Learn Me: Pellet Grills

I am potentially in the market for a grill, my current grill is a 3 in 1 Gas/ Charcoal/ smokers grill, is getting pretty rusty with some big holes. So I started looking at pellet grills as I like smoking meat, I am just wondering if they are a do it all? I have seen some like the Cuisinart twin oaks which is gas and pellet and the  Cuisinart woodcreek which is pellet but has adapters you put inside the grill where you can use charcoal or Ceramic briquette. I am wondering if getting these multi-purpose grills are worthwhile as the standalone pellet grills like the Zgrills,OK Joes, Pittboss, and Traegers seem versatile as you can control the heat so if you wanted to throw some Hot dogs, Hamburgers, or steak you can easily set the heat accordingly to sear or just smoke them. The reason I ask this is because my current grill was very cheap and it does the job but not particular better then the standalone Weber charcoal or gas grill I owned in the past. I don't like the idea of Cuisinarts as I had a smokers in the past and the control panel went dead and the cost to replace the panel was more then I paid for it, so I bought another cuisinart smoker only for the board to break again. Price point and ease of use are the most important, I don't need special apps, just plug and play. I am looking on the clearance and used market right now.

berkeley pit boss. Biggest pieces of E36 M3 in the entire grilling world, and that's saying something with all the fly by night brands and box store sheet metal thin garbage out there these days. 

Recteq or Z grills are going to be worthwhile without paying for a name and less features like you would a Traeger. 

There are some hybrids out there that have my personal attention though. I can't remember the name off the top of my head, but there's a charcoal smoker than runs like a pellet I'd be very interested in if it had a bigger cooking chamber. 

Clearance and used will be big gambles, used especially because warranties don't transfer and people are ridiculously stupid.

Since my preferred brand is no longer sold or available, and if budget was a concern, I'd buy a standalone controller and build my own pellet smoker out of a drum. Controller and hopper setups are available in the$200 range. In fact I'm probably going to do that next year because I need more cooking space and can't afford $3k+ for a quality enough ready built smoker of any sort. 

I was shopping pellet grills for a while to replace my Webber kettle but couldn't find one in my price range that had good enough reviews to justify the cost. My cousin had nothing but good things to say about his Green Mountian Grill but they were just a little more than I was looking to spend at the time.  

I have a Cabelas pellet smoker. I love it to death. I've had it three years without any issues. Temps range from 180 to around 450.

I still use my charcoal grill for high temp searing steaks. Besides steaks, basically everything else goes on the pellet grill. They are so convenient. My only complaint for awhile was the lack of smoke taste vs a traditional smoker. I got a smoke tube for like 20 bucks that I stuff with pellets and smoking wood chips, that ups the smoke taste a decent amount. 

I have a Cabelas pellet smoker. I love it to death. I've had it three years without any issues. Temps range from 180 to around 450.

I still use my charcoal grill for high temp searing steaks. Besides steaks, basically everything else goes on the pellet grill. They are so convenient. My only complaint for awhile was the lack of smoke taste vs a traditional smoker. I got a smoke tube for like 20 bucks that I stuff with pellets and smoking wood chips, that ups the smoke taste a decent amount. 

Z GRILLS ZPG-6002B 573 sq. in. Wood Pellet Grill and Smoker, Copper this one is close to my budget that I was thinking of buying. I plan on selling my current grill to offset some of the cost.

Pit Boss 743 sq. in. 700FB1 Wood Pellet Grill, Black this is the other one, but I am not sure if the build quality is that much different from the Z.

The only issue I've heard about them is in the humid south, the pellets swell and jam the auger. The only way to avoid it is to not leave any pellets in the hopper or auger. 

I decided to pass on them and stick with a standard grill. 

In reply to Toyman! : I live in south GA. I've never had the pellets swell and clog the auger. But, I have had them swell and not burn well. Whenever I'm done with my cook I empty out my hopper into a 5-gal bucket with a weather proof lid. That has solved all issues for me!

I am of the opinion that if you are on Team Pellet Grill, you would be better served to use either an electric smoker or just roast in your oven and grill on gas.

The whole point to me of cooking with a grill (especially smoking) is the art of controlling the fire, the wood you use, the little challenges and unknowns, etc.  By the time you have an electric pellet grill that takes its fuel out of a bag, has a thermostat and a power cord, and bluetooth so you can sit inside while the grill does its thing, just go get an electric smoker and eliminate the need to burn pellets.  

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My dad won a Traeger in a raffle, and has made some dynamite stuff on it.  I've borrowed / used it a couple times to smoke some things, and I like the convenience. 

I've been passively shopping for an older, used model with a knob / non-digital PID, but haven't taken any swings