Hi Rdubs,
I am new to the forums but I bought my Silverbac this past summer. It replaces a vertical gas smoker I had. I could not control the temps fluctuations very well and I could not get enough smoke with the vertical smoker.
I looked around at smokers of all types for almost a year before deciding to go with the Silverbac. I think pellet grills in general offer ease of use when it comes to temperature management. Like you I had heard that pellet grills don't generate as much smoke as a stick burner.
I can't tell you if the OG is better than the Silverbac since I don't have an OG. But the deciding factor for my purchase of the Silverbac versus other brands was the double walled cooking chamber (lower portion of the cook chamber), powder coated metal, and stainless steel lid. I would rate the quality of the components and fit/finish just slightly below that of a Weber grill but certainly much higher than some of the other brands offer at the big box stores at a similar price. I don't regret my purchase and I would do it again if I had to do it over. Given the quality I don’t think I will need to buy another for a while.
As for the amount of smoke it produces, it produces a fairly decent amount of smoke. But this may be relative. The amount of smokiness that I like may be different from what you like. Different pellet brands and species of wood affects how much smokiness is produced as well. For example, mesquite is stronger than Apple. I have an
Amazen pellet tube and a a 6x6
Amazen pellet smoker and these definitely work very well. In fact, last weekend I smoked a chuck roast using on the Silverbac while using the
Amazen pellet smoker tray and the meat was almost too smokey for my taste. But if I wanted even more smoke I could light the
Amazen pellet tray at both ends. So for me, I don't have an issue of getting as little or as much smoke that I want.
The reason I didn’t go with a Traeger or
RecTec or other brand was because the Silverbac had the insulated smoker chamber and powder coated metal. I did not want to be bothered with using a cooking blanket or rust. I started cooking early in the morning last weekend when the outside temp was 16 degrees with a steady 5 or 6 mph breeze. The smoker got up to 250 in 20 minutes and did not have any problems maintaining 250. Using an IR thermometer I shot the external temp of the bottom half of the cook chamber. It was reading 135 after the outside air temp had risen to 21 degrees. So I am very happy with smokers cold weather performance. I would have never been able to do this with my vertical gasser.
I have not grilled on the Silverbac. I grill using my
Weber kettle or Genesis so I don't have any feedback on grilling.
With all of that being said, I do wish the Silverbac had two features, being able to change pellets easily and a slide out lower grate. I am not able to change the pellets very easily. For example, I cannot change from hickory to apple very easily. Also, I have the extended top rack. I have difficulty accessing food at the back of the bottom rack. It can be done though. I mentioned in an email to Mark Graham about having an option for a slide out bottom grate. I guess we will see if they decide to make a kit for this.
I do highly recommend getting their folding stainless steel front shelve. I really found this helpful in addition to the large hopper lid.
I have found that Grilla’s prices are very reasonable and their customer support has been great. I have not had any issues with the smoker but I have had questions about accessories or cooking tips. Both Mark and Shane Draper have responded to my emails with questions within 12 hours. I have not called them.
I’m sure that people who own pellet grills by other manufacturers are just as happy with their smokers but for me it came down the features I deemed as critical, which is the insulated cooking chamber and powder coating.
I am okay with the fact Grilla controller is not a PID controller. This was an advantage in my book since I have heard the PID controllers don't produce as much smoke because of the tight temp range they maintain. I don't know if this true though.
I hope my insights help. I tried to be objective and not say this is the greatest smoker there is simply because it’s the smoker I own.
Quibbley
