New LG Champion Smoker with cold smoke offset

[Hawks64]

Thanks for the feedback guys. Hawks you're the second person to say 4 hrs per hopper.
What pellets you using?

I've used a few but mostly a lumberjack blend. Going to try straight hickory next batch and see. It's not a big deal and I refill every 3-4, it's not out every 3-4. I'd say 1/3 to 1/4 left...but memory isn't what it used to be.

 

[Kiwi Smoke]

Yeah fair enough Hawks still not 10hrs tho ah. I guess there's lots of factors but I can see how the hopper extension would be good.

 

[oldsmokerdude]

Changing pellets will be problematic with the grate in the hopper

I removed the grate at the top of the hopper. As long as you don't stick you hand down in there when the unit is on it will not be a problem. Additionally, with the grate off, I use a small shop vac to "suck" unused pellets out then empty it into the original container. I use the same shop vac for vacuuming up the ash.

Been looking at this LG900 from Costco which currently is $600 with the smoke box, or GMG Daniel Boone. Was looking at the Black Friday deal on the Traeger Renegrade Pro (489 on amazon).

Leaning toward this LG. Any reason I shouldn’t go with it at the $600 price point?

That's a great price for a good cooker. LG has been around a while and makes some good units. I would not hesitate to buy one, especially from Costco where you get some added features and have great return policy.

 

[Kingsrule5]

That's a great price for a good cooker. LG has been around a while and makes some good units. I would not hesitate to buy one, especially from Costco where you get some added features and have great return policy.

Well I did hesitate. Was all set to buy it and then looked at again at costco and ended up thinking it was just too big for me and I ended up choosing the wifi in the GMG Daniel Boone over the cold smoke box in the LG. Also felt like the build quality on the GMG was higher. With black friday pricing making them about a wash (once I added cover and rack to the GMG).

 

[oldsmokerdude]

Can't go wrong either way. Hope you enjoy your new smoker!!

 

[brycrob]

after having my propane vertical tower blow up on me, I purchased the LG Champion. So far, main burner/compartment at 450, makes the lower smoker unit get to 250 and the upper/warmer unit at 150. Essentially it's a 200 degree loss, then a 300 degree loss from main to upper. I'm fine with that actually. Also, took 18 min to get to 400 degrees in main compartment where you grill/sear. I've read a lot of people complaining it takes too long and they can't keep the temp consistent. So far, I haven't had a problem with that. Smoking my first bird today, and 2 racks of babies tomorrow. We'll see how it goes!

 

[brycrob]

after having my propane vertical tower blow up on me, I purchased the LG Champion. So far, main burner/compartment at 450, makes the lower smoker unit get to 250 and the upper/warmer unit at 150. Essentially it's a 200 degree loss, then a 300 degree loss from main to upper. I'm fine with that actually. Also, took 18 min to get to 400 degrees in main compartment where you grill/sear. I've read a lot of people complaining it takes too long and they can't keep the temp consistent. So far, I haven't had a problem with that. Smoking my first bird today, and 2 racks of babies tomorrow. We'll see how it goes!

Also, just noticed that the cabinet below is NOT insulated. Didn't think that to begin with, so just an fyi. i guess I need to read through the instruction manual again. Maybe it's a warmer cabinet, like in your oven, but if not, and it's meant for storage, that's a bad concept.