While my website is obviously primarily focused on promoting the benefits that wood pellets offer, they do have a couple of downsides/disadvantages too. This carries over to pellet grills/smokers, which are designed to use BBQ wood pellets as their fuel choice. Do the disadvantages of wood pellets/pellet grills outweigh their benefits? From my perspective, not by a long shot. However, understanding and accepting the limitations/disadvantages of pellet fuel/combustion can help you to enjoy a wood pellet grill/smoker more because you will appreciate how to use the grill and the pellets to the best of their ability. So what are the disadvantages? Well, let’s have a look at them.
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Some of the disadvantages/limitations of pellet grills you may have heard before, such as ‘pellet grills don’t get hot enough to grill‘, are based in some truth.
However, its a very general statement, and its actually not true with many pellet grills.
The same goes for statements such as ‘pellet grills are too expensive‘. Some are expensive, but there are many pellet grills available for under $500.
As I discuss in my articles on pellet vs kamado grills and pellet vs gas grills, each BBQ fuel source has its own advantages and disadvantages, and none of them are perfect.
It’s just, on the whole, despite their disadvantages, I believe that pellet grills are the most convenient/flexible solution.
Disadvantage 1: BBQ Wood Pellets Can Go Bad
So probably the biggest disadvantage with pellet grills and pellet fuel, in general, is the fact that BBQ wood pellets can ‘go bad‘.
What does that mean exactly? Well, wood pellets readily absorb moisture, its what makes them such good animal bedding.
However, its not an ideal quality when it comes to pellet grills. Hence, as I’ve previously written about in my post on, can you leave pellets in the grills hopper, in many instances, you don’t want to do that for an extended period of time.
Even if rain isn’t directly getting into the hopper, over time, a humid environment will eventually break the pellets apart.
Therefore, when the pellet grill is not being used, the pellets should really be removed from the hopper and stored in a sealed plastic bag/bucket.
Now, those of you ‘in the know’ may be aware of charcoal pellets, which don’t absorb moisture. So what’s the problem then, why don’t we just use charcoal pellets in grills/smokers all the time?!
Well, potentially, it would get around the current disadvantage of BBQ wood pellets absorbing moisture.
The problem is you would lose a lot of what makes the huge range of BBQ wood pellet flavour varieties so appealing. Hence, you would lose a key benefit of pellet BBQ smokers.
Disadvantage 2: Pellet Grills/Smokers Require Electricity To Work
Once you know how a pellet grill works, you understand there is a series of electrical components required for a pellet grill to do its job. Hence, all pellet grills/smokers are electric.
There is an auger motor which is feeding the pellets into the burn pot. There is also an electric fan which is feeding the fire with air and dispersing the heat/smoke around the cooking chamber of the pellet grill/smoker.
There is also an electric hot rod igniter and a control panel which needs electricity. Now, while a pellet grill doesn’t consume a lot of electricity (once the hot rod igniter is turned off), a source of power is required. Therefore, it does potentially restrict where you can position and use your pellet grill/smoker.
Now, in most cases sorting out a source of power is not a significant issue/disadvantage. However, it obviously is not something you even have to think about with a charcoal or gas grill.
If you are used to using an electric smoker, it’s obviously not a disadvantage at all.
Furthermore, in my pellet usage article, it may surprise you to learn that a pellet smoker can potentially have the lowest running costs of all BBQ smokers.
Also, there are portable pellet grills that are really popular and can be powered via the 12V DC supply from a car/RV or portable power sources.
So really, the fact that a pellet grill/smoker requires a source of electricity is unlikely to be a concern for most people. Though, having to plug in a grill into an electrical outlet is rather odd for some people at first.
Disadvantage 3: Not As ‘Smokey’ As A Charcoal Grill/Stick Burner
Now whether this is really a disadvantage or not really comes down to personal preference.
But it is generally acknowledged that food produced on a pellet grill will not have the same intensity of smoke flavour compared to a charcoal grill or a stick burner.
Now, if you want a more subtle smoke flavour in your food, this is obviously not a disadvantage at all.
However, for those people who like their food extra smokey, they may come away from using a pellet grill a little disappointed.
This potential disadvantage to some people does I think, come to be an advantage for others.
You see, as the smokey flavour that a pellet grill/vertical pellet smoker offers is more subtle, you can appreciate a wider range of smoke profiles from a wide range of BBQ wood pellet flavours.
For instance, with charcoal, you pretty much have the option of just oak, hickory and mesquite, and that’s it.
The reason being, as the smoke flavour is more intense, its harder to actually tell the difference between the different wood smoke flavours. However, with BBQ wood pellets, you have the choice of the following:
- Alder– Great for cooking birds and salmon
- Apple– Works well with pork, seafood and lamb
- Cherry– A good allrounder
- Hickory– Works well pork and BBQ ribs
- Maple– Nice for cooking vegetables and cheese
- Mesquite– Particularly suited to red meats
- Oak– The ‘foundation’ of BBQ wood pellets
- Pecan– Best suited to for cooking poultry
- Walnut– Especially nice for game and red meats
There are actually even more options than those stated above when you consider the blended wood pellet options and niche grill pellet flavours made by adding in various alcohol liquors etc.
As BBQ wood pellets produce a more subtle smoke taste, you can actually tell when the different wood species have been used for the cook.
So if you are looking for a very strong smokey flavour, a pellet grill may disappoint you. However, if you are looking to experience a wider range of smokey flavours, this is where a pellet grill/smoker can really shine.
Then again, you now have options like the Camp Chef Woodwind Pro, which is like a combination between a pellet grill and a stick burner for those looking for more smoke flavour.
Disadvantage 4: High-Temperature Grilling Performance
If you are on a tight budget and you are looking to replace your gas grill with a pellet grill, you may end up a bit disappointed with the grilling/searing performance of some budget pellet grills.
Now, if you choose to purchase a pellet grill that offers direct-flame access and it also features some cast-iron grates, the grilling performance could be on par with your previous gas grill.
Also, if you upgrade a pellet grill with a set of GrillGrates, even some of the cheapest pellet grills on the market can achieve at least reasonable grilling performance.
Though, even the pellet grills that offer the best high-temperature grilling performance are going to take longer to get up to those high temperatures (500 degrees +) compared to a gas grill. Therefore, some manufacturers are offering a different solution.
The pellet/gas combo grill is becoming more of a ‘thing’. While Camp Chef was probably the first brand to introduce such an idea with their propane Sear Box/Side Kick, other manufacturers have now started to offer their own versions.
The most prominent examples are products such as the Pit Boss KC Combo and the Cuisinart Twin Oaks.
As a gas grill can often get to higher temperatures at the grate than many pellet grills, if someone already owns a working gas grill, I’ll often recommend keeping it and considering a vertical pellet smoker to sit alongside it, such as the Camp Chef XXL.
The vertical pellet smoker will add flavour to your food, and the gas grill can then be used to finish off the meat with a nice sear, perfect!
Conclusions On Pellet Grill Disadvantages
Every type of BBQ has its strengths and weaknesses, hence pellet grills do have a few disadvantages/compromises.
With pellet grills, you have to make sure you keep your fuel dry and in a low-humidity environment. And you also need to make sure you have a source of electrical power available to actually run the grill.
You also need to appreciate that some pellet grills are not going to be ideal for grilling/searing straight out of the box (without some GrillGrates).
However, I do believe the advantages of pellet grills overcome their disadvantages. With BBQ wood pellets, you will experience a wide range of smoke flavours.
The control panel on a pellet grill makes it much easier than any other type of BBQ to cook your food to perfection with little involvement on your part.
Add in features such as WiFi for additional convenience, and there is simply no easier means to produce excellent BBQ.
That’s it! I hope despite the disadvantages/compromises of pellet grills and BBQ wood pellets, their many advantages still appeal to you.
I now have a pretty respectable collection of articles on most of the wood pellet grills/smokers on the market today. So please check out my Wood Pellet Grill/Smoker Guide to learn more. 🙂
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