After agonizing over choosing a Pellet Grill I ordered a Blazin' Grid Iron today. They included a few accessories that made the deal too good to pass up. I am super excited to give Pellet Cooking a go.
Black Grid Iron
Insulated Lid
Pellet Dump
Direct Sear
2 Extra Shelves
Meat Probe
Blazn' Pro Smoker
Cover
It was down to MAK, Pitts and Spitts and Blazn'. Blazn' was $2k less than the other two and I think will be a good intro into Pellet cooking. I figure if I love Pellets I could sell it and get a MAK. If I hate it I can sell it and get an M Grill.
just remember the most important thing, wet pellets that re-dry = concrete. Store 'em dry and empty your hopper & auger tube before any lengthy idle periods. I think the Blaz'n lineup looks great and they were towards the top of my list for a while.
Welcome to the pellet cooker club. Like all cookers, they have strong points and weak points. Get to know your new Blazin and its strengths and I am sure you’ll love it.
That's pretty common with most of these US based smoker companies, MAK, Yoder, Grilla, Pitts, etc... they have alot of dated or campy videos, part of me appreciates that since they are spending their money on production or R&D to make things better, but then you see stuff like Camp Chef when they first released the Woodwinds or RecTec(q) with the fantastic advertising and marketing campaigns and wonder how much better these USA companies would compete
I reached out to Blaz'n years ago and they haven't been responsive. Now everybody and their brother is making pellet smokers and we're buried in requests to test them.
Bronco Pro Barrel Smoker
PBC
Pit Boss 757GD Griddle (2)
Blaz'n Grill Works Grid Iron
Weber Genesis E-310
Original Original Grilla
Smokey Joe® Charcoal Grill 14"
Fireboard 1
Thermoworks ThermoPop
Thermoworks Thermapen Mk4
Thermoworks Smoke Thermometer with gateway
2 iGrillminis - from before they were Weber.
Congratulations! My first pellet cooker was one of the early Original Grillas, made in the U.S. I love it, but they make them in China now, and I needed a little more cooking space in the second one. I also liked the fact that they are made in the U.S. Eventually they will both be in the same location, but for the time being the OG is at our vacation (eventually retirement) home, and the other is at the other place we call home. The Grid Iron is at the other place. I'm a pastor, and when we can have church dinners I smoke enough for a big crowd.
It'sAllGoneToTheDogs mentioned keeping the pellets dry, and I want to second that. My cooker stays outside, with it's cover, and I've never had a problem with the pellets getting wet from the top. Where I did run into a problem is that I had moisture get in through the pellet dump. My guess is that in a driving rain water splattered up and got inside. When the pellets dried, to that concrete consistency, the shear pin on the augur sheared. It did what it was supposed to do, and on Monday when I called Blaz'n they had a couple of shear pins in the mail to me that arrived on Wednesday. Which didn't do me much good on Sunday when it sheared. That's the only problem I've had with it.
A few years ago when we were in the St. Louis BBQ Store (when Blaz'n was using dealers) I had my wife open the lid on a Green Mountain. Then I told her to open the lid on the Grid Iron next to it. Even with the counterbalance she could barely lift it. She could quickly understand the difference in build quality. They are a tank, not quite as heavy as a Yoder, but there are downsides to that much weight, and I think the Blaz'n Grills are a good compromise. BTW, when Blaz'n ended their dealer network I bought that floor model at a good discount.
Enjoy, I don't think you'll be sorry. I'll be glad to answer any questions you have, if I can.
I know it is not a MAK but I think the Blazn' will be a great intro to Pellet Cooking for me. I have seen your posts across multiple forums MAK needs to put you on their payroll!
It is not just a stickburner with a hopper bolted on. It was purpose built to be a Pellet Cooker and has a few neat features like a slide out burn pot to dump ashes making cleaning a snap and the insulated lid.
Comment