With the summer heat, everyone loves a good beach or camping trip with family and friends. We all know that no outdoor family trip is complete without some BBQ! Therefore, a lot of people lookout for the perfect grills and smokers to get.
A true barbeque lover is familiar with the top grilling and smoking products in the industry. Two of those brands are Traeger and Weber.
Despite their differences, both of them provide products for people who love the outdoors and love cooking at the same time. Both brands have produced a lot of smokers and grillers in their catalogs to people. But at the same time, they have never failed our expectations.
Traeger and Weber Overview
Traeger is well known for its smoker & grill products that are mainly fueled by wood pellets, while Weber is known for its bullet-shaped smokers (Weber Smokey Mountain series) that can be driven by gas, charcoal, wood, and electricity.
They may both be useful, but the main question in this grill review is this: which brand would suit your needs better?
Instead of reading individual reviews for each brand, we have come up with a face-to-face comparison between Traeger and Weber to save you some trouble researching on your own! Which is the best outdoor cooking brand? Let’s look at their overview first.
Traeger
For the past 30 years, Traeger has produced the best wood pellet grills in the history of barbeque. The company is founded in Mt. Angel, Oregon, by Joe Traeger. Traeger created its first wood pellet grill in 1985 and has since become famous for its pellet-fueled grills that can serve as both a griller and a smoker.
Throughout the years, the company has produced different kinds of grills, all using wood pellets as fuel. They say that this fuel complements your food better since they give you a rich and delicious wood-fire flavor to your meat.
This brand has aimed to be the best grill by keeping five goals in mind for every product: taste, versatility, ease, consistency, and community.
Just like what every barbeque lover would know, wood-fired grills are better than charcoal grills or gas grills. Wood-fire enhances the flavors and, therefore, is crucial to natural, delicious, smokey-flavored barbeque.
Another plus point for these grills is the versatility- you can use your Traeger grill not only for grilling but also for baking, smoking, and roasting too, making it an ideal combo grill-smoker. This property saves you money and space in your backyards.
You will find user-friendly thanks to digital controls for the temperature settings. These controls also let you produce consistent fire, so all you have to do is set your time and temperature, leave your grill, and relax while waiting for the food to cook.
As for the community, Traeger users form a strong bond with BBQ lovers. They share recipes and tips on using their grills. Best of all, the company provides excellent customer service!
Weber
Another name you’ll see everywhere there’s BBQ, is Weber. With their excellent grills and their customer service, Weber, on the other hand, is older than Traeger.
George Stephen Sr. founded the company way back in 1952, in Chicago, Illinois. It’s one of the oldest outdoor cooking brands that have made a name in the industry over the past 65 years up to date.
From what began as a company that made harbor buoys, George Stephen became inspired by his love of grilling. Basically, he gained the company’s popularity by merely wanting to create a grill to perfect one of his favorite food – a steak.
The very first well known grill from the brand has a dome-shaped built with a lid to help trap in flavor and, at the same time, serve as wind resistance for a successful barbeque party.
Weber certainly gained its popularity for the people with their kettle grills. Even though they started with charcoal and wood grills, when society slowly shifted towards propane as fuel instead, the company adapted and created their line of propane grills.
Most gas grills at the time were hard to use without resulting in blazed up meat on the racks. So, the brand took the courtesy and made liquid propane grills easy and blaze free.
Today, the brand has officially invented all sorts of grills: charcoal grills, vertical grills, propane grills, portable grills, electrical grills, hybrid grills, and many others.
One thing is for sure: Weber never fails to amaze its users with their high-quality grills and excellent customer service plus their ten-year warranty.
Compare the Wood Pellet Grills from Traeger versus Weber’s
We’ll introduce the bestselling pellet grills from both brands to give you an idea of the fan favorites. These are the Traeger Tex Elite (TFB42LZBC) and the Weber Genesis II (62020001). However, given that Traeger specializes in pellet grills, we need to find a pellet grill from the competing brand to make it fair.
So hold your breath, we’ve finalized our choices to Traeger TFB42LZBC Grills Lil Tex Elite 22, up against Weber 22510001 SmokeFire EX4 Wood Fired Pellet Grill.
| Traeger | Weber | |
|---|---|---|
| Model | Traeger TFB42LZBC Grills Lil Tex Elite 22 Wood Pellet Grill and Smoker | Weber 22510001 SmokeFire EX4 Wood Fired Pellet Grill |
| Dimension | 42 x 22 x 29 inches | 45 x 30 x 46 inches |
| Weight | 98 pounds | 186 pounds |
| Cooking Space | 418 square inches | 672 square inches |
| Colors | Bronze | Black |
| Fuel Type | Wood pellet fueled | Wood pellet fueled |
| Hopper Capacity | 18 pounds of wood pellet | 22 pounds of wood pellet |
| Temperature Range | 180 – 450 degrees Fahrenheit | 200 – 600 degrees Fahrenheit |
| Features | Digital Elite Controller | Weber Connect smart technology for Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity |
| Promised 6 in 1 versatility – grill, smoke, bake, roast, braise, and BBQ your food | Flavorizer bars for direct heat across the entire cooking area | |
| Easy to clean porcelain grill grates | Steel plated cooking grates | |
| Electronic auto start ignition | Comes with a side table, two built in tool hooks, and a meat probe | |
| Built in thermometer | Built in thermometer | |
| Built in LED Display | Built in LCD display | |
| Easy to drain grease management system | Easy to clean ash catcher and grease drawer | |
| Steel construction and powder coated finish and two wheels with locking casters | A porcelain coated stainless steel construction and four wheels (two wheels with locking casters and the other two without) | |
| Warranty | Three years | 10 years for the bowl and lid, five years for plastic parts, and two years for others |
Traeger Grills Lil Tex Elite 22 Wood Pellet Grill and Smoker
The Traeger TFB42LZBC Grills Lil Tex Elite‘s got the stainless steel, powder-coated finish build with two wheels. It would stay good as new for the years to come!
The elite digital controller and LED display for the temperature comes in handy, too. These features allow for easy monitoring of your cooking progress. The enhanced technology of the said digital controller is one of its strong points when Traeger rivaled Pit Boss in our detailed comparison.
It has a lightweight of 98 pounds. Despite that, its 418 square inches of porcelain grill grates still gives you lots of room to cook 16 burgers, four whole chickens, or five racks of ribs. Meanwhile, its hopper can fit 18 pounds of pellets.
Lil Tex Elite 22 has promised a 6-in-1 grill that allows you to not only grill, but to smoke, bake, roast, braise, and BBQ anything you like.
Other user-friendly features are the electronic auto-start ignition and easy-to-drain, grease management system. One thing to note is that unlike other models from the same brand, this does not have a convection fan.
With its size and features, it sure is easy to move around. It is cheaper than its competition Weber, but it does have a smaller cooking area and a 3-year warranty only if you look at them side-by-side.
- 6-in-1 cooking functions
- Traeger digital elite controller
- The parts fit amazingly well
- Electronic auto start ignition
- Built-in thermometer and LED display
- Customer service needs improvement
Weber SmokeFire EX4 Wood Fired Pellet Grill
Weber 22510001 SmokeFire EX4 exists in two sizes: 36” and 24”. For the smaller one, SmokeFire EX4 has the dimensions 45 x 30 x 46 inches and a heavyweight of 186 pounds. Even with the smaller version, you’ll still be getting a generous cooking area of 672 square inches. And, its hopper capacity is 22 pounds of pellet wood.
It comes with a Weber Connect smart technology for Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity. This feature allows you to get notifications about your temperature and cooking time in a handy smartphone application. You can even control your grilling temperature through this app. With the advanced tech of this grill, you’ll “sit back and relax” instead of spending much effort watching your BBQ. Along with Connect, it has a built-in thermometer and LCD.
It also features an easy-to-clean ash catcher and grease drawer. You don’t have to stress about cleanup too much thanks to these things.
Just like other Weber models, this includes a side table and two built-in tool hooks for cooking and food prep. The grill’s sturdily built in a porcelain coated stainless steel construction with four wheels, two of which have locking casters. Like the Traeger grill, this would also be a reliable and long-lasting BBQ equipment!
Unlike its superior, the Genesis II (62020001), this one has no warming rack, heat deflectors, and side burner. If you don’t mind these things, then the SmokeFire EX4 is perfect for you.
Just like every Weber product, its warranty can last up to 10 years- that makes every buck spent worth it.
- Large cooking area
- Weber Connect smart tech for Bluetooth and Wi-Fi
- Up to 10 years warranty
- One meat probe included
- Expensive
The Differences Between Weber vs Traeger – Performance and Configurations
Aside from deciding on a grill based on your preference and budget, there are other aspects you can consider.
In choosing the perfect grill to keep in your home, there are four other features you need to consider: design, temperature control, cooking space, and technology. You’ll see why these are essential in a grill if you keep reading!
The Design
The Traeger TFB42LZBC Grills Lil Tex Elite is an original chrome and black stainless steel with two caster wheels. The Weber SmokeFire EX4 has a black, porcelain-coated stainless steel construction and four caster wheels (two are locking).
The two extra wheels on the SmokeFire EX4 make it super portable as you can easily glide it around. For the Lil Tex Elite, you need to lift one side before you can roll it. The Traeger, however, is about 100 pounds lighter than the Weber, so it still wouldn’t be so hard to move around.
Temperature Control
Both models come with a built-in thermometer. Traeger Lil Tex Elite has a built-in LED display, while Weber SmokeFire EX4 has a built-in LCD of its own. With both grills, you can see the temperature quickly and clearly.
Lil Tex Elite can monitor temperatures ranging from 180 to 450 degrees Fahrenheit, while SmokeFire EX4’s detection covers a higher temperature range of 200 to 600 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cooking Space
The Weber SmokeFire EX4 provides a more generous cooking area of 672 square inches compared to Traeger Grills Lil Tex Elite‘s more modest 418 square inches. If you value a larger cooking space, stick to Weber. However, if you prefer something less bulky in your backyard, get the Traeger!
On a side note, SmokeFire EX4 allows its hopper up to 22 pounds of wood pellets. The Lil Tex Elite’s pellet hopper, on the other hand, can fit up to 18 pounds. It’s not a big deal if you ask us.
Technology
The SmokeFire EX4 made a very user-friendly Weber Connect smart technology for Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity. This feature allows you to temperature control right in the palm of your hands. The smartphone app comes with a digital step-by-step grill assistant that notifies you regarding your cooking time. How convenient and modernized!
The Traeger Lil Tex Elite, on the other hand, may not be Bluetooth and Wi-Fi ready, but it comes with its elite digital controller that lets you set your grill quickly. It accompanies the Traeger LED display. Together, they allow you to control and to read your temperature easily.
Final Verdict – Which One For You?
Traeger and Weber are top grilling and smoking products in the market. With the latest Weber wood pellet grill, comparing the top wood pellet models of the two brands has been made easy. They both are good quality grills, really: tech-focused, user-friendly, and easy to maintain.
Overall, the Weber SmokeFire EX4 offers a bigger cooking space and hopper capacity, and a more extended warranty. If you’re looking for a heavy-duty wood pellet grill that lasts through consistent use, Weber is your best bet.
However, if a smaller cooking space is not a dealbreaker for you, Traeger Grills Lil Tex Elite is the one you should pick. And, by no means is its cooking space not enough for a lot of food still. It’s easier to travel with since it’s lighter, and after all, Traeger’s specialty is wood pellet grills.
Now, you are on your way to another backyard staple!
I spent most of my life fascinated by food, and the outdoors. I can’t think of a more fitting combo that leads to mastering the art of BBQ one day. I ended up decent enough to grill the perfect burger and choose the best equipment after years of improvement. I create this website for outdoor cooking enthusiasts, who are fueled by interest but lacking in help, feel educated when they leave because I see my past clueless self in them.
