A Look at My New Country Smokers Traveler - Portable Electric Wood Pellet Grill

For my recent birthday, Anne completely surprised me with a Country Smokers Portable Electric Wood Pellet Grill. I guess she knew for a few years now I had been mentioning how I was wanting the little Traeger pellet grill www.traegergrills.com/pellet-...
Turns out, though, that particular grill has been discontinued, and prices for Traegers in Canada are quite high. So she purchased a similar Country Smokers CS150PPG, hoping I would like it, and so far, I do! countrysmokers.com/grills/CS1...
The Country Smokers model is 2/3rds the price but seems to work well enough. In the video, I give you a look at the inner workings, features, and demo the grill in action. I also test the power consumption cooking some streaks with a Jackery 1000 portable power box.
I'll come back after using it over the winter and give you a review on how it performed.
Related Links:
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[@LoveYourRV]

*Related Links* My O-Grill Review - www.loveyourrv.com/love-little-o-grill-rv-barbecue/ Jackery 1000 Review - www.loveyourrv.com/jackery-explorer-1000-portable-power-station-solarsaga-folding-solar-panel/ Kill-A-Watt Review - www.loveyourrv.com/kill-a-watt-meter-rv-power-test-gadget/ Outland Fire Bowl Review - www.loveyourrv.com/demo-and-review-of-our-outland-fire-bowl-portable-propane-gas-fire-pit/

[@stuartbaxter9437]

Looks like I may have to pick one up. Thanks Ray and Ann!

[@mjm3852]

Anne is a lucky woman. You seem to enjoy so much; cooking, hiking, rv stuff and so on.

[@maryannmarek1853]

Really great vid. I love how he showed all the different parts, plus showed how it works!

[@kccarver21]

Appreciate your down to earth useful video. Thank you!

[@philstucker1312]

Eating good in the neighborhood! Great review! Thank you!

[@ryanteter]

Be glad you didn’t get the Traeger. Bought a Scout back in September. Total nightmare. A month of trying to throw parts at it and nothing worked. Returned it and picked up a CS Traveler. AMAZING! Works flawlessly. You’ll love it.

[@timaz1066]

My Country Smoker will be delivered tomorrow! Thanks for the review.

[@rick-oj2pd]

SWEET! We got a Traeger years ago, & love the smoked flavor it adds to the food.

[@projet2907]

Anne sure has good taste in your birthday presents. Always very interesting for us all! Thank You for this excellent vIdeo, I am hungry now!

[@LoveYourRV]

Yes, she picks good ones! :)

[@bucky1996]

As circumstances would have it I was looking at pellet grills (on line) about a week ago. No decision yet. Thanks for the review. You did spark my appetite for a nice steak for sure!

[@scottconnell8167]

You'll love that smoker I have the Traeger getting ready to do a tri-tip right now

[@jeffbeifuss8385]

That is an amazing little bit of cooking gear, Ray. You should have a lot of fun cooking with it. BTW, that ribeye looked great.

[@michaelcunningham1364]

Nice. It will taste great during winter and the cooler temps. Love those tenderloins!

[@LoveYourRV]

Yes it will :)

[@denniskomeshak9082]

I bought the Country Smoker grill earlier this year and have been thoroughly impressed with it. I think you'll be happy with it too. I take it when we go camping. I only wish they offered a bag to store it in.

[@LoveYourRV]

Good to know, thanks

[@robertburgess6100]

That's alot of stake Ray! We have been looking for smoker's I will take a look at that one looks like it works good enjoy.

[@otool]

Thanks for the video my fellow Canadian. Looking for a smaller option for my class A and we don’t have the options here. This looks like a nice option that I haven’t seen till now.

[@ScotWalt858]

Very nice!

[@PentaxLife]

Very nice grill

[@TC-tw5zk]

I have seen this...might be on my list...maybe...looks nice

[@marketshare5273]

Looking forward on the first review, good thing you got that new ram Cummins turbo diesel to haul all of those nice new toys up and down those mountains. 👍👊😎

[@LoveYourRV]

Yeah, even the crew cab will be stuffed. :) Lucky I have an extra 1000 lbs. of payload capacity to spare.

[@margaretkeays3434]

Awesome, Ray, if you run out of storage space for all your toys, I have plenty room to store them!🤣 Nice smoker! Nice review!

[@GaryBoyd02]

That is great Ray. I have always wondered how much smoke you can get from those units. Now I guess we will find out.

[@hardtruth2039]

Nice little cooker. We carry a reqteq trailblazer pellet grill. A lot bigger than that one, and tough to get in our fwd compartment.

[@danallanson5990]

Looks like that smoker will be my next purchase!

[@vanvorst1999]

😎👍 I have it's cousin, ASMOKE smoker, and love mine too and plan on taking it on my next extended camping trip! Smoked marinated T-bone steaks, brined boneless pork chops, barbecue chicken legs, butternut squash, etc. and plan on trying smoked fish and shrimp soon.

[@LoveYourRV]

Sounds great!

[@herb7877]

Nice review. Couple times a year I take my old school Weber Bullet smoker for a group BBQ. Lot more work than a pellet pooper, but we like the results. I carry my small Weber propane BBQ for grilling all the time. I have a 1 gal. tank I use for that vs the small green 1# can. The 1gal tank is also an emergency back up for the trailer should I blow thru the two 30# tanks.

[@johnw.7584]

Shave one and cooks great. Their is a learning time but fun. Start with bad meat then you will learn on the best meat. Love it.

[@danterry6328]

Good review. I like my Weber Smoky Joe. But more and more places don’t allow charcoal bbq because of fire danger. So I have a propane bbq. I love my Traeger at home so this might be the ticket. Thanks.

[@dirtroadsailing6418]

Thanks Ray, I just bought one of these, they had it for $174.99 plus $19 shipping. I bought a RecTec pellet smoker earlier this year for my home and can't believe how I got along without it and I have been looking for a smaller smoker that I could take camping and this fits the bill perfectly.

[@LoveYourRV]

Good deal! we get burned up here Canada goes for $349 CAD which is about $265 USD countrysmokers.ca/grills/CS150PPG

[@dirtroadsailing6418]

@@LoveYourRV I'll send you a recipe for pork ribs that Anne will love you forever for.

[@broccolihart1]

The energy consumption is impressive....it's just a couple of computer fans and a auger....the lcd doesn't use much either. To run a pellet grill off of a inverter is killer.

[@fishdog61]

Thanks Ray. My wife is not happy with you. Every time I watch you review of a new product I end up ordering it. When the package comes my wife says have you been watching Love ❤️ Your RV again? 🤔 I think she’s going to block my KZbin videos.

[@terryhaynes1596]

My wife is going to delete my KZbin app!

[@LoveYourRV]

haha, oh oh! :)

[@Johnnycbtx]

Make you a batch of chocolate chip cookies on that grille. I have and cook on my Traeger everyday. I also wanted the PTG but I have heard they don't regulate the heat too well. My guess is the surface area is so small. But the one you have looks like it may control the heat better with that sliding dome and yours has that second rack. Be interested in seeing how it works out for you.

[@MacRides1]

Nice ! I want to eat dinner at Rays place !

[@jameshamm7911]

Hey Ray, I am an avid pellet-grill meat smoker and would love a smaller unit for camping, so naturally, this video caught my attention. Anyway, I have been vacillating between this unit, and the GMG Davey Crocket. For features and grill space, the GMG is a no-brainer, but the price and heft (over $300 and weighs around 70lbs) are serious considerations, which brings me to the Country Smokers version. I have read many reviews on this thing and on more than one occasion, people have had issues with the control board. Overall, though: it gets a pretty-good rating, but I cannot find any vids where people smoked a brisket (a few pork butts, chicken, and the like, but I like beef, lol). Any chance you have a brisket flat (or point) looming on the near horizon so we can see how it does with this coveted hunk of meat? I ask b/c my wife wants some Christmas gift ideas and want to be sure that if I ask for it, I will use it. Thanks and have a great day!

[@LoveYourRV]

Not a common cut of meat sold up here, especially this time of year. But will see what I can do. I did beef tri-tip and pork loin and both turned out great.

[@chrishodapp1962]

Thank you for the review. Looks like a suitable unit for sure…also good to know the power usage👍💯😎

[@LoveYourRV]

You're welcome. Here was an update clip after using it a while kzbin.info/www/bejne/m3qxZXp-aZaKn6c Its still working well. Cheers, Ray

[@theobserver9565]

I've got a Pitt Boss which is similar and I find while it looks like it produces quite a bit of smoke the food does not taste like it. I have a smoke tube on order to see if it helps. I'm going to use a combination of pellets and wood chips in it.

[@LoveYourRV]

Taste smoky enough for me. I don't think I'd want it smokier but tastes vary.

[@garthhart6642]

Keep the probe by the firebox clean & shiny. It will work better. A Mr Clean pad & vinegar works well.

[@terryhaynes1596]

If you could pack up the smoke and send it my way I would greatly appreciate it. The smoke must be heavenly. How long does it take to cook a steak on the low temperature smoker setting? Did the handle get hot ? Too many smokers to pick from that is why I appreciate your review so much. Looking forward to your next update on this smoker.

[@LoveYourRV]

Yeah too bad KZbin doesn't have smell yet. :) Haven't tried to low temp a steak yet, but I did a little pork butt roast on 225F and it took about 3 hours or so, boy was it tasty. Handle was not hot but the outside of the unit gets pretty hot, they say to keep it at least a foot from combustibles.

[@rubydually]

Hey Ray... I have a Traeger PTG smoker I bought in Mesa AZ a couple of years ago where I'm not too pleased with it. Trying to use it at the lower temps (225) it constantly varies as much as 150 degrees over the set temp. It does ok at the higher temps (350+) but I've given up smoking at the low temps. I spent a bunch of time in emails and phone calls to Traeger where they sent a new controller and then a new auger but they didn't help much... Trouble is they put the same controller in these as the big ones but the PTG is too small to work properly. Fire heats up that small area too much then smolders down below the set temp so the auger keeps feeding till it fires up to heat it back up way over the temp again and repeat... repeat....... I also have a Pro series on my deck which works perfectly.... I love that big Traeger but can't stand the PTG. It usually stays in the basement unless we're smoking a chicken...

[@LoveYourRV]

Thanks for the heads up, I'll have to see how this one works out, so far I did a 3-4 hours slow cook of a pork roast and it seemed to work pretty well. Cheers, Ray

[@rubydually]

@@LoveYourRV That's awesome Ray... I hope this one works out better than my PTG. The last low and slow I did/tried was some pork ribs... They cooked too fast and were a tad dry because I couldn't keep the temp down. You might want to invest in a wireless temp probe. I have a Maverick and a ThermoPro which both work pretty good... hmmmm might be a good item for a review... wink wink :)

[@LoveYourRV]

Yeah, got to start the Christmas wish list. :)

[@johnbrady6756]

Hi Ray,I am from the UK is this smoker new design we are years behind the USA.I like smoked food but can't eat flamed this smoker looks good for me no flamed with slide over cover. Like you i like my steaks made me feel hungry seeing you'rs yea YUM,YUM.

[@bucky1996]

I was looking at pellet grills about a week ago for the first time. Can't recall the exact time frame but the article said the original patent had expired and several companies are making them now. Still kind of pricey but as time goes by I'm sure competition will drive that down.

[@jkidd2007]

Oh crap, now I've got to at least consider getting one.

[@citizencane3492]

Hi Ray - So very jealous of your laid back, low stress lifestyle. I understand that these videos take quite a lot of effort, many hours to produce and publish. But you get to do it on your schedule, at your pace. Cheers brother.

[@citizencane3492]

Oh and we still miss Angie for sure.

[@LoveYourRV]

Thanks, very lucky things have worked out well and my wife likes the lifestyle as well. :)

[@citizencane3492]

@@LoveYourRV As is well known, Happy Wife ... happy life. Wishing you continued happy life, brother.

[@hazman440]

I'm getting a lot of smoke out of the pellet box every time I use it, is that normal or do I have a problem ... thanks in advance.

[@LoveYourRV]

I get a little bit I guess but for the most part I have the main lid closed and clamped when cooking so don't really get to see what is going on inside. Usually the smoker will smoke for a bit then the smoke will clear for a while and repeat. Occasionally you may get a fire in the auger and will have to clear it and put in fresh pellets.

[@bleepbleep1961]

PitBoss makes one very similar ... $399 List / I got one last week at Canadian Tire for $299 CAD !

[@LoveYourRV]

Awesome! Just had a nice little turkey on mine the other day. :) I think some patent must have expired. In the last few years as I'm seeing a number of almost identical grills from different companies, another is the ASMOKE asmokegrill.com/collections/portable-pellet-grills-smokers/products/asmoke-as300-portable-wood-pellet-grill-and-smoker-256-sq-in-w-starter-kit-apple-redasmoke-portable-wood-pellet-grill-apple-red They contact4ed me to do a review and I told them I had the Country Smokers and then never heard back from them. Cheers, Ray

[@bleepbleep1961]

@@LoveYourRV I say ... You are right , and as I look at even more YT , I see that each "Brand" has a slight variation , handles , legs etc . I wonder if they are all made in the same Factory in (You know where !) lol !

[@chambjd]

Hey Ray, I'm getting back into RVing, and thinking about the CS150PPG. I wanted to know what you thought of it after a long time? I had a similar Traeger 12 years ago and it was not capable of running below 350F so it found it not really useful as I like to smoke food. Anyway wanted to know what you thought and if that was an issue on the CS as well.

[@LoveYourRV]

I like it. I have found it can be turned down in the range of 225F-250F, which works for me. If you need it lower the look elsewhere. Cheers, Ray

[@phillip4447]

Did you plug it into your camper? Would it be able to ignite it or do you have to light the pellets to run it off the camper

[@LoveYourRV]

Sure I've used the camper outlet. It uses very little power actually, about 200 watts to get it the fire bowl going then very little watts to run the auger once in a while

[@hedge8888]

Howdy Ray, curious how this grill has worked out for you long-term. Didn't see a follow up video, but maybe I missed it.

[@LoveYourRV]

Follow up was here www.loveyourrv.com/15-rv-odds-and-ends-product-review-updates/ Still working well. Cheers! Ray

[@dchen00]

Nice gear! Does the center become a super hot spot due to the chamber in the middle?

[@LoveYourRV]

I haven't done too much grilling just a few steaks here and there with it but seems to work out well. Mostly I use it as a slow cooker smoker with the metal covers on and everything has turned out very evenly cooked.

[@ryanmaddux154]

Hi Ray. Could a Jackery Box 500 provide the needed power for this?

[@LoveYourRV]

Should do the trick, I did another test with a Himcen box I was reviewing and it reported using about 200W or so - kzbin.info/www/bejne/hanEc4d7mcl3nck The Jacker can do up to 500W Cheers, Ray

[@tsanx4562]

Ray, just a heads up, there are documented incidents out there about auger fires (fire backing up to the hopper) at high temps possibly due to a design issue, there is another smoker that is similar in design (ASmoke) that has the reported fires as well. Bottom line...don't leave it alone on high temp cooks and cook away from your camper, follow the shutdown procedures and you should have no issues...Happy Smokin from a fellow PelletHead! By the way, Love your channel, I have learned a lot from watching!!

[@LoveYourRV]

Will do thanks for the advice!

[@metaxaanabeer]

@@LoveYourRV It is important to keep the cover closed over the pellet hopper. Yes, you can open it to top up the pellets but close it or the air current can reverse and then suck flame back into the auger channel. I've had my GMG 12V smoker for years now...not once has it back fired and I use it at home as well as camping. Sure is fun to start it up in a full campsite when you are under open fire bans. You find out who the want to be sheriffs are soon then!

[@phillipmorris1334]

hello from the sunny ozarks ray and anne!! how did you attach your metal plate in front of your country grill on the picnic table? i have enjoyed my country cooker cause of its portability!! tight lines and cheers!!!

[@LoveYourRV]

Howdy Phillip. The metal plate was part of the campground's picnic table setup. :)

[@phillipmorris1334]

@@LoveYourRV excellent idea!!

[@AsianTankPilot]

Great review! How long did you run overall for the steak?

[@LoveYourRV]

Thanks , about 1/2 hour I'd say, takes a while for the burner to get going

[@johnwiles8282]

Ray, I know this post is a little old, but I'm just now looking. Questions I have: 1) Can you smoke a turkey in this grill? Tall enough? How much does it weigh? Where do you transport it in your cougar? Thanks in Advance. John

[@LoveYourRV]

No, a normal size bone in turkey would be too big. Could do a turkey ball or maybe a half turkey cut. Weighs 42.6 lbs. I store it in my basement storage compartment. Cheers, Ray

[@Nerves848676]

Hey bud. Thx for the video.. my ? Is how long can it go unattended with a 3.5 lbs of pellets???. So i can just go on to do different things in a campground then have an idea when to be back or refill. 😆 🤣

[@LoveYourRV]

It will depend on the temperature setting, higher cooking temps more pellets being burned. I usually slow smoke at around 225F or 250F and a hopper full of pellets will last about 4-5 hours on average. It can also vary with outside temps. If I'm using it on colder days then I need to turn the temp dial up to get the same inside temp so burns more pellets versus a hot summer day. Cheers, Ray

[@TomLentz]

How well does it travel? Do you have to empty out the pellets or ash before traveling?

[@LoveYourRV]

Great Its basically a sealed double walled metal box so nothing can leak out, just have to make sure its all cooled down before stowing. What I've been doing is before I start each cooking session is to give it a quick vacuum out with my little dustbuster vacuum so the debris old burn chips and sawdust doesn't build up.

[@BobbyBowness]

Have you used your killawatt better on your Trager just curious if it would draw more power then the smaller smoker

[@LoveYourRV]

I don't have a Traeger

[@BobbyBowness]

@@LoveYourRV do you have a bigger smoker? I'm just curious if the igniter would have the same draw on a bigger smoker?

[@LoveYourRV]

No, this is the first smoker I've ever had. :) You could look at the specs or download the manuals for some of the big ones they usually list the power requirements.

[@BobbyBowness]

@@LoveYourRV yeah I just got my first smoker as well. Mine says a minimum 1000 watt inverter if I want to use the igniter. I got the pitboss 440d2

[@gregoryburkhead7813]

Great reveiw... how long does it last on the battery bank

[@LoveYourRV]

On the Jackery 1000 box I imagine it could run about 20 hour or more, on my 315 amp hour battery bank several days at least.

[@gregoryburkhead7813]

@@LoveYourRV nice .. thanks I need one

[@johnmerton3630]

What feeds the fire ?

[@LoveYourRV]

A small electric auger

[@kathysuey]

how long do i smoke a 13 lb. turkey in a country smoker pellet grill?

[@LoveYourRV]

The cooking times for various meats are on page 17-18 of the manual images.homedepot-static.com/catalog/pdfImages/3a/3a5dc914-3f52-4e29-8d0f-f9706833c5f2.pdf 5.3-6.4 kg / 12-14 lbs says Grill for 110-140 minutes

[@kathysuey]

Thank You

[@truckcampinglife]

Is there a reason this looks just like the Asmoke?

[@LoveYourRV]

My guess is nothing much. There are others on the market that are basically identical other than some cosmetic case design differences. They are all almost the same as the old Traeger portable, which was discontinued, maybe the patent expired. Just a guess. So other companies mostly out of China I gather are building them and selling at a cheaper price point Traeger now has one called the Ranger www.traeger.com/pellet-grills/portable/ranger But a little pricey for me. The Country Smokers has been good enough for my use. Asmoke contacted me at one point and asked if I'd review their product. So I ask what was different about it vs the Country Smoker other than their brand name Applewood pellets. Never heard back... Cheers, Ray

[@johnbaker1039]

Traeger says this model is discontinued?

[@LoveYourRV]

Looks like the PPG+ is www.traegergrills.com/pellet-grills/portable/ptg But Traeger does have a few other portables the Ranger and Scout www.traegergrills.com/pellet-grills/portable

[@rd4660]

Ray, why are things so expensive in Canada? ;-)

[@LoveYourRV]

Many factors, one is our dollar is worth less, currently a Canadian dollar is worth 75 cents US, then our country is very big and spread out and the population is fairly small. More people live in Californian than all of Canada. So transportation costs tend to be higher and the markets to sell goods smaller. Taxes tend to be higher as well but better social programs. But overall standard of living between the USA and Canada is pretty equal. Cheers, Ray

[@pdrhodes1]

Love my country smoker. I had coversandall.com build a cover for it to keep it from getting scratched up

[@phillipmorris1334]

didnt show the break in

[@1951Roy]

Nice smoker, how much did it take in pellets to cook the three steaks? Are pellets expensive? Happy camping.

[@LoveYourRV]

It varies by outside temps and things in my steak test I'd say a little less than a 1 lb. and the bag I got is 20 lbs. goes for around 20 bucks. I did an over 3 hour slower cook of a little pork roast and it took about 2 lbs. So not really too expensive.

[@1951Roy]

@@LoveYourRV Thanks so very much, lot cleaner than charcoal and you get that smoke flavor.

[@free2roam492]

Let us know how a salmon smoked on it tastes.

[@LoveYourRV]

We love salmon, I was eyeing this recipe on the website. :) countrysmokers.com/recipes/honey-smoked-salmon

[@davidmcconnell8690]

:-)))) :-)))))

[@robbywilson9824]

5 minutes in and you still have not said shit.

[@LoveYourRV]

Sorry, at the time I wasn't sure what shit you wanted me to say.