Camp Chef has been a well-known and reliable manufacturer of grills for a while now, and have earned their position in the market, with simple, yet efficient designs, which offer buyers good results. They had said, prior to release, that the PG24 Pellet Grill and Smoker, would provide customers with excellent features and a high degree of functionality, with accurate temperature readings, and I wanted to find out if this true. This Camp Chef PG24 Review aims to give buyers all the information they need to make an informed buying decision.
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Pros:
- Great pellet auger that controls the flow of pellets into the unit
- Digital temperature readings
- Large cooking surface
- Easy Assembly
- A range of heat settings
- A warming rack is included
- Large pellet capacity, so you can leave the PG24 unattended for long smoking sessions
Cons:
- On very windy days buyers may see fluctuating temperatures on the grill
- Pellet grills use electricity, so portability is limited unless you have an inverter or generator. Of course, an extension lead would suffice for cooking in the garden.
Camp Chef PG24 Pellet Grill and Smoker Review (Official Site):
Size/Design:
The measurements of the PG24 are 114.3cm in length, by 53.3cm of width, and it’s 129.5cm tall. The weight is 60kg, so buyers won’t have a problem taking it from the garden, to campsites, or on other excursions. The design features a high capacity pellet hopper, using an auger, which feeds pellets into the unit for cooking, and it looks pretty good, although the design of the lid, means it must be slammed shut. All in all, it’s a good design and will be durable.
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Performance:
The assembly is easy and can be done in 3 minutes, in fact, it comes in parts already assembled, and you just put them together, so it’s not rocket science and the manual will help.
With regard to performance, I want to talk about how pellet grilling is done because pellet grilling has become extremely popular recently, so many buyers flirting with the idea of owning one, might not be sure how it works. What you have is a pellet hopper, which is another phrase for a storage facility, that houses pellets. Next to this, is the auger, which is the distribution device that feeds pellets into the unit for cooking with. Pellet grills use electricity, so you’ll need an extension lead to take it outside. For trips further away from home, a generator would be appropriate.
I’m glad they used an auger here, because the other method for distributing pellets into units, is by suction. The problem with sucking pellets inside is that its very difficult to regulate the flow, and therefore the temperature inside the cooking unit. The Auger here is especially good and is directly linked to temperature control, so the moment your desired temperature is reached, the auger will shut off and pellets will no longer enter. This makes the PG24 tremendously efficient in terms of pellet use, and pellets are cheaper than charcoal anyway, so it’s very cost effective to own. The hopper itself holds 20 pounds of pellets, which is on the large side, and the advantage of this is that you can leave the PG24 for long periods to smoke, without running out of pellets in the hopper.
Camp Chef thought a lot about this design and the drawbacks of electricity in grilling. Power outages often mean relighting electric grills and can wear out the hotrod, but buyers of the PG24 can bypass the relight in event of a power outage. This is a really good inclusion.
Although the PG24 can fluctuate in temperature on colder, windy days, the overall temperature reading is a lot more accurate than most other grills, because it’s digital, and helpfully you can read both internal food temperatures and the temperature inside the unit. There is a range of cooking and smoking settings, and buyers are advised to play around a little with these settings, to get the taste they desire. Unlike charcoal grills, that require exceptional grates for even cooking, the PG24 will automatically cook at an even temperature, for extended periods.
The cooking surface is a massive 560 cubic inches, so buyers will not run out of space, and with the smoking option, there are a wide variety of foods the PG24 can cook. Lastly, I want to talk about cleaning. Cleaning out pellet grills is always more difficult than other types of grill, but Camp Chef has added a trap door, so ash does not collect at the bottom. The cleaning process is not arduous, but not as easy as on other grills.
Conclusion:
This probably has the most accurate temperature reading of any grill currently on the market. Coming with a cookbook, an easy assembly, and a good design, the PG24 is well worth the money. I liked the choice of an auger system instead of a suction system, because it saves money on pellets, and regulates temperature better. For those wanting to get into pellet grilling, this would be an excellent choice.