Well, it finally happened. After nearly twenty-five years of running a stick burner, much thought and reflection, and a bit of hand-wringing, I joined the ranks of the pellet heads. Don't get me wrong, now. My Klose offset stays right where it is and still will get hot from time to time. However, it now has a slightly more robotic buddy, the Camp Chef SmokePro LUX 36:
After a fair amount of research, this machine won for the best balance between cost, quality, and my wants and needs. The short version is that I like this thing a lot, but it's hardly a perfect replacement for a stick burner. I cannot imagine any pellet cooker ever doing that. That would be like asking a moving van to drive like a sports car. It ain't gonna happen, but you will be happy with either, provided that's what you want.
Let me give you a few details:
Size -- It has about the same usable cooking area as my Klose 20x36. While the upper rack is only about half the depth of the Klose, that's made up for by the fact that the nearly the entire lower rack is usable (the foot or so of upper and lower grate space closest to the firebox on the offset is too hot for low & slow cooking). In other words, there's a lot of room in this son-of-a-gun. There is less space between the upper and lower grates, but they are not so close that I anticipate any major problem. Here are a couple of pics of the maiden voyage:
Lots of good space!
Ease of Operation -- This is nice. To start it up, you just put pellets in the hopper, turn the thing on, run the "Feed" cycle for a few minutes (until you hear pellets dropping into the burner or ash cup), and turn the dial to the temperature you want. If you run low on pellets, add more. If you want a different temp or need to adjust, adjust the dial. When you are done, turn the dial to "Shutdown." That's about it. Fire management is virtually hands-off. The "smart smoke" capability runs the auger and burner according to the temperature you set and the readings from the internal environmental temp probe.
Changing pellets is not difficult, but not perfect. A pull on the side of the hopper opens a door to let all the pellets out of the hopper (not the auger tube). There is a hook to hang a bucket under the door, or you can place a box or bag or something--not hard. There is no way to remove pellets from the auger tube except to run them through, so you need to make your change in advance of when you want the change to happen.
Quality of Operation -- Quite good. Temperatures do sway more quickly than the offset, but it appears to run within a decent range, about +/- 15F during the lion's share of my operation yesterday (around 80-90F and no significant wind). The exception was during a moderately heavy rain that lasted about a half hour, during which time the cooker struggled to stay within around 40F of the set temperature. The Klose also would have suffered, but to a lesser extent (probably more like 20F). I expect a blanket would remedy all the above issues, and this cooker even has the option of easily and temporarily dialing up the fire during the rain (or just find some cover). I never had any wind to speak of, but I also expect that a blanket would do wonders.
Each grate cooked fairly evenly across its surface, with the exception being the very front and very back of the lower grate--easy to deal with. A fan circulates the air around the interior, helping to keep things even.
Temperature difference between the upper and lower grates depends on the setting. The higher the setting, the greater the difference. The upper grate ran about 25-30F cooler when I set it at 350F, and it ran about 15F cooler when set at 225F. That works fine for me.
Grease during the cook falls on to the drip tray underneath the grate and then runs through an outlet on the side and into a bucket (included) that hangs on a hook.
There is an included meat temp probe. It reads well enough, but it's of limited use, as there is no alert.
Quality of Food -- Quite good. It's not the same as an offset, and it's not going to be, but it's a lot closer than I expected. The food was not as smoky, and there's another je ne sais quoi that's missing, but this was good stuff. I was pleased with the result. The difference in the food was quite acceptable when considering the amount of effort it did not require, but I'm also glad to have the option to run my stick burner from time to time when I have the time and want what it does. Here's part of what we got:
Ease of Cleanup -- Much easier than an offset! The lower grate is in three parts, and they are easy to remove, handle, and clean. The drip tray catches everything (it has flanges that do not show in the photos). After removing the lower grates, it's easy to scrape grease down into the bucket and to remove for further cleaning. Ash removal is as simple as pulling a pull and then dumping out the easily removed and replaced ash cup. Pellet removal from the hopper is fairly easy (as described above)--you do have to use a little rake (included) to sweep the pellets around (or remove the guard). Removing pellets from the auger tube is more difficult--either run the cooker until they are all burned up, or run the "Feed" cycle a couple times after the cooker has cooled down (open the ash door and let them just fall through into a bucket or something after removing the ash cup).
Other Limitations -- Obviously, you have to plug the thing in, so that limits where you can run it. I suppose you could use an extension cord, but that's not always such a grand idea when using something that heats up a hot rod like this thing does. The hopper does a lousy job of funneling pellets into the auger tube, so you wind up with a sinkhole of pellets in the middle--simple enough to scoot pellets above the auger access, but it's something you have to do in a "hands-off" operation. The assembly instructions leave a little to be desired, but just about anyone should be able to manage--if not, there are instructional videos. It really isn't difficult to assemble.
There is no front shelf, but I don't really use the front shelf of my offset because the handle gets in the way. That also would be true with this cooker. A front shelf is available for purchase, but I prefer a nearby table.
Customer Service -- Mine arrived with the upper grate warped to the point that it does not sit properly. I called the number in the back of the manual and spoke to a person within about 5 minutes or so. She said that she would send me an email request for a photo of the problem, the proof of purchase, and the date code on the cooker lid. That email came very quickly, and I responded with the photo and proof of purchase (I forgot to get the date code). Within an hour, I received an email that they were sending a new one, and shipping confirmation came the next day. I do not have to send the other one back.
After a fair amount of research, this machine won for the best balance between cost, quality, and my wants and needs. The short version is that I like this thing a lot, but it's hardly a perfect replacement for a stick burner. I cannot imagine any pellet cooker ever doing that. That would be like asking a moving van to drive like a sports car. It ain't gonna happen, but you will be happy with either, provided that's what you want.
Let me give you a few details:
Size -- It has about the same usable cooking area as my Klose 20x36. While the upper rack is only about half the depth of the Klose, that's made up for by the fact that the nearly the entire lower rack is usable (the foot or so of upper and lower grate space closest to the firebox on the offset is too hot for low & slow cooking). In other words, there's a lot of room in this son-of-a-gun. There is less space between the upper and lower grates, but they are not so close that I anticipate any major problem. Here are a couple of pics of the maiden voyage:
Lots of good space!
Ease of Operation -- This is nice. To start it up, you just put pellets in the hopper, turn the thing on, run the "Feed" cycle for a few minutes (until you hear pellets dropping into the burner or ash cup), and turn the dial to the temperature you want. If you run low on pellets, add more. If you want a different temp or need to adjust, adjust the dial. When you are done, turn the dial to "Shutdown." That's about it. Fire management is virtually hands-off. The "smart smoke" capability runs the auger and burner according to the temperature you set and the readings from the internal environmental temp probe.
Changing pellets is not difficult, but not perfect. A pull on the side of the hopper opens a door to let all the pellets out of the hopper (not the auger tube). There is a hook to hang a bucket under the door, or you can place a box or bag or something--not hard. There is no way to remove pellets from the auger tube except to run them through, so you need to make your change in advance of when you want the change to happen.
Quality of Operation -- Quite good. Temperatures do sway more quickly than the offset, but it appears to run within a decent range, about +/- 15F during the lion's share of my operation yesterday (around 80-90F and no significant wind). The exception was during a moderately heavy rain that lasted about a half hour, during which time the cooker struggled to stay within around 40F of the set temperature. The Klose also would have suffered, but to a lesser extent (probably more like 20F). I expect a blanket would remedy all the above issues, and this cooker even has the option of easily and temporarily dialing up the fire during the rain (or just find some cover). I never had any wind to speak of, but I also expect that a blanket would do wonders.
Each grate cooked fairly evenly across its surface, with the exception being the very front and very back of the lower grate--easy to deal with. A fan circulates the air around the interior, helping to keep things even.
Temperature difference between the upper and lower grates depends on the setting. The higher the setting, the greater the difference. The upper grate ran about 25-30F cooler when I set it at 350F, and it ran about 15F cooler when set at 225F. That works fine for me.
Grease during the cook falls on to the drip tray underneath the grate and then runs through an outlet on the side and into a bucket (included) that hangs on a hook.
There is an included meat temp probe. It reads well enough, but it's of limited use, as there is no alert.
Quality of Food -- Quite good. It's not the same as an offset, and it's not going to be, but it's a lot closer than I expected. The food was not as smoky, and there's another je ne sais quoi that's missing, but this was good stuff. I was pleased with the result. The difference in the food was quite acceptable when considering the amount of effort it did not require, but I'm also glad to have the option to run my stick burner from time to time when I have the time and want what it does. Here's part of what we got:
Ease of Cleanup -- Much easier than an offset! The lower grate is in three parts, and they are easy to remove, handle, and clean. The drip tray catches everything (it has flanges that do not show in the photos). After removing the lower grates, it's easy to scrape grease down into the bucket and to remove for further cleaning. Ash removal is as simple as pulling a pull and then dumping out the easily removed and replaced ash cup. Pellet removal from the hopper is fairly easy (as described above)--you do have to use a little rake (included) to sweep the pellets around (or remove the guard). Removing pellets from the auger tube is more difficult--either run the cooker until they are all burned up, or run the "Feed" cycle a couple times after the cooker has cooled down (open the ash door and let them just fall through into a bucket or something after removing the ash cup).
Other Limitations -- Obviously, you have to plug the thing in, so that limits where you can run it. I suppose you could use an extension cord, but that's not always such a grand idea when using something that heats up a hot rod like this thing does. The hopper does a lousy job of funneling pellets into the auger tube, so you wind up with a sinkhole of pellets in the middle--simple enough to scoot pellets above the auger access, but it's something you have to do in a "hands-off" operation. The assembly instructions leave a little to be desired, but just about anyone should be able to manage--if not, there are instructional videos. It really isn't difficult to assemble.
There is no front shelf, but I don't really use the front shelf of my offset because the handle gets in the way. That also would be true with this cooker. A front shelf is available for purchase, but I prefer a nearby table.
Customer Service -- Mine arrived with the upper grate warped to the point that it does not sit properly. I called the number in the back of the manual and spoke to a person within about 5 minutes or so. She said that she would send me an email request for a photo of the problem, the proof of purchase, and the date code on the cooker lid. That email came very quickly, and I responded with the photo and proof of purchase (I forgot to get the date code). Within an hour, I received an email that they were sending a new one, and shipping confirmation came the next day. I do not have to send the other one back.
