Vertical cabinet vs horizontal grill

[Woodguy00]

i previously owned a Traeger pellet grill that generally worked well for me. I used it as a smoker and still had a gas grill for steaks, burgers etc. Looking to buy a new smoker and am seeing vertical cabinet pellet smokers available. What are the differences from the horizontal pellet grills? Pro’s and con’s would be helpful. Thanks

 

[mike243]

1 of the biggest pro's is a smaller foot print with a better rack system imo ,you can adjust the racks to hang stuff or put a lot of small stuff or adjust for large items like turkeys ect that can be tall. nothing is perfect and every thing is a trade off at some point. Theoretically a vertical should be more efficient but the way pellet grills are made i'm not sure that's even valid , a offset firebox yes but the burner is in the drum with the horizontal ,bought the son and family a copperhead 5 for Christmas and while he doesn't smoke much it has worked very well so far. I throw a moving pad over my drum in the cold to slow pellet usage some without having to cut a vent hole, not sure 1 is needed or not but it cant hurt

 

[bregent]

The main pros I see with the vertical is the footprint and that they tend to have lower operating ranges so may be better for fish and jerky. One of the reasons I really liked the grill design over my vertical smokers is that you don't have to pull the racks out to access the food. Just open the lid and you can get to everything, and the grease doesn't drip onto the deck while tending to the food. And not a big deal but, with a vertical smoker, food from the upper racks drips onto food on the lower racks.

 

[Woodguy00]

Thanks for the feedback. Still not sure which is best for me. We sold both the gas grill and the Traeger and would need to replace both now. Might be better to get one of the horizontal units with a sear feature if it can do it all well. Decisions, decisions.

 

[bregent]

What's you're price limit? How many folks do you usually cook for?

 

[Inscrutable]

Thanks for the feedback. Still not sure which is best for me. We sold both the gas grill and the Traeger and would need to replace both now. Might be better to get one of the horizontal units with a sear feature if it can do it all well. Decisions, decisions.

I kept my gas grill for quick or high heat uses (and BGE too), and got a vertical smoker (albeit electric) for some of the reasons mentioned above (hanging product, low temp, tall product, operating economy on long smokes, ...)

If I had to limit to just one unit, I’d go horizontal pellet. Though all styles require making intelligent personal compromises.

 

[Woodguy00]

What's you're price limit? How many folks do you usually cook for?

I’d like to stay below $800 total. Maybe $400 for smoker and $400 for a gas grill. If a dual purpose unit, the maybe $600.

 

[mike243]

You can sear about 3 good steaks on the pitboss by opening the cover ,that's about how many we cook around here most of the time, I smoke on low temps for 30-45 minutes then sear