Welcome!


This is a membership forum. Guests can view 5 pages for free. To participate, please join.

[ Pitmaster Club Information | Join Now | Login | Contact Us ]

Only 4 free page views remaining.

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Thinking about adding a pellet smoker to the arsenal

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    Thinking about adding a pellet smoker to the arsenal

    I am thinking about a portable pellet smoker to add to the collection. I want one for fixing a small amount of items and want something easy and hassle free. Thanksgiving I was doing a dip for the family and it got me thinking that a pellet would have been very handy for it.

    Any thoughts - I have been looking at The GMG Trek, Traeger Tailgater, and Grilla Chimp - but am open to others as well...

    I would any feedback people can provide, positive and negative...

    Thanks in advance

    #2
    Beware of the darkside my son.

    Comment


    • clb239
      clb239 commented
      Editing a comment
      HawkerXP I will make sure it does not get too close to the PBC if I get one...

    #3
    I have been extremely happy with Grilla products. Dont have the Chimp, but have the Silverbac. I do not think you can go wrong.
    Last edited by DavidNorcross; December 3, 2021, 07:33 PM.

    Comment


      #4
      I have a Recteq pellet cooker but a full sized unit. As far as small units, I don’t have one and have never used one. But was at my local bbq supply store recently and they are a Green Moun dealer. They had the Trek on display both with and without the optional cart. I had a chance to look it over closely. I was impressed with build quality and feature set. Can’t believe I didn’t buy one on the spot. Still may go back and get it. I know that’s not much but all I have on the subject. Good luck and keep us posted!

      Comment


      • clb239
        clb239 commented
        Editing a comment
        Jfrosty27 I saw the Trek at my BBQ shop and that is what got me interested in a small pellet smoker

      #5
      To balance things out I am also planning to build a cinder block pit which would be the opposite of the ease of use you get from a pellet smoker...

      Comment


      • Huskee
        Huskee commented
        Editing a comment
        Your Pitmaster Credit Score will skyrocket, both from adding two cookers to your lineup and from having a 100% hands-on cooker!

      #6
      've thought about this too and one thing with the Chimp that I like are the folding legs. I wouldnt use it as a portable grill much if at all but for times where I want to smoke something with little/no worry about monitoring so I want it at a close to regular grill height.

      Comment


        #7
        Come on over to the Pellet side. I have a Traeger Timberline 850. Love it and the food cooked on it.
        So far not one, not one complaint. Overnight cooks, hot and fast, low and slow it does it all with temperatures from 165 to 500*F.

        With the WIFI I no longer have to monitor the fire from the patio. The cook can be controlled from the cell phone as long as there is cell service. This is either a positive or a negative depending on the enjoyment of tending the fire or the "set it and forget" feature.

        Jermy Yoder uses a Traeger, time-stamped 5:10, I Bought the Cheapest Cut of Pork at Costco and This Happened | Mad Scientist BBQ - YouTube


        Comment


          #8
          I’d vote for the Chimp. We have had a lot of positive experiences from fellow members, the customer service is outstanding, and the feature set is really just unbeatable for the price. Make sure you take advantage of Black Friday pricing!

          Comment


            #9
            I got a Grilla OG and love it. Based on that I would say the Chimp as far as portable options.

            Comment


              #10
              My first cooker was a vertical pit boss pellet cooker. I like it for the ease of some cooks. I did have issues with Erl codes. Replaced the control box with an aftermarket box, and no issues since.

              Comment


                #11
                Are you looking for "portable" (something for camping, tailgating, meals at grandma's house, etc.) or are you looking for something with a small footprint (will always stay at home but won't eat up half your limited patio space)? If it's portability you need, then the list you provided in your OP is a great place to start. If on the other hand, you're looking for a small footprint, then I'd definitely add the Grilla Grills Original smoker to your list ... up to 630 sq.in. cooking space but with a footprint not much different than a Weber 22" kettle.

                Comment


                  #12
                  I have the Chimp and I use it more than anything else these days. After I added the Alpha Connect controller it became even more user friendly. Now I can control it from anywhere with my phone. It is well built and the customer service from the Grilla guys is excellent. I wholeheartedly recommend it.

                  Comment


                    #13
                    My first pellet grill was a Traeger Junior, which is a tailgater without foldable legs (they did or maybe do still sell a leg kit to convert them). I really liked it, it was a good little grill and got me addicted to pellet poopers. However, at that time there wasn't near as much competition in the market as there is today. I'd probably still have it if it were not for BBCS (Bigger Better Cooker Syndrome).

                    If I were looking at a portable today, I would definitely consider it again, but would more likely go with a Grilla Chimp or CampChef Pursuit. The Grilla seems to have better construction than Traeger, by the specs at least. The CampChef has better features for the money.

                    As far as the GMG, I'd check a number of reviews and do some Google searches for common issues. They kinda had the niche on the fully functional but still maneuverable travel market for quite some time. The Davy Crocket just doesn't have a match in the market for the cooking space vs portability. However, I've seen a lot of complaints about temperature unevenness and problems keeping lower temps over the years. They may have updated firmware and/or parts to resolve that, I don't know as I don't really follow the product, just know I've seen it reported in several different places in the past. The Trek also has some redesign it appears, so hard to say if it would have same problems.

                    Also, I think the Traeger and Chimp are enough bigger than the GMG to function more like an everyday pellet smoker, the Trek is only 219 SQ inches, while the Traeger and Chimp are 300+. I was able to cook smaller packers on the junior, I'm not sure that's possible on a Trek.
                    Last edited by glitchy; November 29, 2021, 11:53 AM.

                    Comment


                      #14
                      I heard Hasbro is coming out with a Pellet grill. So easy to use and hassle free.
                      Attached Files

                      Comment


                      • glitchy
                        glitchy commented
                        Editing a comment
                        Is using a pellet grill really much different than connecting your BBQ Guru to your WSM, PKs, or Kettle? Between my WSCG and my pellet grill the difference is a lighter and waiting longer to get to temp.

                      • TripleB
                        TripleB commented
                        Editing a comment
                        glitchy - I was just joking. Pellet poopers are the best.

                      • STEbbq
                        STEbbq commented
                        Editing a comment
                        Well, that and the Fireboard adds $300 to the cost of the smoker, so depending on what you want, it is sometimes cheaper to do the pellet option.

                      #15
                      If my old Trager weren't so dang bomb-proof I'd be ordering a LSG pellet pooper.

                      Not to self: need to find better bombs....

                      Comment

                    Announcement

                    Collapse
                    No announcement yet.
                    Working...
                    X
                    false
                    0
                    Guest
                    Guest
                    500
                    ["pitmaster-my-membership","login","join-pitmaster","lostpw","reset-password","special-offers","help","nojs","meat-ups","gifts","authaau-alpha","ebooklogin-start","alpha","start"]
                    false
                    false
                    {"count":0,"link":"/forum/announcements/","debug":""}
                    Yes
                    ["\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads","\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads\/1157845-paid-members-download-your-6-deep-dive-guide-ebooks-for-free-here","\/forum\/the-pitcast","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2019-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2020-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2021-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2022-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/current-2023-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/current-2024-issues","\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads\/1165909-trial-members-download-your-free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-here"]
                    /forum/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads/1165909-trial-members-download-your-free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-here