Flagship 1100 ordered

[Griswold]

Hi Everyone, central Iowa guy here. Just bought an 1100. I see it says it'll hold about 40lbs of pellets. Any ballpark ideas on what to expect for total run times at likely temperatures? I'll probably use it as a smoker half the time and a grill the rest. 250-275 degrees, how long will 40lbs of your average hardwood pellets last? 400 degrees same question?

Thanks, look forward to getting smarter, never owned a pellet grill before, but I'm tired of my little electric smoker and it's limitations. Got a weber genesis grill and a blackstone otherwise, time to have a decent smoker. I'll be starting out with Lumberjack pellets as they're easily available near me.

 

[Gonefishin]

Welcome to the forum

At low temps I’d guess 1 - 1.5 lbs an hour, my little 340 uses a little under a pound.

I wish Lumberjack was easy to find here.

 

[Greg Jones]

You will never have a cook that takes more than 40# of pellets, assuming that was your real question. I’ve never run out of pellets during a cook with a 20# hopper.

 

[Jim6820]

What @Greg Jones and @padlin00 said above. And, welcome to the forum; lots of good folks here with a wealth of grilling and smoking experience that they are willing to share.

 

[Griswold]

You will never have a cook that takes more than 40# of pellets, assuming that was your real question. I’ve never run out of pellets during a cook with a 20# hopper.

That's good. I just meant more of a long term thing. How many total hours can I expect out of a 40lb full hopper, aka how many pellets do I plan to keep on hand versus how much I plan to cook in a year. I'm out in the country and I like the idea of sealing up some pellets in buckets or something so I'm not running to the store for pellets all the time.

 

[Greg Jones]

That's good. I just meant more of a long term thing. How many total hours can I expect out of a 40lb full hopper, aka how many pellets do I plan to keep on hand versus how much I plan to cook in a year. I'm out in the country and I like the idea of sealing up some pellets in buckets or something so I'm not running to the store for pellets all the time.

I’ve had over 2,000# of pellets in ‘inventory’ at times. I didn’t even buy any pellets in 2023 and I think I still have over 400#. Buy enough to get by for starters, then decide how much you like pellet cooking and if you have a strong preference for a particular brand/flavor of pellets. If you decide pellet grill cooking is not for you, the small investment you have in pellets will be the least of your worries! BTW, welcome to the forum!

 

[Jim6820]

As @Greg Jones said, buy enough pellets to get started. Check local suppliers for what brands and wood types they have in stock; it is always a lot easier—and, usually cheaper—to shop locally. And, look for sales on pellets.

Try some different brands and wood types at the start and go with what you like. I have a preference for Hickory pellets and Bear Mountain brand is available from a supplier near me, so I buy them when they have a sale. Usually, I have 10-15 bags of pellets on hand at any one time and start looking to restock when I get down to a half dozen bags or so.

 

[Griswold]

I’ve had over 2,000# of pellets in ‘inventory’ at times. I didn’t even buy any pellets in 2023 and I think I still have over 400#. Buy enough to get by for starters, then decide how much you like pellet cooking and if you have a strong preference for a particular brand/flavor of pellets. If you decide pellet grill cooking is not for you, the small investment you have in pellets will be the least of your worries! BTW, welcome to the forum!

It sure better be because I just dropped around $1400 on cooking meat

Got a smoke tube coming, and I'll be darned if I can't improve on the lack of smoke ring that my little Electric with wood chip box can do.

 

[RattleR]

As @Greg Jones said, buy enough pellets to get started. Check local suppliers for what brands and wood types they have in stock; it is always a lot easier—and, usually cheaper—to shop locally. And, look for sales on pellets.

Try some different brands and wood types at the start and go with what you like. I have a preference for Hickory pellets and Bear Mountain brand is available from a supplier near me, so I buy them when they have a sale. Usually, I have 10-15 bags of pellets on hand at any one time and start looking to restock when I get down to a half dozen bags or so.

I’m feeling small here. I bought two 40 lbs. when I got my Bull, based on my cooks they lasted a while. Burn in, thighs then shoulder, ribs, yada, yada. I find it to be very easy on pellets from 275 and lower. I am close to stores but 40 to 80 pounds at a time. Space, moisture, etc. Which reminds me I need to go get some more Hickory BM this wet weekend.

Welcome to the forum and as @Jim6820 said lots of folks willing to help with your cooks and adviise.

PSA: we or um, well um, There is help with your expenditures, you know, things you need, you never knew you needed, knives, gadgets, just sayin

 

[sherpa]

Hi Everyone, central Iowa guy here. Just bought an 1100. I see it says it'll hold about 40lbs of pellets. Any ballpark ideas on what to expect for total run times at likely temperatures? I'll probably use it as a smoker half the time and a grill the rest. 250-275 degrees, how long will 40lbs of your average hardwood pellets last? 400 degrees same question?

Thanks, look forward to getting smarter, never owned a pellet grill before, but I'm tired of my little electric smoker and it's limitations. Got a weber genesis grill and a blackstone otherwise, time to have a decent smoker. I'll be starting out with Lumberjack pellets as they're easily available near me.

Between 15 (conservative) to 40 hours would be my guess depending on what temp you are cooking at. Regardless, even if we go with the lowest number of 15 hours, you are probably not going to leave it unattended for that long anyway, so, I wouldn't worry about running out of pellets.

 

[Griswold]

Between 15 (conservative) to 40 hours would be my guess depending on what temp you are cooking at. Regardless, even if we go with the lowest number of 15 hours, you are probably not going to leave it unattended for that long anyway, so, I wouldn't worry about running out of pellets.

This is basically what I was wondering. I'll very rarely cook long enough at one time to even worry about it, but my brain goes more toward how much of an inventory of pellets am I going to try and keep on hand at any given time? Think I'll try and start with 100-200lbs sealed in buckets from what I'm gathering that'll be the majority of a year how I will probably cook. We don't smoke food real often at the moment but I think that's partly because I'm not overly impressed with the small electric I've got anymore. Figure part of the gain in performance may cause us to cook this way more often.

 

[Waterboy]

We don't smoke food real often at the moment but I think that's partly because I'm not overly impressed with the small electric I've got anymore. Figure part of the gain in performance may cause us to cook this way more often.

My guess is you will cook a lot more on the smoker once you get started but 200 lbs is a good amount to start with.