Fuel consumption and refill frequency?


 
M

Mike U

TVWBB Member
Hey y’all. Was at the hardware store yesterday picking up some lump and saw a smokefire for the first time. Wasn’t aware they were coming but the concept seems amazing if they can work out some kinks.

I am curious about how much pellets are consumed and how often you have to fill up the hopper. Just got done with some overnight butts and love not having to get up to fiddle with my fire once things are dialed in.

so for let’s say a 12 hour cook at around 250, how many lbs of pellets are you guys using and do you have to add more throughout? At the store it looked like a 20lb bag of pellets was around $18, so not that different than some decent lump and wood chunks in the wsm.

Would that be enough to get you through that kind of cook? I’ve seen some comments about auger and feed issues but if those can be over come I’m curious about the cost and hands on time required during a cook with one of these.

Thanks
 
10-12 hours at 250 would be right around a full bag, but I haven’t really paid too much attention. You can get quite a few quick grill jobs without using too many pellets as well.
 
I don't have a Weber but my PB will use around 1lbs per hour at summer/spring warm temps, drop the temps and don't put a blanket on it may up the usage up to 2-3 lbs per hour, a blanket helps a lot, you would need 1 made special for the SF due to the vent arrangement
 
In Florida, I would guess my Rec Tec does about a pound an hour as well. I have never used it in very cold temperatures :LOL: 🌴🌞! Soon enough, that may change...
 
I have a Camp Chef and as we speak It's out back smoking some bacon and Canadian bacon. Mines about the same size as the Weber EX4.
I smoke the bacon at 175 and it uses about a half pound per hour, so I would guess 1LB per hour at 250 would be about right.
 
I get about the same burn rate as others with my Camp Chef and I'm also in Florida. One common complaint about pellet grills is the "cone of death". As pellets feed out of the hopper an empty cone develops over the auger opening and if I don't stir my pellets after 5 hours I can get a flameout although my hopper is 2/3rd full. That's about the extent of my hands on work during a cook.
 
Yesterday when I did the bacon we had steady 20 mph winds with gusts up to 35 mph. Mother nature shook the camp chef enough that I didn't worry about the "cone of death". The grill was rock steady on the temperature for 5 hours at 160, wind didn't affect the cook at all. The Canadian Bacon went into a stall and after 1 hour I bumped the temp up to 200 for about 20 minuets and it popped out of the stall and back down to 160 to finish.
 
Anyone experimented with some type of heat sink to reduce fuel consumption? I have a couple fire bricks I put in there but no real feel for if they help. A large pan of water could serve a similar purpose.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top