Z GRILLS ZPG-450A Wood Pellet Grill & Smoker with PID V2.1 Controller, 450 Sq in Cook Area, Meat Probe, 8 in 1 BBQ Grill Outdoor Auto Temperature Control, Black

I've never had a pellet smoker before. It's always been something I've wanted to try since seeing a demonstration of one in a big box store many years ago. When this grill went on deep discount a couple months ago, I snapped one up.First impressions is that it's easy to put together if you follow the instructions. It should take less than an hour because all you're doing is assembling the legs, handles, front tray, and chimney. The barrel itself is already assembled and it takes a couple of minutes to put in the fire box cover, drip tray and grills.The size of the smoker is a double edged sword, This is a super small smoker. The small barrell size makes it impossible to get a lot of meat on it, but that small size also makes it a great beginner smoker. When I used it over father's day weekend, I got a 4 pound pork shoulder, a 3 pound whole chicken and a water pan on the bottom grate. On the top grate, I was able to put 6 brats at an angle. Things were mostly ok. The smoker did it's job very well. Everything cooked in the time one would expect. The smoker held its temp very consistently and that's what helped me to be better anticipate and trust when things would be done. I figure I'll keep this for another year or so, figure out how to master it, then move up to an upright smoker with more room. Now that I know the smoker can maintain temp, I know how to start it and shut it down, it's up to me to figure out which rubs and smoking patterns creates meats my family would want to eat.Having only used it once, I can't speak to durability or longevity but it seems sturdy and worth the money if you can get it on sale like I did. If I'd paid anywhere near full price, I would be disappointed with the purchase based on size.

I've only had the grill for a few weeks. There were no problems with delivery or damage. I would not say it was "easy" to assemble but it was not too complex and 2 people are needed at different stages of assembly. I have cooked ribs and a whole chicken using Z Grill recipes. I was disappointed with both. No smoky flavor with the ribs, some with the chicken. The Grill performed well each time. It was relatively easy, pre-heat the grill, prepare your meat, place it and forget it. Heat level maintained well but need to double check with oven thermometer. Cooked both to recommended temps. FYI: be prepared for a different result than you would get with a charcoal grill or even indoor cooking. Meats prepared so far, have a different consistency and color. This will take some adjustment both on the part of those eating and also adjusting cooking time and temp. I believe with time, the grill will season and I may raise cooking temps and length of cooking. Placed some potatoes in the grill to bake with the chicken and they too came out with a different texture and little smoke flavor after 5+ hours of cooking. Will update this review later as I gain experience and the grill seasons. I was pleased with the amount of wood pellets needed for the ribs and chicken. The warmer summer temps will make a difference with volume of pellets needed. 5/28/24: With the use of an oven thermometer, I discovered the interior temp was about 25-40 degrees lower than displayed. By compensating by setting higher temps, I smoked ribs and chicken again and they came out fabulously. With the warmer outdoor temp, the grill seems to be heating to the displayed temp. So in cooler, windy weather, increase you heat setting. With repeated use, the grill is beginning to season nicely. I am very pleased.

So far I’ve use basic pellets without any problems. Below is my reviewAssembly; I easily assembled this alone. The “Quick” guide was useless as it offered no info on what screw, washers etc. we’re being used. The printed manual provided that info but due to poor print quality it was difficult to read. The inclusion of almost all the necessary tools was nice. I say almost as there was no wrench big enough for the wheel axels. Manual needs to be tweaked, it has you installing lid handles and then several steps later installing the lift handle??? The lack of a method to store the power cord when not in use was easily overcome with a Command Strip hook. Otherwise assembly was rather easy. I’m glad this unit included a cover. Living in SE AZ, I made not need it much, the question is, how long will it hold up in the AZ sun?Startup; Followed instructions to the letter. One to two minutes for the pellets to reach the fire pot...... I didn’t time it, but it seemed like it was a lot longer than that. All went well and did the initial burn off as instructed. It does emit much more noise than I expected.Actual use; Did. Say I there was a big learning curve? This is where things get frustrating. There is a big temp difference between the left and right side. Part of that could have been the unit not being level. Even after leveling, the temp swing was a bit much. Smoke leakage, yep leaks like mad via the lid. A starter roll of their high temp tape would have been nice. Temp front to back, not sure I want to check this as the grease pan is curved the higher temps will be in the middle. No problem due to the fan, you say, not sure I agree with that. Upper Rack, it’s there and mainly useless. If your cooking chicken or anything over a few inches high, it will need to be removed. Otherwise you cannot put much on it, what you can put on it has to be thin. Also this rack is s a little bothersome to put in and take out. The temp swing while cooking also varies widely. It could be that it’s spring and the wind is playing a bigger part than expected, even with a slight breeze. I haven’t tried smoking anything yet, but will very soon. Sadly I’m sure that will entail a somewhat complex and time consuming task of removing current pellets and refilling the hopper, yes I bought a basic model with no way to quickly change pellets, my bad. Smoking; haven’t tried it yet but I’m wondering, since the hat on the chimney is threaded can one adjust its height to help control the smoke and heat? I’ve seen such adjustments on other pellet smokers.Speaking of all the wonderful functions this unit offers, how do you utilize them? I know I set the temp to what I want to in order to bake. What temp is recommended when grilling? Or the other functions? If the smoke is drastically reduced when the grill temp is over 180, how do you get the good smoky flavor? These questions should have already been answered in the manual, as we did buy a basic, beginners model smoker. Looking for some interesting recipes, they have them on their website with everything you need to know except the blend of pellets recommended to get the most flavor out of your food. Guess you need to check the pellet bags then do some trial and error.With everything I’ve pointed out that may appear negative, I’m very happy with my ZGrill (Happy Birthday to me). Now if I could just get out of the habit of opening the lid while things are cooking.