Please talk me out of getting a pellet grill.

[Michael_in_TX]

I've been looking at pellet grills all day. If I do choose to do this, I keep coming back to the Grilla Chimp. I like its footprint. It's just the wife and I and with my 10x10 patio, that smaller footprint is ideal. Also, while the Chimp is more expensive than other "tailgaters," the build quality for the money seems outstanding.

I need to go through some thought experiments. The Chimp plus "desired" accessories is close to $700. I need to make sure that owning this really will help me grill and smoke more. I need to remind myself that that is why I am going down this road.

I used an astronomy analogy earlier and I think another one is apt. My most powerful telescope is a 12" (the size of the main mirror). It is also ridiculously heavy. The entire thing weighs over 100 lbs. It takes three or four trips to move everything out of the garage to the driveway. And then, after you're done observing, you have to do all of that in reverse (when you're exhausted and tired).

There have been many pristine clear nights in which I just didn't want to go through the hassle of taking that thing out. So, I bought a smaller and lighter telescope (5"). Now, the smaller the mirror, the less detail you see and the dimmer the images are, but you still are doing astronomy. That 5" scope is my primary scope on weeknights. I can take it outside in one trip....probably weighs 15 lbs total.

Smaller telescope = pellet grill, larger telescope = PBC. (Okay, the analogy isn't perfect, to be sure.)

[klflowers]

I am killing this thread. Remember too that the smoke profile on the food will be really light. I am OK with that, trade off for convenience.

[Michael_in_TX]

Exactly. As I have my PBC and my Weber and intend to continue to use them, I need to figure out how much is it worth it to be for that convenience with the lesser smoke. If the cheapest pellet grill was a Yoder, this would be completely off the table, but the Chimp seems to be right at the price point for me (coupled with its features) to make the cost/benefit ratio.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

My friend absolutely loves his Chimp. Cooks enough for his family of 3, and he's using it at least weekly. Unfortunately he's in a different state so I haven't been able to put hands on it or sample his wares.

[RickyBobby]

FWIW, and I know several folks have already given excellent advice/recommendations, have you considered a gasser? I saw your earlier mention of not wanting to deal with gas, but I must say that I will never be without a gasser in my stable. I have a cheap "smoke box" that lives in mine and I throw in a handful or two or whatever flavor chips I feel like Every time I fire it. Absolutely amazing for mid week or last minute cooks. I go out, crank it up, and am typically cooking in less than 8 minutes. That said, I have very little pellet grill experience and will certainly add one to my cooking stable at some point. Congrats on the new cooker! Looking forward to your pellet cooks and you trying to "talk me out" of, well, any MCS induced cooker. Lol!

[Michael_in_TX]

Another question that has come up in my research is how do ambient temperatures affect cooking time and the capability of holding a desired temp?

I've seen several reports, especially from people in the southern United States, that a pellet grill in full sunlight in the summer can struggle to keep a temperature lower than 300 or so. Has this been anyone's experience?

[Clark]

Michael_in_TX Grilla has a chart for the Chimp for adjusting in high temps. It tells you what pellet rate should be used at different ambient temps and how to change it.

One other thing that was important to me is the Chimp comes fully assembled except for screwing on a couple of handles. I'm old and have arthritis, but unboxing, unpacking, and getting handles on was a simple one-man job done in 15 minutes. Unboxing was the most time consuming as it was well packed.

[klflowers]

Clark I didn’t know about the chart. Thanks for the tip

[Michael_in_TX]

Thanks Clark, I saw that chart in the manual but didn't understand what it was about. Thanks, now I get it. Interesting.

[klflowers]

One more thing to consider with the Chimp, no room for a drip pan. Well, that's not really true. It comes with a shallow upper grate, about half the depth of the main grate. I guess if you put something on that grate, you could put a drip pan on the main grate. Or maybe you could put a pan on the main grate and put a wire rack on top of the pan.

[latenight71]

also keep in mind that you will be cooking with wood remnants that look like deer poop. i got nothing else.

[Michael_in_TX]

Another question. For a typical Chimp or Silverbac-sized pellet grill, how long from shutdown until one can safely put the grill cover back on?

My patio is not covered, so the grill will be exposed to the elements until that cover is put on.....and unlike other grills, it has electronics.

[MBMorgan]

The OG shutdown sequence takes 5 minutes. I just leave it open for about 30-60 minutes after shutdown before covering (I have a Grilla brand cover). I assume that the Silverbac or Chimp would be similar.

[klflowers]

I usually cover it around a half hour to an hour after use. But I didn’t cover it a couple weeks ago and it was rained on for a couple of days. Fired it up last week and it worked fine.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

If you hit shut down mode when you pull your meat for dinner, you would probably be able to cover it by the time you've done the dishes. If it's not cool enough by then just pop the lid while you do whatever other nightly chore and it should be fine to cover.

[dinosdeuce]

I just ordered a Rectec 590. Been using a weber and Primo XL for several years. Keeping both. As stated previously I wanted something convenient. Working 12 hour shifts it will be nice to start the grill when I leave work and have it ready to go when I get home. It is mind boggling doing the research and then second guessing everything after a decision is made.

Good luck with you choice.

[glitchy]

Don’t second guess it, the Recteq will be great!

[dinosdeuce]

Thanks glitchy. Its supposed to be delivered this afternoon

[Dalmore]

I'm second guessing my new gasser right now. (Don't tell Traeger, but the salesman they had outside my local HD on Saturday convinced me to go with the Weber Spirit with his comments and demos on searing and maintenance.)

I, literally, never did anything but clean the GrillGrates on my last Weber Spirit for the six years I owned it.

I'm lazy.

Anyway, this was meant to be a second guessing is normal post. So, perhaps I should have stopped typing long ago...

[rickgregory]

I'm kinda pissed. This thread is working in reverse. I have no real interest in a new smoker. My Weber is working on a pork butt as I type this... And I kind of want a Chimp now.

[glitchy]

You probably should just get the Silverback and a Chimp both.

[rickgregory]

🤬🤬

[klflowers]

What glitchy said

[Clark]

Michael_in_TX When you press 'off' it starts a 5 minute cool down cycle, then shuts off. I used mine this afternoon and after it shut off, I unplugged, wiped my grate and lid, then put the cover on it after making certain it was cool enough.

You seem to be over-thinking the purchase process. While you are in paralysis mode, the price of the Chimp went up by $25!

[Jake435]

I had the same set up and got a Grilla OG. It holds temps and really has become my "I want to smoke meats but didn’t plan and technically am responsible for my 1 year old right now" The PBC and Kette have become my weekend warriors. Don’t worry though you’ll still have MCS (I like to pretend my wife won’t leave me if magically an offset appeared in our yard one day).

Do you feel the PBC yields a superior final product compared to Grilla, as it relates to flavor, bark, moisture, etc? Which one turns over a better brisket?

[Baltimorelger]

That is tough. I've made brisket on both and been super pleased with the results. I think you definitely get a stronger smoke flavor with the PBC (because it's actually charcoal burning wood), but texture, moisture, etc are comparable. On my PBC I tend to go Hot & Fast and the OG is more for slow, I got plenty of time to do this cooks. Honestly I love them both.

[Michael_in_TX]

Well, it's been a few days and I am still thinking that I want to do this. One line of thinking that has really gotten me closer is that I remembered I had been thinking of getting a Smokey Joe for quick cooks. That's $30 vs $700.

But as I've been watching videos and seeing what people choose to cook on a pellet grills vs a charcoal grill (when they have both easily available), I realized that actually there are some things I have done on the Weber and PBC in which I would have liked them to have less smoke!

Fish and ground beef, especially. (Malcom Reed has this killer smoked meatball recipe which I do on my PBC, but about half the time it comes out just a tad over-smoked and gives the meatballs a slight bitter taste.)

I also have this weird hangup that whatever I am grilling/cooking needs to take longer to cook than the setup time for the grill; that is, it needs to cook longer than it does to get the charcoal lit.

I'm really beginning to see how a pellet grill would complement rather than replace what I have.

I have run into a bit of a snag, however. I have only one outdoor outlet and I looked at it this afternoon and it is damaged. It's got one of those plastic shields that covers a cord that is plugged into it and a heavy outdoor shelf was leaning on it for quite some time. The screws are stripped and the box that is held in by the brick is pulled away in places. I'll need to get that professional fixed, clearly, as it is no where safe to use.

[rickgregory]

"I'm really beginning to see how a pellet grill would complement rather than replace what I have."

Yep. And even if I and fine with the ramp up time on my small Smokey Joe, I waste coals on a shorter cook. And for reverse sear steak, etc, I'd like to get some light smoke and have a consistent temp from the get go so I can kind of estimate the time it will take, etc.

[MBMorgan]

Other than during the ignition phase, a pellet pooper requires very little power. I know (seen it in a video) that the folks at Grilla have been known to use a battery AC power pack. I’d bet that a quick call to support would tell you what you need if you want to eliminate total dependence on a nearby outlet. Frankly, I’ve thought more than once about getting one for my OG.

[Michael_in_TX]

You're right....I have noticed quite a few videos in which the grills are connected to portable batteries.....marine batteries mostly. I've even seen a set up in which the battery is charged via a solar panel.

[saneric38]

I started with a vertical pellet smoker. It was a good learning experience, but wish I had found this place before I got it as I would have gone better quality. Mine is a Pit Boss Pro Series 4. Dansons looks like a great company, and the latest model looks great. I will probably not go with their stuff again. Currently, holding out for Masterbuilt to see if the gravity series go through more improvements. I see that as the best of both worlds - charcoal and wood with the ease of the set and forget of the pellet smokers.

My pellet smoker stays in a shed and cooks under a carport. It has cooked a great deal. I like the bark color you can get on the pellet smoker. I then got a Pit Barrel Junior. I really like the flavor of brisket and a chicken on the Pit Barrel. Currently the pellet smoker is having shut down ErL and ErH codes at 250 degrees, so it's hard to use it. I do miss it for certain cooks. Got a new probe coming, and got an after-market CampChef control box that I will try out.

[jfmorris]

If you don't need to travel with it, maybe I missed something, but the OG doesn't take up a lot of patio space, and to me seems it would hold a good bit more than the Chimp. If I ever buy a pellet cooker, its likely to be the OG. Right now I don't see it in my future, as I've already got 5 cookers in the backyard, not to mention things like different jet and banjo burners (patio stoves, fish cookers, etc) for brewing and boiling with.

[BCam]

I ditched the pellet smoker for the Char-Griller Gravity 980. Personally tested temp range 200ËšF - 725ËšF. 16-hour cook without adding fuel.

You might want to check it out before getting the Chimp.