Pit Boss vs Green Mountain Pellet Grills: Reviews and Comparison
Pellet grills are becoming more and more popular as they provide an easy way to cook delicious food that tastes like it was just off the grill. They also have additional benefits such as being able to produce a large amount of smoke or low heat with minimal fuel consumption. One issue you may come across is deciding between Green Mountain Grills and Pit Boss Pellet Grills, which can be difficult because each brand offers different features at different price points. In this article, we’ll compare the two brands in terms of features, performance, ease-of-use, customer reviews, durability/reliability and cost so you can make an informed decision about which pellet grill is right for your needs.
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Pit Boss
Pit Boss Pellet Grill is a well-known brand in the market of grills. People love to use their products because they are unique and have many advanced features . The old models were made with one type of material but the new ones come with different materials that make them more efficient for cooking purposes. They are not only popular among professional chefs, but also among common people who love to cook at home using these grills.
Pit Boss Pellets are known for its great functions, which is what attracts so many customers towards it day by daay. It has the best pellet smoker reviews when compared to other brands out there in the market. From its name itself, you can know that it deals with barbecue pellets in their grills.
The company is known for making pellet grills which are different from each other, but each one of them has the same quality and efficiency as well as features. They have a wide range of sizes available to choose from so you don’t have to worry about finding a suitable size for yourself. The largest grill they have is 950 square inches, while the smallest one is 525 square inches.
Each grill comes with its own set of specifications and features. You can look at all these before buying one for yourself. In this article, we will be talking about the Pit Boss Wood Pellets grills . The major difference between their grills and others is that they slowly cook your food in their pellets which gives it a unique taste compared to other grills.
The good thing about their grill is that it heats up quickly and it has the ability to maintain a constant temperature throughout cooking . This lets you avoid overcooking or even burning your food which might end up ruining the whole dish. They also offer different kinds of accessories along with the grill so you don’t have to worry about getting those separately.
This high-quality product comes with a 10 years warranty , so the company is quite confident about its quality. It is made from steel and cast iron which makes them durable as well as efficient for cooking purposes. The surface remains cool while cooking, so there won’t be any risk of getting burned by touching it directly even after hours of continuous use.
So, if you are a professional chef or a home cook who enjoys cooking, then you should definitely choose this brand from all out there ! If you’re looking for the best grill for chicken, then this is can be your perfect choice!
Green Mountain Grill
The Green Mountain Grill is a Vermont based company that specializes in wood pellet smokers and grills. They have been producing the GMG pellet smoker since 2002. It was a promising outdoor cooking product at its launch, and it has matured into a solid overall grill with one of the best after-market support structures within the industry. The founder of Green Mountain Grills, Dave Edsall, saw that there was an opportunity to bring an affordable, stainless steel gas grill into the market place. In 1993 he left his job as owner of a local Harley Davidson franchise and ventured out on his own to start Rocky Mountain Cookers LLC which would later become Green Mountain Grills thirty months later in 1995.
Green Mountain Grill has grown significantly since its inception. It has shown itself to be a reliable company with reasonable customer service in an industry where it can be difficult to get in touch with someone who knows what is going on at the company level. The GMG grill, like many other grills of this type, was not designed for everyday use by the average consumer. The difference between the average backyard barbecue grill and pellet smokers/grills is that these units are very heavy duty compared to traditional propane tanks or charcoal grills.
They are made to last decades if properly maintained, they cook food more efficiently when compared to wood or charcoal burners (no flareups), and the meat you produce will taste better because of where it comes from – good quality fat. All of the Green Mountain Grills are built in Vermont (South Burlington) and ship internationally.
The GMG brand has an e xcellent website that is full of good information, tutorials, FAQs , how-to videos, recipes etc . They also offer a very complete line of accessories that can be purchased directly through their site or on Amazon.com. Check out our links below to see all of the current offerings from the company.
Pros and cons of Pit Boss Grill
Pros Of Pit Boss Grill
– Is made of cast iron so it can hold heat for a very long time
– It’s heavy duty which means that it won’t break easily. Some reviewers on Amazon have had the product for 15 years before needing to replace it!
– This grill is known as an extremely healthy alternative to traditional grilling, because you are cooking low and slow with indirect heat. It essentially lets fat drip away from your food while you cook. This leaves more room on the grilling area for other foods since there isn’t fatty pieces of meat on top of each other!
– The little side table next to the grill has some really nice bonuses like having a place where you can store spices, sauces, and even utensils! It’s also a great place to store your tongs when they’re not in use. The side table also has an extra grill grate so you can cook more than one type of meat at a time.
– The shelf underneath the main grilling area is really nice in case you need additional storage space for plates or anything else that you don’t want to leave out in the open. It also can be used as another layer of food if needed.
– The price point on this product isn’t too bad considering what all you get with it! You should probably expect to spend around $300-$400 when buying this item though it does vary depending on where you buy it from. Also, there is a certain amount of assembly required which can be frustrating if you don’t like to put things together. To avoid the hassle and headache you can ask someone or hire someone who knows how to assemble grills to help you with it.
– It doesn’t heat up your whole kitchen! If you live in an apartment and grill often then this is something worth thinking about. It only heats the actual cooking surface so it won’t make your whole house extremely warm during meal time.
– A reviewer on Amazon talks about how their family has been using the same Pit Boss Grill for over 20 years and that they’ve never had any issues with it not working properly! They also mentioned that the people they bought it from even replaced free of charge recently when it did get a little broken. It seems that this is a grill that will last you a long time and stay in good condition despite how hard you use it.
Cons Of Pit Boss Grill
There are not many cons to owning a Pit Boss Grill, especially if you use it properly. However, there are some things you should know before buying one.
– The first con is that the grates are chrome plated and therefore they can rust when exposed to moisture or even when just sitting in humid conditions for too long. An easy solution to this problem is just to keep your grill covered with a grill cover when storing it during non-use periods. To prevent scratches on the grate, do not use sharp utensils on the grates. If you need to scrape off char or food residue after cooking, try using a steel brush rather than any metal scraping utensil.
– Another con is that the char-broil rods are made of stainless steel, so they will begin to rust if you do not thoroughly dry them after washing. A good idea would be to apply a thin coat of cooking oil before putting them away to prevent this from happening.
– If you have ever cooked hot dogs or hamburgers on your grill, then you know that it can be tricky getting the food off without having it break apart or slip through the grate. If you are looking for an easy way to turn your grill into a convenient roll-up cook station, consider investing in Grill Grates . These grates are made with stainless steel bars which keep your food elevated above your grill’s main cooking surface. This allows grease and juices to drip right back onto the food, keeping it moist and flavorful.
– Another con of owning a Pit Boss Grill is that they have a tendency to drip grease from the lid. It does not matter how well you try to prevent this from happening, small droplets of grease will still drip down when the lid is closed. Simply put a piece of tin foil underneath your grill to catch any extra fat or juices that may fall from above. This can easily be cleaned out at the end of every cooking session before closing up your grill for storage for winter time, or after each use if it’s just too much trouble for you to clean up afterwards.
– One last common con with owning a Pit Boss Grill is related again with care for the chrome grates. I have read countless reviews from customers who say they have been disappointed to find rust on the grate after only a few uses, or even by just leaving it out in humid conditions for too long. In order to prevent this from happening, it’s best to keep your grill covered when not in use and store it in a dry place. If you’re going away for an extended period of time during which you plan on keeping your grill outdoors, be sure that you take precautions such as covering or wrapping up the grill tightly.
Pros and cons of Green Mountain Grill
Pros of Green Mountain Grill
People constantly complain of never having enough time to cook. If that’s the case, perhaps an outdoors cooking alternative such as Green Mountain Grill (GMG) may be a smart solution.
– Inexpensive and Efficient
Since you’re already on your land, you might as well use it for something else–especially if gas prices continue to rise. I find it easier to start a fire and let my GMG do its job than scrape by with making multiple trips between my house and grill just to get some charcoal going. As long as I have access to water or mud, building a fire can be very easy and quick.
The high-quality Stainless Steal drip pan doesn’t shield heat but allows dishes like pizza or vegetables for example to cook on their own. It’s more like roasting vegetables at home, but with a little outdoor flair.
It comes in different sizes and is suitable for most people’s outdoor cooking needs.
– Inexpensive and Energy Efficient
The GMG probably uses less gas than your grill does. The food cooks faster and better (though not necessarily more healthy) and it eliminates the possibility of burning something. Plus you don’t have to worry about running out of propane or charcoal–you can use wood if you want to add a smoky flavor to your food. According to some forums, players also frequently use an old generator or car battery so that they can run their GMGs off the grid without needing any gas, while others run it off solar power!
– Portable and Affordable
I’ve seen some lovingly-crafted wooden boxes on the internet, but unless you build one of these yourself, you’ll likely want to go with the easier-to-store plastic ones. The GMG is very easy to pack up; necessary supplies, like skewers or pie tins, easily fit into its own box (or even packed in your backpack). You can even take it camping for a nice easy dinner by the fire.
On top of all that, players are able to sell their grill’s parts which means they can make back some of what they spent on their purchase. A deal like this may not be available everywhere, but I know how rare it is today to find a store that will take back an outdoor grill that’s been used for more than just a few times. The GMG comes with a one-year warranty, so if anything breaks, you can get it fixed or replaced by the manufacturer.
Bottom line: It’s a fun and low-maintenance way to cook your food while being able to spend less on gas or propane. You’ll have something interesting to do when you go camping instead of just sitting around the fire slowly roasting hot dogs. This is also great for players who are looking to add some variety to their cooking rotation without having to purchase another stove/oven, which would be much more expensive in the long run. Plus, once you’ve bought into it there’s no need to keep buying those bulky disposable aluminum pans you’re used to using with your grill. Overall, GMG gives players a lot of bang for their buck.
Cons of Green Mountain Grill
– The ignition system requires a watch battery that needs changing about once a year or so if you use the igniters often. Mine stopped working after about 18 months because there’s no light indicator to tell when the battery is low, which can happen quickly without warning if you forget to turn off the igniters before going inside for the night or something else. The ash bucket door also doesn’t stay closed very well anymore from being opened so much for cleaning.
– The ash bucket needs cleaned out fairly often to keep the grill running well. It doesn’t seem to last long before it fills up, but maybe it’s just my experience because I use it so much more than most people would.
– The grates are not removable, which can be hard to clean without having a lot of space around them. This is not really a problem once the grill has been seasoned enough, so that it doesn’t stick as much, but you have to cook with grease or oil at least once in order to do that (to make your own “non-stick” seasoning). After this point, food hardly ever sticks unless you leave too much on there while cooking and the grill gets too hot.
– The turning plate that the food sits on is a little thin and can warp after extended use. I notice this more as things heat up over 450 degrees, which is the max temp for this grill. It’s not really a problem, but it’s worth mentioning so you don’t have to worry about warping or anything like that if it happens to you.
– The side hooks used to hold your cooking utensils could potentially fall off with enough use because they’re really just held on by a small piece of metal bent around the places that attach them with some screws going through them into the body of the grill itself. This isn’t an issue most of the time unless they come off at some point and go missing. Thankfully they’re easy to replace if you have the right tools.
– The other side hook for your spray bottle of water can also come off because it’s just a simple clip that latches onto another metal piece on the grill which really isn’t strong enough to support its own weight, especially when filled with water and heated up (you could do this by accident while cooking). If this happens, be careful not to lose it! It’s small and could get lost easily under the grates or wherever else near there unless you set something like a bowl or pot down over it until you find it again (be sure to put something underneath before doing this so you don’t ruin anything).
– The drip pan (the metal piece under the grates and burner which catches all of the grease and oil while cooking) doesn’t clean very easily at all if you don’t do something to catch it first. The oils and other gunk will just sit there, smoke up your grill, and basically ruin anything you cook with it unless you do something about it. I have not yet found a brilliant solution to this problem, but using aluminum foil over the top of my drip pan helps quite a bit when dealing with larger quantities of grease or oil that may spill over into the burner area.
See more: 10 Best Indoor Grill Consumer Reports
Pit Boss vs Green Mountain Pellet Grills Comparison
– Pit Boss Pro Series Gen 2 vs the GMG Ledge (Daniel Boone)
Pit Boss vs Green Mountain Pellet Grills? First Impressions:
– Both Smokers:
This is my initial impression of both the Pit Boss Pro Series Gen 2 and GMG Ledge (Daniel Boone). The first thing I noticed when pulling them out of the boxes was that the Pit Boss has a much better fit and finish than that of the Daniel Boone, despite it being $100 cheaper. As others have noted, the paint on the Boones is flaking off and looks like it was applied by a high school shop class student. That aside, they look pretty similar from an aesthetic standpoint with their classic black boxy designs. They both feel solid enough though you can tell there’s some cheap plastic parts involved.
Both smokers take about 30 minutes to assemble which required no tools as long as you have a phillips head screw driver. In my opinion, the Pit Boss was much easier to assemble. The instructions were clear and I didn’t find myself going back and forth between steps which sometimes happened when putting together the Daniel Boone.
Pit Boss vs Green Mountain pellet grills? Both smokers come with a built-in thermometer but in reality they’re both about 10 to 20 degrees off from what’s actually happening inside the smoker…but let’s face it, who really cares?
– Price:
When comparing prices of these two models, GMG is making their Ledge much more enticing at $500 compared to the $700 price tag for the Pro Series Gen 2. While there are no doubt some improvements in quality over the basic design made on the Pro Series Gen 2, for $200 more it’s not really worth the upgrade IMO.
Something interesting to note is that while some people were able to get free shipping when ordering their Pit Boss through Amazon, the only way you can get free shipping on a GMG Ledge is by paying with Paypal and ordering from one of the select sellers via eBay. I assume this has something to do with how they’re shipped (oversized vs regular sized).
– Ease of Use:
These smokers are very easy to use and getting them started takes about 10 minutes. With both units I added a little bit of lump charcoal along with 4 wood chunks (hickory in my case) and let them go until I saw smoke coming out of the chimneys. Then I shut the dampers and let them stabilize for about 10 minutes. When the temperature reached 220 on both, I threw on some ribs and let them go until they hit about 195…took around 3 hours with a few spritzes of apple juice in between.
When it comes to maintaining heat throughout the cooking process, both units work equally as well as long as you keep an eye on the vent openings and adjust accordingly if needed..
Pit Boss vs Green Mountain pellet grills? Both models have a built-in ash tray making clean up a breeze!
The GMG Ledge is lacking a meat probe though this isn’t really a problem since most people using these types of smokers end up buying additional probes anyway (and I certainly will be doing that).
– Features:
The Pit Boss has some nice features like the digital remote control with automatic pellet feeder which is very convenient for doing overnight cooks. The Daniel Boone comes equipped with a built-in table, foldable side shelves, warming rack, and steel firebox. I don’t really see myself using any of these extra features since my main use of this smoker will be for ribs, chicken halves, pork butts etc…whereas the Pro Series Gen 2 is more suited to me doing overnight cooks on brisket or pork butt where it can hold an accurate temperature all night long without having to fiddle with it every hour or so.
Because I’m primarily buying this model as a weekend cooker instead of an overnight one, I’m not sure if I’ll end up using the feature of “Set & Forget” which allows you to push a button on the digital remote and it automatically feeds your pellets into the machine maintaining an accurate temperature. I like to tinker with things so that might annoy me..haha
Pit Boss vs Green Mountain pellet grills? One thing that really surprised me was when I opened up the grill grates, underneath them there were 4 wheels. Actually my first reaction was “cool! now how much is this gonna cost?”…haha These are definitely not your typical cheap plastic wheels like what they use on covers for their gas grills (I think 2 outta 3 of mine have broken off due to heavy use). They roll smoothly too but are made from steel just like everything else. Out of all the features on this unit, this definitely one of my favorites and I couldn’t believe it when it wasn’t part of the Pro Series Gen 2.
The new digital thermostat (which is accurate within 10 degrees) has a probe attached to it…which in turn plugs into another cord which goes directly into the wall socket…looks like they went with an electric smoker thermostat! Haha This is certainly interesting and I wonder why someone didn’t think about doing that before. The temperature displayed on the GMG Ledge runs off battery power just like most portable units out there though so you’ll eventually have to replace the battery for $5-$10 every year or so.
There’s also a little tray that you can slide left or right to adjust the heat in 5 degree increments (haha) which will undoubtedly allow me to “bump” my temps when I season the unit…like I said, much like an electric smoker.
The Pro Series Gen 2 has replaced their Tin Can design with a much nicer stainless steel body and it looks much better..eh?
Side by Side Comparison: The Pit Boss Pro Series Gen 2 is equipped with 8″ solid rubber front casters while the GMG Ledge has 6″ plastic wheels that roll just fine but are not nearly as nice looking or sturdy as the ones on the Pit Boss Pro Series Gen 2.
Stainless Steel Body vs Stainless Steel & Aluminum Body: Both units have a stainless steel body with a painted exterior.
Grease Collection System: The GMG Ledge has a nice catch tray at the bottom though you’ll have to purchase the deflector plate if you want it to slide out for easier cleanup. The Pit Boss Pro Series Gen 2 does not have this but I don’t think they make one as an accessory…hmmm…would be nice since I can see some fat building up in those grooves…
Overall, I’m very happy with both products and find them both equally as good except for some slight differences that don’t really matter much in the end anyway ..haha
Pit Boss vs Green Mountain pellet grills? So after seeing these both side by side I came to the conclusion that they are both excellent units and if you’re in the market for a pellet grill, either one of them will serve you well…just depends on what your needs are. If you have the room in your outdoor kitchen for an electric smoker with some extra bells and whistles then go with the GMG Ledge. If you need something more compact but just as efficient then get the Pit Boss Pro Series Gen 2.
You may like this: Best Air Fryer Grill Consumer Reports
>>> See more: How to Barbecue Chicken | Pit Boss vs Green Mountain Pellet Grills
Conclusion
As we saw in the Pit Boss vs Green Mountain Pellet Grills article, there are a number of different ways that you can compare pellet grills. Now it’s up to you to figure out which one is right for your needs and budget. To help with this decision, take some time now by thinking about what kind of food do you like cooking best? What type of grill would work best for those foods? Do any features stand out as must-haves or deal breakers? Then use our comparison chart below to see how each model stacks up against the others on these criteria. The more information you gather upfront, the easier it will be when making an informed purchase decision (and don’t forget to read reviews from other customers).
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