What makes a good pellet smoker?

[taffenhoffsbbq]

Hey guys, so I’ve been looking into buying a pellet grill, mainly for smoking sausage at 150° And resting/holding other meats. I saw a vertical pit boss at lowes that was only $500 but that seems fairly cheap. Like offsets, are there any things to look for in a quality pellet smoker? Thanks!

[texastweeter]

I'm not qualified to answer your question.

[bbqLuv]

I suggest getting the best you can afford.
I chose Traeger, but there are others.
Traeger Grills® - The Original Wood Pellet Grill

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

won't suit their needs, look at the temp range they need

[bbqLuv]

My Traeger has a warm setting. 165*f and that works for me.
A low temperature warning will display when the temperature has dropped below 150-125°F for 10-20 minutes depending on the model and brand of your pellet grill. The low temperature warning is really telling you that it’s not hot enough to ignite the wood pellets properly to generate sufficient temperature and smoke to continue smoking.
Low Temperature Error On Pellet Grill -
grillsimply.com/low-temperature-error-on-pellet-g

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

I don't know anything about vertical units really, but most pellet grills don't like running below 160, and the majority seem to run closer to 180-200 at the lowest temp.

PelletPro makes a pellet vertical that supposedly runs solid at 160 but I haven't seen anyone here review one. ReqTeq and MAK both have a smoking box attachment that would run as a true cold smoker but then you're talking $4-5K total investment.

I could be wrong, but I think most people making sausage and stuff use an electric or propane vertical unit

[leol2]

I have a Smoke Daddy Pellet Pro. It is a great unit, If you want to run that temp you should spend the money on the upgraded controller. I also have the smoke diffuser that let's me put small pieces of wood into to enhance the smoke.

[Steve B]

Might be a wee bit more than your looking to spend but here it is.

https://lonestargrillz.com/collections/pellet-smokers-coming-soon/products/pellet-smoker

[STEbbq]

I was thinking a Backwards Chubby https://shop.backwoods-smoker.com/co...ts/chubby-3400 but they only run maybe 180.

The Camp Chef propane units are very good and run down to 150. We have a lot of happy customers here.

https://www.campchef.com/camp-chef-smoke-vault-18/CC-SMV18S.html

[Jerod Broussard]

I use the Camp Chef Smoke Vault to smoke sausage. I prefer to run around 200. Love it.

[Donw]

Not a pellet smoker but I too use a Smoke Vault for sausages. Room to hang, and with a little patience controlling the gas you can get it down into the ranges you want. A few chunks in the pan and you get all the smoke you need.

[Spinaker]

I reviewed that one. It would be good value for what you are looking to do. As long as you are not trying to use it all the time, it would be fine.

Pitboss 5-Series Wood Pellet Vertical Smoker

[DaveD]

I've got this smoker and love it. On its "smoke" setting, temps range between 110-130F/43-54C. It fluctuates more on that low temp, not surprisingly. Once you set it to a cooking temp, even 150F/66C, it holds very steady with gradient less than 5F/2C from top to bottom (at least in mine). 1500+ sq in on five racks (almost a full square metre) of cooking space, you could feed an army!

[Northern lights smoke]

I have a pit boss 7 series and it works great for me. Although the temp fluctuates a bit it nothing that makes a big difference. They have a water pan which helps keep moisture in and for a pellet smoker, this one actually produces a fair amount of smoke, especially at lower Temps. It's fairly easy on pellets and it has about a 50-60 pound pellet hopper. If money is not an object take a look at an LSG pellet smoker. Hope this helps.

[taffenhoffsbbq]

Nice! Thanks for the review! Yeah I originally wasn’t too interested in a pellet smoker but I have all this sausage making equipment but no cold smoker, so yeah, thanks again!

[glitchy]

Pit Boss makes some decent stuff and some absolute junk. Owning a MAK, if I got into sausage making, I’d buy the big cold smoker box for it, but it’s pricey getting the MAK to add it to. There’s not a lot of quality options in the pellet world that run 150 like others mentioned. The biggest problem I’ve heard about with the Pit Boss verticals is moisture susceptibility. If you have a place to store it indoors and don’t plan to ever use in the rain, it might fit your bill. Rain tends to feed into the hopper ruining pellets unless they’ve redesigned it.

Have you looked at electric cabinets like Cookshack, Smokin Tex, and Smokin it all? They might the sausage world very well.

[DaveD]

I keep my 5 series on the patio, with a bespoke heavy-duty cover, and no issue of pellet spoilage, thus far.

[MBMorgan]

OK ... a bottom line point:
Pellet smokers don't do well below 200F (some below 220F) as they are susceptible to flame-outs at low temps.

If 150F is your target temp, I'd suggest looking at a different type of smoker ... and FWIW, the really inexpensive units are even less likely to do well.

Honestly, for a dedicated low-temp sausage smoker, I’d have to look long and hard at building a simple smoking cabinet and buying a smoke generator for it.

[Meathead]

Sometimes we discover that members don't know about the WEALTH of info on AmazingRibs.com.

Here is an overview of what to look for when shopping for a grill or smoker

https://amazingribs.com/ratings-reviews-and-buying-guides/ratings-reviews-grill-and-smoker-reviews/

Here is a drill down on pellet smokers https://amazingribs.com/ratings-revi...ellet-smokers/

And here are detailed hands on reviews and videos of about 70 pellet smokers by our own Max Good.

[rickgregory]

I would be leery of smoking at 150 unless I really really trusted the recipe (and it was cured) and all the ingredients. That's only 10 degrees above the food danger zone and so your sausage will spend a lot of time IN that zone.

[klflowers]

My 1/2 cent. I like Grilla products. They won’t run at 150 - my chimp bottoms out at 180. But it is a good unit. I have even had it running ( inadvertently) in the rain with no problems.

[Potkettleblack]

I think I clocked my Grilla OG running at 140 without being plugged in, but it was about 85-90 ambient, and it was under it's all black, light absorbing cover, and it also all black, and thick... If I threw in a smoke tube in the sun, might be able to hit 150, and not even turn the thing on. ;-)