Pellet smokers and grills are becoming more popular every year. They’re probably the most convenient way to experience wood fire cooking, grilling, and smoking. But do you need more than wood pellets to make them work? Do pellet grills require electricity or some other power source in order to operate?

Wood pellet smokers and grills are fueled with wood pellets but require electricity to operate various components such as control panels, thermometers, augers, and fans. They can operate on standard 120 VAC power, gas generator, power station or from a power inverter connected to a car or boat battery.

How Pellet Grills Work

Wood pellet grills are as easy to operate as a regular kitchen oven. Provided the pellet hopper has enough pellets, you simply turn the unit on with the press or turn of a button, set the desired cooking temperature, and the auger will slowly move wood pellets to the firebox where they will ignite and burn. The smoke and heat will rise into the main chamber where the food is. Most pellet grills and smokers have at least one thermometer from which you can monitor your cooking temperatures.

How Many Watts Does a Pellet Grill Use?

The first few minutes is when the most power is needed. The small, metal igniter rod needs to get red hot in order to ignite the first few pellets that drop into the firebox. Approximately 300 watts is needed to accomplish this. Then only about 50 watts is needed thereafter to keep the fan, control panel, and auger running. The burning pellets do most of the work.

How Many Amps Does a Pellet Grill Use?

You’ll need to refer to the owner’s manual of your particular make and model, but using Traeger Grills as an example, they use about 4 Amps for the first 4 minutes, then down to 1.5 Amps for the remainder of the cooking process.

Power Inverters For Pellet Grills and Smokers

If you don’t have access to regular power or you’re out camping, you can use a power inverter. Power inverters convert direct current (DC), the power that comes from a car battery, into alternating current (AC), the kind of power needed to power electronics.

Here are links to a few different kinds of power inverters:

Portable Power Stations for Pellet Grills

If a car, truck, RV or boat battery isn’t an option, or just too far away from your grill, how about a portable power station? Portable power has come a long way. We’re no longer limited to loud gas generators turning a tranquil campout into a noisy excursion with trees.

Today’s portable options allow you to use, collect and store power for later and do it quietly.

Heavy duty power stations with solar recharging capability offer amazing flexibility and unlimited backup power. Today’s portable power stations can power almost anything from a phone or laptop to a fridge or yes, even a pellet grill.

Goal Zero, one of the leaders in portable power stations, moved away from using heavy lead-acid batteries in 2017 to lighter lithium power cells. This means longer lasting power at about half the weight. Check out the latest prices and availability here.

Pellet Grill Temperature Fluctuations

One of the differences between a pellet grill and a gas or electric grill is maintaining consistent temperatures during the cooking process.

Gas and electric grills offer more steady power output and therefore can maintain very consistent temperatures from start to finish. Pellet grills operate a bit differently. Wood pellets are drip fed from a hopper into a firebox with the help of an electronically controlled auger. They fall in little bits at a time and not in a consistent, steady stream. The more pellets that fall in, the hotter the grill gets. The fewer pellets, the cooler. This slightly inconsistent pellet feeding leads to temperature fluctuations similar to cooking on a campfire. It’s not a bad thing. It just is what it is.

Wood Pellet Grills vs Gas, Charcoal or Electric Grills

Every cooking method offers its own nuance, pros, cons, and flavor profiles. Many of us meat eaters prefer the clean taste of wood-fired cooking and smoking. Pellet grills and smokers offer all the flavor combined with the convenience and versatility that most other methods lack.

Charcoal barbecuing requires zero electricity but does involve a long, messy startup process. The charcoal briquettes need to be stacked up and dowsed with lighter fluid. Then it’s a waiting game for all the briquettes to become evenly hot and grilling temperature ready. You might also get some of that lighter fluid flavor in your food. It’s up to you if that’s what you’re comfortable with.

Gas Grilling

Gas grills are popular for a number of reasons. The grills themselves range from very affordable to extreme with countless variations, colors, and options. They can be portable camp units or elaborate built-in island models for that backyard everyone wants to gather in. Most grills don’t require electricity but have an electric starter of some sort typically battery powered. A match or lighter can also be used to get the fire started.

With a gas grill, you’ll obviously need gas either from a connection or by way of refillable gas tanks. Most people opt for the propane tanks and just refill as needed. Propane prices will vary from place to place and time of year. A downside to a small gas tank is not always knowing how much you have left. Few things are more frustrating than getting halfway through cooking up some well-marbled beef ribs only to have the flame go out when you’re not looking. Worse yet is to not have a backup tank ready to go in such cases.  

Electric Grills

Electric grills clearly require electricity but have the advantage of coming to life immediately, are clean burning and can be used indoors or out. Makes and models range from tabletop to free-standing, simple to complex. Check out the latest deals and discounts here.

The downsides to electric grills are that they can be expensive for what you get, could be harder to clean, and don’t offer the smoky barbecue flavors inherent to wood-fired cooking.

Pellet grill cooking offers pure hardwood flavor without any lighter fluid aftertaste, simple controls, and relatively quick startup times. You can look through a window or lift the hopper lid to see exactly how many pellets you have left. And with the indirect convection-style cooking, you don’t have to hover over the grill moving or flipping food around to prevent under or over-cooking.

Wood pellet grills and smokers do require electricity but can get that power from standard electrical outlets, car or boat batteries with a power inverter, or even portable power stations and by extension solar power. You can enjoy wonderful smokey, wood-fired cooking at home, at the park, miles into the backwoods, or the flat open high desert country. Pellet smokers and grills have come a long way. Check out the latest pellet grills and smokers here.