Depends on the grill, where it's used specifically under an overhang and out of predominant winds?
My grill is on my open deck, nothing but the house to block wind on one side. Cold or hot doesn't bother my MAK really (cold for us is rarely below 20), but certain wind or rain conditions can wreak havoc. For the MAK specifically, heavy but intermittent rain or high wind from the rear will make my grill bounce around on temps, maybe 10-15 degree swings.
The thing that surprised me the most was that at 225 there really isn't a significant pellet consumption difference summer or winter. Now for grill temps 500+, it gobbles pellets a lot more when it's below 45.
What that looks like on another grill? I dunno. I'm sure glitchy has a much broader experience
Polarbear777 The manifold looked clear enough not to be the issue. It is possible the fan vent may be more clogged but I did a through clean out fairly recently. It is a bit too cold to troubleshoot it but if it warms up enough I may see if I can clear anything else. My assumption is sitting on the sidewalk with zero wind break is pretty suboptimal but nothing I can do about it.
I think this is where you're going to see differentiation among different pellet grills. Heavier duty construction and better design holding temp better in cold.
For example my MAK used to really struggle getting to 400deg in cold weather. I upgraded to their new flamezone a couple years ago. The difference has been incredible. Less pronounced for low temps, but very noticeable for me since I do a lot of chicken at 400.
I did 2 salmon 🣠filets last night on the Grilla at 325. When I first turned it on it shut down after a some time and I got an error message that said ERL. It was cold last night, single degrees. Wasn’t sure what that meant so I restarted the smoker and it got to 325 in no time. Put the salmon on there and all was well. I found a video on Grilla’s website about the ERL error code. Not sure what it meant….I skimmed through the video. I saw that Matt said don’t restart your smoker after getting this error (too late for that) so I just popped open a Modela and let it ride out. Salmon was excellent and nothing happened.
Today I cleaned out the smoker with my shop vac because tomorrow morning my smoker has a date with a pork butt. There’s a lot of ice on the ground right now and it’s looking to be in the teens tomorrow for the majority of the day. So as I watch the Bears miserable season come to an end I fully anticipate my pork butt to be the real win for tomorrow thanks to my Silverbac.
Not sure on poopers but my COS really benefits from a nice snug wrapping with a welding blanket.
It responds better to temp control from moving that than using vents
LSG Adjustable Grill/Smoker, MAK Pellet Grill, Large BGE with Several Attachments from the Ceramic Grill Store, Weber Gasser, Cast Iron Pans & Griddle, Grill Grates, Mostly Thermoworks Thermometers, Anova SV Stick, BBQ Guru Controller and Fan
I've had 3 different Pellet Grills over the past 15 years or so. (An original Traeger, Memphis Pro, and now a MAK) All 3 have worked well in cold weather. The biggest culprit in cold MN weather, like 0* and above, is the wind for me. I just try to stay out of direct wind as best I can and they all worked pretty well. I use my pellet grill in the cooler weather more than in the warm weather because it's easier than babysitting charcoal/wood.
I smoked some big thick, pork chops on my Recteq RT-700 for dinner yesterday. It was about 25 degrees at start up. I have their insulating blanket on it. Runs like a champ. No extra pellet usage either.
I use my GMG Daniel Boone up to about -20 Celsius (-4 Fahrenheit) below that is too cold for me outside. I have the insulated blanket that GMG sells and haven't had any issues with temp control, pellet usage is higher but that's to be expected. Recovery after opening the lid takes longer as well so I tend to stay away from cooks that need constant attention.
I have a Smoke Daddy and use it year around with temps dropping to 0 in the winter, I put a welding blanket around it attached by a couple clips, It will work with temps to 350 degrees, Don't use it higher than that so I don't know how high it would hold the heat
> Weber Genesis EP-330
> Grilla Grills Original Grilla (OG) pellet smoker with Alpha/Connect
> Grilla Grills Pizza Oven
> Pit Barrel Cooker (gone to a new home)
> WeberQ 2000 (on "loan" to a relative (I'll never see it again))
> Old Smokey Electric (for chickens mostly - when it's too nasty out
to fiddle with a more capable cooker)
> Luhr Jensen Little Chief Electric - Top Loader circa 1990 (smoked fish & jerky)
> Thermoworks Smoke
> 3 Thermoworks Chef Alarms
> Thermoworks Thermapen One
> Thermoworks Thermapen Classic
> Thermoworks Thermopop
> Thermoworks IR-GUN-S
> Anova sous vide circulator
> Searzall torch
> BBQ Guru Rib Ring
> WÜSTHOF, Dalstrong, and Buck knives
> Paprika App on Mac and iOS
I can only speak to the performance of one brand (Grilla Grills) and one model (the OG) ... made with double-walls by folks who got their start in a pretty serious cold-weather-climate location. My OG doesn't even seem to notice low temps (not nearly as much as I do) and only gets a little shaky about holding steady temps when the cold wind is howling (unlike me). Pellet consumption? I've never really paid close attention, but I haven't noticed any remarkably different consumption based on seasonal temperature variations.
Below freezing ... say down to around 10-15F, below which I lose interest and stay inside. Also, it's under cover so no direct snow or rain and it's in Colorado where the winter air is usually quite dry.
The MB560 is not a pellet grill, so I don’t think you can set expectations by comparing to how pellet grills handle the cold. Pellet grills mostly have the fire in the bottom dead center of the cook chamber, gravity feeds burn outside the chamber. So, it’s likely weather is going to affect GFs a lot more.
As far as pellet grills, mine have all worked fine in very cold temps, but performance varies greatly grill to grill. The biggest thing is just pellet consumption. The cheaper grills would use a lot more pellets in colder weather. Wind is more of an impact than temps and performance varies even more grill to grill.
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