When I’ve looked at changing pellet grill brands I check out and review what’s on the market like anyone. Now let me just say that Green Mountain Grill is not the only pellet grill I’m familiar with, so hopefully, I can offer some contrasts and a bit of helpful advice.
This is going to be the introduction to my full pellet grill comparison tool for those interested. The comparison tool is about giving advice about each of the brands/models that maybe suited to different situations or setups.
Most of the time, choosing a pellet grill will depend on
- Technology – simple or remote access
- Size -depending on who you want to cater for
- Budget – what you want to spend
I realize it’s a bit of a mind field, especially with the different brands and different opinions out there. So you won’t get a Top 10 pellet grills around here. It’s going to be more about how I can be helpful and what I have told friends through what I know.
Trying to put some logic into the review, I created a report card so to help folks see what’s out there.
The report card below is an overall opinion based on the performance, feedback, and observations I have seen in relation to Green Mountain Grill pellet grills.
I still truly believe that as long as you’re dealing with a decent type of pellet grill brand (which there are a hand full), you will produce quality smoked barbecue.
My reasoning for this is based on what I have learned through using pellet grills, charcoal, electric, gas, and ceramic kamado-style smokers. And I am a keen dry-cured meat maker and cold smoker.
Much of the meat I use is harvested from the wild, but sometimes you need a bit of fat as well for those pork butts & beef briskets for sure.
It doesn’t really matter if the temperature isn’t precise, it’s more about the there and thereabouts temperature over longer periods of time with some airflow, moisture (which get provided by the pellets), and subtle transparent smoke (‘thin blue smoke‘).
So here’s the summary, then I will break down how I came up with these scores.
If you found this useful, then check out my pellet grill comparison tool which has collated all these posts and combined them into a “cheat sheet” page – basically it’s comparing only the pellet grills that I know do the job and I’m familiar with – so I consider any worth getting, you can find that here.
Green Mountain Grill Report Card
| Factor | Score |
| History & Reputation | B |
| Warranty & Service | B |
| Unique Selling Propositions (USPs) | A |
| Thermostat Controller Design | B |
| Build Quality / Materials Used (Inside & Out) | B |
| Efficiency of Pellet Burning | B |
| Technology / Wifi – if Applicable | A |
| Useful Brand Accessories | C |
| Temperature Range & Searing Ability | A |
Scorecard Breakdown
So there are two main types of categories that Green Mountain Grill in their range the Prime and the Choice.
Firstly let’s do the USDA comparison between these two types of meat cuts which are obviously where the name came from for the two categories of Green Mountain Grills.
USDA Choice
“Choice beef is high quality, but has less marbling than Prime. Choice roasts and steaks from the loin and rib will be very tender, juicy, and flavorful and are suited for dry-heat cooking. Many of the less tender cuts can also be cooked with dry heat if not overcooked.”USDA Prime
“Prime beef is produced from young, well-fed beef cattle. It has abundant marbling (the amount of fat interspersed with lean meat)“
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2013/01/28/whats-your-beef-prime-choice-or-select
Green Mountain Grill – Choice Range
This is basically like the original range of green mountain grill pellets burners, so it’s been around for 11 years. They have added along the way the option of Wi-Fi enabled connectivity which I’ll talk more about below.
Green Mountain Grill – Prime Range
It’s got a bottle opener! But also some other cold feet for the extra hundred bucks.
12V Adaptor for Cigarette Lighter
Pellet grills don’t require a lot of power you can easily run them off a very small generator or, as green mountain grills have recognized the demand for car battery powered pellet grills.
It’s really quite simple but great for camping, tailgating or some other remote barbecue smoking.
Fireport Easy Clean Out Hole
So on the right side of the grill, they have put in a whole where you can easily use a wet drive that to clean out the fire pot of the ash. This is generally something that most people do after each cook so to have something useful like this helps.
If you don’t have this whole then you end up taking a whole bunch of stuff out of the cooking area like the heat diffuser to actually get to the fire pot.
Here is a quick video that gives you an idea of the Prime upgrade shelf changes.
- Front Shelf – (useful trust me)
- Windows in Pellet Hopper and Grill Area
- Chrome Handle on Side Shelf with Hooks for BBQ Tools
- Cart Structure Upgraded – thicker legs, wheels,
- Bottom Storage Shelf
History & Reputation
Score = B
Why?
Starting around 2008, Green Mountain Grill has now just over 10 years of history.
Probably one of the most recognized brands on pellet grills on the market and definitely in the top 3 when it comes to the volume of pellet grills out there.
Since Traeger has been around for so much longer, it’s quite easy to see them as a dominant brand, but what I’ve seen slowly over recent years is the Green Mountain Grill loyalty growing a fair bit.
Warranty & Service
Score = B
Why?
Three-year standard warranty
Customer Service – Online & Phone
Ring them up in the get it sorted basically what you’re after and speaking to a local call center is always helpful.
When I’ve had questions with Green Mountain Grill it’s been useful to go to the website and specifically look at some of the common FAQ answers that are available.
Unique Selling Propositions (USPs)
Score = A
Why?
Temperature
Because all the Green Mountain Grills go up to 500°F/260°C, for the price point they are at, this is definitely a bonus and I would call this unique to their range.
Low Pellet Hopper Alarm
Another USP, useful when you’re piling through the wood pellets as that you’ll be notified when it gets low.
Ambient Air Sensor
Also known as”Sense-Mate” Thermal Sensor – This is actually a very cool feature when the ambient temperature is cold it helps to heat up the pellet grill. So you can definitely say that this is a bit smarter than some other pellet grills on the market.
This function basically means that the pellet grill will boost up the heating if it’s under 35°F / 2°C outside.
Positive Pressure Hopper Fan
You think something like this would be standard across all pellet grills but it seems it isn’t. The short version of what this does is prevent any fire burning going back up the wrong way, like against the auger screw direction. (‘burn back’ as its nicknamed)
The key to this operating properly is to always keep the lid of the Hopper closed.
PID Controller as Standard
I don’t think PID controllers are the only way of getting great quality awesome smoked barbecue
However, if you like to use a pellet grill in the winter or if you have a climate that varies a lot, a PID controller can be quite useful.
There always seems to be a question about whether a PID controller produces enough smoke flavor (actually it’s the smoke vapor not the actual smoke that has the flavor, so you can’t really see it). From what I’ve seen and tasted there issues if its a PID or non-PID Controller on the pellet grill.
And if you really are a smoke head, then you can add a smoke generator or other devices to boost up the smoke vapor. I wrote a whole post on producing smoke on a pellet grill with some ideas around how to do this, so if you’re interested check it out here.
If you do want a bit more information on PID controllers and the other types of controllers on the market, I wrote a post here with a quick comparison of the different technologies you get.
High Clearance in Pellet Grill (Peaked Lid)
13.5″ – It’s a pretty significant number because you should be able to easily have a beer can chicken smoking or angled pork rib rack stood up with my problem.
This is for the Daniel Boone and Jim Bowie, for the Davy Crockett, it’s 8 inches.
Summary of USPs
Before I actually started writing down all the unique features of Green Mountain Grill, I had kinda forgotten that they do offer a decent package. In more recent times, I guess I have been caught up in the hype of some other advertising campaigns. But, I’m now thinking that these really are the business.
Thermostat Controller Design
Score = A
Why?
As mentioned before Green Mountain Grill invests a little bit more money in a PID controller. Compared to other technologies and other brands this is an investment since this is a real-time feedback loop which generally speaking, provides a more consistent temperature range across the cook.
Build Quality / Materials Used
Score = B
Why?
12 to 14 gauge steel depending on whether it’s external or internal, that build in the field of a green mountain grill is solid. Note that they did make those upgrades to the cart on the prime model.
The shelf that is in the front of the prime level some people will actually prefer to keep it or not. When it comes to transferring food from a tray, it seems more useful than not.
There is quite a big difference in terms of the build quality especially around the cart between the choice and prime range of Green Mountain Grill pellet grills.
I am putting this in the context of a comparison to other builds. Also, the Davy Crockett is primarily designed as a portable camping or tailgating pellet grill so I’m probably more talking about the Daniel Boone or Jim Bowie models across this entire scorecard.
Since these are the ones that I can compare more easily to other pellet grills I’m familiar with if you want more info. check out the comparison tool guide here.
Efficiency of Pellet Use
Score = B
Why?
12-pound brisket with less than 3 pounds of pellets and that’s with the Davy Crockett – the smallest 2-6 person pellet grill that Green Mountain Grill offers
At about $1 US a pound for pellets, I find the economics stack up very nicely.
Factors like temperature and ambient heat will, of course, change the pellet-burning as well.
Technology / Wifi – if Applicable
Score = A
Why?
I actually really like the Wi-Fi setup on the Green Mountain Grill it’s definitely one of the top in terms of intuitiveness and ease of use. You can have a local connection or cloud-based connection so you are remote and can keep on eye on things on your out.
But basically that’s what Wi-Fi-enabled pellet grills are all about, on the go monitoring and adjustments as needed.
It also gives you an extra level of safety because you know what’s going on and can see it in real time, as long as you have good coverage and data available on your phone (and of course it’s compatible which it should be I hope).
I think the actual intuitiveness and interface is logical, that it has all the bells and whistles that Traeger has with its snazzy marketing and Texas fonts, but it doesn’t need them either it’s more about functionality.
To get a bit of an idea of what it looks like here is a video. It’s about halfway through it when it gets to actually operating the grill once it’s setup.
Temperature Probes & Position
One temperature probe for the meat is standard with Green Mountain Grills, the positioning of the RTD or temperature sensor can is an effective position (as with any pellet grill you have to give the sensor a wipe or a clean after the cook to make sure it’s functioning properly).
Useful Brand Accessories
Score = C
Why?
Covers either the original or third-party a pretty standard and so are the thermal blankets for cold areas.
Green mountain grill also offers a smoke rack, which adds some more cooking Space for sure. But also you might want to consider doing a custom modification to make the most of the 13.5″ clearance space you have under the hood.
Definitely when it comes to searing having a grill grate or using a cast iron pan can really do wonders for that on the outside of steaks and burger patties.
If you want a bit more just on accessories then check out this page here its got my most recommended bits for Green Mountain Grill accessories.
Temperature Range & Searing Ability
Score = A
Why?
500°F is definitely up there compared to other pellet grills, you can always easily enhance the searing or steak sizzling by using another piece of metal to hold the heat.
There are a few 600°F’s or more, but you pay mega dollars for them.
When it comes to pizza you definitely want to check out the modifications page above to get a bit of a breakdown of what can really get a green mountain grill up to pizza crust temperature.
If you want a look at the quality kit and will definitely sear, check out a page I wrote on & steak basics here.
