I’ve previously written an article on the benefits of using insulated blankets on pellet grills/smokers not only to reduce pellet consumption but also to produce better BBQ when trying to cook during the colder winter weather. However, insulated blankets are by no means ideal. A decent insulated blanket will often cost in the region of $100 (maybe more). Putting them on/taking them off and keeping them clean may end up getting boring. The alternative is to choose a pellet grill that is insulated. Hence it features twin-wall construction. So which pellet grills feature twin-wall insulated construction?
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Introduction To Insulated/Twin-Wall Pellet Grills/Smokers
Below I’m going to reference several pellet grills I’m aware of that feature twin-wall insulated construction, starting from the most affordable models up to premium models.
In reality though, once you get up to premium models, most of them feature twin-wall construction, as you would probably expect.
As the pellet grill/smoker market is changing so rapidly of late with new models and model updates, there may be some twin-wall insulated pellet grills I’ve missed. However, I’ll try and keep this post updated.
Thicker Steel VS Twin-Wall Construction
Most pellet grills today are made from a single wall of steel. This is particularly true at the budget end of the market.
Making a pellet grill cooking chamber from a single wall of steel is cheaper to manufacture, hence why many pellet grills are made this way.
The problem is heat will easily escape through thin single-wall steel and cold can easily get in too. Now, you also have pellet grills from Yoder and Boil King, which are single-wall.
However, they use a thicker grade of steel. Hence, they can hold heat in better and do a better job of keeping the cold outside temperatures at bay.
Now, there are a couple of problems with thick single-wall steel as a means to keep heat in and cold out. First off, a thick single wall does not actually provide any better insulation than a thin single wall.
It just takes longer for the heat to escape or for the cold to penetrate into the cooking chamber from outside.
This delay of heat escaping or cold entering means that while cooking performance is increased, pellet usage may still be higher when compared to a pellet grill with twin-wall construction.
Basically, using thicker steel as opposed to thinner steel provides more thermal mass.
While providing more thermal mass provides the benefits of heat retention, it also takes more time to heat up that mass to temperature.
Hence, it will take longer to get a pellet grill up to temperature, which is made from thicker steel.
Advocates of pellet grills or any grill made from a single wall of heavy gauge steel will state they will also last longer as it will take longer for corrosion/rust to penetrate the cooking chamber.
This is true, but then again, it all depends on the materials used. A thin wall of stainless steel will likely last longer than a thick wall of carbon steel if not properly maintained (paint failure).
Therefore, I personally prefer designs of pellet grills that use two thin layers of steel with insulation (or an air gap) as opposed to a single layer of heavy gauge steel.
It also means only a small increase in weight over a thin single-wall pellet grill.
A pellet grill made from heavy gauge steel increases the haulage costs, which the customer ultimately pays for.
Also, if you don’t want to store your pellet grill outside, its a lot easier to move a lighter pellet grill around between your backyard and a garage/shed.
Most Vertical Pellet Smokers Are Twin/Double Wall Insulated
So when I started to write this post, my main intention was to discuss which pellet grills feature twin/double-wall construction.
However, I should also draw your attention to the fact that pretty much every vertical pellet smoker I can think of also features twin/double-wall construction.
I’ve previously written a post on horizontal vs vertical pellet smokers where I discuss that, in quite a few cases, I think a vertical pellet smoker may be many people’s best option.
The fact that pretty much all vertical pellet smokers are twin/double wall insulated strengthens that argument.
Really a vertical pellet smoker is probably going to be the cheapest option you have to benefit from twin-wall insulated construction.
Budget – Cuisinart Pellet Grills With Insulated Lids
Outside of vertical pellet smokers, the cheapest example of a horizontal pellet grill/smoker I can think of with any insulated features is the Woodcreek and Twin Oaks from Cuisinart.
Now only the lids on these Cuisinart pellet grills are insulated, but at this price point ($500-600), that’s still better than the competition.
The stainless steel outer covering, the viewing window and the analogue temperature gauge, along with the fact they are insulated (with a perimeter gasket), make the lids the best feature of these Cuisinart pellet grills. I discuss this more in my Pit Boss vs Cuisinart article.
- Total Cooking Area = 862 sq.in (648 sq.in at the main grate)
- Pellet Hopper Capacity = 30 lbs
- Temperature Range = 180 to 500 degrees
- Direct-Flame Access? = No
- PID Temperature Control? = No
- WiFi/App Control? = No (Bluetooth)
- Typical Price = $499
Mid-Range – Grilla Grills Twin-Wall Combustion Zone
In the mid-range of the market, there are Grilla Grills. Now, where the Cuisinart above has an insulated lid but no twin-wall around the combustion zone, Grilla Grills have gone the opposite route.
While the lid/upper sides of the cooking chamber are not made from twin-wall, the lower half (the combustion zone) is twin/double-wall construction.
I’ve included a quick 3-minute video from Grilla Grills explaining its benefits and demonstrating how its quite effective at keeping the heat in.
The Grilla Grills Silverbac is available with either a lower cabinet or with an all-terrain cart, as you can see in the image below. There is also a built-in version of the Silverbac for outdoor kitchen setups.
- Total Cooking Area = 692 sq.in (507 sq.in at the main grate)
- Pellet Hopper Capacity = 20 lbs
- Temperature Range = 180 to 500 degrees
- Direct-Flame Access? = No
- PID Temperature Control? = Yes
- WiFi/App Control? = Yes
- Typical Price = $849 (Bult-in), $899 or $1,099 (AT)
Premium – Weber SmokeFire Double Side Walls
Both the Weber SmokeFire EX4 and larger EX6 feature double sidewall construction. However, the lid is not insulated, and neither is it insulated underneath the combustion zone.
Its good to see Weber incorporating double-wall insulated construction into their design
However, as I discuss in my Weber vs Traeger and Weber vs Camp Chef articles, SmokeFire models are excellent pellet grills, but as pellet smokers, there can be problems.
- Total Cooking Area = 672 sq.in (EX4) or 1,008 sq.in (EX6)
- Pellet Hopper Capacity = 22 lbs
- Temperature Range = 180 to 500 degrees (650+ Direct Flame)
- Direct-Flame Access? = Yes
- PID Temperature Control? = Yes
- WiFi/App Control? = Yes
- Typical Price = $999 (EX4) or $1,299 (EX6)
Luxury – Traeger Timberline Gen 2 Twin Wall Construction
Its only with their current generation of pellet grills that Traeger has started to introduce twin-wall construction.
However, not all of Traeger’s pellet grills feature twin-wall, some feature a bit of twin-wall, and some models feature full-twin wall construction.
None of their portable pellet grills, such as the Tailgater or the Scout/Ranger, feature twin-wall construction. Neither do either the Gen 1 or Gen 2 Pro Series.
The Ironwood features twin-wall construction on its sidewalls but nowhere else. However, the Traeger Timberline Gen 1 and the Timberline Gen 2 have full interior twin-wall construction with a stainless steel interior wall.
- Total Cooking Area = 880 sq.in (Timberline) or 1,320 sq.in (Timberline XL)
- Pellet Hopper Capacity = 22 lbs
- Temperature Range = 180 to 500 degrees
- Direct-Flame Access? = No
- PID Temperature Control? = Yes
- WiFi/App Control? = Yes
- Typical Price = $3,499 (Timberline), $3,799 (Timberline XL)
Conclusions On Insulated (Twin-Wall) Pellet Grills/Smokers
I’m not suggesting you only choose a pellet grill if it features twin-wall insulated construction.
What I’m implying is if you want to continue to use your pellet grill/smoker during the colder months of the year and you don’t want to play around with an insulated blanket, you should definitely consider a pellet grill/smoker with at least some twin-wall construction.
That’s it! Thanks for reading, I hope you found this article on pellet grills/smokers that feature twin/double-wall construction interesting/useful.
There are links above to my articles which discuss each of the specific brands/models in more detail. Alternatively, please check out my Wood Pellet Grill/Smoker Guide. 🙂
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