We have reviewed Traeger's full line-up of pellet grills. If you're debating which grill to buy, check out these reviews: ► Ironwood 885 - ua-cam.com/video/QhlO_Id1odU/v-deo.html ► Timberline 850 - ua-cam.com/video/KSWem8QbFRQ/v-deo.html
We’ve had our Z Grill ZPG-450A pellet grill for a little over two weeks. ua-cam.com/users/postUgkx3c8DmtYRYEKYTiR4g7y6Yc2amUPVs_3X It was relatively easy to put together, with 2 of us. (friend and I)The grill seems well built and heavy duty. I followed the start-up directions, and then cooked chicken on it that evening. We’ve since cooked burgers, pork chops, meat loaf, and steak on the Z Grill and love it. I’ve used a hardwood mix (per my Son-in-Laws recommendation) and we are very happy. Like cooking in an outside oven with a nice smoky taste. This is a perfect size for the two of us, and would probably work fine for a small family also.All the things we have cooked have kept their moisture, and remained juicy. No burning on one side!My next challenge will be a brisket. We highly recommend the Z Grill 450A, so far. Hopefully they did get whatever “bugs” fixed from previous models (per the description on Amazon). I’ll update our review after a few months.
Use one of these at work. It is awesome! Simple, perfect amount of smoke, super easy to clean. Smoked THE BEST salmon I have ever eaten! Ribs, chicken, BRISKET! Everything came out AWESOME! Can't say enough about this product. Super simple, classic design, will cast for many years.
@@Chitown312 You won't regret it. See videos on how to clean it. Take care not to scratch the grate, it's porcelain coated. I clean mine after each smoke with a sponge and after 2 years it looks like new. !
I bought one at my local BBQ store. I went in after a Hark Texas Pro and the salesman and my wife 'suggested' that the Traeger's set and forget might be a better option. I've cooked on it once thus far, and while the chicken, lamb and beef products turned out great....It might be too early to tell how great. I had previously been cooking on my Weber Spirit propane with smoking tubes, and the Traeger definitely is a lower stable temperature.
Oh, you just wait. Once you get settled into this new Traeger you’ll love it. If you want to blow you mind just try smoking a prime rib and the flavor will get you convinced. Or reverse searing some steaks!
@@BBQandBottles True that! I use the Traeger several times per week, with amazing success. Had to replace the burn pot once, but other than that, it's been very reliable!
Thanks for the video! I have been cooking on a manual grill with wood logs. It’s great for steaks and stuff that you cook quickly. But smoking ribs is a royal pain having to tend the fire every 10-15 minutes gets annoying over a 6 hour slow cooking session. I’m always afraid to leave it unattended for more then a couple minutes for fear the temperature will get to high or the fire will go out as both have happened to me. I’m seriously considering one of these for those long jobs. Trying to do a brisket or a piglet is just to labor intensive for me to do more then a couple times a year on a manual smoker.
I may be wrong but 41x27 inches is not just under 900 sq inches it’s like 1100 sq inches. Not being an ass just inquiring because I’m extremely interested in one of these!
Great catch and I’m not sure what drives the difference. Here’s a link to the Traeger website where I pulled the stats from. My guess is the dimensions are actually a little narrower than the 41x27 - www.traegergrills.ca/shop/grills/pro-series/34/TFB88PUBC.html
Thanks - appreciate the kind words. Matt Pittman is a legend so you’re watching the right guy (with maybe a few of our videos in there for good measure 😉)
Great review of the Traeger pro 34 .. Very informative and great over lay of how it works .. I recently did a review of my GMG Jim Bowie pellet grill . You are correct they are very easy to clean and set it and forget it .. Great video
3,2,1 ribs at 225 perfect . My 34 gets to 415 .... if I want 350, set at 375.... no adjustments at all per Traeger, they do say not to start with Iid open, but closed
Great video! We just purchased the Pro 34 but were shocked to see the flue pipe gasket made of fiberglass. Did you end up removing the fiber glass gasket on your pro 34?
Because of the grate, there is no way to get all the pellets out of the hopper thru the trap door, some are laying on the feeder. Is that a problem? Should I remove the screws and just take the grate out?
Umm... you can’t sear like a normal grill so I wouldn’t think you could do hot dogs. We have smoked burgers which are fantastic and smoked roast chickens are amazing too.
Ted, I think this really depends on your preferred temperature for searing. You’re definitely better using a gas or charcoal grill for searing. I think the max temp on this guy is 450F so it gets hot, but I’ll leave it to you to be the judge of whether you want to sear at those temps.
I plan on buying one this weekend for my new place! I've grilled on Charcoal/Gas grills and entirely new to the smoking/pellet smoking game but excited and have been doing research all month lol. So what's the best way? I've seen some people start off by opening the top cover and putting it to "smoke" for 10-15 minutes before setting it to the temperature desired? Or does that matter?
Depends on your budget. Here are the ones I'd recommend by price point $500 - Cuisinart Woodcreek $1,000 - Traeger Pro 34 (the one in this video) $1,500 - Traeger Ironwood 885 $2,000 - Traeger Timberline 850
Good review! Does the Traeger have hotspots or is it consistent throughout the grill...I am looking at this and the Pitt Boss 1100 Pro. Been leaning towards the PB due to more space, front and side shelves already included and the searing slide plate they have. Now I’m hearing that due to the slide plate the heat diffuser with PB doesn’t cover the fire pot (for flame access) causing hotter temps on the center and right side...Thanks for any feedback in advance
Well, I have used a Pit Boss before so I can’t really comment. My general observation would be that needing more space than the Pro 34 would be rare unless you have a really big family! I have done 6 racks of ribs on here at once or 3 briskets or 8 pork butts or 15lbs of bacon. So I can’t imagine needing more space than the pro offers. In the end, I think you might be making a trade off on quality vs space - just never found space to be an issue.
BBQ and Bottles Thanks! Honestly the size really isn’t the top comparison for me. The 34 is plenty big as well. Although 1100 is bigger, sure icing on the cake but really the added accessories and the searing side plate drew my attention. Right now the Traeger Pro 34 is on sale for 599.00 which is the same price as the PB. But again, I’m skeptical about the claimed hot spots on the PB. So are you saying with your experience that Traegers temps across the grates are about the same without hotspots?
One other thing, you can buy a folding front shelf for the Traeger for cheap, but it won’t sear well. If I’m doing a reverse sear, I always have my gas grill fired up for the final sear.
Pit boss is trash I just took back my Austin xl today had it 2 Wk’s this is after I took back the 820 d cause of same unit failure burner kept going out fool me once shame on you fool me twice shame on me I’m looking to get this Traeger this week
Great review but where was ur head?! Also, I think the price points have dropped. It’s currently $600 on Costco (unless I’m looking at the wrong model?).
Question, my series 34 was put together by a Home Depot worker (I know I should of did it myself) I noticed in some video I see smokers have hopper grates that seem to keep the pellets from sticking. I don’t have this grate in my Traeger, should I?
It should. It’s more for safety than anything else so you can’t get your hand stuck in the auger. But it’s not something you install - it should already be in there from the factory.
I’m imagining taking some of the smoke roasted garlic and making granulated garlic with it... it’s gonna be some work but this along side smoke roasted garlic infused oil will be an awesome addition to the kitchen
Maybe... but keep in mind that when you’re grilling low and slow you’re not in front of your pit as much as say you’re flipping burgers on a gas grill. I’m not sure this grill is any different in height to other models - I suspect all of the manufacturers have standardized around that.
@@BBQandBottles I need.it higher keeping the lil kids away I also had 2 surgeries done on my lower back If had to bend down for cleaning then I would use it much then . Higher is better I am in the market but I might pass on this grill and go with pittboss
You should know that the youtuber Muriel Snyder stole your video footage, dubbed his audio over it, and is passing it off as his own review of this product.
Here's a REAL review... Bought mine mid-November. Cold as heck in Missouri, but I figured I had it covered by buying the Traeger insulation blanket. Not quite... The smoker directions say to leave the smoker on 'smoke' mode for 4 minutes (with the smoker lid open), before closing the lid, and setting to the desired temperature. I tried this for over 2 HOURS!!! Each time, the smoker went out every GD time, giving a "low temperature" error! Smoker temp MIGHT get to 120 degrees, and then is would go to 118, 112, 110, 108... and I'd get a 'Lerr' (Low temp error!). There was no wind, whatsoever! To "season" the smoker at high temp, you first need to get it to "smoke mode", and this was IMPOSSIBLE! The smoker would die in smoke mode every time! Fuc* smoke mode! Finally, during smoke mode, I repeatedly turned the smoker on and off, each time returning to "smoke" mode, trying to get the smoker temp higher and higher. Once I got the smoker to 120 degrees, I shut the lid, and turned the temperature to high. Then the smoker seemed to work! Smoke mode may work fine in spring / summer - I cant say - but if you expect it to work in winter time, you are HOSED!!! And it is only like 40 degrees here in Missouri today!
John Doe don’t do it! Huge fraud Scam I researched it and thank god I did. St along credit card info etc save yourself the headache there are $100 off deals right now for Black Friday I might pull the trigger on that sort of a deal
We have reviewed Traeger's full line-up of pellet grills. If you're debating which grill to buy, check out these reviews:
► Ironwood 885 - ua-cam.com/video/QhlO_Id1odU/v-deo.html
► Timberline 850 - ua-cam.com/video/KSWem8QbFRQ/v-deo.html
How long does a 20 lb bag of pellets last?
We’ve had our Z Grill ZPG-450A pellet grill for a little over two weeks. ua-cam.com/users/postUgkx3c8DmtYRYEKYTiR4g7y6Yc2amUPVs_3X It was relatively easy to put together, with 2 of us. (friend and I)The grill seems well built and heavy duty. I followed the start-up directions, and then cooked chicken on it that evening. We’ve since cooked burgers, pork chops, meat loaf, and steak on the Z Grill and love it. I’ve used a hardwood mix (per my Son-in-Laws recommendation) and we are very happy. Like cooking in an outside oven with a nice smoky taste. This is a perfect size for the two of us, and would probably work fine for a small family also.All the things we have cooked have kept their moisture, and remained juicy. No burning on one side!My next challenge will be a brisket. We highly recommend the Z Grill 450A, so far. Hopefully they did get whatever “bugs” fixed from previous models (per the description on Amazon). I’ll update our review after a few months.
Just bought one! $499 at Aces!!! I'm so jazzed!
I just bought one today. Lol.
Just ordered one from Costco. Should be coming in tomorrow. $499
Me too
Mine comes on the 13th. Can’t wait!
Did yours come with one or two meat probes?
Use one of these at work. It is awesome! Simple, perfect amount of smoke, super easy to clean. Smoked THE BEST salmon I have ever eaten! Ribs, chicken, BRISKET! Everything came out AWESOME! Can't say enough about this product. Super simple, classic design, will cast for many years.
Boutta buy one tomorrow at Home Depot 🎉
@@Chitown312 You won't regret it. See videos on how to clean it. Take care not to scratch the grate, it's porcelain coated. I clean mine after each smoke with a sponge and after 2 years it looks like new. !
I bought it today I’m sure the juice will be worth the squeeze
I have been using mine for three years just cant beat it
Thank you. This is the type of review I have been looking for.
No problem Scott. Welcome to the channel
I just bought one from AAFES for $479. No tax or shipping. Looking forward to trying this system.
Thanks for the review, I just got done seasoning mine. I am looking forward to a nice summer of great food!
You’re gonna love it Eric
I just upgraded to the Traeger Pro 34 and I love it! Perhaps next year I will move up to the Ironwood great job on the review!
I’m looking forward to this grill! I’m excited
My Louisiana grill that was about 5 years old was becoming unpredictable so I bought a Traeger Pro 34, so far it is awesome.
Man your production is on point, Awesome review!!
Thanks 🙏
Awesome !! I can’t wait to get mine !!
I bought one at my local BBQ store. I went in after a Hark Texas Pro and the salesman and my wife 'suggested' that the Traeger's set and forget might be a better option. I've cooked on it once thus far, and while the chicken, lamb and beef products turned out great....It might be too early to tell how great. I had previously been cooking on my Weber Spirit propane with smoking tubes, and the Traeger definitely is a lower stable temperature.
Oh, you just wait. Once you get settled into this new Traeger you’ll love it. If you want to blow you mind just try smoking a prime rib and the flavor will get you convinced. Or reverse searing some steaks!
Also pay attention to what type of pellets, they can impact flavor a good bit.
@@BBQandBottles True that! I use the Traeger several times per week, with amazing success. Had to replace the burn pot once, but other than that, it's been very reliable!
Great review thank you so much! 👍🏻
Just picked one up! Awesome!!
Thanks for the video! I have been cooking on a manual grill with wood logs. It’s great for steaks and stuff that you cook quickly. But smoking ribs is a royal pain having to tend the fire every 10-15 minutes gets annoying over a 6 hour slow cooking session. I’m always afraid to leave it unattended for more then a couple minutes for fear the temperature will get to high or the fire will go out as both have happened to me. I’m seriously considering one of these for those long jobs. Trying to do a brisket or a piglet is just to labor intensive for me to do more then a couple times a year on a manual smoker.
Picking one up from builders square tomorrow
Great review Jared ! Traegers are definitely nice !
Great review. Very helpful!!
I may be wrong but 41x27 inches is not just under 900 sq inches it’s like 1100 sq inches. Not being an ass just inquiring because I’m extremely interested in one of these!
Great catch and I’m not sure what drives the difference. Here’s a link to the Traeger website where I pulled the stats from. My guess is the dimensions are actually a little narrower than the 41x27 - www.traegergrills.ca/shop/grills/pro-series/34/TFB88PUBC.html
EXCELLENT video my friend.
Excellent review! I'm buying 1 now !!!
Good choice!
@@BBQandBottles I been watching Matt Pittman on Trager Grills, but your review sold me 1. Keep up your good work. You do excellent reviews.
Thanks - appreciate the kind words. Matt Pittman is a legend so you’re watching the right guy (with maybe a few of our videos in there for good measure 😉)
Great review of the Traeger pro 34 .. Very informative and great over lay of how it works .. I recently did a review of my GMG Jim Bowie pellet grill . You are correct they are very easy to clean and set it and forget it .. Great video
I love mine but I would never suggest it’s a ‘set& forget’ device as the pellets don’t feed all that way.
3,2,1 ribs at 225 perfect . My 34 gets to 415 .... if I want 350, set at 375.... no adjustments at all per Traeger, they do say not to start with Iid open, but closed
Great video! We just purchased the Pro 34 but were shocked to see the flue pipe gasket made of fiberglass. Did you end up removing the fiber glass gasket on your pro 34?
How do you start the fire for the pellets?
Because of the grate, there is no way to get all the pellets out of the hopper thru the trap door, some are laying on the feeder. Is that a problem? Should I remove the screws and just take the grate out?
Can you use this to cook typical hot dogs, burgers and chicken as well? I’m interested in buying one.
Umm... you can’t sear like a normal grill so I wouldn’t think you could do hot dogs. We have smoked burgers which are fantastic and smoked roast chickens are amazing too.
BBQ and Bottles in one of your comments above you stated that this grill WILL sear (for steaks), but it won’t sear for hot dogs?
Ted, I think this really depends on your preferred temperature for searing. You’re definitely better using a gas or charcoal grill for searing. I think the max temp on this guy is 450F so it gets hot, but I’ll leave it to you to be the judge of whether you want to sear at those temps.
I plan on buying one this weekend for my new place! I've grilled on Charcoal/Gas grills and entirely new to the smoking/pellet smoking game but excited and have been doing research all month lol. So what's the best way? I've seen some people start off by opening the top cover and putting it to "smoke" for 10-15 minutes before setting it to the temperature desired? Or does that matter?
Hope you got a big backyard ... cuz I'm gonna put my traeger in it.
Very nice Review!
Thanks Tom! Coming from you that means a lot.
Nice video thanks
Thanks for your review, so is this the smoker you would recommend?
Depends on your budget. Here are the ones I'd recommend by price point
$500 - Cuisinart Woodcreek
$1,000 - Traeger Pro 34 (the one in this video)
$1,500 - Traeger Ironwood 885
$2,000 - Traeger Timberline 850
The word grill is in the name, but can you grill steaks and chicken or is this more of a smoker?
Good review! Does the Traeger have hotspots or is it consistent throughout the grill...I am looking at this and the Pitt Boss 1100 Pro. Been leaning towards the PB due to more space, front and side shelves already included and the searing slide plate they have. Now I’m hearing that due to the slide plate the heat diffuser with PB doesn’t cover the fire pot (for flame access) causing hotter temps on the center and right side...Thanks for any feedback in advance
Well, I have used a Pit Boss before so I can’t really comment. My general observation would be that needing more space than the Pro 34 would be rare unless you have a really big family! I have done 6 racks of ribs on here at once or 3 briskets or 8 pork butts or 15lbs of bacon. So I can’t imagine needing more space than the pro offers. In the end, I think you might be making a trade off on quality vs space - just never found space to be an issue.
BBQ and Bottles Thanks! Honestly the size really isn’t the top comparison for me. The 34 is plenty big as well. Although 1100 is bigger, sure icing on the cake but really the added accessories and the searing side plate drew my attention. Right now the Traeger Pro 34 is on sale for 599.00 which is the same price as the PB. But again, I’m skeptical about the claimed hot spots on the PB. So are you saying with your experience that Traegers temps across the grates are about the same without hotspots?
I haven’t had any hotspots on that Traeger. It’s been rock solid and I’ve had mine for 4 years
One other thing, you can buy a folding front shelf for the Traeger for cheap, but it won’t sear well. If I’m doing a reverse sear, I always have my gas grill fired up for the final sear.
Pit boss is trash I just took back my Austin xl today had it 2 Wk’s this is after I took back the 820 d cause of same unit failure burner kept going out fool me once shame on you fool me twice shame on me I’m looking to get this Traeger this week
I had to watch this all over again because the first time I couldn't stop staring at your submariner.
Glad I am not the only one who was caught off guard by that thing lol
Great review but where was ur head?! Also, I think the price points have dropped. It’s currently $600 on Costco (unless I’m looking at the wrong model?).
Yeah, this is an old review so the prices have come in meaningfully.
I just ordered mine from Costco today for $600.
Question, my series 34 was put together by a Home Depot worker (I know I should of did it myself) I noticed in some video I see smokers have hopper grates that seem to keep the pellets from sticking. I don’t have this grate in my Traeger, should I?
It should. It’s more for safety than anything else so you can’t get your hand stuck in the auger. But it’s not something you install - it should already be in there from the factory.
Did you taste the smoke in the smoke roasted garlic you made? Now I want a traeger just to make some 😁
You bet! It’s not too over powering but you can tell it’s there.
I’m imagining taking some of the smoke roasted garlic and making granulated garlic with it... it’s gonna be some work but this along side smoke roasted garlic infused oil will be an awesome addition to the kitchen
Now you’re putting ideas in my head.
Sorry not sorry 😈😉
I just ordered a Traeger thanks to you lol I’ve always wanted one so I pulled the trigger
So can I bbq with charcoal with this grill or only pellets
Only pellets one this one. The Cuisinart Woodcreek pellet grill is the only one I know you can also fire with charcoal.
Can you get a good sear on a steak with this?
I love the grill! They really thought it through. They're still running a straight-up scam, but if you can look past that, more power to you.
What is the scam?
is this a sponsored video? it just feels so much more like an infomercial than it does a review
why don't I ever get that kind of smoke.
Grill seems so low to the ground hate to bend over and slouch while you cooking
Maybe... but keep in mind that when you’re grilling low and slow you’re not in front of your pit as much as say you’re flipping burgers on a gas grill. I’m not sure this grill is any different in height to other models - I suspect all of the manufacturers have standardized around that.
@@BBQandBottles I need.it higher keeping the lil kids away I also had 2 surgeries done on my lower back If had to bend down for cleaning then I would use it much then . Higher is better I am in the market but I might pass on this grill and go with pittboss
You should know that the youtuber Muriel Snyder stole your video footage, dubbed his audio over it, and is passing it off as his own review of this product.
Hum… that’s annoying. Thanks for flagging.
LOL. "Tin" foil.
Nice video for real though. Thanks for putting this out there.
Here's a REAL review... Bought mine mid-November. Cold as heck in Missouri, but I figured I had it covered by buying the Traeger insulation blanket. Not quite... The smoker directions say to leave the smoker on 'smoke' mode for 4 minutes (with the smoker lid open), before closing the lid, and setting to the desired temperature. I tried this for over 2 HOURS!!! Each time, the smoker went out every GD time, giving a "low temperature" error! Smoker temp MIGHT get to 120 degrees, and then is would go to 118, 112, 110, 108... and I'd get a 'Lerr' (Low temp error!). There was no wind, whatsoever! To "season" the smoker at high temp, you first need to get it to "smoke mode", and this was IMPOSSIBLE! The smoker would die in smoke mode every time! Fuc* smoke mode! Finally, during smoke mode, I repeatedly turned the smoker on and off, each time returning to "smoke" mode, trying to get the smoker temp higher and higher. Once I got the smoker to 120 degrees, I shut the lid, and turned the temperature to high. Then the smoker seemed to work! Smoke mode may work fine in spring / summer - I cant say - but if you expect it to work in winter time, you are HOSED!!! And it is only like 40 degrees here in Missouri today!
Sounds like you might have gotten a lemon. I’d return it and get a new one.
$1000 is entry level? lol
So worth it. Every penny my friend.
That is cheap for a pit go look at the ole hickory or Jambo pits.
BBQ and Bottles do you have one sir? They have them for sale at my local outdoors shop for $650. I’m starting to think I’d be silly not to purchase.
John Doe don’t do it! Huge fraud Scam I researched it and thank god I did. St along credit card info etc save yourself the headache there are $100 off deals right now for Black Friday I might pull the trigger on that sort of a deal
I believe he means $1000 Canadian. I paid $599 US dollars for mine.
430*F is the max I can achieve with my 34.
where your head bro
This was the early days of our channel where we weren't comfortable showing our face on camera.... different story today :)
Save Money, Get Quality....Grilla Grills
Was thinkin of this but 500$ is way 2 much 4 outdated everything
I just got 1 like this at sams its says traeger renegade 499$