My wife wants me to get a new pellet grill

[Clark]

Let's make a deal.....I'll send you a couple of smokers and you send me your generous, understanding wife.

Seriously though, you can get better smokers than Traegers. I've owned two Traegers, a Camp Chef, and a Grilla Chimp.
The first Traeger was back when they were made in the U.S. and it wasn't too bad. The chinese made Traeger was horrible. Luckily, it died within a year and a half. Bought a small Camp Chef because I had a $600 credit at Sportsmen's Warehouse and it was better than both Traegers. I used it for 5-6 years and switched to Grilla Chimp. The Chimp does a great job for just my wife and I, with occasional company. It'll hold briskets as big as 18-20 lb and holds temp very well.

Don't hurt her feelings, but shop around so "she can get the best deal."

[IdahoJim]

If I had to replace my Memphis Advantage pellet grill today, I would seriously consider the Camp Chef Woodwind Pro. That's the one with the smoke box that allows you to add real wood chunks when smoking. It's a lot more money than what you are looking at, but reviews have been very good.

[jfmorris]

If you are seriously limited to what is in stock and can be hauled home from the local Home Depot or Lowe's (or Ace), based on availability at my local stores, I don't see anything that is closed to that $389 sale price on the Traeger 22. And being a big company, hopefully their warranty is decent.

I really know nothing about Traeger beyond looking at them in stores. I've had coworkers or friends bring me BBQ to try off their Traeger that had much less smoke flavor compared to my kettle, kamado or offset. But it was cooked well, just not as smokey as I would like.

This sale price must be dictated by Traeger, as even my local Ace Hardware store has that same Traeger Pro Series 22 for $389 on sale.

[STEbbq]

I would imagine the usual tricks would help with smoke: smoke tube, a hour or two first at 200, and high-quality pellets like Cookin’ pellets or Lumberjack.

[Smoker_Boy]

Home Depot delivered my new Traeger Pro 22 yesterday, with free delivery and fully assembled.

This thing is heavier and much more sturdy than the Z Grill ZPG6002 it's replacing.
It is very well built.
Also, since it is shorter, I was able to park it "sideways" on the patio area.
This freed-up quite a bit of room.

I ran it through a bunch of temperature tests, using Traeger pellets.
It consistently held temperature to within 5 degrees.
I have made some interesting discoveries about pellets, but that's for another thread.

Cooking some ribs for the inaugural cook today.

And did I mention my wife loves it?

[Panhead John]

How do we know you really got one? Not a pic in sight….🥸

[klflowers]

+1

[realdocBBQ]

Home Depot delivered my new Traeger Pro 22 yesterday, with free delivery and fully assembled.
<snip>
I ran it through a bunch of temperature tests, using Traeger pellets.
It consistently held temperature to within 5 degrees.
I have made some interesting discoveries about pellets, but that's for another thread.

That's nice that temps are that even - sounds like a PID controller for sure.

However, temp swings don't hurt the cooking if they're not too wild, and can help with smoke flavor - rock solid temps with almost no variation in a pellet smoker I think actually reduce the smoke flavor. There's a long thread about this somewhere, but anyways.

Hell, new toys are new toys. Congrats! I gotta say, I'm shocked at your evaluation of the quality/sturdiness - maybe Traeger has upper their game. If it's really good at that price, it's worth having.

Enjoy!

[Huskee]

My thoughts are $370 is a heckuva fine deal on a new solid pellet cooker that will fit your needs.My other thought is that Traeger has come a long way and upped their game in recent years. I say win win. Congrats!

[Draznnl]

Congrats on your new toy. Have fun with it and enjoy your cooks.

[NumbWhistle]

Congratulations on your wife being happy... oh, and congratulations on the new Traeger! Always have to love it when the significant other is supportive of getting a new cooker!

Looking forward to seeing pictures of the great smoked meats you make in the future!

[Smoker_Boy]

Panhead John - Here ya go!!

[ecowper]

Awesome, enjoy!

[Alan Brice]

Way Cool! A grill from the future.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

Awesome, congrats! Hope it treats ya better than the Z thing

[Smoker_Boy]

I was wondering if having the aluminum drip pan was having any effect on the grate temps.

I said to my wife:
"I don't think it is, but I'll test it."

She replied:
"Because in science, we don't think."

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

it does affect the radiant heat, you can prove it by cooking 2 of the same size protein on the grate above and the one not over the foil will cook faster. At least the way my grill works that holds true. Learned the hard way when I was trying to keep my grill clean and the cooks weren't coming out the same or as fast, it was the sheet of foil I was laying across the grill.

[Smoker_Boy]

ItsAllGoneToTheDogs - I'm not putting the foil on the grates.
I'm putting foil on the aluminum "sheet" that's under the grates.

If the half rack tomorrow has similiar problems like the first cook did, I'll remove all foil when I cook the other half.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

Smoker_Boy the foil pan is just a thicker sheet of foil with sides Honestly I've never found the need for a water pan in either of my pellet grills. Though I will run a pan when I want to collect drippings and/or get some smoke on some au jus. With any pellet grill, if you do decide to wrap the hear deflector/grease tray in foil make sure it's tight especially around the edges, some of these things get stupid finicky with even minor changes to air flow, some aren't really phased.

[Smoker_Boy]

My wife liked the ribs I made yesterday, but I didn't.
I thought they were tough and a little dry. They failed the bend test, but I was hungry.

So I bought a different brand of ribs today (full rack) and I'm going to fix half tomorrow.

WeWillSee.

[STEbbq]

Prairie Farm (available at Walmart) is really good for baby back ribs.

I don’t use the bend test anymore either. I probe between the bones and pull them between 195-200.

[Smoker_Boy]

Panhead John - I don't think they sell Smithfield around here.
But I'll check to make sure.

[Smoker_Boy]

STEbbq - Prairie Fresh?? I'll look at those too. Thanks!!