Z GRILLS Wood Pellet Grills 8-in-1 Smoker Grill 694 sq.in. Cooking Area, 20 LB Hopper with cover (700E)

Wow, I am impressed. I had been talking to friends that have purchased and used Traeger Pellet Smokers for years. I did not have the budget to purchase a Traeger, however finally decided to go for the Z Grill. Now the friends that have the Traeger are jealous as I have a equal functioning Pellet Grill with more for the money. Love the double rack, the enclosed lower section, and the cover that is much better quality than I expected. I love the temperature control accuracy, and the excellent smoke control these units provide. After initial fire up procedure per directions, and checking with my temp probes, my first cook was King Crab Legs. I had no hesitation to use this grill for a 225° / 25 minute cook of 2 lbs crab legs. I have since cooked country style ribs,Porter House Steak, and Pork Belly. I could not be happier. I smoke for years with a Propane / Wood smoker, and thought I was a Pro. Now with this set it and forget it method of Pellet grill, I wonder why I took so much time babysitting a smoker for what this system can do with very little effort. Go visit friends while the pellet grill works flawlessly.Update 01/16/19 Had to down grade my likes for this pellet grill because there is no way to purge / change out the pellets once loaded. You either have to disassemble the hopper and dump them out, or just use them up to change types of wood. This is a major design flow that should have never happened in my opinion. The older Z Grills had this feature, and they have since taken it away.

I am trying to like this grill. I really am. I have it two stars for the wonderful heavy duty construction, ease of assembly, and overall looks and design. But that’s all well and good when you can’t cook with the damn thing. I set the grill on “smoke” setting and let it warm up for 30 minutes as the manufacturer suggests. When on its lowest setting the temp is 302F. It then jumps to 320F and then back again to 300F. Contacted the company and they suggested “highering the chimney cover”. Ok did that. Shut the grill down to cold. Waited an hour and tried again. Same flippin thing. I have sent emails, Facebook messages, even messsages through Amazon’s “contact the seller” links. To date nothing. I have had no choice as to ask for a refund as the dang thing doesn’t work worth beans. I want a smoker - low and slow 180-220F with light smoke production. What I got is a roaster.I will update this review if the company ever responds to anything.Update: company gave me some technical advice on the board settings. Still same problem. Allegedly they are sending out a new control board. But so far I have seen nothing.Update 2: did get a new control board via fed ex. Will install it next week and report on if it fixed the problem or not.Update#3: new control board in. Seems to even out temperature fluctuations. But still “smoking” at 300F. Amazon refunded my money, but all the company cared about was that I withdraw my ‘claim’ against them.End result... you get what you pay for. This grill really has potential, but until they get their QC issues resolved spend the extra money and get a Green Mountain pellet grill instead.Update #4: abandoned the z-grills boards. Replaced it twice with factory boards with same issues. Changed the P settings as advised by technical support and still running hot. Even changed brands of pellets to ensure they were not the problem. Ended up buying a 3rd party control board from Grilla Grills and will replace the z-grills board with that.Update #5: After installing the Grilla Grills board, no more issues. The PID feature holds temps +\- 5F. Very happy now. Too bad a-grills didn’t get their boards fixed on this model. Hopefully as they grow they will have better luck.

Your browser does not support HTML5 video.  UPDATE: The grill can not hold consistent temperatures. The allowance with digital smokers should be within 20 degrees. Mine is regularly off by over 100 degrees. Completely unacceptable for any cooking equipment. Customer service from Z-Grill is terrible. They have been attempting to string me along with half promises and one sentence replies. I have contacted Amazon directly about this.I wouldn't wish a Z-Grill on my worst enemy.__________________________________________________________The grill I received has a HUGE dent on it over a hinge. The hinge and door rattles. Something major must have wrecked this thing and they still sent it out claiming it's brand new.I have started the communication process with z-grill.

Bought this the other day, the shipping was a nightmare to start with. Finally got it going and it doesn’t come close to the temps on the knob (see pics). It will smoke for about 5 minutes and then gets too hot and just starts cooking with no smoke (or very little) temp is all over the place. When I talked with customer service they told me to open the vent more, I took the cap completely off in these pics. Hope this gets resolved, starting to wish I had just bought a name brand locally.