I have only used this smoker once so far, but I am very happy with it. The grease tray warped when I cured the smoker, but that doesn't affect its operation. My only complaint is the hopper size is too small. Since my first use I have removed the baffle so that will increase the effective capacity somewhat. I should have removed the baffle before assembly. I had to take the hopper loose in order to remove the baffle, so would have saved myself some work to have done it before assembly. The other suggestion is to be sure you cover the grease tray with aluminum foil before using it, makes cleanup much easier. Except for the hopper size it works just as well as my Traeger, and with my removal of the baffle in the hopper I expect it to be almost equal in use. There is a temperature difference between the thermometer in the lid and the sensor that goes to the control unit, but one should be cooking by food temperature anyway, so the thermometer reading is immaterial.

Sure you could pay a lot more for a pellet smoker, but why would you? There is nothing about the smoker that would cause me to want to send it back and purchase a more expensive one. My Son In Law and Daughter has a Traeger. Their smoker cost 3-4 times more than this one. I can't see why you would spend that much more. This smoker Metal is thicker than a Traeger 780. I have upgraded the smoker with LavaLock 12 GREY High Performance BBQ gasket smoker seal SELF STICK. I put it around the lid to help seal the smoker a little bit better. It also helps with sealing in the heat and smoke.

For this review I have mixed feelings. If you get it together you are going to love it. I'm only one day/meal in but so far I love it. For $260 this beauty is amazing. It's a cool and windy day and seems to maintain tempurature just fine. Better than my amateur butt could on a charcoal grill or smoker. However, THERE WERE SERIOUS PACKAGING ISSUES. The state of things inside the box was a disaster. Have a shop vac handy. More than just a couple of parts were bent. Regardless, everything pulled together well. The only damage that I seriously considered returning it for is that the drum has a nice dent from the top left of the main opening to the left edge of the drum and the paint has cracked. Looks like a drywall crack from the corner of a door or window. But then I remembered, I only paid $260. If this had been a $700 traeger (which is smaller) I'd return it in a heartbeat. But being an online only item I didn't want to take it to nearest sams and order it again. All in all, I'm really happy I didnt waste my money on something more expensive. This looks and feels as good as the others and seems to work exactly as advertised.

So far very sturdy. BUT caution there are two gaskets that are needed to help seal it. And for some reason they are WHITE the exact same color as all the foam that accompanies it. They could be any different color, BLACK, maybe so they match the grill. But any other color would do. They are super thin and fragile. If they stay in one piece there will be 2 so keep your eye out.

Just opened it planning for a New Year's eve smoke session and lo and behold can't even use it because the (I'm assuming because there isn't a description in the manual) temperature probe to regulate the auger feed for the pellets was clean cut. It was visibly clean cut so not sure how/why it was continued to be packed. In addition, the temperature know was bent nearly 90 degrees. I managed to bend it back some but didn't want to continue in fear it would snap off. And in all the reviews they say to call and I've called THREE times and pressed "9" for customer service like the prompt says and I immediately get sent to a busy signal. And if Ember Grills is reading this, instead of asking customers to contact you, why not actually provide true customer service and reach out to them if possible? Please provide a direct contact number as the number you provide is inadequate.

I purchased this pellet grill today and over all my expectations have been met very well. The grill work amazing as it should. When opening grill I found that it is well packaged protecting it very well inside the box. Putting it together wasnt too difficult but the bolts strip easily if your not careful, so when tightening them go snug but not too tight. I feel that some things could have been put together by the manufacturer but it's not that bad. The grill is very well made all parts are made of a good quality steel which is great! Even the wheels! Definitely read the instruction manual while assembling it and definitely do the pre cooking curing process it's very important to break it in that way. During that process it will smoke a good bit so a well ventilated area is a must, but it goes away pretty quickly. The temperature control is a little off but it will be for any grill in colder temps just make sure to get a good meat thermometer that's a must have for any grill master. If you follow directions and do what the instruction manual says you cant go wrong. I just cooked some Montreal seasoned steaks on it and they turned out amazing. Even my kids said they were the best they ever had and award winning lol. I am not a big steak guy and usually eat only one steak but today I'm not ashamed to say I had 3! If you want a good grill and quality for your money get this. You wont be disappointed in the least.

Bought this grill/ smoker today . Takes two people to put together and took close to a hour! Seems to be built real good heavy gage steel. Cooked two Pieces of bonless chicken. Came out perfect wish gage was Digital on the Pellet box but still a great smoker/ grill hardly have to do anything! No flare ups great smoker/ grill

I'm an experienced backyard smoker and the family pit master. I bought this grill because I needed a smoker that would do more than one brisket at a time without breaking my wallet. I have a large Big Green Egg(lump charcoal) and have a Traeger Tailgater 20(pellet smoker), which are both small and can fit only one brisket. I can swear by the ease of use and convenience pellet smokers have brought to the market. My wife can use this thing and produce an amazing pulled pork with very little instruction. It pains me to say that, but... just saying. I've replaced every control board and temp sensor on the Traeger pellet smoker since I've had it and have been disappointed with it overall. I'll admit that Traeger has a 3-yr warranty that they easily honor when it comes to parts and shipping while this smoker advertises only 1-yr warranty. I've not needed to call customer service (yet), but one should note they seem to respond to nearly every negative review on the web which leads me to believe they care about our satisfaction. There are two major rules with pellet smokers 1) Never let your pellet hopper run empty 2) Always ensure the firebox is clean of ash dust before starting your cook. These two things can ruin your day if you neglect them. I'm skeptical that the manufacturer claims 10-15 cooks before needing to clean the firebox. For me that's over 100 hours of run time. Perhaps they should recommend number of hours the grill can run before needing a clean. I looked at many other pellet smokers before finding this at Sam's. As you know, there's a bunch out there. After researching this one, I discovered this was a Trail Embers smoker sold for twice the price everywhere else. It's super heavy and sturdy in design. I can confirm the performance is great for the 6 times I've used it so far. I've made pulled pork, brisket, chicken, and steaks with great results. I love the wheels and handle to easily move it. I love the fold down side table to hold food and accessories if needed. The overall look and design is great! I recommend you keep it covered or in the garage at all times to prevent damage to the outer shell and sensitive electronics. However; the only thing I would modify is the blue colored back-light LCD display. It has black numbering and is very difficult to read without crouching down eye-level and reading within 5 feet. I would also allow the pellet guard to be easily lifted out of the way as most pellet hoppers need a helping hand to push in stalled pellets. I'm crossing my fingers on the reliability and longevity which I'll update this post if I find anything wrong. I highly recommend this grill for the price. I especially recommend this grill if you're on the fence about cutting your teeth on a pellet smoker.

I wanted a nice pellet grill to add to my collection. I read the reviews and figured the vote was 50/50 but with the response of the manufacture on all the negative reviews I figured if something was wrong they would be there to help. Assembly was easy. I did most of it by myself and had my daughter help hold a bolt or screw when needed. I've cooked briskets over night, ribs, pizzas, a turkey today. The grill is awesome. No complaint. Great product. Start it up, give it time to even out the temp. I would recommend this grill.

I bought one of the and had it shipped to my house. It showed up with damage and all they offered was a cover even with a dent in the hopper. Didn't push the issue as it worked as should for 3 smokes. Then I started having issues with the temp holding at 235ish when the unit was set in the smoke, 180°, and 200° settings. I paid for the 3 year warranty which is a joke because the boltz group doesn't return calls and gives the run around on emails. Spend a little more money and buy a good one!