456 Square Inch KingChii Wood Pellet Grill & Smoker w/ Automatic Temperature Control $198.50 + Free Shipping

SensibleMaid942

Dec 15, 2025 07:53 AM

18 Posts

Joined Oct 2020

SensibleMaid942Dec 15, 2025 07:53 AM

18 Posts

Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank SensibleMaid942

Junk, used it 2 times. On the second run it started backfire that crawled into hopper box and melted auger mechanism. There is a warning that says to clean burn bowl every 4 hours. My first run was maybe 1.5 hours and I was withing first hour on second run… I am glad that I tried out pellet grill on a cheap model, now I know what to expect if I do decide to switch to them with a more expensive, better model.

4

9

diveborg

Dec 15, 2025 11:32 PM

6,915 Posts

Joined May 2006

diveborgDec 15, 2025 11:32 PM

6,915 Posts

Just the brand name doesn't inspire confidence.

2

beware

Dec 16, 2025 01:06 AM

1,919 Posts

Joined Dec 2004

bewareDec 16, 2025 01:06 AM

1,919 Posts

I have this and I've done a few smokes on it. It was a test at $225 to replace my electric smoker.

The temp is inaccurate by about 25 degrees. I had no issues smoking a pork shoulder, ribs and then two 13lb turkeys on Thanksgiving. Is this a $800 smoker? Nope! But for the 2-3x a year I use it it's been worth the money so far.
I used Costco pellets, it eats pellets. Feed it like coal in a b&w train cartoon.

ChrisC6090

Dec 16, 2025 06:41 PM

1,609 Posts

Joined Jun 2013

ChrisC6090Dec 16, 2025 06:41 PM

1,609 Posts

Quote from beware

:

I have this and I've done a few smokes on it. It was a test at $225 to replace my electric smoker.

The temp is inaccurate by about 25 degrees. I had no issues smoking a pork shoulder, ribs and then two 13lb turkeys on Thanksgiving. Is this a $800 smoker? Nope! But for the 2-3x a year I use it it's been worth the money so far.
I used Costco pellets, it eats pellets. Feed it like coal in a b&w train cartoon.

They are all like this. My traeger is the same

beware

Dec 16, 2025 08:31 PM

1,919 Posts

Joined Dec 2004

bewareDec 16, 2025 08:31 PM

1,919 Posts

Quote from ChrisC6090

:

They are all like this. My traeger is the same

Then it was worth the $225. Does yours have a bunch of "saw dust" in the bottom after the smoke? I wheeled mine out in the yard and blew it off with the leaf blower.

agentsteve

Dec 17, 2025 02:26 AM

472 Posts

Joined Nov 2012

agentsteveDec 17, 2025 02:26 AM

472 Posts

Quote from SensibleMaid942

:

Junk, used it 2 times. On the second run it started backfire that crawled into hopper box and melted auger mechanism. There is a warning that says to clean burn bowl every 4 hours. My first run was maybe 1.5 hours and I was withing first hour on second run… I am glad that I tried out pellet grill on a cheap model, now I know what to expect if I do decide to switch to them with a more expensive, better model.

This has never once happened once with my cheap $150 pellet smoker over 5 years of smoking. I do vacuum the firebox with a shop vac before starting it every single time though. A cheap shop vac is a good investment if you buy a cheap smoker.

LukeW1

Jan 14, 2026 08:21 PM

7 Posts

Joined Aug 2015

LukeW1Jan 14, 2026 08:21 PM

7 Posts

Quote from SensibleMaid942

:

Junk, used it 2 times. On the second run it started backfire that crawled into hopper box and melted auger mechanism. There is a warning that says to clean burn bowl every 4 hours. My first run was maybe 1.5 hours and I was withing first hour on second run… I am glad that I tried out pellet grill on a cheap model, now I know what to expect if I do decide to switch to them with a more expensive, better model.

Did you use the shutdown procedure or just unplug the smoker?
I have this same smoker and fortunately haven't had any real issues so far(although i have only used it 3-4 times).
The 4 hour burn time for the burn pot is very inconvenient if you wanted to do something longer like a brisket. Emptying the pot requires you to remove the grates and drip tray which is so inconvenient while cooking that it really just isn't worth doing. So I would look for a different model if you wanted to do longer cooks.

LukeW1

Jan 14, 2026 08:25 PM

7 Posts

Joined Aug 2015

LukeW1Jan 14, 2026 08:25 PM

7 Posts

Quote from beware

:

Then it was worth the $225. Does yours have a bunch of "saw dust" in the bottom after the smoke? I wheeled mine out in the yard and blew it off with the leaf blower.

This was my reasoning. I looked at a lot of the lower end smokers and they all use very similar (perhaps the same) components. The lower end models all look like cheap chinese products so why not just get the smoker that is priced like a cheap Chinese product vs spending $600 on a Traeger.

beware

Jan 14, 2026 08:37 PM

1,919 Posts

Joined Dec 2004

bewareJan 14, 2026 08:37 PM

1,919 Posts

Quote from LukeW1

:

This was my reasoning. I looked at a lot of the lower end smokers and they all use very similar (perhaps the same) components. The lower end models all look like cheap chinese products so why not just get the smoker that is priced like a cheap Chinese product vs spending $600 on a Traeger.

The replaceable and easily source able components was one of my factors too. I franken-rigged a masterbuilt electric smoker I had for about 10 years with parts from amazon.

Ive had this china smoker for about 6 months now have smoked 2 turkeys (Thanksgiving)
Pork Shoulder, ribs, Standing Rib roast (Christmas)

All have come out perfect. No complaints for the $225 I spent on it and I would probably buy again. If you can monitor with a real temp probe as it is off by 25-50 degrees.

Aedin123

Feb 16, 2026 03:33 PM

430 Posts

Joined Nov 2011

Aedin123Feb 16, 2026 03:33 PM

430 Posts

$249 now. Still cheap for a pellet grill but my missing out on the "best price" has my SlickDeal DNA crying out in pain

456 Square Inch KingChii Wood Pellet Grill & Smoker w/ Automatic Temperature Control $198.50 + Free Shipping

$199

$480

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