Z GRILLS ZPG-450A Wood Pellet Grill & Smoker with PID V2.1 Controller, 450 Sq in Cook Area, Meat Probe, 8 in 1 BBQ Grill Outdoor Auto Temperature Control, Black

Disclaimer: I have not yet used the grill to actually cook anything. I am only really writing this review to comment on a few things that I experienced and observed during assembly and the first start-up, as I am a quality manager myself and would like to help out the Z-Grills team to better their product. I have no affiliation with Z-Grills and I have not been nor am I being compensated for this review in any way.The product was delivered safe and sound and in excellent condition, being delivered by the Amazon delivery team themselves, straight from SLC, Utah, to Logan, Utah. The box itself didn't have a scratch on it and was surprisingly clean all things considered. I wish all of my delivered items from Amazon were received in such a manner.Upon opening the packaging, I found that everything was neatly packed and nothing was loose that should not have been. There was nothing broken inside, and everything was very clean and organized.Reviewing the manual before starting assembly, I found that the "Simple Installation Instructions" were very difficult to understand, and, moving to the actual instruction manual, I found that they contradicted the actual instructions. Later, I realized that the "Simple Installation Instructions" included with the product was actually intended to rectify some instruction issues that were accidentally omitted in the assembly instructions in the manual as a customer notice (but it was not labeled as such, which was why I was confused). I found myself frustrated, having to go forward some pages, then backward, and finally just threw the manual away and put the product together using my best judgment and existing technical knowledge.Suggestion: Please improve the assembly instructions - all of your product literature is jumbled up inside of your lit pack and it is difficult to follow and even more difficult to use to put the product together.During assembly, I found that the included screwdriver and wrenches were insufficient. They will do the job, but they are extremely clumsy and will extend the length of a build unnecessarily. Power tools are a must here. That being said, when using an impact drill to assemble the product, both on the Philips head screws and the hex head bolts, I found that the metal used on the hardware is VERY brittle. I not only unintentionally stripped out the screws (actually SHATTERING the screws in several places), but found that there were several screws that were malformed and/or cracked through the heads. These broke when reaching adequate holding torque during assembly. Another major issue I found is that the wheel axle is MUCH too long - by about an inch or more (rough estimate as I did not have a tape or a set of calipers) - and causes a lot of slop and horizontal movement in the wheels, even after adding washers on either side of both wheels. The axle is likely used universally between other products and this one, however, so I can understand why it is so long. In this case, using bushings to eat up the slop and provide a tighter fit would be best, but it should otherwise be shortened up to fit the actual wheelbase.It is difficult to recommend a fix for this, as there could be many different variables affecting the hardness of the metal, as well as torsion, shear, etc.The first startup was somewhat of a learning process. I had thought that I broke the auger somehow, as the instructions for the first-time startup says it could take 1-2 minutes for the auger to spin up, but it took between 5 and 6 minutes for me. It did work, however, and seems to be able to easily keep up with the pellet load. The burner is also functional and seems to be working appropriately. Everything is heavily coated in rust preventative oil out of the box - but this is a GOOD thing. You simply will want to wipe it down gently (being careful to not actually remove all of the oil) before using it - especially inside of the fire bowl.One other observation on my first warm-up using pellets is that this thing HEMORRHAGES smoke, even with the lid closed - and not just from the chimney (which, by the way, does not have an adjustable closure). You may as well not even have a chimney on this thing, as the smoke leaks out of every gap on the thing except where the fiberglass gaskets between the main box and the chimney and the pellet hopper are located, which are great. But, adding a similar 1/8"-1/4" gasket around the lid as well as a tube of heat-proof silicone sealant for all of the holes (and perhaps some Loctite 242 for all of the screws) would be great additions to the product, and would help the quality of life and overall efficiency of this product immensely. Furthermore, lid locks on either side of the unit would also be extremely beneficial in the event that a heat-proof gasket is provided around the lid enclosure, and would help to keep the smoke inside of the box so it can do its job. All of these things are things that I plan to mod onto the product itself at a later time in order to improve its overall functionality and smoking effectiveness.With the above having been said, I was very impressed with the quality and gauge of the metal used for the actual grill, as well as the overall look, feel, and quality of the wheels, handles, feet, etc. The product seems to be surprisingly heavy-duty and well made. The hardware/assembly holes all aligned well enough and were clear of debris and thread damage (which is a HUGE plus on customer assembled products). So far, it seems like it will be a great product.I will update this review when I actually use it and if I can remember to do so.

I really love this grill. It has been a great one and has preferred to all my expectations getting ready to try my first brisket on it and have no worries what so ever.

So far I’ve use basic pellets without any problems. Below is my reviewAssembly; I easily assembled this alone. The “Quick” guide was useless as it offered no info on what screw, washers etc. we’re being used. The printed manual provided that info but due to poor print quality it was difficult to read. The inclusion of almost all the necessary tools was nice. I say almost as there was no wrench big enough for the wheel axels. Manual needs to be tweaked, it has you installing lid handles and then several steps later installing the lift handle??? The lack of a method to store the power cord when not in use was easily overcome with a Command Strip hook. Otherwise assembly was rather easy. I’m glad this unit included a cover. Living in SE AZ, I made not need it much, the question is, how long will it hold up in the AZ sun?Startup; Followed instructions to the letter. One to two minutes for the pellets to reach the fire pot...... I didn’t time it, but it seemed like it was a lot longer than that. All went well and did the initial burn off as instructed. It does emit much more noise than I expected.Actual use; Did. Say I there was a big learning curve? This is where things get frustrating. There is a big temp difference between the left and right side. Part of that could have been the unit not being level. Even after leveling, the temp swing was a bit much. Smoke leakage, yep leaks like mad via the lid. A starter roll of their high temp tape would have been nice. Temp front to back, not sure I want to check this as the grease pan is curved the higher temps will be in the middle. No problem due to the fan, you say, not sure I agree with that. Upper Rack, it’s there and mainly useless. If your cooking chicken or anything over a few inches high, it will need to be removed. Otherwise you cannot put much on it, what you can put on it has to be thin. Also this rack is s a little bothersome to put in and take out. The temp swing while cooking also varies widely. It could be that it’s spring and the wind is playing a bigger part than expected, even with a slight breeze. I haven’t tried smoking anything yet, but will very soon. Sadly I’m sure that will entail a somewhat complex and time consuming task of removing current pellets and refilling the hopper, yes I bought a basic model with no way to quickly change pellets, my bad. Smoking; haven’t tried it yet but I’m wondering, since the hat on the chimney is threaded can one adjust its height to help control the smoke and heat? I’ve seen such adjustments on other pellet smokers.Speaking of all the wonderful functions this unit offers, how do you utilize them? I know I set the temp to what I want to in order to bake. What temp is recommended when grilling? Or the other functions? If the smoke is drastically reduced when the grill temp is over 180, how do you get the good smoky flavor? These questions should have already been answered in the manual, as we did buy a basic, beginners model smoker. Looking for some interesting recipes, they have them on their website with everything you need to know except the blend of pellets recommended to get the most flavor out of your food. Guess you need to check the pellet bags then do some trial and error.With everything I’ve pointed out that may appear negative, I’m very happy with my ZGrill (Happy Birthday to me). Now if I could just get out of the habit of opening the lid while things are cooking.