How many pellets a pellet grill burns per hour

Forum charts that say "plan on 1 lb an hour" are answering a shopping question with a single average. The number you actually need is lb/hr at the dial and ambient you run, on the barrel you own. Bag hours are a different page. This one is the rate.

PelletDeck's calculator exposes that rate as a burn slider (or a model seed from the grill list). Change the set point or the ambient toggle and the lb/hr line updates with the estimate. Those are planning assumptions, not lab overnight tests.

Why "1 lb per hour" falls apart

The formula on the methodology page starts from a burn seed at 225 F, then scales by (target temp / 225)^1.2 and an ambient multiplier. Mild weather is 1.0x. Cool is 1.25x. Cold is 1.55x. Winter / sub-freezing is 2.1x. So the same dial is not the same fire in January.

The generic seed is 0.85 lb/hr at 225 F. That is under a pound an hour in mild weather, and it is not a promise that your gasket agrees. Community ballpark talk often lands somewhere around 0.5 to 1.2 lb/hr in mild weather. The calculator lets you type the seed you believe.

Rate chart: generic 0.85 lb/hr seed

These are the scaled burn rates the calculator shows once running, not bag duration. Mild weather first, then the ambient multipliers at a fixed 225 F dial.

• 180 F mild: about 0.65 lb/hr
• 200 F mild: about 0.74 lb/hr
• 225 F mild: 0.85 lb/hr. Open a 12 lb brisket at 225 F on the generic seed. Cook time about 16 hours 30 minutes. Pellets about 14.4 lb at 0.85 lb/hr.
• 250 F mild: about 0.96 lb/hr. Same packer at 250 F. About 15 hours 5 minutes and 14.9 lb.
• 275 F mild: about 1.08 lb/hr. Same packer at 275 F. About 13 hours 55 minutes and 15.4 lb. Hours drop. The bag does not always follow. 225 vs 275 for brisket walks that comparison on purpose.
• 300 F mild: about 1.20 lb/hr
• 350 F mild: about 1.44 lb/hr

Hold 225 F and flip weather instead:

• Cool (about 40 to 59 F): about 1.06 lb/hr
• Cold (about 25 to 39 F): about 1.32 lb/hr
• Winter / sub-freezing: about 1.78 lb/hr. Same 12 lb packer with the winter toggle wants about 29.8 lb. An 18 lb hopper runs about 9 hours 53 minutes and goes dry. Cold-weather burn is the why.

Which grill you seed changes the starting line

The grill database stores an assumed burn at 225 F per model. Those are labeled assumptions so two barrels can be compared, not manufacturer lab scores. Mild-weather seeds look like this:

• Traeger Ranger: 0.55 lb/hr assumed, 8 lb hopper
• Recteq RT-700 (legacy / discontinued): 0.80 lb/hr assumed, 40 lb hopper. Still the overnight tank people cite.
• Generic / unknown: 0.85 lb/hr seed, you type the hopper
• Traeger Pro 575: 0.90 lb/hr assumed, 18 lb hopper
• Traeger Pro 780: 1.05 lb/hr assumed, same 18 lb hopper, more steel
• Pit Boss Austin XL: 1.15 lb/hr assumed, 30 lb hopper

A 12 lb packer on a Pro 575 at 225 F runs at 0.90 lb/hr once lit. The same packer on a Pro 780 runs at 1.05 lb/hr. Same meat, same dial, different pound-per-hour line because the seed changed.

Rate is not bag hours

If you came here asking how long a 20 lb or 40 lb bag lasts, divide bag weight by the burn rate above. That is a shopping leftover after you know lb/hr. How long a bag of pellets lasts works that direction on purpose. How many pounds of pellets is the cook-total version: hours times burn rate, plus startup, checked against the hopper.

Startup waste in the model is a flat 0.35 lb. Real ignition can use more if you leave the lid open. Wind, wet pellets, a dirty fire pot, and a leaky lid are not in the math. They usually burn more, not less.