Decisions, decisions. Help me pick a new smoker (or not)

[bkono]

Hey all,

Long time lurker, first time poster, hoping to draw some wisdom from The Pit.

I've got a case of semi-practical MCS, and need advice. Target audience when cooking: 4 during the week, 6 - 30 on the weekends. 30 is rare, but happens, 12-15 is a several times a month summer occurrence. Food wise, I'd like to be doing long pulled porks, briskets and ribs on the weekends, as well as pork tenderloins, chicken wings, spatchcocked chickens and the like for during-the-week staples.

Current setup: I have a >10 yr old Weber Genesis with GrillGrates limping along, acting as the weeknight workhorse and producing great sears. I also picked up a Backwoods Chubby 3400 as my first real smoker a couple years back, outfitted with a Signals & Billows setup. Unfortunately, the Chubby has been relatively unused over the last year due to the extensive startup, babysitting (the fan setup did not fix this, at all) and cleanup time needed. When I do get to use it, the smoke profiles and food are phenomenal. Been told on many an occasion that a 13 hour pulled pork coming off it was genuinely one of the best folks have ever had. My ribs and brisket while good, could use more practice, but that's a different problem to solve for.

After my experience with the Chubby, I'm looking to get closer to a set-it-and-forget-it option. Ideally, it would be straightforward enough to use during the week (I always work from home, so a quick check here and there, 15-30 minutes to get things rolling and then be available without active babysitting for a few hours is perfectly reasonable for a weeknight dinner), and also let me enjoy a weekend without stress while doing a nice >12 hour cook.

Given the priorities are: convenience, smoke profile, ease of cleanup/maintenance, I was naturally leaning towards getting a pellet pooper. What a rabbit hole that research has been.... Grab a Traeger Ironwood 885 from HD and be done with it? Order up a RecTeq RT-1250 instead? Buy-once-cry-once and go all-in with a Pitts and Spitts Maverick 1250? Not having done pellets, will the family be disappointed with the smoke profile? And while reviewing these, the MB1050 charcoal gravity smoker popped on my radar. Seems to have terrible build quality & electronics, which is the exact opposite of what I would normally consider buying, but produce excellent food with an almost pellet like experience. And at the price, I could replace it every 3-4 years and still be ahead of some of these pellet options (looking at you, P&S). FWIW all of these options will be in direct desert sunlight for at least the first half of the daylight hours, which apparently could pose a problem for the pellet choices.

So given my overly verbose context and goals, I'd love to get some suggestions from the crew. In my shoes, would you consider the MB1050 to stay similar to the Chubby profile, or switch to a pellet to avoid overlap with the Chubby while expanding options, or should I be considering something totally different? Maybe dropping the Billows and going with a different controller and fan setup (FB?) to try to wrangle my current setup back in?

[rickgregory]

So, you don't need a new smoker.

You need two new smokers.

Here's my thinking... the 12-15 and sometimes 30 thing feels like a situation needing a lot of cooking area. But the 4 person thing doesn't. Now, you could feel ~15 people with what you'd fit on a bigger pellet, but the pellet profile is, from what people say, lighter than charcoal.

What about something like an SNS kettle for small to medium crowds and a vertical smoker for larger stuff? Something like the Camp Chef vertical would be a way to see if that style works for you and they make a propane version so you could use the tank from your gasser.

[jtw]

If convenience is more important than smoke profile, then pellets are for you. I own a Grilla and it gets decent smoke, but convenience is definitely its primary feature. The only maintenance I do is vacuuming the ash roughly after every other bag of pellets.
*Edit - for the volume of food you're describing, the original Grilla is probably too small. But a "traditional"-shaped pellet grill would likely be able to accommodate (Grilla calls theirs the Silverbac).

[Baltimorelger]

2nding the Grilla. I have the OG and it's got a decent smoke profile! You could also check out the Lonestar Pellet grill which is suppose to be a beast.

[Steve R.]

I have never owned a pellet grill, so I can't comment on that. But I really like my MB1050 that I have used a lot since I got it early last fall. It's nearly as convenient as a gas grill. I was really apprehensive about long cooks that produce a lot of drippings, but LSS Mods has some great accessories to keep the mess to a minimum. I can tell you the build quality of the 1050 is better than that of the 560 (and probably the 800), and so far so good with the electronics. Mine lives in my garage when not being used, so YMMV if it is going to be outside all the time. But at least moisture wouldn't be a real problem in your case.

[bkono]

That is really interesting to hear, and the LSS Mods link is awesome, thanks! I think I need to go over to HD where they say they have one on display and check it out myself.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

If you're leaning towards pellets, look up glitchy posts. I believe other than Max, he's used more pellet cookers than any of us

Surely you have a friend with a pellet grill? Taste some food off their grill

Also, if you're looking at the big RecTeq unit or the P&S, might as well throw MAK (lifetime warranty) and Yoder into the mix

[bkono]

Good call, going down the glitchy posts rabbit hole now

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

bkono search is a bit wonky so here's a few threads for ya if you haven't found them on your own.

https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/forum/pellet-cookers/other-pellet-cookers/987567-one-crazy-man-s-way-though-choosing-a-premium-pellet-grill

https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/forum/pellet-cookers/mak-grills/1010300-glitchy-s-mak-2-star-first-cooking-impressions

there's another discussion I can't find with some first hand pellet comparisons from another member, but I don't remember who it was

[mrteddyprincess]

I had to read up on the Backwoods Chubby 3400 to see your set up with that. Your description of how much people loved your smoke profile makes me think you shouldn't abandon the idea of continuing to smoke with that set up at least on occasion.

I have many friends with pellet smokers and there are pros and cons with pellet cookers just like any other type of cooker. I can't add anything about pellet smokers because I don't own one, but the biggest "pro" about them is how quickly they can be fired up and how often my buddies cook on them.

Good luck on your decision making and send us pics!

[bkono]

> you shouldn't abandon the idea of continuing to smoke with that set up at least on occasion.
... I think you're right on that. While I may not be able to do it often, it could fill a need and let me narrow in the scope of what my next smoker needs to do. Thanks!

[Jfrosty27]

Oh boy. You’re going to get plenty of opinions here. This is the type of post that really revs it up here.


Anyway, my two cents is that I have a RT-700 and love it. The 1250 was not out yet when I got it or I would have gone with the 1250. Super convenient and reliable. Rock solid temp control over the full range of the cooker. The long warranty is key. The remote app is a little lacking feature wise for some but fits my needs well. Like any pellet cooker, the smoke profile may be too mild for your liking. That’s an individual thing I feel. Plenty of smoke for me and my family though. Many use a smoke tube to bump it up. I have not felt the need.

Well I don’t know if I have been any help. Good luck regardless.

[bkono]

Ha, apparently! I wasn't expecting so many responses right after posting. The input on your RT-700 is actually really helpful. My struggle around the RT is mainly with how hard it seems to be to get uncurated/unbiased reviews. Just curious on your thoughts with how mild the smoke is, would you say it adds an undertone of smoke, or can you get it to a point where a protein could be significantly "smokey" in flavor?

[ofelles]

First off welcome to the posting side.
I have a LSG insulated cabinet and use the fireboard controller and a pit bull fan set up on it. It is close to set and forget just a few checks early on the get the ball valve and damper set. Yes the start up and clean up is much longer than a pellet smoker, no getting around that.
I also have a Yoder YS640 pellet grill (pre "S" model with the built in fireboard controller). I have smoked 70# of pork butts on it once, which left room for maybe 2 hot dogs. I really like the convivence of it. I often use a smoke tube with it to up the profile.
As you can see, I am of the buy once and cry once camp.

[bkono]

Nothing wrong with buy-once-cry-once, that's normally where I land as well. Curious, any maintenance issues with your Yoder? I had narrowed down the high end of pellet choices to Yoder or P&S, but the frequent maintenance complaints on the Yoder scared me away. Do love the fireboard builtin idea though... And with the smoke tube, how would you say the profile compares to something from the LSG? Pleasant enough for most meals or substantially lighter and best for specific dishes?

[ofelles]

I purchased my Yoder in 2018. It sat on an uncovered patio for 2.5 years covered (their cover) when not in use. I have a cover on the patio for the last 1.5 years. I have some very minor surface rust on the hopper door and the cooking chamber lid which has not grown worst so I have left it alone. I also have heard stories of lots of rust and wonder about mitigating issues i.e. high humidity or near the ocean.

[ofelles]

As far as smoke goes the LSG is very close to a stick burner. The Yoder is lighter but I find it still enjoyable. The ease of start up and clean up means it's here to stay. I have gotten raves from both smokers. The Yoder stands out for smoking fish because it does not need a lot of smoke and if you smoke cheese you can turn on the fan and just use the tube to smoke (no added heat).

[bkono]

So, you don't need a new smoker.

You need two new smokers.

These are the answers I came here for. 😆 Seriously though, I like the way you picked apart the two scenarios. A few chickens, a couple tenderloins and a slew of veggies, 3lbs of wings, those types of staple cooks clearly don't need a massive cooking area. And an SNS kettle definitely gets me thinking, especially with the idea I could do that + something like the Camp Chef combined for less than a large higher-end pellet. Definitely getting the wheels turning, thanks!

[CaptainMike]

Give some consideration to the LSG pellet grill. I've read tons of reviews and I'm on a LSG fan site on FB and everyone who owns one raves about the smoke profile. Even the hardcore offset guys say so. I pulled the pin and ordered one Dec 29 and it should be here next month. I do own an LSG offset and it is a functional piece of art, though definitely not set and forget. I wish I could give you a firsthand account right now.

[ofelles]

It was not available when I bought my Yoder. Otherwise I probably would have one.

[JCBBQ]

Yeah I’ve heard great things about these.

[Mosca]

I can’t help you with the actual choice of cookers. But whatever you choose: do buy once, cry once. No regrets.

[radiodome21]

I have the Grilla Silverbac. Love it. Love my Traeger 575 I bought for the lake house as well. If I had to do it all over again I don’t think I’d do anything differently. I also have an 18 inch WSM. If lightning struck my Silverbac and I just had to buy another pellet grill I’d go with an LSG.

[barelfly]

LSG!!!!!!!

[Panhead John]

I don’t own a stick burner or pellet grill, but if I was buying one, it would definitely be an LSG.

[DaveD]

Absolutely love my Pit Boss Copperhead 5 vertical smoker. 1500 sq. in / damn near one square metre of cooking space on five racks. Can easily fit ten racks of spare ribs, or at least five butts or chuckies, just a huge amount of space. It's also extremely stable, minimal thermal gradients (provided one follows the instructions and keeps the water pan filled in the bottom). I spent my career doing lab science, and this smoker scratches every itch: ease of use & cleanup, unerring reproducibility, set it & forget it convenience (I also do a lot of work from home and smoke midweek with impunity). And nobody has ever said the food wasn't smoky enough

Yeah, I'm just doing the "hey get what I have!" thing, I get that. But I spent a LOT of time down that particular rabbit hole before I made my purchase, and I have loved it the whole time. Good luck!

[bkono]

Really appreciate this recommendation. I saw it pop up a couple times during research, and while I'm still sorting through options, if I go pellet it will likely be a vertical, so this is staying in the list. Thanks for input!

[Panhead John]

The only reason I’m posting this is because we’re a very helpful group who………aw, screw it, we’re just here to help you spend a ton of money!

https://lonestargrillz.com/collections/pellet-smokers-coming-soon

[CaptainMike]

And don't forget the 4 - 5 month wait, but that's part of the fun and worth it! After you finally get your cooker you're an official LSG Martyr!