Pellet Smoker vs Wood Smoker – Deciding On A Smoker For Your Next Barbecue

If you are considering buying a pellet smoker, it is important to understand the pellet smoker vs wood smoker debate. It’s a debate that rages between smoking enthusiasts, with no side prepared to concede to the other.

If you are looking for a smoker that will allow you to control the temperature precisely, then pellet smokers might be a better option. On the other hand, if you want your food to have strong smokey flavors without being too overpowering, then a good old-fashioned wood-smoker would probably suit your needs better.

With so many benefits of both designs, there isn’t much choice in what smoker design is best – it all depends on what features are most important to you!

Basic Differences Between A Pellet Smoker & A Wood Smoker

Wood smokers are less expensive, but pellet smokers give you more control. Wood-smokers typically have a large firebox at the bottom or side of the unit which is loaded with wood chips or chunks and burns for hours to provide smoke flavor.

Pellet smokers house a small hopper which you fill with pellets, that produce heat when they are ignited by an electric igniter. The pellets are fed into the burning chamber automatically from the hopper on top of the smoker, so there’s no need to load heavy wood chunks manually every few hours.

Wood-smokers take longer to bring the meat up to temperature than pellet smokers because pellet units can be turned off completely once food reaches desired internal temperature, or by setting a thermostat, the pellets will be added automatically to maintain temperature.

Pellet smokers are also more expensive than wood smokers, but pellet fuel can be cheaper than buying bags of charcoal or logs for a wood smoker.

Wood smokers win over pellet smokers in one way though. They typically are not powered by electricity, so can be used remotely where there is no power supply.

What Is A Pellet Smoker?

A pellet smoker is a type of smoker that uses compressed sawdust pellets to provide heat and smoke for the food. Pellet smokers are often used as a less expensive alternative to traditional smokers because they require less maintenance than traditional models which use wood or charcoal for fuel and produce soot in addition to smoke flavor.

Because of their small size, pellet smokers can be easily transported from place to place – making them ideal for tailgating, camping, and traveling, providing you have access to power.

How Does A Pellet Smoker Work?

Most pellet smokers are electric-powered, using a hot rod to ignite the pellets as they are introduced to the firebox by a screw-like auger.

Pellets are made from compressed sawdust and other wood wastes. When you start your pellet smoker, the igniter starts a fire in the burn pot. The pellets are then drawn up into the heat exchanger where they are heated to about 400-500 degrees Fahrenheit. As they heat, they ignite, creating heat and smoke.

Once the pellets are well alight, the hot rod turns off and pellets continue to be introduced to keep the temperature at the required level.

The great thing about pellet smokers is that there is very little ash produced so clean up is easy. There is very little waste. These units are designed to burn very efficiently, maintaining temperature is simple, most are thermostatically controlled.

What Is A Wood Smoker?

A ‘wood smoker’ is just a generic term for a smoker that uses wood as its source of fuel, as opposed to propane, pellets, or some other form of fuel. Wood smokers CAN use charcoal, and many people mix and match to suit their needs.

Wood smokers are fantastic if you appreciate a low and slow style of cooking. Brisket, pork butt, these meats will fall off the bone with a slow cook in a wood smoker.

Offset smokers and wood smokers, as are vertical smokers. If a smoker uses wood it is a wood smoker. A pellet smoker is a wood smoker due to the pellets being made of wood. But most people make the distinction between sawdust pellets and actual wood, whether wood chunks or chips.

How Does A Wood Smoker Work?

Wood smokers are very versatile and easy to use. They produce a consistent quality time and time again, without you needing to be a smoking expert. Maintaining temperature is one of the hardest things about smoking, and a wood-fired smoker makes this easy.

Wood smokers are also somewhat more forgiving than pellet smokers, your choice of wood size and type is not fixed. Some people like to use wood chips, which can be purchased from Amazon and other good outlets. These chips are available in a wide range of hardwoods, fruitwoods, and nut woods.

Some of the most popular types of wood to use in a wood smoker are apple, cherry, hickory, maple, and oak. Each type of wood has a unique flavor that will add to your food. Experiment with different types of woods to see what you like best. You can also mix different types of woods to create a custom flavor.

Alternatively, if you have access to firewood, you can split your own and use it in your smoker. Splitting into smaller sizes will allow your fire to establish more quickly. I like splitting into kindling size pieces.

Pellet Smoker vs Wood-Smoker: Which Is Better?

Deciding between pellet smokers and wood smokers is a tricky decision to make. Both have their benefits and limitations, as with almost all side-by-side comparisons of two styles of product.

Pellet smokers are generally smaller in size than vertical or offset wood smokers, and tend to be made of fairly lightweight materials. They are easy to move around, and simple to operate.

Ultimately, the decision has to be based on what type of smoking you want to do. Pellet smokers are relatively small, so cooking large amounts of meat will not be possible. They require a power source, and you will need a supply of pellets, there is no option to smoke if you run out.

Wood smokers are often large, especially the horizontal offset smokers, with the ability to smoke large amounts in one sitting. They are somewhat more cumbersome and harder to move around, but they do have the advantage of being a more traditional way of smoking.

Vertical smokers are wood or charcoal fuelled but have a much smaller cooking area, so look closely before making a purchase. If you like technology and simplicity of use and are only cooking small amounts, a pellet smoker will serve you well.

If you want to become a smoking expert, have large parties, or just smoke a lot of meat, a wood smoker is probably your best bet.

Pellet Vs Wood Smoker – Price Comparison

A pellet smoker is likely to cost you from $350 upwards, with ZGrills and Traeger pellet grills being two of the most popular brands. Masterbuilt electric smokers are also worth a look, they are one of the most popular smokers on the market, with good build quality and customer support.

Wood offset and vertical smokers typically start around $150, they can also be made at home. They are simpler in design, with little more than a firebox and a grilling area. People often make them out of a 55-gallon drum.

To Sum Up

This article has discussed in much detail the differences between pellet vs wood smokers. It’s a matter of preference, a choice to be made after you have given consideration not only to your immediate smoking requirements but to where you would like to be in 12 months and beyond. If you have any questions, observations, or comments, please leave them in the comments section below. We love to read your thoughts and real-life experiences.

Happy smoking folks!