I was looking at the Pit Boss combo and this seems more compact but still has a huge cooking area. You could easily smoke a 20lb turkey. I wonder if you could rig a rod to hang summer sausages to smoke. Great review.
Great review. I purchased and have been using for about a month. The one other drawback I notice was the smoke flavor. It's like our other CampChef smoker where the smoke is some what mild. If you really want more of the smoky flavor you may want to purchase additional pellet tubes for this. Other than that I was pleased and will see how long it lasts...but yes clean up is AWESOME! Thanks for the vid.
Explain your "additional pellet tube" comment, please ... I am looking at this combo and LIKE heavy smoke. I REALLY put the old-school Treager through it's paces. Note; running pun
This helps. Question, the MP-C is only to control the temperature of the grill or the meat? Do I need to use both MP-C and MP-1? My grill kept getting hotter and hotter ☹️ trying to learn this. I put the probe from MP-C to the meat and the grill kept getting too hot even thought I had set the chamber to 125 but the chamber went over 400 and gave me an error
Thanks for the review. Wondering if you could answer a question. So with this being a one surface for both fuels cooker, beside the drip tray, how cruddy do the gas burners, piping, and flame covers get after smoking something fat and juicy? Does it get all over the propane equipment inside the cook chamber? Thanks
Great question. The propane burners are all protected by metal that allow the meat drippings to slide off them and into the drip tray without touching the burners. And those protectors are fairly easy to remove and clean.
I’ve kept mine under a fabric cover but otherwise completely exposed (no roof or anything) and it has zero rust as of now. We had more snow this last winter than we’ve had in 20 years and it sat in the snow pretty much all winter.
Ok; so I have one of the original bare-bones Treager and it's likely 10+ years old. I was super pleased for years and it's finally died and to rebuild it part by part, to troubleshoot it thoroughly (AND logically replace the worm drive cuz of general wear and tear) makes NO sense. My little "tail-gater" Blackstone Grill's heat deflector is shot after only three years and they do NOT sell a replacement part. To my point ... Treager used the electric rod and fan/ wind tunnel to "smoulder" the pellets and TRY to ACCURATELY develope, hold and control the heat (flukie at best especially mid-winter). WHAT is "firing" these pellets and HOW well does the worm gear/drive seem to be working? You and I KNOW a "backburn" up the tunnel and setting the pellet's Hopper "chugging" can totally ruin the drive in the Treager (did it once, and was fairly freaky Friday to contain). WHAT keeps the same BAD scenario from occurring in the Lifetime? Hopefully you are still monitoring this video, Running Man. Any and all additional "experience based" assessment of the Lifetime since this video will be appreciated ...
@@JustAnotherRunner thanks! I’ve also been reading that some ppl are complaining about the gas regulator and it not getting above 400 degrees. Is that the case?
With my Traeger I have full control of my smokers temperature, as well as the probe built in for monitoring my meats. You must have had an old bottom end smoker. And you can sear on the smoker by turning up the temperature, then turn it down once the meat is ready. I have 2 smokers, one for larger meals and my small one that I smoke jerky and other things that need better temperature control. I hate the fact that you have to use propane or I might be interested, just another coat you don't need with a Traeger.
This is my opinion (as a non-expert) and based on your comment, you're not going to like my opinion. In my experience, the temperature for searing steak needs to be 500+. My traeger struggled to hold 400 unless it was super hot outside in the dead of summer. Just my experience. So I love the propane option when I need it. But honestly if you have 2 smokers already... you definitely don't need this one. (ps - yes my traeger was one of the first that came out. And this lifetime one has 3 probes for monitoring meat. 1 of which controls the smoker if the target temp is reached.)
I am so bummed. My son worked for Lifetime when they came out with this. He was offered it at a discount price. He didn’t have a need or room, being single and in an apartment. Just after he quit he mentioned it to us, we would have loved to get it. Now I guess I have to pay full price. Lifetime was a good employer for him, he loved working there.
I'm all in on this becoming a hybrid running/smoking/grilling channel.
I was looking at the Pit Boss combo and this seems more compact but still has a huge cooking area. You could easily smoke a 20lb turkey. I wonder if you could rig a rod to hang summer sausages to smoke. Great review.
Great review. I purchased and have been using for about a month. The one other drawback I notice was the smoke flavor. It's like our other CampChef smoker where the smoke is some what mild. If you really want more of the smoky flavor you may want to purchase additional pellet tubes for this. Other than that I was pleased and will see how long it lasts...but yes clean up is AWESOME! Thanks for the vid.
Explain your "additional pellet tube" comment, please ... I am looking at this combo and LIKE heavy smoke. I REALLY put the old-school Treager through it's paces. Note; running pun
Great job on the review. I will have to keep a close eye on this grill
This helps. Question, the MP-C is only to control the temperature of the grill or the meat? Do I need to use both MP-C and MP-1? My grill kept getting hotter and hotter ☹️ trying to learn this. I put the probe from MP-C to the meat and the grill kept getting too hot even thought I had set the chamber to 125 but the chamber went over 400 and gave me an error
Interesting concept
great review
Thanks for the review. Wondering if you could answer a question. So with this being a one surface for both fuels cooker, beside the drip tray, how cruddy do the gas burners, piping, and flame covers get after smoking something fat and juicy? Does it get all over the propane equipment inside the cook chamber? Thanks
Great question. The propane burners are all protected by metal that allow the meat drippings to slide off them and into the drip tray without touching the burners. And those protectors are fairly easy to remove and clean.
Any idea yet as to how this stands up to outdoor moisture and rusting?
I’ve kept mine under a fabric cover but otherwise completely exposed (no roof or anything) and it has zero rust as of now. We had more snow this last winter than we’ve had in 20 years and it sat in the snow pretty much all winter.
@@JustAnotherRunner Yeah I’d do a cover as well, but I had a cover over a grill before and rust happened anyway. So thought I’d ask, thanks.
Ok; so I have one of the original bare-bones Treager and it's likely 10+ years old. I was super pleased for years and it's finally died and to rebuild it part by part, to troubleshoot it thoroughly (AND logically replace the worm drive cuz of general wear and tear) makes NO sense. My little "tail-gater" Blackstone Grill's heat deflector is shot after only three years and they do NOT sell a replacement part.
To my point ...
Treager used the electric rod and fan/ wind tunnel to "smoulder" the pellets and TRY to ACCURATELY develope, hold and control the heat (flukie at best especially mid-winter). WHAT is "firing" these pellets and HOW well does the worm gear/drive seem to be working? You and I KNOW a "backburn" up the tunnel and setting the pellet's Hopper "chugging" can totally ruin the drive in the Treager (did it once, and was fairly freaky Friday to contain). WHAT keeps the same BAD scenario from occurring in the Lifetime? Hopefully you are still monitoring this video, Running Man.
Any and all additional "experience based" assessment of the Lifetime since this video will be appreciated ...
Still happy with this? Bout to buy
Yes! Currently using it multiple times a week.
@@JustAnotherRunner thanks! I’ve also been reading that some ppl are complaining about the gas regulator and it not getting above 400 degrees. Is that the case?
@@sledsik2391 not for me. Mine will regularly hit 650.
I hope you clean the ash tray out more than once a year. That is a safety hazard.
With my Traeger I have full control of my smokers temperature, as well as the probe built in for monitoring my meats. You must have had an old bottom end smoker. And you can sear on the smoker by turning up the temperature, then turn it down once the meat is ready. I have 2 smokers, one for larger meals and my small one that I smoke jerky and other things that need better temperature control.
I hate the fact that you have to use propane or I might be interested, just another coat you don't need with a Traeger.
This is my opinion (as a non-expert) and based on your comment, you're not going to like my opinion. In my experience, the temperature for searing steak needs to be 500+. My traeger struggled to hold 400 unless it was super hot outside in the dead of summer. Just my experience. So I love the propane option when I need it. But honestly if you have 2 smokers already... you definitely don't need this one. (ps - yes my traeger was one of the first that came out. And this lifetime one has 3 probes for monitoring meat. 1 of which controls the smoker if the target temp is reached.)
I am so bummed. My son worked for Lifetime when they came out with this. He was offered it at a discount price. He didn’t have a need or room, being single and in an apartment. Just after he quit he mentioned it to us, we would have loved to get it. Now I guess I have to pay full price.
Lifetime was a good employer for him, he loved working there.