on a few previous comments.... I still use the smoker and it works well at lower temps but simply cannot achieve anything higher than about 325 degrees without taking an extremely long time to do so. Usually when I cook whole chickens or thighs, I start out at 225 and raise the heat as high as I can after an hour. For this to work properly, it helps if the heat gets up to about 400 degrees. Obviously this is a problem if the smoker can't reach those temps in a reasonable time frame.
For those of you that have am OG, about how long does it take yours to go from 225 to 400 degrees? I'd love to hear others experiences.

Also, I don't normally like to talk badly about customer service. Grilla seems like an ok brand overall and I love the primate (the 2/3 plate was a waste of money though). Im even considering buying their outdoor kitchen. But their lack clarity, clear backpedaling of their own statements and unwillingness to help with this particular problem with my grilla has really disappointed me and definitely makes me wish I'd gone with a different smoker.

[bep35]

I purchased a Grilla OG in January. During cold months it took over an hour to reach 350 with Grilla pellets and the temp controller set to 500. 20 to 30 minutes to reach 225 and 30 minutes or more to get to 350. Never got above 350. The fire in the burnpot would go out if I didn't have the door cracked. I got the grillgrates but don't use them as the OG doesn't get hot with them in. Yes, I am disappointed. Not the experience I was hoping for. Hopefully things will improve with warmer weather.

[DrJimmy2112]

I would say this reflects my experience too, and I have learned to live with using the 0G for low and slow, 300° or less. More than that requires a lot of patience to get to temp. Is there’s so little difference in flavor at higher temperatures I find it easier just to use the Gasser. That said, I am very happy with the grilla for low and slow.

[klflowers]

I don't have the OG, I have a Chimp, and I haven't had many problems with it. I had an issue with one of the legs but they sent a replacement right away. I have a couple of charcoal grills I use fir hot cooks like chicken, but I have had the Chimp up at 450 no problem, took around 15, 20 minutes to get that hot. I only use BBQrs delight championship blend pellets.