Camp Chef Woodwind Classic 24-Inch Wood Pellet Grill With Propane Sear Box - PG24WWSS

I was given a Woodwind 24 smoker with sidekick last August as a present. I've been using it with the help of my son-in-law who has another manufacture's pellet smoker. He and I really like the Camp Chef smoker and have used it many weekends for brisket to pork shoulder to meatloaf. It performs VERY well particularly the Sidekick. It needs a couple changes though: 1 - the pellet hopper needs better sloped sides as if its 2/3 full the auger will take the pellets out of the middle leaving hours of pellets sloped up the side and result with the fire chamber running out. 2 - the pellet hopper needs an alarm to notify you with a light or bell that the hopper (auger) is running out of pellets. You shouldn't need to find out with the temperature is falling that the fire is out of fuel. 3 - the Camp Chef application uses bluetooth which is too limited to its distance and obstructions to consistently work. Being in the house in an inside room frequently causes the signal to be lost. It should go to WiFi. Or have the option. I, we like and recommend the smoker but there are a few items to tweak to make it better.

About 2 years ago I decided it was time to replace my old pellet smoker (not Camp Chef) that I had for several. Since I already had one I knew what specs I was looking for when doing my research. I looked at every pellet smoker/grill available with the following in mind: 1. High enough heat to sear a steak over wood for the flavor and get the gigantic propane grill off my deck. 2. Ability to open flame baffle for cooking over direct flame. 3. Easy removal of ash from pot and pellets from hopper. 4. Small propane area for cooking sides etc. 5. WIFI controller. Mainly to monitor temp. Not as much much for control. I admit I do have a couple issues but they are not deal breakers for me: 1. The WIFI controller works fine but the app is questionable. I should be able to connect my phone anytime during the cook but I can only connect before startup. There are some other issues with the app but I am confident they will be worked out over time(benefit of software). 2. DO NOT TAKE THE SIDEKICK GRIDDLE OVER 400F. The finish comes off. Of course that is in the user manual but my Dad taught me only read instructions when all else fails. 3. There are a couple spots that the paint is coming off, l suspect from some of my high heat cooks. 4. The lid doesn't seal as well as I would like so I put gasket material around it. I found everything I wanted in the SG24 with the Sidekick along with additional cooking area over my previous unit and at a decent price compared to others. Number 5 wasn't available at time but my wife told me they would have it if I waited awhile...I couldn't although I did upgrade the controller a few months ago. I would have no problem recommending the SG24 for someone wanting to get into pellet cooking.

Been using this for over a year and its been working great. The sidekick is a great addition over competitors. Also comes with a bunch of other accessories that would cost extra elsewhere.

My auto feed auger broke after 6 months making my entire smoker unusable. Called twice but no one returned the call to help me

Love how easy this grill is to use. Assembly wasn't very difficult, if you can handle a screw driver, you should be able to assemble this grill. The foam used to pack everything is annoying, it gets all over the course surface... a air compressor to blow the foam off is helpful. Made wings and pork tenderloin so far... turned out great!!

The Side Kick gas grates are poor quality and start rusting very quickly.

Smoker So I've only had this smoker with sidekick for a few weeks, but overall it leaves somethings to be desired, that being said I will try to leave a balanced review. Packaging on shipping 2/5. Was well packaged for shipment, but unfortunately the cheap Styrofoam, in the crate left a film on the parts of the smoker that is impossible to remove (possibly due to the finish on the smoker. Putting together the main unit: 3.5/5. Overall about what I would expect, definitely easier as a two person job. Finish on main unit: 1/5. The black parts of the smoker have a horrible rough finish that is nigh on impossible to clean, every cloth or paper towel snags on it. Hopefully they have improved the finish on their newer models. Using smoker: 5/5. I'm cautiously optimistic about the actual smoker. I've only done the initial burn-off so far, but the unit seemed to be maintaining 350 *F throughout the process. Sidekick Installation: 1/5. As my Grandmother would say "This one was either made Monday morning or Friday afternoon". The machining of the holes for the sidekick did not line up with those on the smoker, Camp Chef owes me at least an hour and half of my life back and about 3 months worth of cursing. I finally picked three of the four bolts I liked the best and called it a day. Leveling: 1/5. The ability to level the sidekick leaves something to be desired, basically if the far end is lower than the end attached to the smoker you're in luck, any other configuration of off-level and there's not much you can do about it. (Found the thread on reddit, so I'm not the only one with these problems) Use: 4/5. The actual unit works well for cooking with the caveat that all the oil I put in a frying pan likes to sit in the back. So overall while the components of the smoker and sidekick work well the overall experience could use improvement.

Lid is warped, smoke leaks a lot, ash cup cleanout stuck after first burn in, very hard to open or close

I have had this grill for a year and a half. In that time, have replaced the hot rod once, the panel twice and the ash-cleanout mechanism twice. Very poor craftsmanship and materials. The stainless steel is pitted and oxidized. Huge disappointment. Spend your cash on a Traeger or a Yoder. You will be let down with this unit. I gad a stainless Weber for 12 years and it looked better than this does at 18 months. Pure garbage. I begged them to refund my money. Camp chef wouldn't do it.

I have had the grill almost 2 Months now. Everything made on it so far has been excellent. This grill provides the perfect amount of smoked flavor and everything cooks very evenly. The one complaint I have is the included meat probes are junk. This is an important feature of a pellet grill for cooking food perfectly and not having to open the lid. The meat probes have been 15 degrees off from a very good instant meat thermometer. That?s a huge difference and a problem. I would expect better for the price this grill costs. That?s my only complaint so far.