Let's Talk BBQ
Outdoor Cooking Equipment => Grills & Smokers => Pellet Grills and Smokers => Topic started by: Tailgating is my game on January 04, 2018, 02:26:35 PM
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When I came close on my pit boss It got me thinking about rain & wet snow & some of the long cooks you can do on Pellet Grills. I also read that these grill & water don't get along.
So
1) you are in the middle of a cook & the rains come??
2) no room left in the garage can these be left out all year including in the snow...yes with a good cover on?
3) How do they cook in cold weather
thanks Richard
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My MAK 2 Star is on my grill uncovered. I have used it in all types of weather (rain, snow, sleet) and have had no problems with it.
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Soldier on. Hopefully you have a proper outdoor receptacle installed for your outdoor cooking equipment.
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Keep cooking..... ;D
Seriously...I have a piece of Advantec sub floor material tha is a little bigger in width and length than the hopper on my MAK . This give me e to 4 inches of over hang on front...back and end. So no worries about the electronics.
I the case of wind....add to the above a prtial sheet of plywood so as to provide a wind break/windscreen.
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Soldier on. Hopefully you have a proper outdoor receptacle installed for your outdoor cooking equipment.
I do have GFI's outside smoke
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My MAK 2 Star is on my grill uncovered. I have used it in all types of weather (rain, snow, sleet) and have had no problems with it.
I wonder if they are all that way as I have seen PG's & rain don't mix..........
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Keep cooking..... ;D
Seriously...I have a piece of Advantec sub floor material tha is a little bigger in width and length than the hopper on my MAK . This give me e to 4 inches of over hang on front...back and end. So no worries about the electronics.
I the case of wind....add to the above a prtial sheet of plywood so as to provide a wind break/windscreen.
So you do need to do something for the rain or is that just overkill?
Thanks everyone
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My MAK 2 Star is on my grill uncovered. I have used it in all types of weather (rain, snow, sleet) and have had no problems with it.
I wonder if they are all that way as I have seen PG's & rain don't mix..........
I can't speak on other types of pellet grills, but my MAK performs outstanding in the elements. There is probably an increase in pellet consumption in the colder weather, but that has got to be expected.
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Jack and Tommy have the perfect solution for this. A metal carport aka "cookport". I hope to follow their lead soon.
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My RecTec 680 has been used in all kinds of weather except snow since we haven't had any here in Alabama, close but not quite. But I have cooked in torrential winds and rain, and the only issue is keeping the water out of my adult beverages.
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Just make sure to keep your pellets dry - they will turn into mud / "concrete like" if they get wet.
Keep you electronics as dry as you can - and (obviously) be careful with any electrical appliance in wet conditions - I dont think any pellet grill manufacturer recommend using the smoker in the rain as its a safety hazard. I know GMG does not recommend it:
https://greenmountaingrills.com/support/daniel-boone/
I use my pellet grill under a deck in all types of weather (but it stays dry) _ I will be smoking deer jerkey tonight @ about 20F
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Keep cooking..... ;D
Seriously...I have a piece of Advantec sub floor material tha is a little bigger in width and length than the hopper on my MAK . This give me e to 4 inches of over hang on front...back and end. So no worries about the electronics.
I the case of wind....add to the above a prtial sheet of plywood so as to provide a wind break/windscreen.
So you do need to do something for the rain or is that just overkill?
Thanks everyone
The above described piece of wood ( you would use plywood...Advantec is VERY water resistant - long term...) is what I do if it is going to rain.
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Just make sure to keep your pellets dry - they will turn into mud / "concrete like" if they get wet.
Keep you electronics as dry as you can - and (obviously) be careful with any electrical appliance in wet conditions - I dont think any pellet grill manufacturer recommend using the smoker in the rain as its a safety hazard. I know GMG does not recommend it:
https://greenmountaingrills.com/support/daniel-boone/
I use my pellet grill under a deck in all types of weather (but it stays dry) _ I will be smoking deer jerkey tonight @ about 20F
i agree for me it does not look like a good item. Even with a GFI It is not worth the risk in a long cook. I can't see building a shed for one of these grills. Getting wet is not a problem but ruining a grill or worse is. I may change my mind but for know Charcoal & gas. Thanks Folks
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Richard, I'm still with...no pelletizer here...yet.
I'm almost exclusively charcoal. Now and then I'll use the offset smoker.
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You guys are wwaaaaay too concerned about weather and pellet grilling. :D
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You guys are wwaaaaay too concerned about weather and pellet grilling. :D
Tee you are right I am sure for most but money is important for me now & the risk is high enough. Plus I just love charcoal & gas
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Richard, I'm still with...no pelletizer here...yet.
I'm almost exclusively charcoal. Now and then I'll use the offset smoker.
Jaxon I was 90/10 gas when the kids were young but each year charcoal has been growing as the kids get older (more time). By far for me it is the taste of charcoal that I love as it beats all in my book. Now that I have the 22 I hope this year it will be 75/25 charcoal. In a perfect world i would love a PG to play with but not now. For tailgating I am 95/5 gas over charcoal. I do also love the big easy.
I must also add I like the taste of a gas grill...Ok what taste lol. Food does have a taste from gas & i do love it. As I have said before Smoke in food is not my thing. Charcoal gives me all I need. It must be the yankee in me lol
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When the rain hits, I just open another beer!
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I'm in the "keep cooking" when it rains camp. So far, my MAK 2 Star has worked perfectly in rain, snow, wind, and all of the above.
Jeff
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I cook under a patio cover now... but prior to this, I cooked MANY a meals in pouring rain with my old MAK 1 Star. Never had an issue.
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You guys are wwaaaaay too concerned about weather and pellet grilling. :D
Tee you are right I am sure for most but money is important for me now & the risk is high enough. Plus I just love charcoal & gas
The money part - I understand. The pang of conscience ( and that of the Mrs.' conscience at least I THINK that is the look I get when I come home with a new toy.... :D ) and the fact that it is something new to you which may change your life for the better ( just ribbon' you - but not completely un-true... ;) :D) are things most of us struggle with.
If you have eaten a steak in a fine dining establishment - that uses a REAL wood fired grill, and IF you loved the food....then you will love what pellet grilling can bring to your table. The taste is a little different from charcoal - but at least as good.
The pool is full...the water temp. is fine...Jump on in! ;D
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My MAK 2 Star is on my grill uncovered. I have used it in all types of weather (rain, snow, sleet) and have had no problems with it.
Same here. MAK electronics are pretty well sealed from the elements.
Now having said that if I know it's going or rain or snow, I tend to setup a EZ-UP canopy over top, just to be safe and even more so the cook chamber doesn't cool off from the rain. Oh... and so I can have somewhere to stand and not get drenched while checking on food, etc.
In the case of extreme cold weather with snow on the ground when it's hard to get the grill out (like this week), I leave it just inside our storage shed and open the doors. That way it's out of direct wind and snow, and it can get plenty of air circulation.
My MAK 2 Star is on my grill uncovered. I have used it in all types of weather (rain, snow, sleet) and have had no problems with it.
I wonder if they are all that way as I have seen PG's & rain don't mix..........
No they are not all that way. And it's not just the electronics and how they're protected; it's also the hopper design and how well the pellets are protected. I'd follow the manufacturer's recommendation.
My Weber/Stoven combo, for example, is NOT recommended for open use in rainy conditions.
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It looks like MAk can weather the storm but in my price range I will not buy one. I do agree Tee that learning a new toy is fun.
When I got into Backyard movies in 2008 I reasearched to death projectors, movie screens audio etc. When i built my system I was 95% happy as all I had to upgrade two years later was my projector cart. Tbis is my tenth year with no major upgrades in the books. Now if my refurb projector gets caught in the rain someday I am ahead of the game even though I have a cover ready for a sudden storm. I did blow out a speaker last year & needed to replace it this year but it was money well spent. Just like here most forum members are upgrading all the time.
Getting back to grills I know my Sears grill with four burners plus a side burner plus a folding table is fantastic for me. I bought it at a great price just like our hitch mount Jets tailgate grill. I know the bottom of the sears grill will rust out in a few years maybe even this year..... year number five but for the price it gave me everything I need & more. In the same price range I can buy a new grill that has the lastest of what I want. Funny thing is I had a Weber Genesis grill new in 1987 & it was not very good. It was given to me as a gift but did not cook well or hold up well. Now with the weber kettles they will last for 20 years or more but that is the price they are sold at. So the value is there.
I do see myself buying a PG in the future but it will be on my terms & when I am ready. Maybe even when my sears dies as I do have a couple of backup gassers at the ready ;D ;D ;D
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Another MAK owner whose has cooked in the rain. When it pours hard which is rare in California I do use something to shield the water off. tied a umbrella to a chair once and had it protect the electronics which you should be able to do on most grills
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You guys are wwaaaaay too concerned about weather and pellet grilling. :D
I've been smoking and grilling on pellet machines for about a decade now. I've done it in all kinds of weather. Both of my cookers have gotten wet but kept on cooking, safely, because they were designed to operate in a reasonable rain situation. No, they won't cook underwater. Yes, I have GFI receptacles. Yes, I keep them covered or under cover when I'm not using them. Common sense.
As to pellets turning to concrete yes, they will if they get wet. Keeping them dry is easy. I use a pool storage box (that sits out in the rain but doesn't let rain inside it) or keep them under my cook shack (carport). No big deal. The only time I ever had any wet pellets was my fault when I stupidly left an open bag of them near the edge of my cook shack and a heavy, blowing rain the next day got to them. Like a bag of charcoal I once left on my open back porch I can't really blame the fuel itself for my inattention.
If you are going to regularly spend a lot of time cooking in heavy rain and have no way whatsoever to protect your cooker or fuel from the elements then gas is the only way to go. Charcoal, like pellets, doesn't function when wet and electrical appliances (sump pumps being an exception :D) don't mix well with water. Wet wood in a stick burner is problematical, too.
. . . cook on through the wind, cook on through the rain, and you'll never walk alone . . . ;). It's the good groceries that count, and whatever you use to cook them works! The alternative is horrible to ponder (cooking indoors on appliances with no "soul") ;D
Hub
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Hub is wise.
Gonna do a pork butt tomorrow in the pellet grill and our forecast is rain all day..............soldier on..........
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You guys are wwaaaaay too concerned about weather and pellet grilling. :D
I've been smoking and grilling on pellet machines for about a decade now. I've done it in all kinds of weather. Both of my cookers have gotten wet but kept on cooking, safely, because they were designed to operate in a reasonable rain situation. No, they won't cook underwater. Yes, I have GFI receptacles. Yes, I keep them covered or under cover when I'm not using them. Common sense.
As to pellets turning to concrete yes, they will if they get wet. Keeping them dry is easy. I use a pool storage box (that sits out in the rain but doesn't let rain inside it) or keep them under my cook shack (carport). No big deal. The only time I ever had any wet pellets was my fault when I stupidly left an open bag of them near the edge of my cook shack and a heavy, blowing rain the next day got to them. Like a bag of charcoal I once left on my open back porch I can't really blame the fuel itself for my inattention.
If you are going to regularly spend a lot of time cooking in heavy rain and have no way whatsoever to protect your cooker or fuel from the elements then gas is the only way to go. Charcoal, like pellets, doesn't function when wet and electrical appliances (sump pumps being an exception :D) don't mix well with water. Wet wood in a stick burner is problematical, too.
. . . cook on through the wind, cook on through the rain, and you'll never walk alone . . . ;). It's the good groceries that count, and whatever you use to cook them works! The alternative is horrible to ponder (cooking indoors on appliances with no "soul") ;D
Hub
A gallon or so of liquid oxygen will sort out the wet fuel problem......
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Will pellets draw moisture if stored outdoors (in bags, in a storage tub, on a covered deck)??
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Will pellets draw moisture if stored outdoors (in bags, in a storage tub, on a covered deck)??
I use a five gallon bucket with a screw on lid with a gasket and have not had any issues with moisture
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Those 5 gallon "Homer" buckets at the Depot with lids are great storage for bbq pellets. They also stack nicely and you can label them with the type of wood pellet. Handy if you mix and match different "flavors".
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Another MAK owner whose has cooked in the rain. When it pours hard which is rare in California I do use something to shield the water off. tied a umbrella to a chair once and had it protect the electronics which you should be able to do on most grills
so jim the song is true?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zESYDjWrpbA
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Will pellets draw moisture if stored outdoors (in bags, in a storage tub, on a covered deck)??
Not much. The only precaution I ever take is when I have a bag that is torn, open, or has a hole it it I make sure it is in the pool storage box or an old garden can with a lid that I have. As long as the bag is well sealed the pellets will stay fine. I have one or two bags of a pellet "flavor" I don't use much that are probably six or seven years old and have been kept stacked on a concrete floor in an area where direct rain or snow won't hit them. They're fine. Just being exposed to ambient air of normal humidity won't hurt pellets.
Pellets remaining in the hoppers of my cookers stay there until the next use. I don't scoop them out and bag them back up. Sometimes it may be a month or more between uses depending on what I'm cooking. No problems there, either.
Hub