Why do you use wood pellet smoker

W

woodpelletsmoker

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It is much more expensive.
What is the purpose to use pellet smoker than a charcoal smoker.

I find following discussion and I find no reason to use pellet smoker.

Cited from http://pelletheads.com/index.php?topic=4172.0

It says "so too many pellets are dumped in the firepot. As the pellets start to burning a major overshoot will happen. This can be 25 to 50 even sometimes 100 degrees. This usually occurs in warmer climates. "

Just think you set the pellet smoker temperature at 225F, but it can be as high as 325F. Does it effect the flavor
 
I would own one if I had the money, I would also own all sorts of other smokers. I see no difference between mis-using a pellet smoker and having it over run the temperatures, than there is in mis-using any smoker. If you load too much wood into a stick burner, temps are going to run wild, if you open the vents to large in a WSM, it is gonna run hotter.

In every case, a good cook, using a good cooker in the proper way will get a good result. I continue to not understand why so many people need to feel some bias against certain cookers. I love my kettle and UDS, if someone offered me another type of cooker, I would take it.
 
woodpelletsmoker said:
It is much more expensive.
What is the purpose to use pellet smoker than a charcoal smoker.

I find following discussion and I find no reason to use pellet smoker.

Cited from http://pelletheads.com/index.php?topic=4172.0

It says "so too many pellets are dumped in the firepot. As the pellets start to burning a major overshoot will happen. This can be 25 to 50 even sometimes 100 degrees. This usually occurs in warmer climates. "

Just think you set the pellet smoker temperature at 225F, but it can be as high as 325F. Does it effect the flavor
Click to expand...

He says this will happen if the P-# setting is not properly set, Then the above happens....


landarc said:
I would own one if I had the money, I would also own all sorts of other smokers. I see no difference between mis-using a pellet smoker and having it over run the temperatures, than there is in mis-using any smoker. If you load too much wood into a stick burner, temps are going to run wild, if you open the vents to large in a WSM, it is gonna run hotter.

In every case, a good cook, using a good cooker in the proper way will get a good result. I continue to not understand why so many people need to feel some bias against certain cookers. I love my kettle and UDS, if someone offered me another type of cooker, I would take it.
Click to expand...

I agree with landarc, a good cooker is only good if used properly as designed.

I have a stick burner, a charcoal smoker, and a propane smoker, all for different uses. I too would like a Traeger Pellet smoker if shipping wasn't so expensive. I have seen one in use and it is very efficient, no no major overshoots in the cooker as described.
 
IamMadMan said:
He says this will happen if the P-# setting is not properly set, Then the above happens....




I agree with landarc, a good cooker is only good if used properly as designed.

I have a stick burner, a charcoal smoker, and a propane smoker, all for different uses. I too would like a Traeger Pellet smoker if shipping wasn't so expensive. I have seen one in use and it is very efficient, no no major overshoots in the cooker as described.
Click to expand...

I was at Costco last week and they had a Traeger guy there. They had really good deals on the Traegers (I believe it was $399; $699; and $899). I believe he told me that the cookers would be sold in the Costco for a while.
 
I have cooked with almost all of the heat sources and pellets fit my cooking style the best.
I love the end product.

TIM
 
The_Kapn said:
I have cooked with almost all of the heat sources and pellets fit my cooking style the best.
I love the end product.

TIM
Click to expand...

I think it really boils down to what Tim is saying. We know that good que can be cooked on anything from a bunch of cinder blocks and expanded metal, to a weber, to a multi-thousand dollar rig. If it fits your budget and your cooking style and makes you happy while you are doing it, then it is the right cooker for you.
 
I must be a Caveman....own a wonderful but small smokin tex electric with thermastat.....have spent a year and a half looking/studying pellets, insulated vault, electric, gravity, charcoal, propane, and I am at peace ....I WILL own a 24 x 48 KLOSE offset (hopefully) or Gator.... stick burner....probably used. But when I do.....I will be one proud daddy.....in fact I'll probably name it after my dad.......that's one great thing about this site, everybody is ok with whatever works for each person........
 
I used to think my FEC was "running wild" when it overshot 20 to 30 degrees. I now know that's really not a big deal. But I have never seen it overshoot anywhere near 100 degrees. I could see it happening if I didn't lower the set temp when I opened the door for an extended period of time and the FEC was dumping pellets the whole time, but I learned early on to lower the set temp to 140F when I was going to add meat, wrap, or whatever. I have other "problems" with pellet smokers, but overshooting temps isn't one of them.
 
kihrer said:
I was at Costco last week and they had a Traeger guy there. They had really good deals on the Traegers (I believe it was $399; $699; and $899). I believe he told me that the cookers would be sold in the Costco for a while.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I'll go check....
 
IamMadMan said:
Thanks, I'll go check....
Click to expand...

the Traegers at Costco run on 10 day road shows. Traeger figured a way to skirt the dealers and go direct through Costco and they surprise more and more dealers by doing extra shows without putting them on their calendar. Traeger is pulling in more than a million a month in additional revenue this way, just wish they were more honest about their program. It's tough to help out dealers who are continually backpedalling. I help out in the distribution channel in my free time, so we make up for the costco shows by offering the local dealers a better package than the costco pricing is.
 
I owned a Traeger and had to deal with "P" settings and still had 30* swings and more. Sold it and got a Green Mountain Grill...totally different animal. With my GMG, I get 1* to 3* overshoots and swings. It is truly a "set and forget" cooker. I'm sure there are other pellet smokers with the same amount of control.
That's really one of the main reasons anyone gets a pellet smoker. Control and ease of use are what these smokers are all about. I can smoke at 180* just by setting the digital temp and it will sit there for as long as there are pellets in the hopper. After a couple of hours of good smoke, I can crank it up to 250* for the remainder of the cook...again, as easy as setting the digital temp. Over nighters...that's another good reason! Someone stop me...Anyways, that's why people get pellet smokers.
That said, I also have a Primo and a WSM...they're all fun to use and make great BBQ.
 
I love my Green Mountain...never had an overshoot and the temp is always spot on. Its a Daniel Boone, doesn't hold much and the downside is that you don't get the full smokehouse flavor that you get from a stickburner, wsm, uds etc. It burns very clean and effecient, so the smoke flavor isn't as pronounced. Thats why I ordered my Peoria 24 x 48. Use that for long cooks and for larger quantities and keep my Green Mountain when I need to throw on some steaks, chicken or pork real quick. Their ease of use is what is fantastic and nothing cooks chicken breast like a pellet smoker! If I had the money, I would have a ton of smokers(except for electric).
 
I have a green mountain pellet grill and love it. I also have a Gator stick burner and a cheap kamado. They all have pros and cons but I really like the pellet grill for smokes when I'm at work all day or want to sleep at night. And it works great as an outdoor oven, just dial it in up to 500 and get to cooking.
 
A lot of guys have walked using FEC's. I'm looking at getting one for my dad to use. It makes a lot of sense for overnight cooks when old timers like my dad are used to being in bed by 9:30pm and up at 4:30am.
 
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