# Pellet smoker grill combo????



## Edude273 (Mar 6, 2022)

My grill has finally kicked the bucket so I have been looking at all the propane grill and pellet grill side by side combos. Anyonen have positive/negative experiences? Would i be better off buying a separate grill and pellet smoker? I'm on a budget of 800-1200 $. Thanks in advance!

**UPDATE**: I have purchased a Webber Genisis II and am now searching for the best pellet smoker I can get with my remaining 500$ budget. I've always cooked on gas at home and as a restaurant chef, and have experience on wood smokers so that is what caused my decision. That being said... what do you guys recommend under 500?


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## bauchjw (Mar 6, 2022)

I don’t have any experience with a side by side pellet/gas combo….I didn’t know they existed, but it’s not surprising. However,  I’m not a big fan of multifunctional, I feel like they tend to do a lot ok, but none of it great. At your budget seems like you could go into a gravity fed charcoal or pellet and small gas as a separate station? Again, no experience, just an opinion! Good luck!


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## DougE (Mar 6, 2022)

If you don't need a big gas grill, you could go with a Camp Chef pellet grill with the sidekick. The sidekick has a griddle, BBQ box, and pizza oven that can go on it.


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## olecrosseyes (Mar 6, 2022)

For me, I'm a Weber 22" kettle guy, a 220 Q little gas grill and either a propane wood assist gas smoker (GOSM Big Block) or a Pit boss copper head 7( only because U bought it really right unused).

Each have their own special uses.


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## bill1 (Mar 6, 2022)

Quite a bit lately I've been using the crucible of my pellet "smoker" to light a basket of lump charcoal resting on racks (1/4" rebar) spaced about an inch over the open crucible.  Then I grill over that.  Great for just 2-4 people.  A little more work than my propane grill but worth it.  
For bigger grilling jobs I use my Weber Kettle...harder to start and clean up than the pellet machine but better heat distribution if feeding a crowd.  I think it and will last forever.  
I still have my old gas grill around the side of the house, but I doubt I'll ever use it again.  Just don't get the same flavor as with charcoal.


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## sandyut (Mar 7, 2022)

I absolutely love my rec teq pellet grill, but I do think a ”regular” grill of some sort is also a necessary tool.  I kept my gasser and glad I did.  The combo gives full versatility for any cook.


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## schlotz (Mar 7, 2022)

While the combo sounds appealing, IMO most are better served by dedicated units which are best at what they do. Reqtec is a good choice for the pellet side. You can see if it will satisfy for grilling, if not, get a gasser replacement.


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## negolien (Mar 7, 2022)

why? Just get a gravity feed there are two companies that make inexpensiave one's and others that make nicer ones. I love my gravity charcoal, wood, smoker, grill rotisserie lol. I can't imagine owning anything else. heck they even make some with griddles.


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## Edude273 (Mar 7, 2022)

negolien said:


> why? Just get a gravity feed there are two companies that make inexpensiave one's and others that make nicer ones. I love my gravity charcoal, wood, smoker, grill rotisserie lol. I can't imagine owning anything else. heck they even make some with griddles.


I'm really looking to replace my propane grill since I mostly grill quickly steaks, vegetables and fish. The pellet smokers seem to be better for low and slow, not sure how it would handle high heat or if that's even an option


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## tx smoker (Mar 7, 2022)

bauchjw said:


> However, I’m not a big fan of multifunctional, I feel like they tend to do a lot ok, but none of it great. At your budget seems like you could go into a gravity fed charcoal or pellet and small gas as a separate station? Again, no experience, just an opinion! Good luck!



Jed makes a really good point here. It's kinda like using a KA stand mixer for grinding meat and stuffing sausage. It'll work but not very effectively. The gravity fed smokers / grills are a great option.



schlotz said:


> Reqtec is a good choice for the pellet side.



Matt also makes a great point, as Dave ( 

 sandyut
 ) did above. I have a Rec Tec RT 700 and it is a very versatile unit. Extremely low temps for smoking bacon and sausage, mid level temps for long and slow BBQ, and high temps for grilling. If I could only have one cooker, this would be the one.

Robert


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## Fueling Around (Mar 7, 2022)

I happened to go to a Bass Pro Shop / Cabela's store yesterday.  I checked out the Pit Boss pellet grill (pooper) & gas grill combo unit.
Each side is actually pretty small compared to the overall size of the unit. Clunky to move around as I put my pellet grill in the garage after each use.
My other thought against a combo unit:  what happens when one side dies?
I'm shopping for a small gas unit so my wife can grill when I'm working.  She won't use the pellet or kettles without me to get them started.


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## Fueling Around (Mar 7, 2022)

bill1 said:


> Quite a bit lately I've been using the crucible of my pellet "smoker" to light a basket of lump charcoal resting on racks (1/4" rebar) spaced about an inch over the open crucible.  Then I grill over that.  Great for just 2-4 people.  A little more work than my propane grill but worth it.
> For bigger grilling jobs I use my Weber Kettle...harder to start and clean up than the pellet machine but better heat distribution if feeding a crowd.  I think it and will last forever.
> I still have my old gas grill around the side of the house, but I doubt I'll ever use it again.  Just don't get the same flavor as with charcoal.


Do you have a post of your using the crucible to light your charcoal chimney?


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## negolien (Mar 7, 2022)

The gravities are great at smokin low guys here do jerky and fish all the time. They also smash the pellets for quick high temp grilling. This is for the Masterbuilt like I own but there's other one's out there for aw low as 400 bucks


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## bill1 (Mar 7, 2022)

Fueling Around said:


> Do you have a post of your using the crucible to light your charcoal chimney?


To tell the truth, I don't remember what I post and don't.  But to give a little more detail, I have one of these:






Mine say cuisinart but it's identical to this.   (To be honest, I haven't actaully used the crucible to light my chimney, but it ought to work if you don't have any newspaper.)  After a couple dozen uses with charcoal it's a bit rusted and warped, but plenty of steel left to it.  As posted, I have it spaced ~half-inch over the crucible (rests on 1/4" rebar) and my grates rest another inch or so over the top of this.  I fill it with lump about half-way for burgers or chicken, about 3/4 for steaks.  
I start the pellet grill at 500F while I go get the meat.  In 5 minutes the coals have started in the middle and sometimes I start then, or let it go another 5 mins to get them all started.  Then I set the pellet thermostat down to 300 or so, just to occasionally get some pellets feeding.  I should also mention I switch resistors in line with the pellet combustion fan (pretty sure I've posted about this too) to slow the air flow down.  (I do that without charcoal too...the huge airflow in these is great for getting a fire going in your crucible but is totally unneccesary afterwards.)  
No, the fire is not perfectly equal, but that's always true of charcoal.  
Hope this helps.


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## TNJAKE (Mar 7, 2022)

My pellet smoker grills and sears very well although I prefer the Weber kettle for most grilling nowadays


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## Edude273 (Mar 7, 2022)

TNJAKE said:


> My pellet smoker grills and sears very well although I prefer the Weber kettle for most grilling nowadays
> 
> 
> 
> ...


What brand do you have? How long does it take to get to grilling temp?


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## TNJAKE (Mar 7, 2022)

Edude273 said:


> What brand do you have? How long does it take to get to grilling temp?


Pitboss Austin XL. I guess it takes 20 minutes or so to hit 600+. Has a slide that exposes the firepot for searing. I call it the flamethrower


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## bill1 (Mar 8, 2022)

Fueling Around said:


> I happened to go to a Bass Pro Shop / Cabela's store yesterday.  I checked out the Pit Boss pellet grill (pooper) & gas grill combo unit.
> Each side is actually pretty small compared to the overall size of the unit. Clunky to move around as I put my pellet grill in the garage after each use.
> My other thought against a combo unit:  what happens when one side dies?...


Good point.  It's Pit Boss so good value (quality for the dollar).  And it looks integrated and neat.  
I think a lot of spouses see backyards in magazines and are disappointed when theirs doesn't look like that.  I think it's great that I have a variety of cooking devices--oh, how I've been Blessed!  My wife doesn't share the excitement.  This Pit Boss is a good way to have some flexibility without looking "cluttered".  
How transportable it is probably depends on where you have to move it...of course a caster upgrade always helps matters in that regard.  
And Pit Boss uses easy-to-get pellet parts and grill burners.  If you're a bit handy I think you can keep both sides going for years.  And it's still a fraction of the cost of high-end cookers.


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## 1MoreFord (Mar 9, 2022)

I'm going to second the idea that a combo unit is not as versatile as two separate units.  If one side fails you've got to replace both if you want to keep both.  JMO and $0.02 but buy two separate units to start with.


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## Bimmernerd (Mar 9, 2022)

I'll third or fourth the idea that two separate units are better.  My only experience with a combo unit was that it did both things but neither of them exceptionally well, granted that was over 15 years ago, but I think generally speaking it probably still holds true.  I have a Weber Genesis gas grill and love it - it does one thing, and does it well.  I have a Pitts & Spitts 1250 pellet pusher and it does it's job exceptionally well.  Just my 2-cents.


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## Edude273 (Mar 13, 2022)

Edude273 said:


> My grill has finally kicked the bucket so I have been looking at all the propane grill and pellet grill side by side combos. Anyonen have positive/negative experiences? Would i be better off buying a separate grill and pellet smoker? I'm on a budget of 800-1200 $. Thanks in advance!
> 
> **UPDATE**: I have purchased a Webber Genisis II and am now searching for the best pellet smoker I can get with my remaining 500$ budget. I've always cooked on gas at home and as a restaurant chef, and have experience on wood smokers so that is what caused my decision. That being said... what do you guys recommend under 500?


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## Fueling Around (Mar 13, 2022)

Edude273 said:


> I'm really looking to replace my propane grill since I mostly grill quickly steaks, vegetables and fish. The pellet smokers seem to be better for low and slow, not sure how it would handle high heat or if that's even an option





Edude273 said:


> I have purchased a Webber Genisis II and am now searching for the best pellet smoker I can get with my remaining 500$ budget. I've always cooked on gas at home and as a restaurant chef, and have experience on wood smokers so that is what caused my decision. That being said... what do you guys recommend under 500?


Excellent choice to get a dedicated grill.

What is your expectations for a second unit?


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## Edude273 (Mar 13, 2022)

Fueling Around said:


> Excellent choice to get a dedicated grill.
> 
> What is your expectations for a second unit?


I would like to be able to smoke low and slow with as little attention needed. I have a masterbuild propane smoker and it requires alot of attention. Id like for there to be enough space for 4 racks of ribs or 2 pork butts. Id use it alot to reverse sear steaks before searing on the gas grill, we have burgers/steak at least 1 night a week so thats what it would probably get used for the most.


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## Fueling Around (Mar 14, 2022)

A lot of members have great success with electric cabinet smokers.
If you want to try a pellet grill, look for clearance units.  I got a Masterbuilt for under $200
Pit Boss has models under $500 
I will caution you on Pit Boss hit or miss quality.  2 neighbors at home have them (one is a rebranded Cabelas).
1 has never had a problem.  The rebranded Cabelas has been a challenge 2 controllers, auger motor, and it routinely breaks the auger drive bolt.


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## dubob (Mar 18, 2022)

You might want to look at this thread: https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/new-to-the-market-pellet-gas-combo.314009/


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## olecrosseyes (Mar 19, 2022)

*@bauchjw
@

 Edude273
*
Thanks for the like Chefs!


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## olecrosseyes (Mar 19, 2022)

Edude273 said:


> I would like to be able to smoke low and slow with as little attention needed. I have a masterbuild propane smoker and it requires alot of attention. Id like for there to be enough space for 4 racks of ribs or 2 pork butts. Id use it alot to reverse sear steaks before searing on the gas grill, we have burgers/steak at least 1 night a week so thats what it would probably get used for the most.


If you are referring to constantly having to adjust the temp, Have you installed a needle valve in your gas line? I should have done this on my GOSM generations ago!!


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## BCP3006 (Jun 5, 2022)

Edude273 said:


> My grill has finally kicked the bucket so I have been looking at all the propane grill and pellet grill side by side combos. Anyonen have positive/negative experiences? Would i be better off buying a separate grill and pellet smoker? I'm on a budget of 800-1200 $. Thanks in advance!
> 
> **UPDATE**: I have purchased a Webber Genisis II and am now searching for the best pellet smoker I can get with my remaining 500$ budget. I've always cooked on gas at home and as a restaurant chef, and have experience on wood smokers so that is what caused my decision. That being said... what do you guys recommend under 500?


I bought one pellet grill that was a pit boss it functioned flawley
There was no Smokey wood flavor on your meat even if it did create blue smoke which mine did and there still was no flavor on the meat what a waste of money I'm retiring it to the status of outside oven instead of smoker. I'm stick burner bound. You can't beat that offset smoker flavor.. if pellet grills were so great they would be using them in competitions exclusively.. believe me if there was an edge about using a pellet smoker the pit Master's in a competition surely would be using it.. end of story..


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## Fueling Around (Jun 5, 2022)

Pellet poopers without an accessory smoke generator is basically a gas grill.
I use 1 or 2 smoke tubes


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## schlotz (Jun 6, 2022)

Fueling Around said:


> Pellet poopers without an accessory smoke generator is basically a gas grill.
> I use 1 or 2 smoke tubes


Top each their own. My pellet smoker does a great job and that's what it is used for.  My gas grill is a fantastic unit and does what it does best too.


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## BCP3006 (Jun 7, 2022)

schlotz said:


> Top each their own. My pellet smoker does a great job and that's what it is used for.  My gas grill is a fantastic unit and does what it does best too.


I was hooked on the smoke tubes I thought that was the way to go but they only produce white smoke and that's not what you want to flavor you meet with unless you're just used to the taste of it, what's the creosote flavor.

People are hooked on smoke tubes tell me what they're thinking about the flavor of white smoke please???


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## bill1 (Jun 8, 2022)

Blue smoke is a sufficient but not necessary condition for good flavor.  It ensures your smoke particles and sub-micron and light-wavelength relative.  But you can still get good flavor with white smoke.  It's the black smoke that's indicative of throwing up ash and soot instead of flavor.  
Still I agree smoke tubes can run a little hot in a pellet grill.  I'm currently relying on pellets in a cast iron pan for most of my smoke flavor in my pellet machines, but yes it's mostly white smoke.  The better solution is probably putting your smoke flavor generators _outside _and piping it in.  So cold smoke generators like a Smoke Daddy, Bella, or Masterbuilt gravity-feed.  I was pretty much forced into that with my electric barrel smoker but I just haven't gotten around to it  yet with the pellet poopers.  
Life intrudes on my cooking.


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## jdixon (Jun 13, 2022)

Edude273 said:


> My grill has finally kicked the bucket so I have been looking at all the propane grill and pellet grill side by side combos. Anyonen have positive/negative experiences? Would i be better off buying a separate grill and pellet smoker? I'm on a budget of 800-1200 $. Thanks in advance!
> 
> **UPDATE**: I have purchased a Webber Genisis II and am now searching for the best pellet smoker I can get with my remaining 500$ budget. I've always cooked on gas at home and as a restaurant chef, and have experience on wood smokers so that is what caused my decision. That being said... what do you guys recommend under 500? like Best pellet smoker grill combo


My Traeger is on its last legs. I’ve had it for almost 20 years. I know pellet grills have come a long way since then. Who makes the best now? And what’s the best one for the money? Thanks


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## DougE (Jun 13, 2022)

jdixon said:


> My Traeger is on its last legs. I’ve had it for almost 20 years. I know pellet grills have come a long way since then. Who makes the best now? And what’s the best one for the money? Thanks


Which one is the best is somewhat subjective, and some sort of budget will also get you answers geared to how much cash you're willing to part with.


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## schlotz (Jun 14, 2022)

Yup, looking for the 'best' is a subjective search. Some will point to what they use, others to units within a certain price range that fits their budget (not necessarily yours). It's best to put together a list of features that are important to you, prioritize them, then bounce them off different models.


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## BCP3006 (Jun 14, 2022)

jdixon said:


> My Traeger is on its last legs. I’ve had it for almost 20 years. I know pellet grills have come a long way since then. Who makes the best now? And what’s the best one for the money? Thanks





schlotz said:


> Yup, looking for the 'best' is a subjective search. Some will point to what they use, others to units within a certain price range that fits their budget (not necessarily yours). It's best to put together a list of features that are important to you, prioritize them, then bounce them off different models.


If you want to be the master of the pit get an offset smoker and not a cheap one from Walmart or home Depot or Lowe's.

Get an offset smoker if you REALLY love that smokey wood flavor..

I have used stick burners for about 35 years and always have gotten tremendous flavor. I have friends clawing at me wanting something off of offset smoker but my cheap smokers from Walmart have broken down and the firebox is rusting out and the firebox baffle doesn't want to move..

I don't know how many people you cook for but don't get one larger than you actually need because the larger the smoker the more wood it will eat.. if that erodes your wallet get a smaller smoker..

If all the flavor you want is coming from a pellet smoker then I wouldn't worry about getting an offset smoker


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## 912smoker (Jun 14, 2022)

And the Masterbuilt Gravity Flow series is another option. We have a large family, so I went with the 1050 and love it. Plenty of room and great smoke flavor with the addition of wood chunks in the hopper. And it goes up to 700* and it's like searing in the sun

Keith


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## BCP3006 (Jun 14, 2022)

BCP3006 said:


> If you want to be the master of the pit get an offset smoker and not a cheap one from Walmart or home Depot or Lowe's.
> 
> Get an offset smoker if you REALLY love that smokey wood flavor..
> 
> ...


White smoke coming out of a smoker is a dead giveaway because your fire is trying to tell you it is starving for oxygen and you can't create blue smoke if you're fire is starving for oxygen....

Here's another tip:
The worst thing you can do is start a fire in your firebox then once the fire starts  you load up the firebox with all the wood it can hold so you can sit down and watch the game on TV for three or four hours.

 You mentioned something about pitmaster at the beginning of your text message... I don't know if you're an armchair pitmaster or someone who just wants to get the meat on the grill and in your stomach as soon as possible wham bam thank you ma'am...

I don't know if you're only looking for white smoke because some people are. I used to be that way until I learned how to manage my fire.

Blue smoke happens in a fire when the temperature is between 650 and 750 degrees Fahrenheit respectively and you don't add wood to your fire when there's a bunch of flame going on in the firebox you're supposed to wait until the fire has all but died out...
Then if you added enough wood at the beginning of your far you should have enough coals on your great to ignite a new piece of wood to the fire and only about 30 seconds if you had put that wood on top of your firebox to preheat it so you're not throwing a cold piece of wood into your firebox and expect the wood to ignite it because the wood is not up to temperature and what's your far going to do it's going to start putting out white smoke again. The size of your wood determines how long it will burn before you need to add wood so you need to watch that you're not putting in wood that's too big because now you're asking you're far to use more energy to ignite that big piece of wood and now you're running low on coals in your fire bed so now you're fighting the temperature swings by not managing the size of the wood you're using,.  Mr pitmaster...

But if none of that interests you and white smoke is all you can hope for then a pellet grill by rec tec should last you quite a while as long as you're not leaving it out in the rain and don't have a cover for it and the sun beats down on it when you're cooking giving you high temperature swings...

Exactly what does broke down mean or kick the bucket both terms are very subjective.

You don't go into a doctor's office and say doc I'm about ready to kick the bucket. That doesn't do the doctor any good but here are your pellet smoker is the patient it can't talk to the doctor but you can and the closer you can narrow down what's ailing your smoker might be more cost-effective than to buy another smoker. Or maybe the fact that you need another smoker is because you don't want to take the time to take the smoker apart to replace a part...

You might be a lawyer and it would be easier to throw money at it to fix it then then to have to get down on your hands and knees and be the hero of the day... Some Women like guys that can fix things...


I don't know but you may have only used the grill 20 times in the last 20 years...

Look at the reviews on the smoker that you're looking for and start from there ... Good luck


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## motsyball (Jun 24, 2022)

DougE said:


> Which one is the best is somewhat subjective, and some sort of budget will also get you answers geared to how much cash you're willing to part with.


Well my Traeger is also on its last leg and my budget is under $500. I want a smoker that I can use Cabelas pellets in since they are a high quality pellet at a very inexpensive price. I just want to be able to set the temperature and walk away. I am so tired of my Traeger low/smoke setting not being able to get over 200 degrees when its under 50 degrees outside.  I then added the Ortech digital setting and its not hot enough when I set it at 200 and at 225 its gets too hot and starts burning my ribs. My point is I want a pellet smoker that will maintain a temperature I set it at and also allows me to change the setting in 5 or 10 degree increments, not 25 degree increments like the Ortech. I also want it to give the meat a bold smoke flavor. I've sometimes ate smoked meat and it had almost no smoke flavor at all. What do you all recommend?


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## DougE (Jun 24, 2022)

motsyball said:


> My point is I want a pellet smoker that will maintain a temperature I set it at and also allows me to change the setting in 5 or 10 degree increments, not 25 degree increments like the Ortech.


My Camp Chef adjusts in 5° increments from low all the way high. It was one of the reasons I chose it. I bought it from Lowes with my Lowes card and had a year interest free to pay it off. That may be an option.


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