I'm looking to purchase my first pellet cooker and have it narrowed down to a Grilla Alpha Silverbac or a Campchef Woodwind SG in the $1000 and under category. I was also considering a Rec Tec 700 but I'm not sure I need to spend the extra money considering the performance of the other two is very good.
The question: How do these pellet grills perform in a winter wind (not just cold temperatures)? I know the wind can wreak havoc with my weber kettle temps and was wondering if the pellet cookers are sealed better?
> Weber Genesis EP-330
> Grilla Grills Original Grilla (OG) pellet smoker with Alpha/Connect
> 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
My Original Grilla does fine in cold, windy Colorado winter weather (thanks in no small part to double wall construction). I would expect no less of the Silverbac.
I have a Yoder YS640. This is a bit above your budget but it is solid as a rock in cold temps. I have run this with a few feet of snow on the ground and it doesn’t seem to care. It will use more fuel but not much more.
Dunno about the brands you mentioned, but most do ok. Depending on the ambient some benefit more than others from a thermal blanket to assist. All of them will burn more pellets in the winter per hour but some more than others. A few models have people complaining about flame outs during wind, but I don't think and of the ones you mentioned are ones I've seen people complain about.
I would guess of the 3 you mentioned, that the Grilla would do best in cooler temps due to the double wall construction, but I would also consider the offerings from Blaz'n I think they offer a double wall option for their lid but I forget.
Cold temps are one thing but convection cooling (wind chill) is the main concern for a pellet smoker. I have a Harbour freight welding blanket that helps a lot. I also have an Akron egg that I bought with cold temp smoking in mind.
I think it depends on where you live. Wind in cold weather for me is generally above 30F and with my cooker at least the wind really isn't a huge factor. Now I have had issues in a heavy wind, but I was cooking via the generator while smiling at the outer edge of a hurricane. I think the winds at the time were 40ish mph with much higher gusts. I flamed out 1x. My old gasser had issues with anything above 10mph because of where the vents were in proportion to the burners, and they would blow out.
When I had mine they offered a blanket for the top. I don't see where your from but winter winds can destroy the temp more than a steady temp. A good well insulated pellet grill should be able to handle temp and wind changes.
Grillaâ€s website states they are great in cold weather due to the double wall. I have the original, but it sits in Phoenix so pretty hard to call that a winter.
I have a DLX 24 that is very similar to the Woodwind, and use the insulated blanket that comes as an option. It works great for blocking the wind, and even on nice days it cuts down on pellet consumption by helping hold the heat in. The down side is you have to take it off if you plan to run hotter than 350. It takes all of 30 seconds to take off or put on, but something you have to consider depending on the types of cook you do.
I would think any of the double walled units would perform very well in cold or windy conditions, but sadly, I don't have one of those yet.
The Traeger Ironwood is also double walled, but a little more money. I would advise using the manufacturers insulation over a welders blanket as I’ve been told many welders blankets can shed fiberglass over time, especially cheaper ones. I’ve had the Traeger insulated covers on a Junior and a Texas and they worked well. Rumors are the upcoming Weber SmokeFire will be double walled and $999 for the smaller model.
They work fine. I live in Western Kansas and the wind blows out here. I wrapped my YS-640 with a welding blanket and put a moving blanket over that. Once I did that the pellet consumption rate was the basically the same as summer. The only welding blanket I could fine was very thin. Without them it held temps fine just consumed more pellets.
Another OG Grilla owner, and I was using it on my second floor balcony in December in Chicago. I think it burns some extra pellets when it's real cold out, but beyond being built like a 1957 Chevy, it has the double wall that apparently uses some clever air flow to insulate it during the cold weather.
the Silverback has a similar thing, but I dunno how thick the top metal is. The OG Grilla is THICK and heavy. Holds the temp very nicely once it gets up.
My big GMG does well in the winter wind with my factory blanket. It uses a little more fuel but I think all grills would use a little more if not protected in a surround.
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