We decided to compare two of the top pellet grill brands available to find the best brand out there. Of the two brands we compared, these are the top Camp Chef and Z Grills pellet grills to buy in 2021:
- Best Overall: Z Grills 1000E
- Best Camp Chef Pellet Grill: Camp Chef XT 24
- Best Z Grills Pellet Grill: Z Grills 1000E
Model Comparisons Of These Popular Pellet Grills
You can leave the comparisons to us and the task of finding the best so that it’s neatly presented to you, like that grilled burger you’ve been fantasizing about since the first shred of heat popped onto the scene.
Time to Compare the Best Pellet Grills and Smokers.
Camp Chef SmokePro XT 24 vs Z Grills 7002B
In this comparison, both pellet grills are very close in terms of what you’ll get for your money.
With almost identical extra features, construction, hopper size the only thing that gives the 7002B and edge would be that you get more cooking area for a better price.
This one goes to Z Grills.
Camp Chef XXL WiFi Vertical Smoker vs. Z Grills 1000E
In this comparison, we are doing something we really shouldn’t, comparing two very different types of smokers.
That said, when looking side by side the units are still very similar with the features they offer.
The Camp Chef Vertical Smoker clearly wins when it comes to cooking area and capacity. However, when looking at Z Grills the cooking area is about half of what you get with Camp Chef.
Now, here’s where it becomes an unfair advantage to Z Grills.
With the 1000E you have the option to smoke slow and low just like the vertical smoker. However, you can also grill at higher temperatures – something you can’t do with the vertical smoker.
The flexibility of the 8-in-1 cooking options ensures Z Grills walks away as the winner.
Camp Chef SmokPro XT 24 Pellet Grill – What You Need To Know
Features To Consider
- $560.00 price point
- The overall weight of 133 lbs and height of 42 inches
- Easy to use menu dial with its high-visibility, low-glare display
- 570 square inches of cooking area
- Hopper capacity of 18 lbs
- Adjustable smoke settings
- Temperature range between 160 F to 500 F
- Ash cleanout tray, a grease management system
- Three-year warranty
Your first delectable grill is the XT 24 Pellet Grill, a part of Camp Chef’s SmokePro line. that stands at the $560.00 price point, and though that might seem like a large chunk of money to grill some cold cuts, it is worth the value for money.
You can expect to set the machine up in a matter of minutes, and though it appears subtle and light by design, it is commonly assured to have a sturdy build and is heavy-duty. As a result, camp Chef has many rave reviews of this product. The pellet grill is perfect for all-sized backyards, from your run of the mill to your courtyards, making its design second to none.
With an overall weight of 133 lbs and height of 42 inches, it makes this wood pellet grill smoker a highly portable machine, in case you fancy taking it on vacation with you or you intend to move homes.
But what is most sleek about the design of this pellet grill is the easy-to-use menu dial with its high-visibility, low-glare display for those exceptionally bright days in the backyard.
An upgrade for those among you who own the Camp Chef Smoke Pro, the next generation of pellet grill has arrived, and by gum, it’s smokier.
The meat smoker also comes with a meat probe and is side attachment compatible.
Now to the part you want to get your teeth into, how the cooking process works and what you can expect from the XT 24 Pellet Grill. It’s easiest to begin with, the dimensions you’ll be working with.
The upper rack is 141 square inches, and the lower rack is 429 square inches, which retrospectively is a lot of room for the grilling, a whopping 570 square inches, meaning you, your friends, and your family will have great food all summer long.
Now that you’ve decided to move on from a gas or charcoal grill, you’ll be interested in the hopper, which, despite its ambiguous name, stores the pellets you’ll be using to smoke those sausages you’ve had your eye on for a while. The XT 24 Pellet Grill has a hopper capacity of 18 lbs. The pellet grills ensure that there is a benefit to switching over from traditional barbecues.
Here’s why. LIKE MOST OTHER PELLET GRILLS, the XT 24 Pellet Grill offers precision temperature control, meaning less hassle when it comes to checking the rareness of your meats. The PID of the XT 24 controls the temperature you wish to cook at, whether this is for long, slow-cooked delicacies, smoked delectables, or fast-seared delights.
With adjustable smoke settings, 1 to 10, and an adjustable temperature range between 1600F to 5000F. There isn’t much the XT 24 can’t achieve. Though you will be delighted to know that the level of heat is indirect, so less chance of over-cooking, or worse, charring the meat to within an inch of its life.
Not only this, but unlike traditional barbecues, the pellets selected to control the flavor of the smoke infusing your meat, meaning that there is a wide range of variants for you to try, resulting in more time spent with you and your grill. As that’s the love affair of your life, and we all know it.
Cleaning & Maintenance
Traditional barbecues are challenging to clean. Unfortunately, that usually results in it being unused and becoming a living relic to the fun times you once had, as it decays in the corner of your backyard. However, that doesn’t need to be the fate of your next grill, especially with what the XT 24 is capable of.
The XT 24 has an ash cleanout tray, a grease management system, and a cord management system, making the process of cleaning this pellet grill a relatively easy job. This means less fun being interrupted, especially when all you would rather do after eating is sit back with a cold one or a glass of rose.
Which, in most people’s books, makes the XT 24 Pellet Grill and Smoker one of the best pellet grills on the market.
Not only this, but you can be looking at a three-year warranty, leaving a lot of room to take the pellet Grill and Smoker for a lengthy test cook.
By all accounts, a grilling and smoking machine, but let’s take a look at what three other grills and smokers have to offer you.
Camp Chef XXL WiFi Vertical Smoker – The Inner Workings Of This Smoking Machine
Features To Consider
- $680.00 price point
- 55 inches in height and 144 lbs in weight
- Easy to use menu dial with its high-visibility, low-glare display
- Eight rack cooking area of 2408 square inches
- PID temperature control
- Adjustable smoke settings
- Temperature range between 150 F to 350 F
- Ash cleanout tray, a grease management system
- Three-year warranty
The XXL WiFi Vertical Smoker is the design of all grillers and smokers’ dreams, and not just because it resembles Homer Simpson’s iconic beehive smoker that drove the people of Springfield into a meat frenzy.
At the price point of $680.00, is the Camp Chef’s Electric Vertical Smoker worth the value for money?
The smoking and grilling capacity of 55 inches in height and 144 lbs in weight sky-rockets the grill into the stratosphere. With its eight-rack cooking area of 2408 square inches, there isn’t much this heavy-duty vertical smoker can’t achieve. Moreover, with its matte black aesthetic, it’s the perfect smoker for you.
The Vertical Smoker comes with four standard smoking racks, three jerky smoking racks, and one hanging rack with 12 sausage hooks, and that sounds like one hell of a cookout. Along with two meat probes to make sure the meat is smoked and cooked to your taste, after all, not all traditions should go up in smoke.
The XXL WiFi Vertical Smoker comes with an easy-to-use menu dial that’s a high-visibility, low-glare display—making for ease of use when the sun just won’t quit.
It should go-a-miss that the Camp Chef Vertical Cooker also has an easy-to-use smoke range, from 1 to 10, and a temperature range between 1500F and 3500F, giving you time to get the meat tender and just right.
Welcome to the future, or at least, that’s what the XXL Vertical Cooker would say when it arrives at your front door. With its PID temperature control and being Camp Chef App compatible, the machine cooks your meat to your taste without you barely having to lift a finger. There isn’t much that you can’t do with Camp Chef’s Vertical Smoker.
The WiFi link also makes it possible that if for some reason you forgot the marinade at the store, you can keep an eye on your meat while you got to pick some up.
Related: Click here to find out which pellet grills have Wi-Fi technology to help make your cook easier.
Though there may be no need for additional herbs and spices, depending on the wood pellets you use to grill, whether that’s Alder Pellets, Apple Pellets, Cherry Pellets, Hickory, or Maple pellets, the decision is yours.
Note: Camp Chef has some great pellet flavors for your smoker.
Unlike grilling, smoking has a unique effect on the cooking of meats, and Camp Chef Vertical Smoker is a wizard at this. Smoking meat not only improves the taste but allows for a tenderness that you can’t find elsewhere. The smoke breaks down the collagen in the meat and creates an irresistible tenderness that the Vertical Smoker is a dab hand at.
Cleaning & Maintenance
Camp Chef’s XXL WiFi Vertical Smoker is the master of cleaning itself, and here’s how.
The ash cleanout system, smoke management technology, grease management technology, and pellet hopper/cleanout purge aid the Vertical Smoker in becoming the best smoker you have ever owned.
There needn’t be excessive time lent to cleaning and scrubbing down surfaces, especially when there are better things to fill your time with, and the XXL Vertical Smoker does this from the Camp Chef app on your phone or from the menu dial on the machine itself.
Yet again, Camp Chef offers a three-year warranty and that allows you to continue smoking and tasting delicious food without the fear of your Vertical Smoker failing on you. After all, a three-year warranty shows what Camp Chef expects from their products and their promise in giving you your value for money.
Camp Chef XT 24 Pellet Grill VS Camp Chef XXL WiFi Vertical Smoker
It’s best, especially when two grills and smokers come from the same company, to inspect the value for money and if one is worth more than the other to you. This can be a challenging task, but here’s a breakdown, point by point, of what you have read.
The first difference is that one is a grill and the other a smoker; though the XT 24 can smoke your meats, will it beat out the Vertical Smoker built for such a task?
Price: The XT 24 is valued at $560.00 and the XXL Vertical Smoker at $680.00.
Cooking Area: The XT 24 is a whopping 570 square inches, compared to the XXL Vertical Smoke’s 2408 square inches.
Hopper Capacity: The XT 24 is 18lbs, and the XXL Vertical Smoker is 18 lbs, so there isn’t anything to compare here.
Temperature Range: The XT 24 has a range of 1600F to 5000F, compared to the XXL Vertical Smokers range of 1500F to 3500F. This is a difference between smokers and grills and depends on what best fits your cooking style.
In comparison, there is no clear winner of the two grills and smokers, as the two offer different things. For example, the first gives you a combination of smoking and grilling, whereas the second shows you only smoking.
Though by design alone, the XXL Vertical Smoker wins in aesthetic and technology, as well as square inches. The XT 24 Pellet Grill looks like any traditional barbecue, and in many respects, acts as one too, with its PID system.
It wouldn’t be fair to compare two Camp Chef’s together without first examining what Z Grills offers in direct competition.
The Z Grills 7002B Pro – The Grilling, Smoking Combo
Features To Consider
- $519.00 price tag.
- 8-in-1 grill and smoker
- Precise temperature control
- Cooking area of 694 square inches
- 20lb Hopper Capacity
- Adjustable smoke settings
- Temperature range between 180 F to 450 F
- Easy-drain grease system
- Three-year warranty
It can be challenging to choose the right smoker for you, and considering the range out there, from electric, gas, and wood pellets, it can feel like the heavy-duty machine of your summer dreams and is almost impossible to find.
Z Grills 7002B Pro is efficient and is the epitome of value for money, with its $519.00 price tag.
What you can expect from the 2021 upgrade model of the 8-in-1 grill and smoker.
Wood pellet grills reform the way you cook in your backyards, removing the labor-intensive aspects of stoking coals and having to carefully watch the grill and smoker to know that it’s in capable hands. Thankfully the stress has been taken out of summer fun, and you can let your 7002B Pro handle all of the work.
One of the key qualities of the upgrade model is that it’s perfect for large families and friendship groups, cooking 29 burgers, six rib racks, and five whole chickens, which is a heck of a lot of meat all cooked to how you like it.
With an overall cooking area of 694 square inches, there isn’t much this smoker-grill combo can’t achieve, except maybe mowing the lawn for you.
The top rack of the cooking area is 190 square feet, and the main cooking area is 504 square inches.
Like other pellet grills, the 7002B Pro has a precise temperature control with a temperature range between 1800F and 4500F; the ease of use for Z Grills 2021 upgrade of the 700 series is a thing of beauty.
All you have to do is load the wood pellets you have chosen into the auger-feeder, and the smart grill will do the rest for you—no need for the igniting process to take up any of your time. With the 7002B Pro having a 20 lb hopper storage, you’re good to go for numerous cookouts.
With a width of 22 inches, a height of 51 inches, and 48 inches, the 7002B Pro is the best griller and smoker, even for smaller backyards.
This is all down to the grill’s design -smoker, being heavy-duty and solidly built means that there can be more space for the good stuff without compromising on the technology that has been one of Z Grill’s top qualities.
It also comes with a three-year warranty.
Cleaning & Maintenance
Z Grills 7002B Pro is an easy-to-clean piece of machinery, and that means when all the food has been vacuumed up and the beers are plentiful, you won’t need to step away from the fun to keep your 7002B Pro from rusting.
The machine comes with a rain protector so that the upgraded 700 series stays clean and looks as good as new, even after a few months of downpour.
Along with an easy-drain grease system and porcelain-coated wire cooking grid to ensure your time is not consumed with maintaining the Pro grill and smoker for any longer than you have to. After all, grilling and smoking is something you do for fun, a passion in most senses, so the cleaning process should pay homage.
The 7002B Pro is easily cleaned, making it one of the best grills and smokers on the market today.
Z Grills 1000E – The Monster Griller
Features To Consider
- $849.00 price point.
- 8-in-1 grill and smoker
- Digital display control
- Cooking area of 1056 square inches
- 20lb Hopper Capacity
- Adjustable smoke settings
- Temperature range between 180 F to 450 F
- Ash cleanout system
- Three-year warranty
If you’re looking for something that puts the wow into grilling, then the 1000E model is what you’re after.
This colossal, heavy-duty machine is something of beauty, with its stainless steel lid, which gives it the ability to resist corrosion, retains heat, and offers durability. The base of the 1000E has a convenient storage compartment for your utensils and is on wheels, so you can roll around your backyard to see where it fits best.
The Z Grills 1000E is at the $849.00 price point, making it one of the more expensive grillers in the Z Grills range, but do you get value for money from it?
Being able to fit 43 burgers, nine rib racks, and seven whole chickens, you’ll be feeding the entire neighborhood the entire summer, if that’s what you wanted to do. The 1000E grill has been made to make your life easier.
This is also apparent with the digital display where you can set your temperature, and the 1000E has a temperature range between 1800F to 4500F, allowing you to take it easy during those hot summer nights.
Here are the eight cooking styles, searing meat, smoking it, barbecuing, baking, roasting, chargrill, braise, and grill; there isn’t anything the 1000E can do for you.
With the overall cooking surface being at 1056 square inches, there isn’t much that the three-layer pellet grill can’t do. The top rack is 254 square inches, the second rack is 374 square inches, and the main cooking area is 428 square inches.
The hopper capacity on Z Grills 1000E is a whopping 20lbs, and that means you don’t have to find extra storage space around the house for large bags of wood pellets.
The 1000E comes with a rain cover for those winter months and a pair of assembly gloves to make the process of putting together your grill safer. Unfortunately, due to the Z Grills 1000E size, it is shipped in two boxes. Though this isn’t something to grumble over, give the kids something extra to play within the backyard.
Cleaning & Maintenance
The Z Grills 1000E has an ash cleanout system where you pull a lever and dump the ash into a tray that can then be disposed of.
Leaving more time for you to enjoy the summer, food, and the company you’re in.
The Z Grills 7002B Pro VS The Z Grills 1000E
With Z Grills offering an answer to your smoking and grilling needs, it is not shocking that to decide between the two would be difficult.
Though, it doesn’t have to be.
It should always fit your needs and wants; after all, you’ll be the one cooking for the rest of your family and friends, and so your grill should feel like an extension of you, and Z Grills have mastered that synergy.
Especially with the added assurance of a three-year warranty for both the grills and smokers.
Price: The 7002B Pro costs $519.00 compared to the $849.00 price of the 1000E.
Square Inches: 694 square inches make up the cooking area of the 7002B Pro, and 1056 square inches make up the total cooking surface area of the 1000E.
Hopper Capacity: Both of the Z Grills under comparison have 20lb of storage.
Temperature Range: The 7002B Pro and the 1000E have a range of 1800F to 4500F.
Both grills and smokers offer the user many brilliant features like baking and searing inside the pellet grill. In addition, they provide enough space to cook numerous whole chickens, alongside vegetables and other meats.
With both designs offering a user-friendly experience, however, the real difference between the 7002B Pro and the 1000E is how easily the heavy-duty machines are cleaned. On that premise, the 7002B Pro would win every time.
Z Grills VS Camp Chef An Overview
With Camp Chef and Z Grills both having excellent grills and smokers to offer, it can be not easy to decide which is best for you. But there are ways to narrow down your list of possibilities by having all of the key features listed for you in one easy-to-find spot.
So, here it is.
Where is each Pellet Grill Made?
Camp Chef is located in the beautiful surroundings of Cache Valley, Utah, and as a result, build their grills and smokers with their business home in mind.
Z Grills are manufactured in China, and though the brand sports the label ‘Proud American Brand,’ it is critical to note that this is because Z Grills are a natural evolution of global trade. Who outsource their production to China.
The Cost of Camp Chef and Z Grills top models?
Camp Chef can range between the $300 mark to over $2000; this depends on what you want from your grill and smoker. However, this does not decrease the craftsmanship of what you receive.
Z Grills are slightly less expensive as a whole and settle between $400 and $900, and this is possible as they manufacture their grills and smokers in China, meaning the cost of material is lower than in the States.
What Are The Best Features Of Each Smoker?
As mentioned before, this is entirely dependent on what it is you’re personally looking for, though here is a rundown of the best features of the Camp Chef XT 24, Camp Chef XXL WiFi Vertical Heater, Z Grills 7002B Pro, and Z Grills 1000E.
XT 24: PID controller for precision temperatures, easy-to-use menu dial, smoke gage, and cleanout systems.
XXL Vertical Heater: Camp Chef Connect app compatible, including specified racks and hooks for meat, clean out systems, especially the hopper purge. It’s eight rack cooking area at a whopping 2408 square inches.
7002B Pro: All-terrain wheels for ease of transport, 20lb of hopper storage, 8-in-1 versatility smoke, steel construction for durability and temperature control.
1000E: 8-in-1 cooking, three levels of cooking surface, and a total of 1056 square inches of cooking area. Digital temperature control and a ‘set&forget’ feature and the convection heating process to cook the food evenly.
Which Pellet Grill Is Better For Portability?
Z Grills 7002B is the best, especially if your family enjoys the outdoors a lot and are fans of going to the nearest lake or expanse of open land; the 7002B is the grill for you.
Which Pellet Grill Has The Most Capacity?
Either of the Z Grills offers the largest capacity in comparison to the Camp Chefs.
Who Provides The Best Warranty?
Camp Chef and Z Grills offer a three-year warranty, which attests to the durability of their grills and smokers and their faith in their product.
Are Z Grills Any Good?
For the price range of the Z Grills, they offer a lot more than other brands with that price range; for instance, the temperature range offers cooks, like you, the ability to cook to a level you enjoy, as opposed to ones with lower temperature ranges.
Z Grills is a company that pays a lot of time and energy in creating a community for its customers, workers, and grills. And has been the originator of the wood pellet grill; Z Grills takes great pride in being a part of one of the leading culinary exports to grace many backyards and restaurants worldwide.
Their dedication to craftsmanship is world-renowned, and because of this, Z Grills have created a culture around food, and most importantly, around quality grilling and smoking.
Even their office headquarters center around the culture they have created for healthy, enjoyable, and delicious living, infused into their grills and smokers.
Are Camp Chef Pellet Grills Good?
Camp Chef is one of the leaders in the smoking and grilling game and offers its customers the same, if not more, than its competitors can, which gives Camp Chef its edge.
With a wide range of grills and smokers, with competitive and luxury prices, it is a homegrown company that is hard to beat. The grills are brilliantly made, and the craftsmanship is second to none.
You can expect consistent heat while using any grill from Camp Chef, as well as being portable yet powerful as well.
Camp Chef offers the perfect grill for all of your needs and more.
Here is a helpful article to look at what other people have said, who were in the same position as you.
Lastly, you might want to check out a few more comparisons if we didn’t convince you yet.
- Traeger vs Pit Boss Pellet Grills
- Traeger vs Z Grills Pellet Grills
- Pit Boss vs Z Grills Pellet Grills
Which Brand Is The Best For Smoking?
Z Grills are the best for smoking as they are the world leader and originator of wood pellet grills; they have perfected, over the years, the art of smoking meat, vegetable, and whatever else you might want to smoke inside of your Z Grill. For this reason alone, they are the grill that will smoke best for you, at the temperature you want, with the ability to cook numerous items all in one sitting.
The easy-clean systems of the Z Grills and the unbeatable value for money adds something to the smoking experience because you can feel at ease knowing there is no heft clean-up after you’re done eating.
The process of smoking for the Z Grills is what they were created and designed to do, and given the market for smoked meats, it is something they excel at.
No backyard would be complete without a Z Grill. The company understands the importance of making smokers as durable as possible. You can keep smoking for longer, so they offer protective gear, like raincoats for whichever grill you chose.
Also, with temperature range and precision control, they offer the perfect smoke every time.
This can be demonstrated by the thousands of reviews online, where customer after customer raves about their Z Grill. There are also numerous YouTube videos of people getting their grill and using it for the first time, resulting in nothing but gracious reviews.
We also had some time to compare Pit Boss Pellet Grills vs Z Grills Pellet Grills if you need more convincing.
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