⭐☆☆☆☆ — Dangerous design, unacceptable quality control, and unacceptable customer support
I purchased a Grilla Grills Silverback 2.0 ALL-TERRAIN pellet grill with the expectation of premium performance and safe operation. What I received was a unit with a serious manufacturing defect that rendered it unsafe to operate, followed by a refund process that imposed an unreasonable burden, cost, and risk on the customer.
Observed major and unsafe defects upon the initial burn-in:
During the initial required burn-in, the grill exhibited:
Uncontrolled pellet overfeeding
Firepot overflowed with partially combusted pellets.
Delayed ignition and choked airflow
Smoke and backburn up through the auger and into the hopper
Despite following all instructions and troubleshooting steps, including correct assembly, cleaning, and firing the pot seating, fan checks, and ensuring clean and dry pellets, the issue immediately repeated with no change. I had no choice but to shut down the unit for safety due to the real risk of a dangerous hopper fire. This is not a cosmetic or tuning issue; it is a fundamental failure in combustion and fuel management.
Additionally, this Silverback model is manufactured overseas. While global manufacturing is standard in many industries, the result here was clearly inconsistent quality control compared to competitors. A pellet grill at this price point, marketed as rugged and premium, should never exhibit basic combustion failures on first use.
Customer service & return process failure and mismanagement:
Grilla initially agreed to a full refund, but the execution was poorly managed and unfairly burdensome:
We were required to prepare and secure the defective grill ourselves, using only our own rope/bungee cords and tarps, and place it on a pallet for return shipping. This method was extremely unsafe and would have almost certainly led to damage during shipment had we not worked with FedEx independently to ensure the shipment was safe and secure.
We were instructed to use our own time, labor, and materials to comply with the requirements.
The scheduled pickup was missed by the carrier, resulting in a wasted entire day of our time.
Grilla refused to process the refund until the item physically arrived and was checked in. In this case, the grill was ready for pickup 6 days after it arrived at the final shipping depot. It took four emails to finally complete the delivery and refund process, including escalating the issue to high-level executives at American Outdoor Brands (which owns Grilla), just to get a response.
Communication was inconsistent, including shifts in representation, and getting no responses for 8 days at one point.
At no point was compensation offered for:
Customer labor, which was nearly 30 hours
Packing materials
Carrier delays
The fact that we were returning their defective product
The Process burden on the customer:
What should have been a simple return became:
30+ hours of customer time
Coordinating freight pickup
Purchasing/crafting improvised packing
Managing scheduling conflicts
Staging a large, unsafe product outdoors
Delayed intake of the product
Non-responsive customer service
A premium brand should always bear the responsibility for returns of defective products, especially those posing safety hazards, rather than shifting that burden to the buyer.
Overall assessment:
Manufacturing defects can occur, which is understood. What is not acceptable is:
A grill that fails at fundamental safe operation on first use
Overseas production that appears to lack adequate quality control
A return/refund process that places an unreasonable burden on the customer
Delayed refunds, even for clearly defective units
For a product marketed toward serious grillers, this experience was disappointing at every stage. Based on my documented experience, I highly recommend you buy a pellet grill from another manufacturer.