Move over Traeger, there's a new grill in town... Ok, not really! In fact, Z Grills actually manufactured Traeger Grills before they decided to start selling their own pellet grills directly to the public, at significantly reduced prices! In this post, I'll be reviewing the Z Grills 700D3. I will share both the pros and cons of this particular model.
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Before going any further, I would like to disclose that this is a sponsored post. I was gifted a Z Grills 700D3 in return for my honest Z Grills review. We may earn an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you if you buy through a link on this page.
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The History of Z Grills
Z Grills was founded in 2016, however, they have been manufacturing grills for well-known brands including Traeger for a lot longer! Z Grills has been winning customers over with their beautiful quality grills and their amazingly affordable prices ever since!
Don't believe me? Just head to their website, Amazon, or anywhere Z Grills Pellet Grills are sold. You'll be blown away by their almost unanimous 5-star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ reviews!
In 2021, Z Grills released their first wifi pellet grill (Model 11002B) and their first portable pellet grill (Cruiser 200A). This portable smoker is a great option for camping, grilling at the beach, or when you're on the go!
We provide high-quality pellet grills with honest prices to let everyone enjoy the wood-fired flavor."
- Z Grills Founder
Z Grills Assembly
My Z Grills 700D3 arrived in two separate boxes. One included the grill body while the other had the cabinet parts. A third package included 2 pellet varieties (cherry and competition blend). If you'd like to see the other wood flavors they offer, head to ZGrills.com.
It took 55 minutes from the time my husband, Scott, and I opened the boxes until the last step of hanging the grease drain pan in place. Scott did the majority of the work, while I had the important task of peeling off stickers, screwing in bolts, taking pictures, and lending him a hand. Our two fur babies did a great job of supervising us and made sure we stayed on track. 🐾
Pro Tip: Although the Z Grills instructions manual suggested adding the 2 locking wheels to the back of the grill, Scott decided to add them to the front for easier access. Especially since the grill will be placed against the deck wall making the back wheels less accessible.
After plugging the pellet grill in place, it took another 30 minutes to perform a function check. After that, it took an additional 45-minute to cure/season the grill.
So, from the time you open the boxes until you can start grilling takes less than 2 ½ hours. Not bad, huh?
Z Grills 700D3 Features
- The 8-in-1 700D3 allows you to smoke, bake, roast, braise, sear, grill, char-grill, or barbecue.
- Not one but two meat probes are integrated into the LCD digital control system. This allows you to check the internal temperatures on the control panel without lifting the lid.
- Operating with fan-forced convection cooking ensures even heat distribution and no flare-ups, which means you can set it and forget it! This also ensures even cooking no matter where you place the food!
- PID Technology allows you to maintain an even temperature for consistent results every single time!
- A small side panel door allows you to easily empty out the pellets in the hopper when you want to switch to another flavor. Speaking of the hopper, its extra-large capacity allows you to fit an entire bag (20 lbs of pellets) in one go!
- The grill has a feed function that feeds more pellets into the chamber in order to quickly increase the internal temperature after you open the lid. This ensures even cooking.
- The grill's temperature ranges from 180-450 degrees F.
- The weight of the grill is 132 lbs.
Z Grills 700D3 Capacity
The grill stands at 51" tall, 48" wide, and 22" deep. The top rack is 26.2" wide by 7.4" deep and the main cooking area is 26" wide by 19.4" deep. This gives you 697 square inches of cooking surface (porcelain-coated too, woo-hoo!)
The top partial rack will allow you to keep food warm while you continue to smoke food on the lower rack.
The grill's cooking surface is large enough to smoke 29 burgers all at once! If you're planning on smoking ribs, you can fit 6 racks of ribs at the same time! Or maybe you'd like to smoke a whole chicken? Why not smoke 5 and feed a crowd?
Temperature Settings
The temperature dial has the following settings: Shutdown cycle, smoke, 180-375 degrees temperature settings, and a high setting that goes up to 450 degrees F.
The first step when turning on the grill is to set the knob to the smoke setting. This preheats the grill and pumps out a bunch of smoke which is perfect for bombarding whatever you're grilling with a ton of smokey flavor during the first hour. The temperature ranges anywhere from 158 to 194 degrees F when this setting is selected.
When you're done with the grill, simply remove your food and turn the knob to the shutdown position to start the 10-minute shutdown cycle. During these 10 minutes, the fan will continue to run. Do not unplug the unit until it has finished the shutdown cycle. Doing so can start a fire in the hopper.
If you have been using the high setting, turn the knob to the smoke setting for 10 minutes before choosing the shutdown cycle.
Cleaning Your Z Grills Pellet Grill
If you do a little work up front, like covering the tray and the grease drain pan with aluminum foil prior to using the grill, clean-up will be as simple as removing the foil and tossing it in the trash!
To clean the grates, just scrub with a grill brush while the grill is still hot, or wipe down with a soapy dishtowel. After the grill is completely cooled, it is recommended to clean underneath the drip pan. A shop vac does a great job of getting any remaining pellets and built-up ashes.
Pros and Cons
Thanks for taking the time to read my Z grills review. I'd like to wrap up this review with some of Z Grills 700D3's pros and cons to help you make your purchasing decision even easier.
Pros
- Z Grills are very sturdy and substantial. There is nothing cheap about this unit and no corners were cut in manufacturing them.
- The 700D3's installation is pretty straightforward and comes with an easy-to-use manual. If you're the typical guy who doesn't like to read an instructions manual, no worries, Z Grills even offers installation videos!
- It doesn't take a rocket scientist to quickly begin using the smoker. Just toss in the pellets of choice, open the lid, and preheat the grill on the smoke setting. After that, just choose your heat setting and begin smoking your food.
- The extra-large hopper is awesome and allows you to dump an entire 20 lb bag at once.
- Thanks to the feed feature, the temperature stays consistent while using the grill.
- There are 2 probes included with your purchase to keep track of your food's temperature.
- I like that the 700D3 has a cabinet for storing accessories.
- As far as affordability, this unit's price can't be beat, especially for the quality that you're getting.
- The grease drain pan hangs on the outside of the grill, instead of in the cabinet below the grill. This makes it easy to access and it also helps you to remember to clean it after use!
- The unit comes with a pair of grilling gloves and a grill cover. Although I read some negative reviews regarding the cover being too small and hard to fit over the grill, I did not find that to be the case at all. In fact, between my gas barbecue, my Traeger, and my Z Grills 700D3, I found the Z Grill's cover the easiest to fit.
- Z Grills also offers many accessories to make your smoking experience even more enjoyable!
Cons
- The temperature does not go higher than 450 degrees F.
- This unit does not have a setting comparable to Traeger's super smoke option, however, the smoke setting will produce substantial smoke.
- This particular model does not offer a wifi connection but the newer Model 11002B, does.
As you can see from my Z Grills review, the pros far outweigh the cons when it comes to owning a Z Grills 700D3 wood pellet grill! So, if you've been on the fence about purchasing a Z Grills smoker, I say go for it!
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