Like so many, I am a 20+ year loyal to the “stick burning” smoker. But after downsizing, extensive research and wanting to get the “near same” result with less work and cleanup, I decided to give this pellet smoker a shot. I’ve only own it a short while but have smoke fish, pork, beef, chicken and veggies and I must say, I am very impressed with how well this pellet smoker cooks. I’m also using the 12” smoke tube which makes a huge difference. The build quality and even cooking is pretty impressive when compared to other pellet smokers in this price range. So far, I am happy with this purchase.
PROS: Shipped quickly and packed EXTREMELY well. Easy assembly with 2 people, esp. w own phillips and socket/box wrenches Initial fire flawless. First cook of London Broil and Salmon went well. Love the large hopper and huge cooking areas. Very solidly built, with thick steel all around.
CONS: Pellet Dump/Cleanout is more to the side than the bottom. You still need to vacuum out the extra pellets. If the dump was at the BOTTOM of the hopper, this wouldn't be a problem. Also, a power feed to spin the auger to deliver pellets would help speed startup and cleanup after shutdown.
BIGGEST ISSUE: WiFi is TERRIBLE. Very hard to connect. I'm not a computer guy, so there was no simple fix that I could find. Had to make a 2nd account for my home mesh system limited to 2.4Ghz just to connect to Zgrill. Even then the temps were different between the app and grill readout. Not sure which to believe. Can't adjust temps from my phone app (but can shut down grill remotely - so Yay??). Maybe the grills card is bad? Will try a long smoke and see if that maintains temps and reports correctly, but not hopeful...
SUMMARY: I owned a 550B and LOVED it, but upgraded to the 1000D4E for larger grill and mostly for the WiFi, but so far disappointed since WiFi isn't working well, and the app is USELESS. I'll keep cooking on it, but will likely rely on my own wireless thermometers to monitor temps for overnight smokes.
PLEASE hire someone who can write a functional app, and UPDATE YOUR WIFI FIRMWARE SO THE TEMPS ARE ACCURATE!!!!
We already had a zgrill, but it was 5 years old and we wanted to get a bigger and better one for my husband’s Father’s Day gift. My only complaint is it came the day after but our first meal was absolutely delicious
Love this smoker. Works great. Wi-Fi app never figured out. But I have temp probes and what not. Not worried about it. So far 2 smoke cycles and perfect results.