Do you wish that your pellet grill was Stainless Steel?

[Idratherbesmoking]

I am wanting to get a new pellet grill. Should I go Stainless or not? Is stainless necessary?

 

[negolien]

I don't think it is not sure what they pro's and cons are but my MB ain't shiny stainless. Have you thought about a gravity feed from chargriller or masterbuilt?

 

[bauchjw]

I’m not a big fan of stainless, personally. Not sure there is a pro to stainless other than the look, but it requires much more attention to keep clean and looking nice. I’m not sure I’ve seen a stainless pellet smoker though? You said grill, are you looking for a smoker or grill? If only a grill I wouldn’t recommend pellets, mine kind of does grill, but not like charcoal or gas.

 

[Colin1230]

I have a stainless gasser and if it is facing South on my patio the reflection off of it will ef'n blind you. Other than that I like it but wouldn't recommend it.

 

[Sven Svensson]

When I looked at new pellet grills I looked at stainless, powder coated, and the Yoder. I chose to pass on stainless because of the cost and you can never really keep stainless looking nice and smear-free. It’s hard enough with an indoor appliance let alone with an outdoor appliance.

I passed on the powder coated grills because I know a few owners and they start rusting after a few seasons just like cars in the Midwest. No matter how hard you try rust gets under that powder coat on the edges and joints. Good luck fixing rust cancer and even better luck trying to repaint it and make it look nice.

I went with the Yoder because it’s very heavy gauge, unlike the powder coated grills. Yoder can get the rap for rust, however, you can fix that rust rather easily And it’s so thick it’s rusting through in my lifetime. Better yet, you can sand it, paint it, and it will look like new.

Grills get messy over time and you never see the big offset pit owners care the least about how pristine their pits look. I wanted a beefy, heavy grill. Yoder made sense for how I was going to cook and more sense for how I was going to clean and even restore it.

To me, you buy stainless to look nice. Then, you hope it can cook and stay looking nice. And, maybe it will. I have 3 different grills and I didn’t buy any of them for the looks. So, decide what you want to pay, find a pellet grill that has the right features for you, and then decide how much looks matter.

One last thing, this forum is never sort on opinions so expect a ton of advice that’s all over the map And enjoy sorting through it. That’s a big part of the fun.

 

[Fueling Around]

Purchase your pellet grill (pooper) for function not for finish.

I'm not sure the finish on my Masterbuilt (MB) but it has held up well for over 2 years.
The control is not good. I need to get a new control that will cost more than I paid for the entire pooper

 

[DougE]

Well, in winter, I have a welding blanket over mine, so I'm not sure what color it is.

 

[SecondHandSmoker]

I must agree with everyone else about stainless.
It adds nothing to the quality of a smoker/grill other than it looks "purty" and is a royal PITA to keep looking nice and clean.

 

[BurntWeenie]

So what the Project Smoke/Fire and looked at the Memphis Grills. There is Stainless
Steel. I have a Recteq. My gas weber is 20 years old. Heavy aluminum and powder coated steel. I'm AR so I keep my grill and smoker uber clean. Now when someone starts making powder coated titanium grill.

It is all about care and feeding. My stuff has always been in a garage or now under the porch.

 

[civilsmoker]

I had (still have) a full 314 stainless Memphis grill. It was in service for 11 years....the guts are gone now but the stainless is still 100% so it is being retrofitted into a gasser/wood Hybrid for the bbq kitchen...

my new Rectec is 50/50 and my Webber is 50/50 as well and 18 years old. I keep the outside SS polished up with stainless polish which keeps them looking new.

all that said I don’t think it matters.....you don’t want your pellet out in the yuck cause of the electronics. You want a cover or under a cover....stainless or not.....

 

[1MoreFord]

Not in the least. SS is two or three times the cost of carbon steel and doesn't heat as evenly. I can manage the possible rust of CS.

 

[schlotz]

I worry less about whether it's stainless or carbon steel. If picking out a pellet smoker, you want to know how it performs, how precise the controller manages the set temp, hot or cold spots throughout the grate, grease management (if external there are criters to deal with), ease of ash removal, hopper unload capability, lowest & highest temp operating capability, number of shelves including clearance from the top shelf to the hood, and of course total available square inches of cooking surface.