Maynerd
Is lookin for wood to cook with.
Hey all,
I’m looking at potentially purchasing a new pellet grill. I’ve used pellet grills for about 5 or so years, so I’m familiar with how they work and their limitations. I’ve been researching for a while (too much probably) and have reached a point of diminishing returns on further deep research and now need some people to chime in for me.
My current grill has a cooking surface of approximately 450 Sq/In of primary cooking area and no shelves so 450 is where I max out. I don’t really want to go smaller than this and going a bit bigger would be a plus.
Here is how I will use the grill.
• Cooking for a family of 4 (2 adults + 2 children) – 75% of the time
• Cooking for 6 adults – 20% of the time
• Cooking for 7 or greater adults – 5% of the time
If I were to guess these are the types of cooks I do
• Short cooks – Steaks and chicken (less than 2 hours) – 70% of the time
• Medium cooks – Ribs and roasts (2-6 hours) – 25% of the time
• Long cooks – Pulled pork and Briskets (6+ hours) – 5% of the time
Important things for the new grill
• Prefer to stay under $2500
• Big enough to feed my family and a couple of friends
• Quality – I need this one to last for a while or my wife will kill me
• High temp cooking - ability to sear steaks (I love me some good steak)
• Ease of use
• Easy to maintain
Not absolutely necessary but very nice to have
• Wifi capability
• Double walled
• Pellet dump
• Method to expose firepot to allow for searing of steaks
• Pellet drop fire pot – I had some burn back into the auger and smoke in the pellet hopper on my first grill (Traeger) and having the pellets drop with a short auger just seems like a better design
Now the line up in price order. I've decided to try to stay with grills built in the USA but am open to others so don't hesitate to suggest something not on my list that maybe I hadn't thought of based upon my needs (when calculating total price I included options such as extra shelf, cover, wifi, searing option, shipping costs and tax)
Grill: Memphis Advantage
Base Price: $2299
Out the door price with accessories, shipping and tax: $2857.80
Main cooking enclosure warranty: 7
Electronics/etc warranty: 3
Low Temp: 180
High Temp: 600
Hopper size: 12lbs
Pellet Dump: No
Pellet Drop: Yes
Primary grilling area size: 427 Sq/In
Expandable additional shelf size: 136 Sq/In
Pros:
• Local dealer I can work with if I have issues
• Highly praised pellet grill
• All stainless (403 stainless)
• Grill grates are broken up making it easier to clean/handle
• Searing kit for high temp cooking
• Wifi
Cons:
• Expensive
• Small hopper size
• No pellet dump
• Not double walled
• Main cooking area is under 450 Sq/In (563 Sq/in with second shelf)
• Possible propensity for grease fires (found a number of people online discussing fires in the grill)
Grill: Mak 1 Star
Base Price: $1700
Out the door price with accessories, shipping and tax: $2685
Main cooking enclosure warranty: 3
Electronics/etc warranty: 3
Low Temp: 170
High Temp: 450
Hopper size: 20
Pellet Dump: Yes
Pellet Drop: No
Primary grilling area size: 429
Expandable additional shelf size: 429
Pros:
• Praised by many owners
• Wifi capable
• Searing option
• Popular grill people say it puts out a lot of smoke
Cons:
• No local dealer
• Expensive
• No Pellet Drop
• Not double walled
• Main cooking area is under 450 Sq/In (848 Sq/In with second shelf)
• Short warranty
Grill: Pitts and Spitts Maverick 850
Base Price: $1749
Out the door price with accessories, shipping and tax: $2553.96
Main cooking enclosure warranty: 10 years
Electronics/etc warranty: 3 years
Low Temp: 180
High Temp: 600
Hopper size: 35 lbs
Pellet Dump: Yes
Pellet Drop: No
Primary grilling area size: 425
Expandable additional shelf size: 425
Pros:
• It’s a TANK – heavy and high-quality metal
• Long warranty
• Quality build – Welded
• Huge pellet hopper
• Great lid design
• Wifi capable
• Searing option
Cons:
• No local dealer
• Expensive
• No pellet drop
• Main cooking area is under 450 Sq/In (850 Sq/in with second shelf)
• Not double walled but with such thick metal does it matter?
Grill: Kuma Platinum SE
Base Price: $1699
Out the door price with accessories, shipping and tax: $2353
Main cooking enclosure warranty: 5
Electronics/etc warranty: 3
Low Temp: 180
High Temp: 600
Hopper size: 18 lbs
Pellet Dump: Yes
Pellet Drop: Yes
Primary grilling area size: 465
Expandable additional shelf size: 673
Pros:
• Above 450 sq/in for primary (673 sq/in with one additional shelf – 3 additional shelves max)
• Easy to switch to direct flame
• Wifi capable
• On paper checks the most boxes
• Double walled
Cons:
• No local dealer
• Front to back grilling area (depth) is short 15.5”
• Limited information from owners online makes it hard to determine quality and long-term use
Grill: Cookshack PG500
Base Price: $1795
Out the door price with accessories, shipping and tax: $1954.97
Main cooking enclosure warranty: 2yr
Electronics/etc warranty: 90 day parts and labor
Low Temp: 180?
High Temp: 600
Hopper size: 22 lbs
Pellet Dump: Yes
Pellet Drop: Yes
Primary grilling area size: 324 Sq/In indirect & 180 Sq/In Direct
Expandable additional shelf size: 280 Sq/In
Pros:
• Amazing indirect cooking
• Nothing but good things to say by owners
• Unique door design
• Multiple cooking zones
Cons:
• No local dealer
• Primary grilling area size for indirect cooking is very small @ 324 Sq/In (784 Sq/In total cooking area)
• Not double walled
• Multiple zones may be difficult to manage
• No Wifi
Grill: Yoder YS480
Base Price: $1224
Out the door price with accessories, shipping and tax: 1778.81 (I might add shelves for 269)
Main cooking enclosure warranty: 10
Electronics/etc warranty: 3
Low Temp: 150
High Temp: 600
Hopper size: 20
Pellet Dump: No
Pellet Drop: Yes
Primary grilling area size: 480
Expandable additional shelf size: 320
Pros:
• Lowest price of all grills I’m considering
• Above 450 sq/in for primary (800 sq/in with one additional shelf)
Cons:
• No local dealer
• No Wifi
• Not double walled
• Questionable quality regarding paint, users reporting rusting early into ownership
I’m looking at potentially purchasing a new pellet grill. I’ve used pellet grills for about 5 or so years, so I’m familiar with how they work and their limitations. I’ve been researching for a while (too much probably) and have reached a point of diminishing returns on further deep research and now need some people to chime in for me.
My current grill has a cooking surface of approximately 450 Sq/In of primary cooking area and no shelves so 450 is where I max out. I don’t really want to go smaller than this and going a bit bigger would be a plus.
Here is how I will use the grill.
• Cooking for a family of 4 (2 adults + 2 children) – 75% of the time
• Cooking for 6 adults – 20% of the time
• Cooking for 7 or greater adults – 5% of the time
If I were to guess these are the types of cooks I do
• Short cooks – Steaks and chicken (less than 2 hours) – 70% of the time
• Medium cooks – Ribs and roasts (2-6 hours) – 25% of the time
• Long cooks – Pulled pork and Briskets (6+ hours) – 5% of the time
Important things for the new grill
• Prefer to stay under $2500
• Big enough to feed my family and a couple of friends
• Quality – I need this one to last for a while or my wife will kill me
• High temp cooking - ability to sear steaks (I love me some good steak)
• Ease of use
• Easy to maintain
Not absolutely necessary but very nice to have
• Wifi capability
• Double walled
• Pellet dump
• Method to expose firepot to allow for searing of steaks
• Pellet drop fire pot – I had some burn back into the auger and smoke in the pellet hopper on my first grill (Traeger) and having the pellets drop with a short auger just seems like a better design
Now the line up in price order. I've decided to try to stay with grills built in the USA but am open to others so don't hesitate to suggest something not on my list that maybe I hadn't thought of based upon my needs (when calculating total price I included options such as extra shelf, cover, wifi, searing option, shipping costs and tax)
Grill: Memphis Advantage
Base Price: $2299
Out the door price with accessories, shipping and tax: $2857.80
Main cooking enclosure warranty: 7
Electronics/etc warranty: 3
Low Temp: 180
High Temp: 600
Hopper size: 12lbs
Pellet Dump: No
Pellet Drop: Yes
Primary grilling area size: 427 Sq/In
Expandable additional shelf size: 136 Sq/In
Pros:
• Local dealer I can work with if I have issues
• Highly praised pellet grill
• All stainless (403 stainless)
• Grill grates are broken up making it easier to clean/handle
• Searing kit for high temp cooking
• Wifi
Cons:
• Expensive
• Small hopper size
• No pellet dump
• Not double walled
• Main cooking area is under 450 Sq/In (563 Sq/in with second shelf)
• Possible propensity for grease fires (found a number of people online discussing fires in the grill)
Grill: Mak 1 Star
Base Price: $1700
Out the door price with accessories, shipping and tax: $2685
Main cooking enclosure warranty: 3
Electronics/etc warranty: 3
Low Temp: 170
High Temp: 450
Hopper size: 20
Pellet Dump: Yes
Pellet Drop: No
Primary grilling area size: 429
Expandable additional shelf size: 429
Pros:
• Praised by many owners
• Wifi capable
• Searing option
• Popular grill people say it puts out a lot of smoke
Cons:
• No local dealer
• Expensive
• No Pellet Drop
• Not double walled
• Main cooking area is under 450 Sq/In (848 Sq/In with second shelf)
• Short warranty
Grill: Pitts and Spitts Maverick 850
Base Price: $1749
Out the door price with accessories, shipping and tax: $2553.96
Main cooking enclosure warranty: 10 years
Electronics/etc warranty: 3 years
Low Temp: 180
High Temp: 600
Hopper size: 35 lbs
Pellet Dump: Yes
Pellet Drop: No
Primary grilling area size: 425
Expandable additional shelf size: 425
Pros:
• It’s a TANK – heavy and high-quality metal
• Long warranty
• Quality build – Welded
• Huge pellet hopper
• Great lid design
• Wifi capable
• Searing option
Cons:
• No local dealer
• Expensive
• No pellet drop
• Main cooking area is under 450 Sq/In (850 Sq/in with second shelf)
• Not double walled but with such thick metal does it matter?
Grill: Kuma Platinum SE
Base Price: $1699
Out the door price with accessories, shipping and tax: $2353
Main cooking enclosure warranty: 5
Electronics/etc warranty: 3
Low Temp: 180
High Temp: 600
Hopper size: 18 lbs
Pellet Dump: Yes
Pellet Drop: Yes
Primary grilling area size: 465
Expandable additional shelf size: 673
Pros:
• Above 450 sq/in for primary (673 sq/in with one additional shelf – 3 additional shelves max)
• Easy to switch to direct flame
• Wifi capable
• On paper checks the most boxes
• Double walled
Cons:
• No local dealer
• Front to back grilling area (depth) is short 15.5”
• Limited information from owners online makes it hard to determine quality and long-term use
Grill: Cookshack PG500
Base Price: $1795
Out the door price with accessories, shipping and tax: $1954.97
Main cooking enclosure warranty: 2yr
Electronics/etc warranty: 90 day parts and labor
Low Temp: 180?
High Temp: 600
Hopper size: 22 lbs
Pellet Dump: Yes
Pellet Drop: Yes
Primary grilling area size: 324 Sq/In indirect & 180 Sq/In Direct
Expandable additional shelf size: 280 Sq/In
Pros:
• Amazing indirect cooking
• Nothing but good things to say by owners
• Unique door design
• Multiple cooking zones
Cons:
• No local dealer
• Primary grilling area size for indirect cooking is very small @ 324 Sq/In (784 Sq/In total cooking area)
• Not double walled
• Multiple zones may be difficult to manage
• No Wifi
Grill: Yoder YS480
Base Price: $1224
Out the door price with accessories, shipping and tax: 1778.81 (I might add shelves for 269)
Main cooking enclosure warranty: 10
Electronics/etc warranty: 3
Low Temp: 150
High Temp: 600
Hopper size: 20
Pellet Dump: No
Pellet Drop: Yes
Primary grilling area size: 480
Expandable additional shelf size: 320
Pros:
• Lowest price of all grills I’m considering
• Above 450 sq/in for primary (800 sq/in with one additional shelf)
Cons:
• No local dealer
• No Wifi
• Not double walled
• Questionable quality regarding paint, users reporting rusting early into ownership