New Treager Pellet Grill---Top 10 Questions

[rwilli]

I just purchased a Treager Pro 34 inch (first pellet grill) and although I have read a great deal and watched a lot of videos, I still have a few questions. I would greatly appreciate any answers you can provide.
Questions:

1. First, any pearls of wisdom or lessons learned when cooking with this grill or pellet grills in general?
   
   
2. How long should I plan for a start up before putting the meat on.
   
   
3. How much pellets should I have on hand for a 12 hour smoke ?
   
   
4. I realize different pellets burn at different rates, but do you have any thumb rules regarding pellet usage rates.
   
   
5. Assuming pellets are stored in an airtight container, is there any problem leaving them outside---considering extreme weather changes?
   
   
6. How often do you clean the grill (not just the grates---but the whole grill).
   
   
7. I have always used a water pan when smoking on other grills, but I don’t see any used when I watch the videos on Pellet smokers----Is it recommended to use a water pan when smoking on a pellet grill?
   
   
8. With the Treager pro, what sort of temperature differences should I expect between the right, left and center of the grill.
   
   
9. Being from New Mexico---Green Chili is staple and I just bought my batch for this year; Anyone have any good Green Chili recipes for the smoker? Things like rubs, mop sauce, injection liquid etc?
   
   
10. Since the Treager has ceramic coated grates, what type of grill brush should I use that won’t damage the ceramic coating?

Thanks,

1. 
   
   
   

 

[oldsmokerdude]

While I own a different pellet smoker, let me see what I can answer for you.
1. Depending on the grill and the CC temp, you may want/need to augment the smoke with something like the AMZN products.
2. Each grill is different and it depends on the weather and target temperature. I would say 20 to 30 minutes on average to get the steel up to temp, but I would try a few tests to see how your grill works.
3. Again, it varies by smoker, target temp, outside temp, amount of meat, etc. For my smoker I wouldn't feel comfortable with less that 1.5 lbs per hour.
4. As above, it depends on the pellet, the manufacturer, target temp, etc. I would think 1 to 1.5 lbs per hour as an initial guess.
5. I keep mine outside with no issues.
6. I clean my grill after every smoke. I have a super small shop vac by the grill that I use to vacuum up ash.
7. Water pans are a never ending debate. Go with what works best for you.

Hope that helps.

 

[Will Smoke]

I have porcelain coat as well make sure there oiled, that is all i do, then used simple cheap wire brush. Welcome to pellets, the 34inch will heat up real quick, i have an Pit Boss the same size

 

[rwilli]

Thanks for the info and advice---It's appreciated.