ELX6 Initial Thoughts


 
G

Greg Ross-MN

TVWBB Fan
My ELX6 was delivered yesterday. $1199 from Amazon. Assembly was pretty easy and there was no shipping damage. My first impression is the sheer size. It's probably going to be more than I need on a day to day basis but the extra space will come in handy.

I did the burn in process @450 using Smokehouse pellets without issue. Got the app setup and the controller connected to wifi and updated. It was 48F last night and the display was a little slow to refresh. Can't wait to see how it does in the middle of winter here in Minnesota.....

Debating on getting the front shelf but I think I've got enough space with the included extra side shelf.

The only minor issue I found is the lid gap on the right side. Can that be adjusted?

I'm going to keep it simple today and cook some chicken breast for the 1st cook.

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Nice. Can't wait to see some cooks. I think you're gonna love the wonderful world of pellet cookery. Some observations from my experiences with my 2 as weather degrades.
Things still happen (going to higher temps) but more slowly. Of course pellet cookers do things pretty leisurely anyway, but doing a 2 step roast or steak and taking it from lower smoke settings to higher roast settings takes about 2X the time vs summer. Cool down is quite rapid though. Just not the BTUs there compared to multiple gas burners in the same size or larger space
Pellet consumption goes up. I have noticed close to 2X the fuel consumption. Especially noticeable on the Big Z (same size burner pot but 2.5X the cu inches to heat up as the smaller Member's Mark. And both of mine are double wall construction. So likely will see the same or even more fuel consumption on yours.
I still have close to 300# of pellets stockpiled though and more to come if I get to Menards for that $7.99 sale!
Another thing I have noticed. Both of mine like your new EX6 are vented in the back (no stack). But if you have a prevailing wind coming into that vent (on my Z) it's a strong NE/N wind and with how big it is I can't just move it around due to the smaller deck size.
This will be my first winter with the big Z Grill and my second with the smaller Member's Mark. Though with the MM I have the advantage of sheltering it a bit under the garage.
Anyway no matter. You're gonna love it
 
I held off on the front shelf at first. Now that I have it, I wish I bought it sooner. It's much easier getting food on/off the grill without making a mess. Only con, the handle takes up part of the shelf space when its down.
 
I’ll echo Bob. It took me about 2 years and several price hikes to get the front shelf. And I love it. Wished I had bought it sooner and cheaper
 
I'm a few cooks in now. Grilled chicken breasts and burgers turned out great. Cooked a 15lb spatchcocked turkey- 1 hour of smoke boost and finished at 325/350. Took about 3.5 hours. I put a drip pan with water on the flavorizer bars. Turkey was great, juicy with nice smoke flavor.

Last night I grilled some shrimp and zucchini. Got a nice char and a hint of smoke. It was 22F and temp drop/recovery when opening the lid was significant. Not sure if an insulated cover would help.

I'm impressed with the smoke output. Seems to impart more flavor than the RecTeq I had.
 
Greg Ross-MN said:
I'm a few cooks in now. Grilled chicken breasts and burgers turned out great. Cooked a 15lb spatchcocked turkey- 1 hour of smoke boost and finished at 325/350. Took about 3.5 hours. I put a drip pan with water on the flavorizer bars. Turkey was great, juicy with nice smoke flavor.

Last night I grilled some shrimp and zucchini. Got a nice char and a hint of smoke. It was 22F and temp drop/recovery when opening the lid was significant. Not sure if an insulated cover would help.

I'm impressed with the smoke output. Seems to impart more flavor than the RecTeq I had.
Click to expand...
Temp drop/recovery in cold weather is one of the nemesis of the pellet cookers. I don't think there is near the BTU output of multiple large gas burners all putting out gobs of heat throughout the oven in one small fire pot
 
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