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Looking for a new grill and decided to head to the dark side and get a pellet smoker? Well that's a damn good idea, because they are awesome and produce great tasting smoked meats and side dishes!
Let's dive into the best pellet smokers currently on the market and which one is for you.
Do you need a pellet smoker?
If you want to smoke meat but not spend all of your time babysitting a firebox, a pellet smoker is for you.
The ease of setting a dial to a temperature and being able to maintain that temp for hours without having to keep loading wood into the firebox and adjusting vents is what pellet smokers are all about.
Looking for a smoker that can also grill burgers or steaks like a traditional grill? Pellet smokers will go as high as 500°F and can sear burgers and steaks to perfection as well.
Types of Pellet Smokers
There are three main types of pellet smoker on the market today.
Vertical smoker
These pellet smokers resemble a traditional stand up smoker with multiple racks for large volume smoking. Grill racks can be moved in height or taken out to fit perfectly whatever you want to smoke, whether it's ribs or brisket.
Many have a glass front where viewing the meat without opening the door is a plus. I find these smokers great for low profile meat like ribs or jerky as well as hanging meat like sausage.
Grill style smoker
Grill style smokers resemble a BBQ grill where the hood opens upward revealing a large grilling grate. The firepot is underneath the grill rack and heat deflector which evenly distributes heat throughout the smoker.
These smoker are great for doubling as a grill for grilling burgers and steaks. Some even have heat deflectors that can be opened to give the grilling surface an open flame for searing.
Combo smokers
Not ready to go FULL pellet smoker yet? A combo unit might be for you. These smokers are one side pellet smoker and one side gas grill. Often there is a pass through between chambers that allows smoke to pass from the smoker side to the propane side.
This allows you to add smoke flavor to grilled food or use the grill side as a cold smoker by using indirect heat. It's the best of both worlds.
What should you look for in a pellet smoker?
Build material
Stainless steel is the best material the smoker can be made from and will ensure the grill lasts many years of smoking. Painted interiors or exteriors can crack and peel, best to stay away from. High temperature powder coating to maintain a great look with ease of cleaning.
Size and capacity
Decide what size will work best for your household. Smokers will come in all different sizes, so decide whether you are going to be cooking for 2 or 20, then choosing accordingly.
Pellet hopper
The hopper is the part of the smoker that holds the wood pellets. Smokers will come with hoppers that can hold anywhere from 10lb to 60lbs of wood pellets.
The two main things you want to look at when it comes to hoppers is size and ease of pellet change.
- Hopper size
Hopper size will most likely depend on the size of the smoker, smaller smokers have smaller hoppers and larger smoker have larger hoppers. Doing a lot of overnight briskets where you will need long cooking times, then a bigger hopper might be for you.
- Ease of pellet change
Pellet change is something you wouldn't think too much about. But keep this in mind if you are going to change your pellets out between cooks. You might want a hickory wood for burgers but apple wood for salmon.
Does the hopper have a dump door where you can dump the current pellets out and change to a different wood? If not, you might have to scoop them out with a cup or vacuum. Some manufacturers do not include dump doors because it's a possible moisture entry point that could damage the pellets.
Temperature controller
The controller is what tells the pellet auger how fast to feed wood pellets into the firebox. This directly controls the rate of wood burn and the temperature of the smoker.
There are two different temperature controllers found on pellet smokers. The first is a time based controller and the second being a PID controller (Proportional Integral Derivative).
Let's take a look at the two different types of controllers and how they work.
- Time Based Controllers
These controllers are found on lower quality or older pellet smokers. This controller turns the auger at a certain speed as well as the fan on periodically when set to a temperature setting to try and achieve that temperature. They do NOT monitor the temperature inside the smoker and do NOT adjust the auger speed accordingly.
Because of this, expect larger temperature swings of up to 20°F when smoking. This is especially true when smoking in different ambient temperatures. The smoker will not heat to the same temp in the winter as it does in the summer.
- PID Controller
The newer technology and controller that is found on more higher end smokers is the PID controller unit. This controller constantly monitors the smokers temperature and will speed up and down the pellet auger to maintain a set temperature.
This results in a more accurate and consistent temperature inside the smoker. It is not crazy to only expect a 1-2°F temperature swing during smoking with a PID controlled smoker.
Decide how important precise temperature is to you and whether you can deal with 15-20°F temperature swings in your smoker.
Wifi
Most top of the line pellet smokers will have a mobile app and wifi control ability. This comes in VERY handy when keeping track of your cook. Having alerts sent to your phone when the meat reaches a certain temperature.
Alerts telling you that your grill is finished pre-heating or cooling down. Maybe you forgot to fill the hopper, you will know right away instead of several hours later when you decide to check on the brisket.
Thermometers (built in)
Top of the line smokers will usually have 2 built in thermometer probes that plug into the smoker. These temperatures will be displayed on the smokers display and their app. Knowing your meats temperature is EXTREMELY important when smoking. Built in thermometers is a huge advantage when perfecting your cook.
Shelves
You would think this wouldn't even be a deciding factor, but some smokers do not come with much shelf space to place cutting boards and grilling accessories. Make sure the smoker you decide comes with a side shelf and front shelf.
Many brands will sell shelves separately from the smoker itself. Take this into account when deciding whether a grill is in your budget.
Aftermarket custom shelves are often made by grill enthusiasts and can be found online or in facebook groups for that brand of smoker.
Brands
There are many great brands that make smokers, many you have most likely heard of. Traeger is the biggest brand and has the highest sales when it comes to pellet smokers. This does NOT mean they are the best though.
Make sure to find a smoker that fits your needs and wants, don't buy on name brand alone. Just because a brand is well known and sold everywhere does not mean it's the best smoker for you.
Warranty
Having a good warranty is an important feature of your next smoker. Pellet smokers are expensive and should come with a multi year warranty that will give you some peace of mind to the longevity of your purchase.
A good quality smoker should last a decade, but having a warranty is nice in case a controller stops operating or your thermometer decides to quit.
Make sure to check your specific smokers warranty when buying. But let's check out some of the warranties offered by the top brands on their featured smokers. Warranties on their smaller more inexpensive smokers might be shorter.
- Traeger - 3 years
- RecTec - 6 years
- Pitboss - 5 years
- Camp Chef - 3 years
- Z Grills - 3 years
- Weber - 3 years (Plus a 100 day 100% Money Back Guarantee)
Customer service
Having a warranty is great, but good customer service from the company and being able to cash in on that warranty is more important. There is one company that stands out above the rest when it comes to customer service.
- Rec Tec
By far, RecTec has the best customer service and support. They include a 24 hour phone number to call if having problems with your smoker. You will be connected with an actual employee from their Georgia office no matter what the time. They realize that sometimes shit happens at 1am and will be there to help you figure it out.
How much do pellet smokers cost?
Prices vary drastically from low end to high end smokers. These vary on the build quality, size, and features.
Higher end
- Grill Style - Expect to pay anywhere from $1,000 and up for a large capacity well built grill style pellet smoker. These will have most of the features mentioned above and will be made of stainless steel.
- Vertical - $500 and up is the average price for a higher end vertical pellet smoker.
Lower end
- Grill Style - Expect to pay $400 to $800 for a lower end large capacity smoker. These smokers will have some of the features mentioned above and wont be built as well as the higher end. Don't expect all stainless steel parts or top of the line technology.
- Vertical - $200 - $400 is the price range for a lower end vertical pellet smoker.
Delivery & assembly
Make sure to check when purchasing your smoker on whether there are delivery charges. Most pellet smoker companies offer free shipping on their pellet smokers and try to make it an easy and simple process.
How it ships
When ordering a pellet smoker online the normal procedure is that the smoker is shipped by semi truck to a local shipper in your area. Once it arrives there, the local shipper will contact you and set up a time and date for when they will deliver your smoker on a pallet to your driveway.
Set up a delivery time when you can be home and they will give you a time delivery window of a couple hours on that day. The shipper will unload the smoker on a pallet with a pallet jack and either leave it at the end of your driveway or wheel it into your garage. Easy and simple!
Assembly of smoker
Companies have made assembly of their pellet smokers as easy as possible. They do not want their customers having problems putting together their product, so good instructions and normally online assembly videos are available to assist when putting your smoker together.
On average, the assembly of your new pellet smoker will take about 1-2 hours and can be done by one person. Most tools will be included with the product, but a pair of wrenches might be required.
Tips and tricks
- Reverse sear meats to impart more of a smoke flavor at the beginning of smoking and then searing at the end of cooking.
- Purchasing grill grates is a great way to sear meat as well as achieve those great grill marks on your food.
- Join smoker Facebook groups to find artists and carpenters that make amazing after market shelves and wraps to design and outfit your smoker.
- When filling your hopper, don't dump the final bit of pellets without sifting out the pellet dust. Try to keep the dust to a minimum when filling your hopper.
- Purchase a small shop vac to vacuum the inside of the smoker every 5 or so cooks to keep pellet dust to a minimum.
- If your smoker has a drip pan, cover it with grill aluminum foil (the wider foil) for easier clean up.
- Smoked a lot of greasy meats on low and about to cook something where your smoker will get up to 400°F? Probably a good time to change the aluminum foil on your drip pan. Old food oil and fat on a drip pan can catch fire when you turn the smoker temperature up high.
FAQ
If you are looking for an easy way to smoke meats, Yes they are worth it.
Most brands have their products made in china, including Pitboss, Traeger, and Rectec.
Yes. You will need to have the smoker plugged into an outlet the entire time the smoker is running.
Yes. Pellet smoker will put out a good amount of smoke that will flavor food perfectly. Top of the line smokers will also have a smoke level you can choose when operating to supply either more or less smoke during your cook.
Yes. Many owners leave smokers outside plugged in all the time. However, use common sense and make sure the plug in not on the ground in water. Most companies offer fitted covers for their smokers, a good investment in prolonging the smokers life.
There is no evidence that it is any different than grilling on charcoal or gas. Grilling in general is a healthy way of cooking due to the lack of oil and fats needed to coat the cooking surface.
Top 5 Pellet Smokers
Taking into account all the features and information I have mentioned above as well as in field testing, these are the top 5 larger pellet smokers currently offered.
These smokers are ideal for a family of 4+ or someone that enjoys entertaining and cooking for friends. Find the right size smoker for you. I will leave you with a little bit of advice; I often hear people complain they bought too small of a pellet smoker, but barely hear anyone complain they purchased a smoker too large!
- Camp Chef 36 with Side Kick
- Traeger Ironwood 885
- RecTec 700
- Pit Boss Navigator 1150
- Pit Boss Navigator Pellet / Gas Combo
Let's look at these smokers in more detail.
#1 - Camp Chef 36 with Side Kick
The SG 36 is our #1 pick when it comes to choosing a pellet smoker. This is a great smoker for a family of 4+ or someone that throws parties and likes to entertain guests. It's large with 1,236 sq inch cooking surface with the 2 racks, enough for a lot of meat!
What I like:
- Low and slow smoking or direct flame grilling ability
- Adjustable smoke settings from 1-10
- PID controller with Wifi and App
- Pellet hopper cleanout access
- Side kick propane burner with add on attachments
What I don't like:
- Small hopper for smoker size (22lb)
- Direct flame is very small area for searing
#2 - Traeger Ironwood 885
You can't have a pellet smoker list without including Traeger. They were the pioneers of the pellet smoker and continue to be a leader in the industry. They have become a very large company, unfortunately their customer service has gone down because of this.
What I like:
- Double side-wall insulation
- Hopper cleanout for easy pellet swap
- Heats up faster than other brands
- Downdraft exhaust & super smoke mode
What I don't like:
- Small 20lb hopper
- Poor customer service and warranty
- Lower build quality
#3 - RecTec 700
The RecTec company puts out a very well built product and back it up with over the top customer service. The 700 has an industry leading 6 year warranty and is built out of stainless steel.
What I like:
- Well built - Stainless steel
- Large 40lb pellet hopper
- Controller - holds desired temperature with minimal change
- Grilling app
- Customer service
What I don't like:
- No pellet dump door (Need to vacuum out pellets if changing flavors)
- Doesn't have open flame searing, need to purchase Grill Grates to sear
- Grill cover can be a pain to put on and take off
#4 - Pit Boss Navigator 1150
Pit Boss has the most affordable smokers of the brands we reviewed. They are built well but do not have as many features because of this lower cost. If you are looking for a great priced smoker and don't care about wifi and a little more temp swings, Pit Boss Navigator is a great choice.
What I like:
- Low cost with 5 year warranty
- Large 32lb hopper
- Lever to allow open flame searing
- Front and side shelving included
- Custom fitted cover included
What I don't like:
- Does NOT come with wifi controller - aftermarket purchase
- Does NOT have a PID controller, so expect more temperature swings of up to +-20°F
- Cast iron grilling racks instead of stainless steel
#5 - Pit Boss Navigator Pellet / Gas Combo
The pellet smoker/gas grill combo is great for a grillmaster looking for a smoker and gas grill but not wanting to buy multiple grills. It's fantastic for someone that's not throwing huge parties where 4 pork butts are going to be needed, but just wants to smoke some burgers, ribs, and brisket for their family.
What I like:
- Ability to cold smoke with smoke to gas damper
- Able to grill burgers quickly with propane if needed. Versatility of 2 grills in one
- Custom fitted cover included
- 3 gas burners - Set up for propane but can be altered to run off natural gas
- 5 year warranty
What I don't like:
- Does NOT come with wifi controller
- Does NOT have a PID controller, so expect more temperature swings of up to +-20°F
- Small grilling surface due to 2 separate chambers
In Conclusion
Purchasing a pellet smoker can elevate your grilling game and food you serve your family and friends. Smoking delicious meats has never been so easy, using pellets and setting a temperature sure beats babysitting a firebox throughout a long cook.
When choosing which smoker is right for you, make sure to take into account the following decisions and topics.
- Is a pellet smoker right for you?
- Type of smoker
- Features
- Size
- Cost
- Warranty
I'm sure you will decide wisely and choose the best pellet smoker for you! Enjoy your new purchase and make sure to share that great tasting food with your friends and family.
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