Pellet grill smoking is a fantastic technology, and for some guys having wifi monitoring and control really does take it to the next level of convenience for producing delicious BBQ.
Many years ago I got fascinated by smoking meat, and ever since I have been hooked, having the whole wifi setup also giving me free time during the smoke session. Time is one of those commodities that everyone knows is very precious nowadays.
So from the research, I did, sharing it might benefit others out there.
Being mad about grilling and smoking whilst also a bit of a ‘geek’, I wanted to provide a fair comparison to summarize what I have learned about the various wifi setups of different pellet grill brands I have familiar with Green Mountain Grill, Traeger & RecTec. I had a look at the other out there as well.
Will provide a quick short summary now and then elaborate on these brands and options. What I kept at the back of my mind were factors such as:
- Ease of Use / Intuitive Rating
- Reliability / Proven
- Unique Features
And I used this to compare the pellet grills.
But just remember that any pellet grill can be retro-fitted with a temperature probe to either be managed just around the house or remotely as well.
Alternatively, you can invest in a wifi connector temperature unit that will show you what temperature it’s cooking at and also what internal meat temperature.
The bare-bones part of wifi monitoring is seeing the ambient cooking temperature and the internal meat temperature. That is kinda what I define as a pellet grill with wifi enabled.
Stages of cooking is another relevant feature that is provided on some wifi pellet grills as well, so you can set up how you like those ribs done to perfection.
| Brand | wifi Enabled |
| Green Mountain Grill | Yes (Prime Model no Choice) |
| Traeger Pellet Grill | Yes (New Range) |
| Memphis Pellet Grill | Yes |
| REC TEC Grill | Yes |
| Louisana Pellet Grill | No |
| Pit Boss Pellet Grill | No |
| Z Grill Pellet Grill | No |
| Camp Chef Pellet Grill | No |
Pellet Grill Brands & Wifi Analysis
So here is some analysis and breakdown of each branch I am familiar with.
Green Mountain Grill Wifi
| Ease of Use / Intuitiveness | 8/10 |
| Reliability / Proven | 8/10 |
| Unique Features | 6/10 |
In both the Prime and Choice range of pellet grills, some come with wifi enabled it obviously has a cost difference. The wifi models can be set up for local at-home wireless app control or there is a remote form anywhere setup.
It’s not a glossy interface, but I would say it’s effective.
Remembering that you are just monitoring temperatures from around the home or if you want to cruise out for the day.
You can create custom cooks at various times & temperatures which is always a cool feature too. You can adjust the temp remotely if you like.
Now the interface I have used with a smartphone has been simple and effective with GMG.
It’s always better to have a bit of a look at the intuitive nature.
To see how it works, here is a vid showing the logic and functionality a bit.
Traeger Wifi
| Ease of Use / Intuitiveness | 9/10 |
| Reliability / Proven | 8/10 |
| Unique Features | 8/10 |
On the new series of Timberline, Pro & Ironwood– yep it’s standard and it’s also a very thought through the system.
Remembering Traeger created the pellet grill and have been around to the research and development has developed over the years. Since the patents ended, there are so many pellet grills on the market! But I prefer to focus on the ones with a reputation and a few years under the belt.
I would make the analogy of Traeger has the ease of use logic that Apple Mac created, compared to other which are like Windows (no offense Mr. Gates).
It’s slick and thought through so those who aren’t super techie can still get there heads around it.
I was around at a friends place who owns a BBQ store, I have to say when you have a pile of Traeger with Wifi, it does become a bit of a challenge through one phone. But this isn’t really going to happen to many people.
Being a techie type of guy, I like to deep dive into the detail and hope to help those looking to make a rational comparison.
I find a lot of the Traeger videos, I put on 0.75 speed, they just move a bit fast. Because they are a bit quick for me, guess maybe I like it a bit “lower and slower!” The one underneath does give an idea of the setup and a quick look at the interface.
It’s a well-polished app interface and quite a joy to use.
Memphis Pellet Grill wifi
This is quite a beast when it comes to design and functionality. Quite literally this is built to last many bbq seasons (7-year standard warranty).
| Ease of Use / Intuitiveness | 8/10 |
| Reliability / Proven | 8/10 |
| Unique Features | 8/10 |
The wifi is intuitive and on the whole – the system is solid.
If you are looking for top-end, this is where the pellet grill price range is, and I am talking about thousands here.
If you go to about halfway through the video below, you can get a bit of a feel about the system. It’s doesn’t quite go into the detail but it’s a look in.
RecTec Pellet Grill (Wi-Pellet Wifi)
| Ease of Use / Intuitiveness | 9/10 |
| Reliability / Proven | 8/10 |
| Unique Features | 9/10 |
Functional – in one word. Also if you like graphs and a bit more customization. This wifi has a little more control than most of the other options.
It doesn’t have the slickness of Traeger, but it does have customization and that’s something which some people really love.
You can drill down into micro-adjusting certain aspects of the system, setting up alarms and is what I would call smart technology, especially when it just notifies you via your phone.
Louisana Pellet Grills – Wifi
| Ease of Use / Intuitiveness | To be Tested |
| Reliability / Proven | To be Tested |
| Unique Features | To be Tested |
I am checking one of these out in the near future, will update this post accordingly after the event. From what I understand since 2019, they have introduced some wifi capabilities.
Pit Boss (Negative, Nope, Nada)
Over 20 pellet grills in their range, but no wifi on any of them. If it’s a price point you after, then the pit boss always win. If you just want the set and forget without the technology this could be one to look at.
When I was looking at pit boss, I came across a retro-fit from a 3rd party, obviously no more warranty.
Here is the link to the write up on the smoking forum.
Z Grill – Nope
Great entry pellet grill smoker, if you want a price point this is one of those options, but for remote wifi monitoring – you will need to do some wiring and the like.
Possible options are retrofitting REC TEC or Thermoworks monitoring accessories.
You can use it to monitor the pellet smoking pit, but you don’t have control over it. This does give you the comfort of knowing where the temperatures are at. There are 2 ways of remote monitoring-
Direct – Good if you just want to see the temps around home
Wifi Router Option – Through your home network – you then can monitor from app anywhere where there is phone/data coverage
If you want more on Remote monitoring, I wrote a page about the options in detail here.
Camp chef – No
There has been talked in the pitmaster community about using a 3rd party RecTec controller on a Campchef pellet grill as well. This would, of course, void warranties but gives the Campchef an option.
As mentioned above if you want to just have a device that gives you temperatures, you can use.
- Bluetooth Temp Connection Devices
- Direct Wifi Temp Connections
- Router Wifi Temp Connections (through you home wifi router system)
It just depends on what type of solution you are looking for.
Generally, I would forget about Bluetooth, because it’s normally only good for the 30-foot range, without any walls or obstructions.
You may also be interested in this I wrote:
