Pellet VS Propane?

[radio]

was almost ready to pull the trigger on Cabelas pellet smoker, then while in Sam's club I spotted a Smoke Hollow Hearth XXL two burner propane smoker. I found a couple of posts on here, but not enough info to feed my curiosity.
Anyone else have one? I like the vertical configuration and all the room it has inside, but not convinced of it's capabilites

 

[angry santa]

For me it depends what you want to do. I have no experience with a pellet smoker, so I really don't know what kind of heat it can produce or how accurately it can be controlled. I do , however, know alot about the capabilities of a propane fired smoker. The bottom line for me, if you're planning on doing any type of cold smoking you would want to to with propane. The temp is much more controllable, and you're less likely to "fat out" any kind of sausage you're making, if you watch your temperature. If you're going to barbecue, the pellet may be the way to go. Personally I like a charcoal/wood smoker for barbecue....

 

[ross77]

I'm not sure about Cabela's pellet smoker but my RecTec pellet smoker is very controllable. 180F to 500F+ and it holds those temps very well. I've smoked packer briskets for 19 hours with very little temp variance. Cold smoking is not possible on the RecTec unless you get a smoke tube or the cold smoker attachment.

I have no experience with a propane smoker.

 

[radio]

I'm not sure about Cabela's pellet smoker but my RecTec pellet smoker is very controllable. 180F to 500F+ and it holds those temps very well. I've smoked packer briskets for 19 hours with very little temp variance. Cold smoking is not possible on the RecTec unless you get a smoke tube or the cold smoker attachment.

I have no experience with a propane smoker.

How many pounds of pellets does it go through for a smoke that long? From what I'm seeing, most pellets run about a dollar a pound

 

[radio]

For me it depends what you want to do. I have no experience with a pellet smoker, so I really don't know what kind of heat it can produce or how accurately it can be controlled. I do , however, know alot about the capabilities of a propane fired smoker. The bottom line for me, if you're planning on doing any type of cold smoking you would want to to with propane. The temp is much more controllable, and you're less likely to "fat out" any kind of sausage you're making, if you watch your temperature. If you're going to barbecue, the pellet may be the way to go. Personally I like a charcoal/wood smoker for barbecue....

I also prefer my stick burners for most cooking, but I do a lot of sausage and can't regulate the temps as well as I would like for those cooks.

 

[angry santa]

I have 15 lbs. of snack sticks in the smokehouse as I speak. It's propane fired and the temp is locked at 140 for the next several hours until I decide to raise the temp. I never go more than 170-180, and the sticks, summer sausage, keilbasa, ect. never have fat globules along the casings like I've seen some of my friends do. The funny part is that I have them convinced that I do them all on the barbecue, and wash the grill marks off.....

 

[mowin]

I've got both a pellet smoker, Green Mountain Grill, and a propane smoker, Masterbuilt two door.
My experiences. The propane pit needed many mods to make it user friendly. Biggest was temp control. Even on low, the temps would be 300* +. A needle valve solved that issue. But keep a low temp of 175* as not a " fat out” my sausages caused another issue. Couldn't get the chips hot enough to smolder. Hotter cooks,225*, wasn't too bad, but a pan of chips didn't last long. Fixed that with the mailbox mod and a a-maz-n smoke tube. Still had to keep on my toes to regulate temps. Cooked a lot of great Q on it, and learned a lot.

Pellet smoker. Can't do sausages like summer sausage, at least on mine.
Temp control. Simple. Love it. Less smoke flavor, but again, the a-maz-n smoke tube fixed that.
I get my pellets from lumberjack. Buy a ton at a time and split with a few friends. Comes out to under ¢.30 a pound. All pellets are not created equal. Most are 100% hardwood, but are a base wood,70%, and the flavor wood of 30%.
Then there's 100% flavor wood. Like lumberjack or cooking pellets. Better BTU's and more smoke flavor.

Still use my masterbuilt, but mostly as a cold smoke cabinet.

 

[ross77]

How many pounds of pellets does it go through for a smoke that long? From what I'm seeing, most pellets run about a dollar a pound

I didn't really measure it. I filled the 40lb hopper with a full bag of pecan blend and I think I had about 1/3 left.

 

[bregent]

How many pounds of pellets does it go through for a smoke that long? From what I'm seeing, most pellets run about a dollar a pound

Pellet consumption depends on the grill, ambient temperature, and the temp you are cooking at. My grill uses about .75/lbs per hour at 225F. Here's a chart, which is the first page of the pellet consumption chart from the now defunct pelletheads site, that will give you some idea: http://smokingmeatforums.com/index.php?threads/pellet-consumption-performance.140175/

If you're willing to buy 500 lbs of pellets, or go in with some other folks, you can get pellets for 30-37 cents a pound. For me, a 12 hour cook uses $3-4 of pellets.

 

[bregent]

When I got my first pellet grill I continued to use my gas GOSM for sausage because I could run it at lower temps. I have since switched to using my pellet cooker. I dry the sausage in fridge overnight and then smoke until 155 IT. Because my grill only goes down to 180, I really keep a close eye on it and remote monitor the temp of one of the links. Turns out just as good as in my GOSM, but a lot easy to run.

 

[troutman]

You really need to decide what you cook the most. That will stear you toward the cooker most suitable to your needs.

I have a large pellet smoker, 24x36 with a Pellet Pro. I generally use between .75 and 1 pound per hour, depending on conditions/temp etc. I just bought 500 lbs from Lumberjack (mentioned above) for right at $0.35/lb with 3 other guys. If you contact them they can hook you up with someone that n your area to split one ton (minimal amount they will ship) or hook up with some friends. Compare that to charcoal or propane and it’s not bad.

 

[ross77]

There are also local Lumberjack sellers. I found one on Craig’s List. The Lumberjack website also has a search. He sells 40 pound bags for $16. $0.40/lb. Not bad. My wife wasn’t too keen on me storing 500 pounds of pellets anyway...

 

[troutman]

There are also local Lumberjack sellers. I found one on Craig’s List. The Lumberjack website also has a search. He sells 40 pound bags for $16. $0.40/lb. Not bad. My wife wasn’t too keen on me storing 500 pounds of pellets anyway...

Yea unfortunately in Houston, Texas (4th largest City in the US), there isn't any dealership locally. Being in Minn you are close to their Wisconsin base. The shipping thing works for folks elsewhere. As to the 500#, its only 13 - 40# bags. I put 4 bags in my plastic bins that hold my pellets and stacked the rest underneath the bins. The footprint remains the same, just a little higher. Besides, in about 6 months they will be gone !!!

 

[ross77]

Very true. I don’t think I’m cooking enough as I’ve only been through about 7 bags in 12 months. When the sub-zero temps hit, I tend to use the smoker less.

 

[radio]

Thanks for the info guys! I'm picking up 2,000 pounds of pellets tomorrow, but for heating with the pellet stove. :D

My newest concern with a propane smoker is temperature control during long cooks. If I were to start a brisket before bedtime and set the temp where I wanted it, the falling temps during the night would affect the smoker temp.
Those of you who have a propane smoker, how do you compensate for temperature variations on an overnight cook?