Traeger pellets in Green Mountain?

[nursewizzle]

Hey guys, my wife bought me a Traeger last month, and we got a bag of pellets, but then we decided we wanted a GMG instead, so shipped the Traeger back. However, they wouldn't let us ship the pellets back. What I'm wondering is, can I use the Traeger pellets in the GMG? The dealership that sold me the GMG said he wouldn't use them, because of the oil that is used in the Traeger pellets, and also the amount of ash those pellets produce. However, I'm not sure if he told me that just because he wants me to buy different pellets from him instead? I did buy a bag of Lumberjack from him. I don't know what to do with these Traeger pellets otherwise. 

 

[westby]

You can use them and they will be fine. I'm not a big fan, but I'd use them if I had a bag laying around. Use them up during high temp cooks if nothing else.

 

[gpb11]

GMG will take any decent grilling pellets.  Feel free to use them up.  While I suspect Traeger may still use the extract oil in a couple of types of pellets (read their patents, they're online), a bag or two won't make a difference.  Worst case if you're worried, mix them with other pellets and any effect will be spread out.  

I've never tried them in mine though simply because the Traeger pellets cost too much.  When I can easily buy decent pellets at 60 cents a pound (B&B @ Academy Sports) or less, why would I spend $1 a pound for Traeger?  I hear Lumberjack is good but haven't seen them at retail here and am not at a point where I can field a bulk order.  

 

[talan64]

Will not be a problem, any pellet grill will burn any good grilling pellet, some may just make more ash, and you may need to clean out the burn pot more often.

And contrary to what Traeger says, you can use any grilling pellet in their smokers.  I have a Traeger, and use Bear Mt pellets pretty much exclusively, since they are considerably cheaper, and they sell them at the Cash & Carry where I get most of my meat.

 

 

[westby]

I hear you about the price. I did a bulk buy on a ton of lumberjack and got them shipped for 27.5 cents per pound.

 

[nursewizzle]

 
Worst case if you're worried, mix them with other pellets and any effect will be spread out.  

I kinda thought about this, but then I got to thinking... would any adverse affects be cumulative? But based on what you guys are all saying, I'll probably mix them with my Lumberjacks.

 

[chef jimmyj]

Wood Oils, as flavoring, would be volatile...They go right out the exhaust. No accumulation to worry about...JJ

 

[skippylkn]

I am new to posting but my question is what's the best wood pellets I can buy for my Traeger smoker, I like using oath on brisket and hickory, mesquite and fruit wood on out meats. Traeger pellets I understand have a lot of fillers. I like the 20 pound bags.

Thank you for any help you can provide for me.

Skippy

 

[gpb11]

IMHO the brand of pellet grill you're using is not relevant; they all should burn most any cooking pellet just fine.

Many people like CookinPellets brand as well as Lumberjack brand.  I've used GMG brand, Pit Boss Competition Blend, Louisiana Grills Competition Blend and LG 100% Hickory, as well as some B&B pellets.  All have worked fine for me.  

The "best" is whatever you can buy at a reasonable price that provides the flavor you like.  If you're paying more than around 70cents/lb you can likely do better, especially if you buy in larger quantities such as a bulk buy.

Handling of pellets during shipping / distribution seems to affect the amount of dust you find in them, so again this will vary based on your location.

 

[bill1]

The local Costco had Traeger 20# bags (Mesquite I believe)  for $13.  Not the greatest price perhaps for pellets, but good for that name brand and one's always close to a Costco out here in California.  

 

[gpb11]

Not a bad price for individual bags, thats 65 cents per pound.  

Here in Atlanta I've only seen Traeger pellets at Costco during a a Traeger roadshow.  The 33lb bags of Gourmet for $19 were tempting, but I passed figuring I didn't want to try something I couldn't get again on a regular basis.  B&B is commonly available at Academy sports for 60 cents a pound.

FYI check Sears for ship-to-store on Pit Boss Competition Blend.  They and Louisiana Grills are both Dansons brand.  I've been pretty happy with them, should have bought more when Target had them for $15/40lb bag.  Rough shipping can create a bit more dust but they've burnt fine.  Also Sears seems to frequently have a $5 off $50 coupon, so you right now you could get two 40# bags for store pickup for 58 cents per pound.

As always, if you have space to store a bunch of bags at a time, buying Lumberjack of Cookinpellets in bulk (group buy) can get a substantially lower price depending on freight shipping costs.

 

[bill1]

Well, Sears has everything, even pellets.   And they're all over.  I JUST bought a $19 Traeger "Gourmet blend" at Costco to stock up for Winter.  The Traeger Roadshow guy was there and quite the effective salesman he was!  Now I wish I'd tried the PitBoss at Sears.  Oh well, next time.  The free ship-to-store is great.  I buy a lot of Home Depot items that way.