We find the newbies who just get their feet wet in the grilling world often ask this question- how long does a 20 lb bag of wood pellets last before using the smoker to cook? They can ask this question for two reasons:
- They try to figure out how many pellets they need to cook the food often.
- They want to know how much bucks they should spend on buying wood pellets.
Generally, a 20 lb bag of wood pellets will last 6-20 hours depending on the cooking temperature. If you set the temperature to low, you can run your grill for roughly 20 hours with a 20 lb pellet bag.
On a higher temperature setting, a grill burns the pellets faster and you can operate the grill for 6 hours.
But there are other factors that also determine how long a 20 lb bag of wood pellets will last. To know everything about those factors, continue to read.
How Long Does A 20 Lb Bag Of Wood Pellets Last [Know A-Z]
Generally, every grill (maybe it’s from Traeger or other) uses 1-3 lbs of wood pellets per hour.
So, you can run or cook in your grill for 20 hours on Smoke with a 20-lbs pellet bag. And on high temperatures, you can operate your grill for 6 hours with a 20-lbs wood pellet bag.
However, how long a 20lb bag of wood pellets lasts depends on multiple factors. Weather, at what temperature you cook, and the wood pellet brands are some of them that impact the cooking duration.
For example, you can cook with your grill for a longer time in normal weather conditions. But your grill burns the wood pellets faster if you cook in windy weather or on cold days.
At what cooking temperature you run your grill also matters. Your grill will last for an hour using 3-4 lbs of wood pellets if you cook at 450-600˚F. In contrast, the grill or smoker uses 1-2 lbs of fuel if you set the cooking temperature to 200-300˚F.
And lastly, the wood pellets coming from different brands will also determine how long you can run your grill per bag. For instance, wood pellets from Sparky use 100% Hickory, which has lower BTUs than a blended pellet with oak.
On the other hand, BBQ’s Delight blends 2/3’s oak and 1/3 flavor wood. As a result, you will get consistent BTUs output from the pellet regardless of flavor.
Check out the below picture of the pellet grill consumption chart to learn how pellet brands and cooking temperature impact cooking duration.
How Long Does A Full Hopper Of Pellets Last In A Traeger At 225?
To learn how long a full hopper of pellets lasts in a Traeger, you should know the hopper capacity. In other words, you must know how many wood pellets a Traeger holds.
For example, the Traeger Grills Pro Series 22 can hold 18 lbs of wood pellets. Now, let’s figure out how long you can run the Traeger Grill by filling the hopper with wood pellets.
Traeger says its grill burns 1-3 lbs of wood pellets per hour, based on the cooking temperature. It means you can run your grill for an hour using 1 lb wood pellets at a slow temperature (225-degree F.). So, You can cook with your Traeger Grill for approximately 18 hours with a full hopper of pellets.
On the other hand, your Traeger Grill will last an hour using 3 lbs of wood pellets at higher cooking temperatures. Indeed, you can roughly cook for 6 hours by filling the hopper to its brim at higher temperatures.
How Long Do Pellets Last At 225
Typically, a grill burns 1-3 lbs of wood pellets per hour if you cook the food at low and slow cooking temperatures (225-degree F). So, if you fill the hopper with wood pellets, you can run the grill for roughly 20 hours. In other words, the wood pellets will last for 20 hours.
However, grill temperature, outdoor temperature, and wood pellets size are some criteria that determine the longevity of the pellets at 225.
For example, a higher grill temperature will burn the wood pellets faster. On the other hand, you can cook food for a longer time if you set the grill temperature to a low setting.
When it comes to the outdoor temperature, your grill burns the pellets faster on colder days than on a sunny day. This is because your grill consumes more pellets to produce more heat & smoke.
And lastly, the wood pellets size also determines how long the pellets will last at 225. For instance, a grill can burn shorter wood pellets faster than longer-size pellets.
How Long Can Pellets Stay In Hopper?
Based on the humidity level where you live, you can keep the wood pellets in the hopper for 2 weeks to 2 months. However, how long the wood pellets stay in your hopper will depend on several factors.
You can keep the pellets in the hopper for an extended time if you cover the grill with a heat-resistant cover and store the grill in a garage or inside the shed.
We recommend you not keep the wood pellets in the hopper if you are not going to use the grill for a month. Just remove the pellets from the hopper and store them in an air-free bag.
Conclusion
We hope you get the answer to your question- how long does a 20 lb bag of wood pellets last?
At what temperature cook with the grill, wood pellet size, and outdoor temperature all determine how long a 20 lb bag of pellet will last.
We recommend you get high-quality wood pellets to cook the food evenly. And don’t forget to remove the wood pellets from the hopper once you finish your cook.
