If you’re looking for a range of pellet grills for under a thousand dollars, the pellet grills produced by Green Mountain Grills should definitely be part of your consideration. They are very well-built units for their price, but also they notably include several features which in many cases are only found on more expensive premium pellet grills which cost over a thousand dollars. I’ve been waiting to write this post until I received some feedback from Green Mountain Grills (GMG) on some of the differences between their lower-specification Choice grills and their higher-specification Prime grills. Right then, let’s get into this!
Disclaimer: Hey! By the way… any links on this page that lead to products on Amazon or other sites are affiliate links, and I earn a commission if you make a purchase.
Introduction To Green Mountain Grills (GMG)
Just to clarify, Green Mountain Grills are generally classed as Practical Class pellet grills due to their price point of under a thousand dollars. If you’re not sure about the different pellet grill classes, I have a post on how to choose the best pellet grill to meet your needs.
However, GMG now also produce a commercial trailer, the Big Pig Trailer Rig, as stated on their website, ‘this one’s not for everybody‘.
At just under $6K that grill isn’t within the practical grill class its a commercial pellet grill. However, most people are going to be interested in their smaller/residential-grade grills.
Green Mountain Grills started producing pellet grills in 2008. The venture started from a love of pellet grilling/smoking but also a disappointment with the feature set and temperature control of pellet grills available at that time.
It is true that previous generation pellet grills from several manufacturers and even some pellet grills on sale today have quite wide temperature swings.
For instance, I discuss the topic in my article on the Gen 1 vs Gen 2 Traeger Pro Series. An area where Green Mountain Grills have set itself apart is the use of PID technology in all their controllers.
If you don’t know what PID is and why its important, don’t worry, I’ll discuss that below. There are different sizes and specifications of Green Mountain Grills on offer.
In terms of sizes from smallest to largest, its the Trek (formally Davy Crockett), followed by the Ledge (formally the Daniel Boone) and the Peak (formally the Jim Bowie).
GMG Choice & Prime Pellet Grills/Smokers
Previously GMG offered Choice versions of their Ledge and Peak models, which didn’t come with WiFi/App functionality. However, GMG appears to be phasing out these versions, with all models now coming with WiFi capabilities.
The Prime specification pellet grills achieve a higher cooking temperature of 550 degrees compared to just 500 degrees on the Choice versions.
Lower specification pellet grills, such as the Cuisinart Woodcreek and Twin Oaks, can only reach 500 degrees. In fact, even high-end premium grills such as the Traeger Ironwood and Timberline max out at 500 degrees.
What that additional 50 degrees mean is you have the ability to achieve better searing performance. All GMG pellet grills can also direct flame broil with a replacement perforated grease tray, but I’ll discuss that more later.
Prime Plus Specification
Prime Plus models feature even more improvements, these include a folding instead of a fixed front shelf, interior grill light, rotisserie-enabled mounting and stronger reinforced grates.
Furthermore, this model specification also has a stainless steel lid. However, you can still opt for the cheaper/black-painted lid if you would prefer.
Besides the higher temperatures which can be achieved on Prime specification GMG pellet grills, the more robust legs/wheels and viewing windows, there are a couple of other notable improvements on Prime spec grills over the Choice models, they include:
- Improved PID/WiFi temperature controller with dual meat probes
- Stainless steel heat deflector and grease drip tray
- Adjustable heat deflector
- Ash vacuum port into the firepot
Prime Spec Adjustable Heat Shield Benefits
One of the features of the Prime range that interests me the most is the adjustable heat shield. Its a feature I’ve not seen on any other pellet grill to date, but it offers some unique functionality.
You can briefly see the adjustable heat shield in the promo video above. However, you don’t get a good look at it. Therefore, I’ve found a second video demonstrating the GMG adjustable heat shield in action.
Now, anyone who has not owned a pellet grill before may be thinking to themselves, ‘but why would you want an adjustable heat shield?‘. Well, every pellet grill, even a luxury brand such as Memphis pellet grills will have temperature differences (hot spots) across the cooking area of the grill.
The heat deflector directly positioned over the firepot helps to distribute the heat and so does the grease tray. However, there are still areas of the cooking surface that are hotter than others.
Now, if you are cooking burgers or steaks, you can easily just move them around on the grill as they cook to get them even. However, let’s say you are cooking something larger, like a rack of ribs for instance. Due to the size of the rack of ribs, you cannot move it around in the grill to the same degree.
With the adjustable heat shield, instead of moving the ribs, you can move the heat shield during the cook. I’ve not tried this feature myself as yet, so I cannot attest to its performance. However, I do think it has the potential to provide additional functionality.
Prime Spec Ash Vacuum Port
As I’ve previously discussed in my how to clean a pellet grill post, from time to time, you have got to take out the racks, grease tray and heat deflectors and get into the bottom of the grill with a shop/ash vac.
How often you need to do that will depend on the type and length of cooks you have been doing.
After one or two slow/long cooks, you will want to clean the ash out of the bottom of the grill. On fast/searing cooks of burgers etc, you would only need to clean out the ash after four or five cooks typically.
However, on the Prime spec GMG pellet grills, there is now an ash vacuum port located on the right side of the grills. Its behind a little door which you have to unscrew the latch on.
Therefore, this means you can clean out the ash from the firepot without having to dismantle the internals on the grill.
Though, please remember you should only do this when the grill has cooled down and the ashes are cool. A very convenient feature to have, though I would still recommend every now and again taking the internals of the grill out for a proper clean.
GMG PID/WiFi Pellet Grill Controllers
GMG has been pushing the benefits of PID temperature controllers for many years on all their pellet grills. Its now seen on all new models from Traeger and Camp Chef too.
For instance, Camp Chef launched a Gen 2 WiFi controller as a retrofit/upgrade for their older pellet grills which features PID technology. To save me having to explain what PID is and how it works, I’ve included the video below, which will do a better job than I would while being more interesting. 🙂
Obviously, the WiFi integration on GMG pellet grill controllers should not be ignored. Pellet grills have always been promoted for their convenience. With the control of an oven and the flavour of a wood fire. Well, to take that convenience to the next level, you want a grill with WiFi integration.
You will be able to keep a track of your cook while in the house or pretty much anywhere with a WiFi/Cellular signal. I’ve not had a chance as yet to compare the GMG WiFi App features to Traeger WiFire or Camp Chef Connect, though I hope to do that in the future.
GMG Trek (Davy Crockett) – Smallest/Portable Pellet Grill
I’ve previously written about the Trek (Davy Crockett) in my post on the best portable pellet grills. It really is an impressive little unit with features that many larger pellet grills today still lack even though this grill was first launched way back in 2014.
Providing just under 220 square inches of cooking space, this is not the grill to cook a banquet for a large family. However, that’s not what its designed for.
Its primarily intended for tailgating, camping/hunting trips and loading into the back of a truck/RV. Its important to remember though, while the Trek is a very small pellet grill its also a highly capable grill and smoker.
All pellet grills require a source of power to operate the auger and combustion fan etc. Therefore, when making a portable pellet grill, you are more often than not going to want to run the grill from DC power, directly from your cars/trucks/RV’s 12V battery. However, other portable power options are available.
You can also run the Trek at home from an AC inverter. However, in most instances when out and about you will just run the unit directly from a source of 12V DC power.
Other portable units such as the Traeger Scout and Ranger pellet grills run on AC power, and require an inverter to run on DC power when out and about.
- Total Cooking Area = 219 sq.in
- Weight = 63 lbs
- Pellet Hopper Capacity = 9 lbs
- Temperature Range = 150 to 550 degrees
- Typical Price = $344 to $399
- Availability = BBQGuys.com, Amazon.com & Walmart.com
GMG Ledge (Daniel Boone) – Mid-Size Pellet Grill/Smoker
The Ledge (Daniel Boone) sits in the middle of the range in terms of size, offering a cooking area of 458 square inches. The cheapest version of the Daniel Boone is the Choice model, without WiFi and based on the AC platform.
However, the Ledge is also available for a bit more money in Prime specification or Prime Plus with the folding front shelf etc.
There is also a slight difference between the Choice version and Plus models in terms of hopper size. The Choice spec has a 17lb hopper, whereas the Prime spec features an 18lb hopper.
In terms of weight, that’s where you can really tell the difference between the Choice spec and the upgraded construction on the Prime models. The Choice Ledge weighs 154lb, whereas the Prime spec weighs 177lbs.
That additional 23lbs is mainly due to the upgraded legs on the unit to provide improved stability. Intern, the wheels on the Prime spec models are also upgraded to deal with the additional weight.
Total Cooking Area = 458 sq.in
Weight = 182 lbs
Pellet Hopper Capacity = 18 lbs
Temperature Range = 150 to 550 degrees
Typical Price = $829 to $929
Availability = BBQGuys.com
GMG Peak (Jim Bowie) – Large Pellet Grill/Smoker
The Peak (Jim Bowie) is the largest conventional pellet grill/smoker that GMG produces. There is the Big Pig Trailer discussed below which is larger. However, that’s only really for commercial applications.
The Peak provides 658 square inches of cooking area, so an additional 200 square inches over the Daniel Boone.
However, the pellet hopper size on the Jim Bowie is only the same as the Daniel Boone at 18lbs. Its a little disappointing that the hopper cannot take a full 20lb bag of wood pellets, but its not a big deal.
Just as with the Ledge, the Peak is available as a Choice specification unit with no WiFi. It can also be ordered as a Prime and Prime Plus unit with all the benefits referenced above, such as an adjustable heat shield, ash vacuum port etc.
Total Cooking Area = 625 sq.in
Weight = 212 lbs
Pellet Hopper Capacity = 18 lbs
Temperature Range = 150 to 550 degrees
Typical Price = $898 to $1,139
Availability = BBQGuys.com
GMG Big Pig Trailer Rig – Commercial Pellet Grill/Smoker
So the largest unit that GMG produce is the Big Pig Trailer Rig. This unit is really designed for commercial cooking applications.
However, I suppose for those people who treat BBQ events as a serious hobby, they may also consider a unit such as this.
Now, above I noted the Peak is the ‘most advanced large pellet grill’ that GMG currently produces. The reason being, the Big Pig Trailer Rig is not the same as the Jim Bowie in terms of capabilities/features, even though both are Prime specification grills.
It does use a 12V/DC platform and the PID/WiFi controller. However, it doesnt have some of the other features found on the Prime versions of the Ledge and Peak. For instance, the peak cooking temperature on the Big Pig Trailer is 500 and not 550 degrees.
It also doesn’t feature the adjustable heat shield or the ash vacuum port. However, I still think this is one of the most capable trailer-mounted pellet grills/smokers on the market.
GMG Pellet Grill Direct Flame Broiling
When I first started to research GMG pellet grills in detail, I noted that their promotional videos from 2016 showed a sliding/perforated grease tray to enable direct flame broiling.
However, when I’ve been reviewing the specs on their latest products, I noticed that only solid grease trays are included.
When I reached out to Green Mountain Grills to confirm if direct-flame broiling was possible on their grills Jason Baker, their Business Development Manager, kindly replied with more details stating:
“We don’t offer the sliding two-piece grease tray as standard in any unit, but they are available as an accessory. Any open flame system can be very dangerous to a user not familiar with it.”
Personally, I think this is a very sensible approach for GMG to be taking. While flame broiling with ‘direct flame kiss’ is a great feature to have, but you really do have to appreciate the flare-up risks of the grease catching fire.
If the launch of the Weber SmokeFire should teach us anything, its that grease fires need to be taken seriously.
After I reviewed the parts pages over on the GMG website, you can get the sliding grease tray for every GMG pellet grill, even the tiny Trek/Davy Crockett.
You can also easily order many other parts to improve/repair the pellet grills, such as their pizza oven attachment. I also think their product support page with instructions/videos is one of the best in the business.
Green Mountain Grills Reviews
Normally when I research owner reviews for my posts, I like to find the latest reviews on the latest products. However, with this owner’s review, I’m going to include something a little different. Its a review of a 10-year-old GMG pellet grill!
Obviously, the features/control panel on this grill are not comparable to the latest and greatest GMG pellet grills referenced above. The reason I wanted to include it is to show the build quality of GMG pellet grills.
Conclusions on GMG Pellet Grills/Smokers
I really do think the line-up of pellet grills/smoker from GMG offers excellent value for money. Even the large Peak pellet grill in Prime Plus specification with a stainless steel lid is often priced under a thousand dollars.
At the other end of the scale, I think the little Trek/Davy Crocket grill is extremely impressive with its PID/WiFi controller for under $500.
To be able to get a pellet grill with a PID controller at that price point, I think really stands out. I discuss this more in my Traeger vs GMG pellet grills post. You may also want to check out my article on GMG error codes.
That’s it! Thanks for reading, I hope you found my summary on the range of GMG pellet grills/smokers interesting.
You can order the GMG pellet grills over at the BBQGuys.com where you can compare their features to the many other pellet grills/smokers they sell. If you would like to read more of my articles, please review my Wood Pellet Grill/Smoker Guide. 🙂
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