Country Smokers Wood Pellet Grill and Smoker

[JEBar]

does anyone have experience using a Country Smokers Wood Pellet Grill and Smoker ===> https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07VN ... 0DER&psc=1 .... I've never used a pellet grill but have heard good things about them .... this size grill lends itself to traveling

[TMB]

That's a nice looking grill. If you choose to purchase one let is know how it works.

[JEBar]

no plan to purchase another grill any time soon but its only a matter of time before our Holland Companion grill needing to be replaced .... with them out of business, that ain't gonna be an option .... my biggest concern is the pellet box reducing the cooking surface of an already small grill

[JEBar]

well, as noted in the opening post in this thread, I had no plan to purchase another grill any time soon my grill of choice for the last 19 years has been a Holland Companion .... it is without any doubt the best brand of grill I've ever owned, in addition to the company going out of business, it does have a very disconcerting weakness .... that being it can be difficult (if not impossible) to use in windy conditions .... over the years I've come up with wind blocks that can be effective but on many windy days I no longer make an effort to use it .... for a good while now I've been considering alternatives and based in no small part to this thread, I have finally made the decision to order a Country Smokers Wood Pellet Grill and Smoker .... as this is being typed, we are in Texas and plan to head home day after tomorrow .... the day after we are scheduled to get back home, Amazon is scheduled to deliver it .... I'm most certainly looking forward to learning how to use it

[JEBar]

as a side note, our travel grills spend most of their life sitting outside, exposed to the elements .... Holland Companion grills are made from stainless steel and do as good of a job as any in standing up to weathering .... the Pellet Grill we have on order is coated with something to help protect it .... in reading use comments on Amazon, a few mentioned a SHINESTAR CG306 Grill Cover fits and works well .... we have one on order

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07T5 ... UTF8&psc=1

[JEBar]

steady rain every since we unpacked and assembled our Country Smoker Grill so we haven't used it yet .... I have done considerable reading and do have hands-on experience that has given me a better understanding of how this grill works .... the pictures below what they call the "Flame Boiler Plate" in both is closed and open positions .... first picture, closed for grilling/smoking with indirect heat (same principal as a Holland Grill) .... second picture, open for direct heat (the pan where the pellets burn can be seen through the slits) .... over time I experimented with numerous regulators on our Holland .... while flame ups are rare to non existent with the OEM regulator .... I know for a fact that a flame up can and will happen with regulators that drastically increase the cooking temperature .... I suspect that the same will be true for the Country Smoker .... the Boiler Plate slants downward to the right allowing grease to flow into the "Grease Tray" .... I believe that at smoking temps the closed Boiler Plate will prevent flame ups .... with the Boiler Plate open grease can drop directly onto the burning pellets and the possibility of a flame up is most certainly possible .... further, the higher the temp setting with it open or closed, the greater the chance

[JEBar]

the rain has finally moved on and the sun is actually out .... first smoke shown below .... going through an extended burn-off as this is being typed .... plan to grill some burgers tonight ..

[JEBar]

first "Grill Burn Off" completed .... pictures below show the residue (ash) after a hard burn with the temp set to 400 degrees .... the last picture shows ot under its cover .... a few observations ===> our small shop-vac ( https://www.lowes.com/pd/Shop-Vac-2-5-G ... 1000351335 ) made very quick work of the ash, no problem whatsoever .... only oil involved was used in wiping down the cooking grates .... all set to grill some burgers tonight ..

[JEBar]

with our former grill I could tell within a minute or two of when whatever was being cooked would be done .... its going to take a good while (if ever) for me to reach anywhere near that level with the Country Smoker .... that said the burgers we grilled tonight really turned out well

[RanchRoper]

Looks good to me!

[BigAl52]

Does a hopper full of pellets last long enough to do more than one meal Jim.

[BigAl52]

Jim
How many times did you fill the hopper on this grill to grill those burgers

[JEBar]

filled it about half full to start with and ended up dipping some out when the grilling was over .... I've been pleasantly surprised at how long pellets last

[BigAl52]

Can you leave the pellets in the hopper and transport it to next location

[JEBar]

that depends .... pellets exposed to moisture revert back to fine, sticky, sawdust that can gunk up the works .... I suspect that is one reason the compartment where you pour the pellets is pretty well protected from rain ... what seems to work for me is to turn the grill off after I'm finished cooking .... use a large spoon and scoop out most of the unburned pellets .... fire the grill back up and set it on high .... the pellets I can't easily get with the spoon are quickly used up burning the grill off

[JEBar]

Can you leave the pellets in the hopper and transport it to next location

after giving it a bit more thought .... I went back and looked through the manual, didn't see it discussed .... did see that they recommend against leaving pellets in the hopper if it will be a "long period" before the next use (they didn't define long period) .... trying to transport the grill with pellets may not be a good idea .... as can be seen in the picture below, when the grill is buttoned up, the handle is on the front .... that results in it being carried like a suitcase .... in that position, I can see pellets pouring out of the storage area and into the burn chamber .... from there they could easily spill out of the burn chamber into most any area of the interior of the grill .... as mentioned in a post above, a small vacuum or air hose makes quick work of cleaning out pellets and ashes

[BigAl52]

I have the small vacuum so no problem there. Just curious as to what to expect. Im thinking I might also buy one for the 5th wheel. I like the wood pellet grills better than the gas.

[JEBar]

we have a few friends and relatives who have pellet grills .... they all seem to like them .... we've used Smoke Daddy products and pellets for well over 10 years ===> https://smokedaddyinc.com/product-categ ... d-pellets/ .... we learned long ago that all bags of Hickory Pellets aren't equal .... many companies throw in all sorts of filler material .... I buy them in 20 lb bags (they offer free shipping) and transfer the pellets to 5 gallon buckets .... they keep for many years .... from the bucket I transfer the ones we take with us traveling to Folgers (plastic coffee cans) .... I must admit that I had some second thoughts going into the purchase .... happily, with use, my misgivings are rapidly going away .... right now my biggest uncertainty is will I return it to the camper's basement after each use or will I put the cover over it and leave it out .... right now its sitting on a picnic table on our deck with its cover on .... naturally, when you want it to rain, there is none in the forecast .. .. I want to know for sure if the cover is water repellent or waterproof .... at 40 lbs I prefer to not move it more than I have to .... that said, it is much to setup and take down than our propane grill

[BigAl52]

I see the concern if you were to move it with the handle while full of pellets. I would not do it that way and just pick it up from the ends and move it back into the storage are of the 5th wheel to keep it out of the weather. I have wood pellet grill here at home I leave pellets in all the time and have not ever had issues with wet pellets. I use the camp chef pellets from Sportsmans Warehouse. They have always been good for me.

[JEBar]

as a person who uses a pellet grill, do you have any tips or suggestions you'd care to share