Cuisinart CPG-4000 Wood BBQ Grill & Smoker Pellet Grill and Smoker, 45 x 49 x 39.4, Black

I was a current electric smoker user who read up on pellet smokers and decided on this model for the size and price point. I am not very handy with tools so when I unpacked the box I was grateful to see all parts clearly marked including the nuts and bolts. It was a bit of a challenge but an hour later I was ready to start it up and break it in. After the one hour cleaning process of heating it up it was ready to go. It is very easy just filling up the hopper and turn the control to smoker and it was ready to go in 10 minutes. So I decided on Baby Back Ribs and Pork Shoulder and using apple wood pellets. I set the temperature according and 20 minutes later it was ready to go. Unlike the electric there was no water trays or soaking wood chips which was exactly what I wanted, low maintenance! Unfortunately it did not contain a recipe with the instructions (or I would have given it a 5) but it was easy to go on line and find recipes. That night we enjoyed great tasting ribs and pulled pork. This pellet stove is the way to go!

This grill scared the hell out of me. I followed the pre burn instructions step by step. It is supposed to burn at a maximum of 450 degrees. Mine went up past 560 degrees before I panicked and pulled the plug and opened the lid. After it cooled off, I decided to start it again on the smoke setting. Each time I advanced the temp. to the next higher setting it would go over 100 degrees higher. When I git to 275, it went crazy again and went past 560 degrees again. I called customer service and they scent me a new controller. The new controller came with no instructions and said Z Grills on it instead of Cuisinart so I called customer service again. They said they would send the Cuisinart controller but I could use the Z Grills controller until it came as they are interchangeable. That was not true at all. The controller has 4 plugs with different colored wires and none of them match the color of wires coming from the unit. What should be simple by matching colored wires or perhaps labeled plugs was impossible to know if it is hooked up correctly. It's hard to believe they would build something so confusing and then send it with no instructions. If you look, the Z grills looks just like the Cuisinart and is built by the same company. The Z grills has a 3 year Warranty but the Cuisinart only one year so why would anyone buy the piece of junk Cuisinart??

I am an avid outdoor griller/smoker and was in need of a new smoker. I did some research and decided to try a pellet grill as it would serve both options. The assembly was quite easy, with all the parts labelled. I did it by myself, so it took about an hour. All the tools were provided, and the directions were easy to follow. The initial set-up/burn off went as planned, and then I was ready for my first use, which was some St. Louis ribs. The unit heated up a little quicker than expected, so I had to open the cover a bit to bring it back down to the 225 cooking temperature. Once that was accomplished, there were no issues. The unit does not come with pellets, so I went to Lowes and purchased some hardwood pellets. The smoking took a little longer than it did with my previous Masterbuilt Electric smoker, but the ribs came out great!! I used the same rub and cooking method as I used with my Masterbuilt, but I felt the taste came out better as the pellets are continuously fed through the system and adds the hardwood flavor throughout the whole smoking process. The only thing I would like would be a recipe book. Even though I do have my own methods, it is always good to try new recipes and methods. Also, it is a beautiful looking grill and I have had a lot of complements from friends. Glad I purchased and would highly recommend to anyone.

After spending the whole afternoon putting it together ( which was not hard, just tedious0, we plug it in for the initial setup and get an E2 ERROR. saying the temperature probe is short circuited. WE looked at the flimsy unprotected wiring that ran to the probe inside the unit and see it is all kinked and twisted. The manufactured installed this device before it arrived to us. Plus, with heat of up to 500 degrees possible, I can see those wires going up in smoke along with the food being cooked. This was a HUGE disappointment. I called the "expert" help line, and they didn't even know anything about this product. So , so much for that help. We had to dissemble the whole thing ( my husband and I are 77 years old) and have UPS pick it up. What a terrible experience

By far the best pellet grill deal on Amazon! Better built then the Traeger and identical to the Z Grills ZPG-450a but $100 less.