Hi,
I hope it's ok to revive this thread. I just wanted to say I bought the same type Gourmet Pellet Grill at Academy here in SATX and back in December 2012 it was on sale for $199. I almost bought the Traeger Tex model at Costco for $699. I am glad I saved the $500. I cooked on it about 6 times before I moved firebrick into the bottom of the grill. So far I am happy with the results after we figured out how it worked.
At first I had a problem with the unit tripping the CB. I did not realize that you had to turn the knob to smoke and the lid up for 15 min or until smoke started to generate. I was cranking the unit up all the way and the CB would trip. I almost returned that dang thing... glad I RTFlippinM... Anyway, I am thinking about drilling a coupl of holes for the Temp probe to go into and adding a DIY cold smoker or smoke daddy to the grill. Also I have seen where some Traeger owners were doing lid mods to theirs to seal it better, thinking about doing the same. The thing I like about the Gourmet Outdoor is that the wheels look sturdy. Now I know that doesn't make the food cook any better, but my father-in-law who is a metal worker checked out both Traeger and Gourmet and his opinion was that the Gourmet looked sturdier and well built compared to the Traeger for the price mind you.
Anyone doing the same type of mods to theirs?
