Pellet efficiency

[fooj]

I'm new to pellet BBQing, and have owned my Traeger Select Pro for about a month. I'm loving the results; however, I can see that using the Traeger has the highest fuel costs of any type of cooking I will do (including using the kitchen oven, crock pot, gas grill, pressure cooking, etc.) With the Select Pro having such a large food capacity, I find myself making big batches of food at a time to "justify" the cost of running it. I'm trying to decide if the Select Pro is right for me compared to some other model of Traeger, and a factor in that decision may be fuel costs. My question is this -- how much does pellet usage vary given the same recipe, and the following factors:

Size/volume of grill -- assuming the same controller generation, will a smaller grill use proportionally fewer pellets on the same cooking assignment?
Controller technology -- how much more efficient is the new D2 digital controller on pellets compared to the old, click dial knob controllers (like on the Select Pro)?
Any other other factors affecting pellet efficiency?

 

[magoo40]

Retaining the heat in the grill should help, Sealing the lid in my grill made a big difference in stablizing the temp, it only fluctuates 2-3 degrees from the target temp during the cook. I figure that this must be optimizing the pellet use

 

[BobS]

Retaining the heat in the grill should help, Sealing the lid in my grill made a big difference in stablizing the temp, it only fluctuates 2-3 degrees from the target temp during the cook. I figure that this must be optimizing the pellet use

How did you seal your lid? Mine seems to sit very flush, but it is only 2 weeks old...

Has anyone seen a cart showing pellet usage / degree / hour / grill size? In attempting to manage my pellet inventory it would be nice knowing how much I have, to be able to predict how much I can expect to use for a given recipe knowing the time & temp.

 

[magoo40]

I used some BBQ / Smoker gasket I purchased on EBay, Amazon have something similar

 

[CampWhatnot]

How did you seal your lid? Mine seems to sit very flush, but it is only 2 weeks old...

Has anyone seen a cart showing pellet usage / degree / hour / grill size? In attempting to manage my pellet inventory it would be nice knowing how much I have, to be able to predict how much I can expect to use for a given recipe knowing the time & temp.

At 225 and depending on ambient outside temps and wind I would say 1 to 1.5# per hour. Up to 2# per hour in the cold of winter up here in Canada. We have only been down to -10c so will have a better idea once it really drops down. I will starting to use my blanket soon. I will report findings once it drops down and with blanket.

 

[BobS]

A better way to look at it may be a temperature differential, Grill temp to outside temp versus pellet usage per hour. Not taking outside temp into consideration in my 3 weeks of ownership I’ve seen:
5-6 lbs / hr @ 450 deg
2-3 lbs / hr @ 225 deg
1/2 lb / hr @ 180 deg

 

[EssWill]

Also, wind has a big affect on maintaining temp and corresponding burn-rate of the pellets. Think of it this way, if its 30 degrees outside but there is a 10mph wind, the "real feel" temperature is likely around 5 degrees. So, always do your best to shield your grill from wind while cooking and you'll have a better burn-through rate on your pellets.