New LG Champion Smoker with cold smoke offset

[DougCA]

I returned the Elite 34 today to the Costco another town over. Their Traeger roadshow started today and I was surprised that the lineup was almost totally different. They didn't have the Elite 34 or the little Tex, but a Century 34 and something else that I can't recall. The Century 34 was $899 ($100 more than the Elite 34) and the gentleman said it was new (along with whatever 22" model was next to it). It seemed better than the Elite 34 with some additional features, but I stayed the course and picked up the LG 900ci for $799. Thanks to everyone for their suggestions and I look forward to posting dumb noob questions about smoking in the future. :)

 

[outlawsx6]

Could you use the pellet grill without the smoker attached? Did it come with a plate to cover the exhaust that goes to the smoker? Asking because i am limited to storage space when not being used.

 

[DougCA]

Could you use the pellet grill without the smoker attached? Did it come with a plate to cover the exhaust that goes to the smoker? Asking because i am limited to storage space when not being used.

I'll let you know when I find out. I haven't unboxed it yet. It is an add-on to the grill so I'm sure if it doesn't have a plate to block the hole, you can get one from LG.

 

[jakester]

I saw this smoker at Costco yesterday. Overall looked like a nice smoker. Would love to hear how this compares to Rec Tec RT-700 or even the RT-680.

 

[DougCA]

Could you use the pellet grill without the smoker attached? Did it come with a plate to cover the exhaust that goes to the smoker? Asking because i am limited to storage space when not being used.

It does not come with the plate.

 

[gcarroll]

So far I'm very happy with it, the ONLY issue I've had with it so far, is it doesn't like Traeger pellets, the last couple of bags I got of their mixed pellets from Costco are really long in comparison to what I used to get and they got jammed in the feeder opening twice on me. I switched to Bear Mountain pellets, and haven't had an issue since. Regarding my post above, the offset is only good for cold smoking as the temperature differential between the top of the offset and the bottom rack in the offset is almost 100˚ when attempting to smoke at 225˚ - it works great when cold smoking. I did cheese on it last Sunday - and it was flawless.

I bought the LG Champion from Costco last year and I am very happy with it. I was buying 40lb bag LG competition pellets for $23 at Amazon Suddenly they were no longer available. I called LG and asked them what happened. They told me they did not know who the Amazon seller was. What they did tell me is that if you go on walmart.com, I could get a good deal on the Pit Boss pellets (the exact same pellets as the Louisiana Grills pellets. Here is the link. I bought 6 bags and got the free shipping. They were only $16.84 for 40 lb bags. Unfortunately the price has been raised to $29.99. I guess I need to make another call.

 

[ross77]

Pit Boss pellets are $16.95 in store at both WalMart and Lowe’s.

IMO Lumberjack makes better pellets.

 

[DougCA]

Was in Costco today and saw the LG900 is $100 off until 6/17. $799 is a great price for this unit. $699 is excellent.

 

[Hawks64]

Just picked one up, rolled the dice on it versus the RT-700 based on price. Seems well built though. Changing pellets will be problematic with the grate in the hopper, one I build it I'll post some more.

ETA Pics of mine prior to and 10 minutes post automatic startup

With the temps in the mid 80s and mostly cloudy lid temp is well over 600 (650-700) and the controller is at 600 after about 30 minutes.

 

[Mike - smoking newbie]

OK. So i am about to pull the trigger on one of these. Saw it at Costco and I am very tempted to step up from my small and older gas smoker. I think the set it and forget it of a pellet grill may let me BBQ more often. However, before I settle on th6si vs a GMG, can someone tell me how one would use the side box? I see it is too warm for cheese. What temps can I expect from the side box? Is the temp really stratified top to bottom?

 

[ross77]

This smoker has the smallest pellet hopper I’ve seen. It will likely need a hopper extension for longer/overnight cooks.

 

[Kiwi Smoke]

Just picked one up, rolled the dice on it versus the RT-700 based on price. Seems well built though. Changing pellets will be problematic with the grate in the hopper, one I build it I'll post some more.

ETA Pics of mine prior to and 10 minutes post automatic startup

With the temps in the mid 80s and mostly cloudy lid temp is well over 600 (650-700) and the controller is at 600 after about 30 minutes.

Hey mate I'm about to get the LG900 without the side smoker but wondering how you getting on with your LG?
Any issues, tips and tricks etc?

 

[DougCA]

Not who you are responding to, but I love mine. I got the hopper extension box and am set. There's no other options offered for the unit thru LG as it's already loaded.

 

[Kiwi Smoke]

Not who you are responding to, but I love mine. I got the hopper extension box and am set. There's no other options offered for the unit thru LG as it's already loaded.

Hey Doug, appreciate your input mate.
Speaking to the dealer im going with he reckons the standard hopper should give me around 10hrs slow and low so hadn't intended getting the hopper extension.
BUT keen to hear you're thoughts..
Cheers Pete

 

[Kingsrule5]

Hey guys I’m a newbie looking to upgrade from me MES30.

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?

 

[DougCA]

I think 10 hours may be about right for a super low smoke. I just erred on the side of caution so I can add enough pellets and not have to worry about it running out if I'm out and about or doing an overnight smoke.

 

[Kiwi Smoke]

Yeah good call Doug. Might get the grill see how I go. Can always get the extension later.

 

[Mike - smoking newbie]

I've used my LG900 less than 10 times so far, so my experience is still limited. I have run out of pellets twice after not too long a smoke- maybe 4 hours? So I now check it often. Could be that it was windy. I have had a couple of problems with flame going out. Tech Support helped me reprogram a few setting, so time will tell. I have learned that it is important to take food off the grill after the flame goes out. Pellet are still sent into the flame pot, so when you reignite, it can get VERY hot- mine was over 700 degrees. Thankfully I had pulled the butts. The next time I opened it up and removed the excess pellets before reigniting. I'll like build or buy a hopper extension. I'll also likely remove the grate over the pellet bin so that I can remove excess pellets before storage so that they dont' absorb excess moisture

 

[ross77]

4 hours seems extreme? What temp were you running and what was the outside temp?

 

[ross77]

Hey guys I’m a newbie looking to upgrade from me MES30.

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?

With Costco's generous return policy I don't think you can go wrong at that price.