After 4 plus years my Traeger Jr just decided to stop being reliable. I made a decision after much thought to purchase a Cabelas pro series 24 inch ellipitacal grill. It has 670 sq in of grill real estate with 500 on the primary grill rack.
It is made by dansons the same company that makes pit boss and Louisana Grills. It is priced at $600 cheaper then the Louisana Grill and more expensive then Pit boss. It has 671 Sq in of grilling real estate so I am comparing to the 700 sq in versions of the other 2. It is extremely feature rich and in my opinion the best bang for the buck. They also have a 1000 sq in one
After using a Traeger Jr for 4 plus years this pit is plenty big for me. Here are some of the main features that made me feel its the best bang fo the buck.
It came pre built
A digital push button thermostat with 2 meat probes and PID controller.
It has a see thru window on the lid (now I can be cooking and Looking)
Flame broiler which works with a simple lever( cook over open Flame). The handle to operate the Flame Broiler is huge. The Pit Boss does not have a handle.
Pellet clean out shoot. It's opens to easy so I just ducted tape it shut! It's not a feature I plan on using often. The only time I would use this is if I take apart my grill.
I am sorry to say the Pellet cleanout shoot didn't work very well only about 1/2 the pellets came out. Had to remover the honeycomb hopper screen to remove all the pellets.
I also duct taped it shut since it was way to easy to open.
I am sorry to say the Pellet cleanout shoot didn't work very well only about 1/2 the pellets came out. Had to remover the honeycomb hopper screen to remove all the pellets.
I also duct taped it shut since it was way to easy to open.
Ash clean out. (This is amazing being 6" 4' with a bad back I hated taking apart my Traeger to vacum out the ash) In practice I still need to take apart but it is taller and much easier to work with.
A great feature on paper but in practice not so much. I find I still need to take apart the grill to clean it out.
A great feature on paper but in practice not so much. I find I still need to take apart the grill to clean it out.
A 30lb hopper with see thru window. (More then twice as big as my Traeger and larger then most others)
Very large side shelf.. When the Pellet hopper is closed this acts as a 2nd side shelf.
It appears to be well made.
A lifetime warranty. Cabelas will fix it replace free at three discretion.
Even tho some of the features didn't work as well as I wanted them too the Pid Controller, Grill size and sturdiness still make this a tremendous value for the price.
Even tho some of the features didn't work as well as I wanted them too the Pid Controller, Grill size and sturdiness still make this a tremendous value for the price.
Watch the video. https://www.cabelas.com/product/Cabelas-Pro-Series-Elliptical-Pellet-Grill/2706548.uts
A few things I've noticed just from the burn in..
My Traeger Jr Extra Shelf fits in nicely with the warming rack in place for extra grill real estate.
Bringing the total cooking space to about 900sq inches.
The pellet release hopper opens to easy. Easily fixed with duct tape. It opened while I was removing the cover and dumped about 5 lbs of pellets.
I had it set at 450 on the burn in .It was running has high as 490. I'm not concerned about this temp swings are normal.
The honey comb grate on top of the hopper makes it hard to smooth out the pellets and add my hopper extension. (This looks removable not sure I will need too the hopper is huge.)
A few more observations
It has 2 ports for meat probes but only came with 1 probe. (Not a big deal since I use my Thermoworks Smoke and Igrill 2)
The ash cleanout system isnt very robust and you still need to take it apart and vacuum out the ash. It does get blown all over by the fan.
The customer service is great, long wait time in early PM.
Not many accessories available the two items I'd be most interested in is a front shelf and insulation blanket.
Don't Forget to open the Chimney.
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