A grease bucket is one of the cheapest parts on a pellet grill, and one of the few that turns into a genuine fire hazard if you ignore it. Here’s what real OEM replacements cost across the major brands, how big they are, and how often you actually need to empty one.
Quick Answer
Traeger’s own galvanized steel grease bucket is $14.99 direct from traeger.com and fits every current Traeger grill. Pit Boss undercuts everyone at $4.49 for its OEM bucket (SKU 74400), sold direct through pitboss-grills.com. Camp Chef’s PG24-11-OEM bucket isn’t sold on campchef.com at all — it’s only available through authorized OEM parts retailers, typically around $19.99. Empty whichever one you have once it’s a third to half full: per NFPA data, roughly 20% of home grilling fires trace back to a grill that hadn’t been cleaned, and an overflowing grease bucket is one of the most direct routes to that statistic.
Real grease bucket prices, by brand
| Brand | OEM part | Price | Size | Fits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pit Boss | Grease Bucket (SKU 74400) | $4.49 | 6" tall × 6" diameter | Most Pit Boss pellet grills, wire-handle hang design |
| Traeger | Grease Bucket, galvanized steel | $14.99 | Standard undercarriage size | All current Traeger grill models |
| Camp Chef | Grease Bucket (PG24-11-OEM) | ~$19.99 | 6" diameter × 4¾" tall | SmokePro, Woodwind, Apex, Pursuit, and XXL lines — not sold direct on campchef.com |
| Universal (third-party) | Hook-mount drip bucket | $12-20 | Varies | Multi-brand, confirm bracket/hook geometry matches your model |
Pit Boss is the outlier here — its bucket is roughly a third of what Traeger charges and a quarter of Camp Chef’s price, despite similar galvanized-metal construction. Camp Chef is the odd one out for a different reason: its own site sells the disposable liners and a griddle-specific “Professional Grease Cup” for $24.99, but not the pellet-grill grease bucket itself, which only turns up through authorized OEM parts retailers rather than campchef.com directly.
Universal pellet grill grease bucket
- Galvanized steel resists rust better than painted or plastic buckets, which matters since it sits directly under the burn pot.
- A wire handle makes emptying and hosing it out at the end of a cook a lot less messy.
- Buy disposable liners alongside it — they turn a grease-bucket empty into a lift-and-toss job instead of a scrub.
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How often to actually empty it
Checking the bucket after every cook costs nothing and takes ten seconds; waiting until it’s visibly overflowing is how grease ends up on the ground under the grill or, worse, back near the burn pot. A practical rule that works across brands: empty it once it’s a third to half full, not when it’s full. Traeger’s own cleaning guidance calls for clearing the grease chute path at least every 6 months, but that’s a minimum baseline for infrequent cooks, not a schedule to run out the clock on if you’re grilling weekly.
| Situation | What to do |
|---|---|
| Bucket is a third to half full | Empty it now — don't wait for a scheduled deep clean |
| Bucket is rusted through or dented so it no longer seats flush | Replace it — a bucket that doesn't hang flush lets grease drip past it |
| Liner has torn or shifted outside the bucket's footprint | Replace the liner immediately, don't finish the cook on a torn liner |
| Grease is pooling or smoking under the grill | Stop the cook — this is a fire risk, not routine maintenance; see our maintenance guide |
Liners: worth it, and don’t substitute foil
Disposable liners turn an empty-and-scrub job into a lift-and-toss job, and they run $8-10 for a 5-pack across Traeger, Pit Boss, and Camp Chef alike. Traeger’s own liner product page is explicit that using foil or alternate liners in place of its shaped ones “is not advised” — foil that shifts or tears can let grease bypass the bucket entirely, which is exactly the failure mode a liner exists to prevent. If you’d rather skip liners altogether, a quick hose-out after each cook works fine on a galvanized steel bucket; it just takes longer than pulling a liner.
FAQ
How much does a replacement cost? $14.99 direct from Traeger, $4.49 direct from Pit Boss (SKU 74400), and around $19.99 for Camp Chef’s OEM part through authorized parts retailers since Camp Chef doesn’t sell it directly.
How often should I empty it? Check after every cook, empty once it’s a third to half full. Traeger’s own guidance calls for clearing the grease chute at least every 6 months, but that’s a floor for occasional use, not a cadence for regular cooks.
Can I use foil instead of a liner? Traeger advises against it directly on its liner product page — foil that shifts or tears can dump grease past the bucket.
Is a full bucket really a fire risk? Yes. NFPA data attributes roughly 20% of home grilling fires to an uncleaned grill, and an overflowing grease bucket is one of the most direct causes.
Will a universal bucket fit my grill? Only if the hook or bracket matches your grill’s undercarriage mount — check the listed compatible models before ordering.
Sources: Traeger Grease Bucket, Pit Boss Grease Bucket, Camp Chef Grease Bucket PG24-11-OEM.
Already dealt with the grease and now chasing a different failure? Our pellet grill maintenance guide covers error codes, auger jams, and ignition failures by brand. If the fix turned out to be a dead motor instead, see our auger motor replacement guide for real OEM prices. And for the rest of the consumables worth keeping stocked, our best pellet grill accessories roundup covers cleaning tools and liners in one place.