Which BBQ is Best for You?
How a Saffire Kamado Compares with a Pellet Grill
Saffire Kamado Grill and Smoker
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Pellet Grills
Fuel
Saffire: Charcoal is Really Amazing!
Most people take charcoal for granted.
They don’t realize why it is so excellent for cooking or all that has happened to the wood in the charcoal making process. While it looks dark and dirty, all of the really nasty, tars and carcinogenic compounds in the wood have been burned off when it is made. 75% of the wood’s original mass is burned off. The remaining charcoal is mostly carbon that burns clean, hot and steady without much of any flame or smoke. It is similar to the activated charcoal that is used to filter and purify water.
Wood chips or chunks may be added to get the right amount of smoke in the early stages of cooking.
Pellet Grills: Pellets are Less Refined
The wood that is in pellets has not been through the charcoal process that removes a lot of the unwanted and unpleasant compounds. More of these compounds are present in the additional flames and gasses of burning wood (and pellets). That’s part of the reason that most cooking with wood is done when the flames of the fire die down and the clean, steady radiant heat of charcoal can be utilized.
Electricity
Saffire: No Electricity or Gas Needed
All you need is charcoal, fire starter squares, and a lighter. A Saffire can move anywhere, so you can arrange your cooking space however you like.
Pellet Grills: Requires Connection to Electricity
You either always cook in one place, near an outlet, or you have a long extension cord to trip over.
Maintenance
Saffire: No Electric or Motorized Parts
Pellet Grills: More Service Problems
There are so many things that can break down. Two motors for the auger and fan, a glow plug, an electric control panel, etc. If you can’t fix it yourself, you’re stuck with the cost of repair. Or just buy a whole new grill!
Noise Level
Saffire: Totally Silent Operation
Unless you consider the occasional crackle of a lump of charcoal noisy, a Saffire is completely quiet!
Pellet Grills: Produces Noise
The auger makes noise when feeding more pellets into the grill, which happens often. The fan is also constantly blowing air into the pellet grill.
Efficiency
Saffire: Well Insulated and Efficient — Low Charcoal Usage
Saffires have two layers of one-inch thick ceramics: a one-inch thick ceramic body, and inside that a one-inch thick firebox, where the charcoal burns. Our kamados are further insulated with a gasket seal that holds the heat in.
A Saffire only requires a tiny amount of airflow to keep cooking. The ceramic walls retain the heat from the hot charcoal embers, and isn’t cooled by an excessive flow of air through the grill. This is why Saffires use much less fuel and keep a consistant temperature throughout the entire cooking process.
Pellet Grills: A Lot of Heat Driven Off and Lost — More Fuel is Burned Up
Most pellet grills have thin sheet metal walls that heat easily radiates through, so they don’t hold the heat in well. They also have a blower that constantly forces a large volume of air through the grill.
Forcing a lot of air into the grill has a cooling effect, even while fanning the fire. Forcing fresh air into the pellet grill also constantly forces hot air out the top. More fuel needs to be burned to make up for the cooling effect and the heat loss of this excessive air-flow.
Moisture
Saffire: Tiny Airflow Preserves Moisture
At only 1/10th to 1/20th the airflow needed to keep a pellet grill running, the moisture and volume of food is preserved. This is especially true during roasting and smoking.
Pellet Grills: Forced Air Dries Out Your Food
Pellet grills use 10 to 20 times the airflow of a Saffire grill! Airflow can really dry out your food!
Winter Usage
Saffire: Ceramic Walls Insulate for Year-Round Cooking
The multiple, thick ceramic walls and minuscule airflow preserve the heat in the grill.
Pellet Grills: Extremely Inefficient in Freezing Weather
In colder temperatures, forcing air into your pellet grill makes the cooling effect and pellet consumption much worse.
Flareups
Saffire: Low, Minimal Airflow Eliminates Flare-Ups
Flareups are eliminated when there is minimal airflow, besides the added benefit that your Saffire will hold high temperatures throughout the cooking.
Pellet Grills: Produces Flare-Ups
There will be flare-ups whenever temperatures are over 350° F because air is constantly being pushed through the pellet grill.
Searing
Saffire: Serious Searing up to 1,000° F!
Charcoal burning at over 1,700° F radiates a tremendous amount of infrared heat to perfectly sear your meat! With the grid in the low position and the thermometer at 600° F. the temperature at the grid is 1,000° F! Now that’s searing!
It’s even easier to sear with Saffire’s new patented Crucible firebox!
Pellet Grills: Much Less Searing Power
Mostly configured for roasting and smoking, a pellet grill cannot produce the high temperatures that charcoal can for real searing. This is because pellet grills have a small burn chamber with a small amount of pellets burning at any given time. This little chamber needs to work extra hard to warm up all the steel in the grill to cook well, and even more-so when trying to sear a steak!
Temperature Loss
Saffire: Quick Temperature Rebound After Opening
There is a lot of stored heating power inside a big bed of burning hot charcoal! This power quickly returns your Saffire to the desired temperature after opening it and closing it again.
Pellet Grills: Waiting for Temperatures to Rise after Opening
If a pellet grill is opened for very long the metal cools down and takes more time for the small burn pot to get the entire grill back to temperature.
Pizza
Saffire: Pizza Perfect!
Using all-natural lump charcoal, you can cook true, wood-fired pizza! Between the ceramic dome on a Saffire kamado and the high temperatures you can cook at (up to 600° F or more), your pizzas will be done in minutes! Just place your rolled dough and pizza toppings on your pizza stone with a little corn flour in between and watch for the bottom to crisp.
Pellet Grills: Wood Fired Pizza Oven? — Not So Much
Pellet grills are made of sheet metal and cannot produce a radiant, high temperature environment like a wood-fired pizza oven. Your pellet grill will have to work overtime just to be able to bake your pizza crust, all the while using up tons of pellets per pizza!
Durability
Saffire: Super-Tough, Durable Finish
Our kamado grills are made of super-durable, one-inch thick ceramics with an outer glaze fired-on at more than 1,000° F. They are weather resistant and include a Limited Lifetime Warranty!
Pellet Grills: More Areas Prone to Rust
Most pellet grills have painted/powder coated sheet metal surfaces with a 2-3 year warranty.
Stainless Steel Options
Saffire: Stainless Steel is Standard — at Half the Price!
Saffire Platinum models have all 304 stainless steel hardware. With 304 stainless steel you don’t even need to cover your grill unless you live by the ocean, or for some reason you like to keep your Saffire by your pool or hot tub (not the best choice). Platinum models also come with Limited Lifetime Warranty on the ceramics and the stainless steel.
Our prices are half the price, or less, than pellet grills of similar materials!
Pellet Grills: Stainless Steel Versions are Rare and Expensive
Pellet grills are designed with fancy features over longevity. When pellet grill manufacturers try to make rust resistant features, they come up with ideas like a plastic cart/stand. Expect to always keep your grill covered, and good luck if you live by the ocean!
Stainless steel is an afterthought. If you do buy a stainless steel version, you really pay for it.
Fuel and Moisture
Saffire: Charcoal Remains Intact
While you don’t want to soak your lump charcoal in water, it generally isn’t affected by moisture. You can store charcoal in any paper bag and it will be fine. Feel free to cook in the rain, too!
Pellet Grills: Pellets Disintrigrate in Moisture
It’s important to keep your pellet bag sealed. If you don’t, you could open your bag of fuel during a cook to find most of your fuel is now saw-dust! If you cook in the rain, there’s a good chance the fuel in your hopper will turn into saw-dust too!
Power Outages
Saffire: Totally Unaffected by Power Outages
The most efficient, versatile, alternative-fuel cooking option in a power outage. You can think of your Saffire like your emergency cooker, especially if you are without electricity and gas for more than a day.
Pellet Grills: Does Not Operate in a Power Outage
Unless you plan for a power outage by plugging your pellet grill into a backup system or generator, a power outage could ruin your dinner, literally! Of course, no one claimed a pellet grill was a good option in case of emergencies.
Fumes
Saffire: Charcoal Only Produces Carbon Monoxide While Burning
Most of the noxious, gas-producing elements are removed during the production of charcoal. As long as you cook outside and then let the grill cool off outside, you don’t need to worry about dangerous fumes.
Pellet Grills: Pellets Produce Carbon Monoxide in Storage
Deaths have occurred in sealed storerooms that had bulk pellets. Danger is greatly reduced if smaller quantities are stored in a ventilated area.
You still need to cook outside, as carbon monoxide is also produced when you cook.
So How Does a Saffire Kamado Compare to a Pellet Grill?
The comparison chart above details these observations:
- Charcoal is more refined than wood pellets. It produces a clean burn and a much larger heat-source than a pellet grill does, for much higher temperature grilling, searing and pizza cooking.
- The Saffire ceramic kamado, with thick ceramic walls, provides much greater efficiency. It has much less air-flow and uses up much less fuel than a pellet grill.
- The much higher flow of air being forced into a pellet grill has a cooling effect. It is also forcing the already warm air out of the grill at the same high rate. This loss of heat must be overcome with more fuel usage.
- The Saffire kamado requires less service than a pellet grill as there is no electricity required and no control panel, augers or fans needed in a kamado. The Saffire is unaffected by power outages.
- The Saffire may also be equipped with a thermostat temperature control using a WiFi connection, to allow remote access and control from a mobile device. No different than a pellet grill!
Saffire
Uncomplicated, Versatile, Efficient and Unplugged!
Grill – Smoke – Bake
Want to know why else you should cook on a Saffire?
