Char-Griller pellet smoker

  • Some of the links on this forum allow SMF, at no cost to you, to earn a small commission when you click through and make a purchase. Let me know if you have any questions about this.
SMF is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

outlaw112

Newbie
Original poster
Dec 31, 2009
2
10
Huntington WV
Well I picked up my Char-Griller pellet smoker today from lowes.
Opening the box it look very nicely built,went together easy.
Went to do fire it up but as soon as it got to 315 deg you get a error on the read out and everything shuts off.Called Char-Griller and they said it is a bad temp sensor but thay are on backorder and will send one out in about a week.So I will have to wait to try it out.
 
Congrats on the new rig!  Sorry to hear about the snag, but sounds like you'll get the fix sooner or later.  I'm with David, if you can keep it going below 300*, there's no reason you can't smoke some low and slow cooks on it.

Good luck and have fun!

Red
 
That does stink.  If it's any help, I bought a Char Griller pellet smoker about a month ago from Lowe's and it's worked flawlessly and I'm extremely happy with it!  Hopefully the heat sensor arrives soon and you'll be on your way to an enjoyable smoke!  Keep us posted!

Jeff
 
I picked one up last Thursday and did some ribs on Saturday and it worked great.. Went to fire it up last night and the fire rod wouldn't get hot? I called today and they said they would send me out another one in about 15 days.. Not really impressed with customer service and telling me they will get around to it.. I am thinking I should just take it back and spend the extra 100 bucks and get the Traeger lil tex...
 
Dang it man I had just talked myself out of the Rec-Tec into giving this thing a try and now your giving me the heebee jeebees, now im wondering if I should just pay the extra money and be done with it...but it more than double the cost.
 
 
Dang it man I had just talked myself out of the Rec-Tec into giving this thing a try and now your giving me the heebee jeebees, now im wondering if I should just pay the extra money and be done with it...but it more than double the cost.
I know I went with it because of the size of the cooking area for the money.. I did get a email this morning saying it would be sent but 10-15 days out.. They also said I could take it back to the store and exchange it.. I am going to call the store and see about it..

I checked last night at the other place I was looking at Traeger and they have the junior for 449 but half the size.. They also carry Louisiana Grills but they as much as the Traeger. For the money I still think it's a good deal and maybe I just got a bad one??
 
So i just called lowe's and after hearing a few negatives about defects, I called to see if they offer a protection plan, and they do one for 3 years (59.99) and another 4 years ($99.99)....after talking with lowe's customer service this is for Bumper to Bumper, so there not happy till you are whether its for repairs or replacement.....I don't normally purchase "extra" things, but in this case I might and it still comes out way cheaper than say a Rec-Tec or even GMG, whats the worse that can happen your 2 year in and they give you a new smoker and you start all over again, seems like that might be worth the extra 100 bucks since your still saving about 500 on say a Rec-Tec that has a 6 year warranty. Am I wrong here should I be viewing this a different way? Help me out guys Im trying to justify one way or another for a Rec-Tec  or a char-griller .
 
I would say go for it!!! I wish they offered that where I bought mine... The factory warranty was a easy process I just took a pic of my receipt and serial # and emailed it to them after talking to them.. It comes with a 1 year repair or replace parts and a 5 year body warranty..

Like I said I love the size of it.. I used it last night I just had to manual light the pellets but once it started it worked good...
 
Ya know I think they just updated there website with a protection plan tab explaining there services, because that wasn't there last week, when I was on the website...if it was I never noticed...extreme I bet you could still get it, since they are aware of your issues...just point them to the website, I can't imagine how any lowes location would justify telling a customer no you cant have it when its on there national website. :) But I think my mind is made up, I'm gonna give it a shot and get one in the next few days. Ill keep you posted, because I'm sure there will be many contemplating this exact issue  very soon......with all the nice weather coming our way. :)
 
 
Ya know I think they just updated there website with a protection plan tab explaining there services, because that wasn't there last week, when I was on the website...if it was I never noticed...extreme I bet you could still get it, since they are aware of your issues...just point them to the website, I can't imagine how any lowes location would justify telling a customer no you cant have it when its on there national website. :) But I think my mind is made up, I'm gonna give it a shot and get one in the next few days. Ill keep you posted, because I'm sure there will be many contemplating this exact issue  very soon......with all the nice weather coming our way. :)
Thanks Kerbos, They said they were updating there website last week because I tried to register my grill but they didn't have it listed yet.. I didn't get mine at Lowes it was a local store called Bi-Mart we don't have a lowes close.. I think the closest is a hour away.. I think you will be happy with it.. I still think it's a great deal at 399.. and like you said with a plan you can't beat it..

Happy Grilling..
th_INGardenbbq7.gif
 
  • Like
Reactions: kerbos5
 
Thanks Kerbos, They said they were updating there website last week because I tried to register my grill but they didn't have it listed yet.. I didn't get mine at Lowes it was a local store called Bi-Mart we don't have a lowes close.. I think the closest is a hour away.. I think you will be happy with it.. I still think it's a great deal at 399.. and like you said with a plan you can't beat it..

Happy Grilling..
th_INGardenbbq7.gif
I meant lowes website, I didn't realize this was available elsewhere only because on Lowes website is says "lowes exclusive" and the lady on the phone for Char-griller said the same thing, so I kinda assume you got it there, but yeah $399 is good, its 449 at lowes, and is right at 400 with a 10 percent off coupon.
 
Oh I was talking about Char Griller web site and they are doing a update on it... That's funny... When I searched it before I bought mine it said lowes exclusive and then I see a ton of places have them for sale including Wal-Mart online.. I had never seen them before until I saw it at the store I got it and then came home and looked them up.. Mine is a model #9040...

I looked it up on Lowes and it's the same one I got..
 
Thanks Kerbos, They said they were updating there website last week because I tried to register my grill but they didn't have it listed yet.. I didn't get mine at Lowes it was a local store called Bi-Mart we don't have a lowes close.. I think the closest is a hour away.. I think you will be happy with it.. I still think it's a great deal at 399.. and like you said with a plan you can't beat it..


Happy Grilling..
th_INGardenbbq7.gif

Glad to see somebody get one of these from Bi-Mart. I'm in Albany, Or. and have a Bi-Mart in town selling them for 399, 50 bucks less than Lowes as you say. Looks like a fine unit, I go and fondle it about once a week, BUT I've noticed folks having issues with the computer or something else. Interested to see if Bi-Mart lets you bring it back, like a Wal-Mart would. I think it's a 'hit & miss' problem with them. Some guys have no problem at all. IMO it's better built than the GM Daniel Boone for half the price. And Traegers I see in Costco all the time....cheesy looking from China now, small and not a bargain. I'm on the fence about buying one....I want it, but don't want/need the hassles of a bummer one. Rec-Tec looks terrific but twice the price....I was locked onto that until I noticed the Char Griller
 
 
 
Thanks Kerbos, They said they were updating there website last week because I tried to register my grill but they didn't have it listed yet.. I didn't get mine at Lowes it was a local store called Bi-Mart we don't have a lowes close.. I think the closest is a hour away.. I think you will be happy with it.. I still think it's a great deal at 399.. and like you said with a plan you can't beat it..

Happy Grilling..
th_INGardenbbq7.gif

Glad to see somebody get one of these from Bi-Mart. I'm in Albany, Or. and have a Bi-Mart in town selling them for 399, 50 bucks less than Lowes as you say. Looks like a fine unit, I go and fondle it about once a week, BUT I've noticed folks having issues with the computer or something else. Interested to see if Bi-Mart lets you bring it back, like a Wal-Mart would. I think it's a 'hit & miss' problem with them. Some guys have no problem at all. IMO it's better built than the GM Daniel Boone for half the price. And Traegers I see in Costco all the time....cheesy looking from China now, small and not a bargain. I'm on the fence about buying one....I want it, but don't want/need the hassles of a bummer one. Rec-Tec looks terrific but twice the price....I was locked onto that until I noticed the Char Griller
I joined this forum to find out about them.. I am glad to see another Or guy on here!!! I was about to buy a Traeger Junior until I saw this one.. Everyone around here have Traegers or Louisiana Grills and like you said they are twice as much to get the same size cooking area..We just had a Cascade store open up across the state line in Walla Walla which it is a new chain of Bi-Mart Corp.. They have the GM grills there and your right I looked at them and they look kinda wimpy built.. I just could of just got a bad fire rod and the new one on it's way may cure the issue.. I still think there well built for the money and might make the big names get competitive on prices???
 
Well, doubt the 'big names' will be dropping prices anytime soon, especially with the season coming on. Farm store here drops the GM prices by a hundred maybe as a 'sale' but that still doesn't interest me. The build feels good on these...Char Griller makes some decent off sets as well. I'm not sure if these are made in the US or in China. The box and manual just has the US plant location on it. I checked on many forums besides here, including the reviews on the Lowes site, and it got real decent reviews from most but a couple guys had issues right out of the box, which would be my luck unfortunately.
 
Yes a local store runs specials where they give you a cover and drop like 50 bucks off the price on the traegers..
sausage.gif


I think mine said made in USA.. All in all I was looking at spending a couple hundred bucks on a bbq so why not throw another 100 bucks or so and get the Char Griller is what I thought.. Bi- Mart also gave a bag of pellets with it which is only 7.99 but still it was something. I read where a few guys had some issues but most were with the temp rod.. It is well built and heavy duty compared to a friends Traeger Junior.. I think it's a great starter grill just upset I had a issue..
 
So I just went out to manual start the grill tonight and turned it on to feed some pellets into the box and the fire rod worked.. So I left it and will see if it will work...
 
Ok guys here is my little adventure...I hope this helps somebody deal with Big Blue L the box chain store when purchasing the Char-Griller pellet smoker. So I went ahead and ordered from Big Blue L online for $449 with 10 percent off coupon, making it $404 and I went ahead and got the 4 year warranty only because there seems to be some minor defects with others, and that is expected since this really is there first run in the pellet world. When I got to the store to pick up they told me all they had was the floor model and was dragging it outside to load. Well being and engineer I asked them "wth" that was, and they looked at me and said it was my smoker, I politely told them no its not.... mine will be in a brand new box that I get to put together, that way I know if everything was packed and not missing. Well apparently since the previous evening when I verified they had 3 they sold the others durring that day...ok fine, but I wasn't taking the floor model....unless.....I told the Rep I would be comfortable taking this smoker off there hands if he took another 15 percent off, and only because I had the bumper-to-bumper warranty....he refused and started to cop and attitude, during the conversation he let it slip he was only a part time worker.....that's when my cup runneth over, and I copped an attitude, asking him what gave him such authority to speak to me in the manor he did and what kind of power he had to tell me the 15 percent was not gonna happen. This is where my negotiations stopped with him, and in not so many less polite words I requested him to get a manager that would speak to me with reason. Long story short I got the grill for $360 plus the 4 year warranty for a total of $448.....dont ever let them force you to take the floor model its your money with out more of a discount! So I got it home did the initial fireing and seasoning all went well...gonna smoke some bacon candy seasoned real nice tomorrow, and then do a pork shoulder this weekend....I will report back with Qview. :) 
 
Well done Kerbos!! Well I fired it up again tonight and it worked so I am getting ready to pull off the pork loin I decided to cook..

Well Happy Grilling to you.. You will enjoy it!!!
439.gif
 
SmokingMeatForums.com is reader supported and as an Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases.

Latest posts

Hot Threads

Clicky