Louisiana Grills SL1000 Pellet Grill..opinon

[clifish]

I am covertly "AKA don't tell the wife" shopping for a pellet grill. I already have a small MES knock off and a 22 kettle that I will keep. I would like something that is easy and can fit a bunch of things. I can afford a req tec or smoke fire but I am cheap...lol I have been burned by the old saying penny wise pound foolish. With that in mind talk me out of the below:

https://www.costco.com/louisiana-grills-sl1000-pellet-grill.product.100698674.html

$399 for a 1000 Sq" of cooking. Searing is cool but not essential, Wifi control is irrelevant as I would not be doing overnight cooks and could get an inkbird wifi temp probe for under a hundred bucks.

Any input would help, you don't need to sell me on the higher end options but would love reasons not to at least try this..lol

 

[Nodak21]

co worker has a Louisiana grill for 1.5 yrs and likes it. ( he only cooks on it once a week or less) Cabelas had some pellet grills made by Louisiana and they were better quality than from whoever makes them now. Almost like a cheap z grill. I have a traeger and it’s fine but temp swings pretty violently. Brother has Yoder and likes it. If it were me I would consider spending $599 on the green mountain Daniel Boone. I know 2 people that have had them for a couple years and use them a lot ( all temps ) and they both have huge praise for it. I was going to retire the traeger and buy a Rec Teq because of the praises on here but then they went and jacked the price of the 700 by $400. I think there are better values out there now

 

[clifish]

co worker has a Louisiana grill for 1.5 yrs and likes it. ( he only cooks on it once a week or less) Cabelas had some pellet grills made by Louisiana and they were better quality than from whoever makes them now. Almost like a cheap z grill. I have a traeger and it’s fine but temp swings pretty violently. Brother has Yoder and likes it. If it were me I would consider spending $599 on the green mountain Daniel Boone. I know 2 people that have had them for a couple years and use them a lot ( all temps ) and they both have huge praise for it. I was going to retire the traeger and buy a Rec Teq because of the praises on here but then they went and jacked the price of the 700 by $400. I think there are better values out there now

yeah that is my dilemma...Costco "typically" does not sell crap but all bets are off now a days. i might just use this for a "toe step" if the flavor is there (AKA normal pellet flavor)

 

[Nodak21]

Oh it will work and cook with the same flavor of other pellet grills. Some of the more expensive units are just built heavier, better igniters and components, better temp control, etc.. flavor won’t be anything close to your Weber charcoal, but you will love the ease of use. They sure are handy!

 

[clifish]

I understand the flavor difference hence why I got the kettle. I just don't want ridiculous temp swings when it is set at a specific range/temp....just trying to figure if the 2-3X the price for the others is worth it?

 

[Nodak21]

I think you would like the Louisiana grill from Costco and it should last 5-10yrs with no issues. You could buy 3 of them for one req teq. Be interesting to see what the others opinions are.

 

[clifish]

yeah, this might be an experiment I would be willing to carry out, Hell the wife just booked a reservation at a steak house for us and our two kids (20, 23) to celebrate a new job and college successes and I guarantee that bill will be more than this grill....yeah I know I can make a better diner at home but.......gotta do what ya gotta do!

 

[chopsaw]

I can afford a req tec or smoke fire but I am cheap...

Frugal , Cliff , it's called frugal .
I don't do unattended cooks either , but the Wi Fi control is really nice .
I only have experience with one brand of pellet grill , so I have no opinion on the one you listed , but I'm sure it's fine . I will say that after you cook on a pellet grill you'll be hooked . The extra money for a higher end grill might not seem so bad .
I've stood in front of the Pit Boss pro series at Lowes . Nice grill for the price .

 

[clifish]

No I am cheap...lol Wifi would be nice but a good wifi thermometer would still alert me if I am a mile away at the pool in PA. Would just have to drive back to change something. If I keep it in PA it would be in a garage so rust longevity won't be an issue. I have missed a couple smokefires on market place and stumbled upon an old Yoder that needed work for about $500 but saw it too late. That was too bad as it was in my hometown.....going to think on this and try and find some real life reviews. I just don't want to end up with problems killing the meat and dinners planned.

 

[Brokenhandle]

Talking about being cheap... Cliff, if you buy one for me I'll test it for you and give you my real life review!

Ryan

 

[cajuncpo]

I got my 1100 back in March of '17 and it's still going strong. Only thing really bad was having to replace the controller board about 6-mos after I got it. And occasionally I have to reprogram the controller when temp swings get to be too much. Otherwise it has held up good. Only have a little rust by the smoke exhaust holes. Looking to replace it with one of the new ones with Bluetooth and extended warranty. But, that will be a while since this one is still kicking. This was my first pellet grill and I have loved how the food comes out!

 

[Apparition]

What's the hopper capacity? Looks small in the pics but I can't tell. If it takes an entire bag then it'd probably be ok.

 

[Winterrider]

Wifi would be nice but a good wifi thermometer would still alert me if I am a mile away at the pool in PA. Would just have to drive back to change something.

If WiFi on smoker and not just thermometer, maybe wouldn't have to drive back home. Could adjust from there .
As chopsaw mentioned you may be hooked on the pellet with ease of use, may want to spend a little extra. I kinda suspect the little bit cheaper units are gonna have some pretty good temp swings, just a hunch.
Good luck with whatever you decide idea and let us know.

 

[gmc2003]

What's the hopper capacity? Looks small in the pics but I can't tell. If it takes an entire bag then it'd probably be ok.

18# hopper.

Cliff, I know nothing about pellet smokers, but from the description it sounds pretty good.

Chris

 

[rileybowler]

My concern would be all of the 1 star ratings as well as 2 and 3 star ratings. I read one of them and a customer said he spent a lot of time assembling and then it did not work. It does look like a grill with plenty of features at that price. You may want to google it on internet for reviews.

I understand the flavor difference hence why I got the kettle. I just don't want ridiculous temp swings when it is set at a specific range/temp....just trying to figure if the 2-3X the price for the others is worth it?

 

[clifish]

My concern would be all of the 1 star ratings as well as 2 and 3 star ratings. I read one of them and a customer said he spent a lot of time assembling and then it did not work. It does look like a grill with plenty of features at that price. You may want to google it on internet for reviews.

I have been looking but not a ton on this model most are for there more expensive line with wifi

 

[jeffgarret]

So, I had been eyeing a pellet grill for the past few months and looking at them in stores. Couldn't justify the price they were asking. I saw this grill on Costco.com for $399, did my due diligence and decided to take a chance. If it sucks then I'm out very little.

I got it a couple of days ago and assembled it in about an hour last night. It was very well packaged and it does seem to be well built, perhaps better than some I had played with in the stores costing 2x more. I already have a bluetooth thermometer device with 4 probes so the lack of Wifi control is a non-issue for me given how much it saved me.

It fired right up, I let it sit at 400 for about 45 minutes for the burnoff and then I made some turkey burgers with a combination of just normal heat at 350 and the direct heat feature. They turned out awesome.

I have to say that so far my expectations have been far exceeded for the price. The temp help pretty consistently +-10 both during the burnoff and the cook. Things could go off the rails still, so we'll see. This weekend I plan on smoking a whole turkey.

Edit: Speaking of going off the rails, right after I wrote this it now appears that it has gone out of stock in most of the country. Either the price was so good they sold out or they aren't selling it anymore.

 

[clifish]

So, I had been eyeing a pellet grill for the past few months and looking at them in stores. Couldn't justify the price they were asking. I saw this grill on Costco.com for $399, did my due diligence and decided to take a chance. If it sucks then I'm out very little.

I got it a couple of days ago and assembled it in about an hour last night. It was very well packaged and it does seem to be well built, perhaps better than some I had played with in the stores costing 2x more. I already have a bluetooth thermometer device with 4 probes so the lack of Wifi control is a non-issue for me given how much it saved me.

It fired right up, I let it sit at 400 for about 45 minutes for the burnoff and then I made some turkey burgers with a combination of just normal heat at 350 and the direct heat feature. They turned out awesome.

I have to say that so far my expectations have been far exceeded for the price. The temp help pretty consistently +-10 both during the burnoff and the cook. Things could go off the rails still, so we'll see. This weekend I plan on smoking a whole turkey.

Edit: Speaking of going off the rails, right after I wrote this it now appears that it has gone out of stock in most of the country. Either the price was so good they sold out or they aren't selling it anymore.

interesting online it still shows available. How has it been at 250 for a few hours?

thx

 

[clifish]

You know, not off the table but reading about some temp swings going to hold off. Ironically after reading a bunch of threads I stumbled back to charcoal gravity smokers.....the reason I got the kettle a couple months ago was better smoke flavor....

Obviously I have smoker ADD now but going to look into the charcoal gravity as well.

 

[Brokenhandle]

Oh the decisions! Lol! Sure makes it hard to decide at times. Been there done that!

Ryan