How does your MAK perform in wind and cold?

[Skip]

II do grill a little in the real cold but feel it recovers pretty well when grilling in most cold weather. It probably does add a few minutes to a cook though. I'm thinking the first Traegers (made in USA) were a little sturdier than the first made in China but that's all changed since models have changed a lot by now. Only my Opinion.

[Old Glory]

glitchy Meathead gives the MAK high marks cooking in Chicago winters. He says he leaves it outside uncovered without issue.

Meathead any comments?

[Old Glory]

glitchy This will be my first Pellet Grill. From my research their new WiFi App is solid, they have a new searing deflector plate with a "trap Door" that lets you sear directly over the firepot, smoke intensity can be an issue but most guys say it depends on pellets and temp. My biggest concern is rust but the powder coating is supposed to be very good.

[bbqLuv]

I have a Cabela's brand pellet grill. Made by Dansons, the parent company of Pit-Boss.
It does a good job cooking, got to know your cooker. It has a window in the lid that I get to clean. It also has a sliding cover to allow cooking over an open flame. It actually holds temp when it is in the high 30's and low 40's.

I never consider buying a cutting edge, first fun product. That is why I look forward to an upgrade to a proven product.

[glitchy]

What is your current pellet grill? I don't know if you are serious or joking about this. I used to love Traeger, they're actually not as bad as their rap gets them, everyone always hates the market leader like everyone hates the QB that goes to the big game 10 times in 20ish years. I have a really bad taste after the D2 rollout though, their Customer Service was just downright rude though most everyone with a D2 Pro was having problems, it was not a known issue in their service department.

[glitchy]

I’ll check them out again, they’re probably close enough I could actually road trip to see their factory.

[glitchy]

I do think Traegers go well with PBR.

[Old Glory]

I went with Blazn' Grills because it was insulated and has a gasket. I don't have it yet but cold weather is an issue for me since I cook year round outside. Made in USA in Nebraska where it gets very cold. The Grid Iron (with extra shelves, cover, insulation, WiFi, Pellet Dump, Meat Probe, shipping, etc) is much bigger and is about $1,000 less money than a MAK 2 Star. ($2300/$3300)

MAKs are supposed to be amazing cookers. I'm sure you would love it.

[bbqLuv]

Traeger Timberline 850 Review by Owner. Real World Examples. Is it worth the money? - Bing video
This is the main reason my next pellet grill will be the Trager Timberline 850.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

glitchy like GolfGeezer said the flmazone is standard on the 1 star now, the price bumped a tad but not 500. However I really wish I had the extra racks. They will sell them for the old 2 stars, which is where MAK shines (I can upgrade my older MAK to 99% of the newest model). But you can get a ton of ribs or chicken on 4 racks, you can do a lot of jerky on 4 racks, those are things I do a lot of and also the things a pellet grill shines with. You can do up to 4 briskets on 2 racks in the MAK

[GolfGeezer]

glitchy The new Flamezone is standard for all MAKs now. You do not pay "extra" for it on the 1 Star. Their website is not that well updated. Easy enough to call them and get it straight from them.

[glitchy]

If I have to pay $500 for a flame zone and an extra rack, it’s hard not to just go 2 Star.

[glitchy]

Yeah I haven’t decided which one yet if I do. I don’t care that much about the warming box and not sure I’d ever need more than one extra rack. I’ll probably always have the WSCG if I need to cook more than it would hold. I couldn’t tell for sure about the flame zone though, it’s in the pics on MAKs site, but still listed as a 1 Star accessory. I downloaded the manual and it still lists it as optional for the 1 star. I do think the Stainless is 1/64” thicker.

[GolfGeezer]

glitchy usually within 5 minutes. I may have.some FireBoard graphs that might show this, but I didn’t note weather conditions on my cooks. Now I’m really lazy and just use the FB to monitor without much attention to documenting my cooks.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

glitchy if you are looking at the 1 star over the 2 star performance could be different in the cold, but the SS does very well from what I've seen. The 1 stars do have the upgraded flame zone and everything but the 2 extra racks and warming box now.