I’ve owned and used the Grilla Grills Silverbac for almost 5 years.
The grill still runs great – with a few minor hiccups and blemishes that we’ll explore below.
Of the “entry-level”, no frills pellet grills – I still think it’s unmatched
Seriously too – compare price, features, warranty, anything you can think of to any entry-level model from the likes of Z-Grills, Traeger, Camp Chef, Recteq, etc. and it’ll win out.
Stuff to Be Aware of When Ordering so You Can Plan Accordingly
A few days after ordering you’ll schedule an appointment with a freight carrier for delivery.
A truck will arrive on the day you scheduled, deliver the grill on a pallet and then it’s up to you to handle it from there.
My Dad was a mover for 30 years so I had a dolly to wheel the box to my barn.
If you don’t have a dolly, ask a friend to help or buy a dolly because the grill weighs ~200 lbs.
Same goes for assembly too; Ask a friend, neighbor, spouse, kids, somebody to help you lift the grill onto the stand because It’s heavy.
What’s the Smoke Flavor Like?
Keep in mind: My grill is 5 years old so some of the innovation that we have now didn’t exist back then.
Even the stuff that exists today to get more smoke comes at a cost.
Overall it’s super mild – like most low to mid-range pellet grills.
So if your intention is to use this smoker to replace something like:
- Weber kettle
- Barrel cookers
- Weber smokey mountain
- Anything else that cooks with charcoal and wood chunks
You’ll likely be disappointed with the smoke output.
If you’ve never smoked on a pellet grill, they’re very clean burning with less visible smoke.
To get around this, Pellet grill brands will do a few things:
- Have a swing mode that has the temperature go +/- 15F-ish*
- Have a dedicated chute that’s close to the fire pot to smolder wood chunks.
- Use devices like Pellet tubes or boxes as well as smoker mazes.
- Suggest using a pellet like Oak, Hickory, Mesquite OR pecan shell pellets.
*This is what Grilla Grills does.
The swing or “smoke” mode basically dumps pellets until it reaches the set temperature, it will then overshoot the temperature by about 10-15F and then allow the grill to undershoot by 10-15F before dumping pellets.
The result is more smoke but it’s still super mild overall.
What Has Grilla Changed if Anything in 5 Years
The model I bought now comes equip with a WiFi controller but I’m not into phone apps.
Even my probe thermometers (Thermoworks Smoke X) don’t use Bluetooth or an “app.”
A lot of times grill controllers will lose range or my phone is dead, or insert other reason here.
I like wires and analog controls with long battery life and my probe’s range is 6500+ ft.
BUT I’m not you – if you like that sort of thing, then now you get a free upgrade compared to my 5 year old grill.
Granted, since Feb. 2020 when I bought the price has increased by $100 so.
Stuff That Makes Me like this Brand of Pellet Grill
You can actually crank the heat to 500F.
On A LOT of entry level pellet grills like Z Grills, they’ll max out at 375F.
The door is heavy duty.
When you go to swing it open, it actually feels heavy in the hand and holds heat really well.
I’m from New Hampshire and grill when it’s -10F outside and the grill chugs along no problem.
The grill grates are SUPER solid and stainless steel.
There’s also ample grill space without having to pay $300+ more for it.
Other brands use deceptive marketing to lie about grill space by combining the upper-rack for the total sq.ft. grill space.
Anything That Sucks About the Pellet Grill?
Aside from smoke flavor, the main complaint you’ll find with most pellet grills is they absolutely suck at searing.
It’s nowhere even close to searing over charcoal.
This point is so true that companies like Camp Chef and Traeger have side shelves with dedicated sear stations that are fueled by Propane or an induction cooktop.
The only other way to get a half way decent sear is using “GrillGrates” which cost me $100.
I’ve used those like maybe 5 times.
Basically, I don’t cook steak on the Grilla Grill and would much rather grill over charcoal or in my cast iron skillet.
BUT I will say, if all you have is a pellet grill – they are a worthwhile investment because they do work OK, at least better than the normal grill grates.
But stuff like say steak kebabs, steak on a stick, etc. works OK provided you know and understand the “hot zones” which are at the front and back of the grill grates.
Like 10-15 seconds over this area is enough to get a char in most cases.
What About Anything Breaking?
So the warranty coverage on this thing is 4 years.
In that time I’ve only had 3 things happen:
- The heat deflector warped (the thing above the burn pot)
- The igniter rod failed December 2022, ish.
- The fire freaked out one time and caused some of the powder coat in areas to flake off.
When the igniter rod failed, I messaged the support, they got back to me in 24 hours and sent me a new one, completely for free.
I installed it on my own and it was back to new – it took 15 minutes.
The heat deflector “warping” just means it won’t slot easily back into the fabricated spots. Someone from Grilla Grills support told me even theirs had it happen and it’s more or less cosmetic.
As long as the heat deflector is above the burn pot, you’re totally fine.
I agree with this sentiment and I’ve had no issues, I even just slot one of the legs and it’s totally secure because it’s so heavy.
Due to the fire I’ve had paint chip off and had the bare metal rust near:
- The front of the grill near the grates.
- Towards the top by the hinges.
- On the side of the grill.
In any case, they told me to sand the area, get some Rust-oleum high heat paint, and apply.
Back to new.
Here’s a before picture – this is post sanding with 120 and 220 grit sandpaper all over (I did the whole thing – well because why not):
Here’s the after:
Is it 100% perfect? No but my grill won’t Rust anymore and will last that much longer.
Apart from those 3 things, the grill still runs like the day I bought it.
The grill is a tank and all the pellet grill brands I compared it to initially have only increased their prices by $300+ or have seriously out-priced regular folks from buying and price their grills @ $2000-$3000+.
If you have that kind of money, I’d look into custom Pellet grills like Pitts and Spitts and buy their “smoke-cage” because that’s the next and likely last pellet grill I’ll ever buy.
