To Be or Not to Be.....

[Troutman]

....a pellet head? I'm old school in almost everything and anything I get involved with. That includes smoking meats. I have a 40" conventional offset smoker whereby you chuck the wood in one end and the smoke comes out of the other, with the deliciousness coming in between. Great if your feeding 20 people and several large cuts of meat are involved. I've got a gasser for those quick steaks and chops for the family during the week. Also have a couple of WSMs for doing reasonably small or large smokes when the offset is really not called for.

So recently I have the hankering for something like a vertical cabinet that has the set it and forget it features of a pellet smoker. Taeger sells a lot of units in my area but to me they are somewhat cheaply made with thin metal. That leads me to believe that the components that really matter; i.e. the moving parts that deliver the pellets, are probably not up to NASA (or my) quality standards. What I'd like, without all the hype on how good this one is or that one is, is opinions on what to expect with a pellet cooker. In other words are the moving parts an issue, are the boxes properly insulated, do they make them out of something other than 20 gauge sheet metal? Looking to spend about $1200 so the money isn't really am issue.

Comments and bullet proof suggestions appreciated.....

[kmhfive]

Yes, to all your questions!

ive owned the less-expensive pellet grill and the moving parts became an issue at year three. I currently own a GMG and don’t worry as much about the moving parts. I did buy a blanket for it to use in the cooler months, though.

There are are at least two pellet grills that have insulated (double wall) construction; Memphis and Blaze’n Grill Works.

Another thing to consider is the electronic controller. The cheaper ones are pretty good, but GMG, MAK, and Smoke Daddy have some interesting advances in controllers. My GMG allows me to program a cook to automatically adjust temperatures based on either time or Food temperature. I can also monitor and adjust the grill from anywhere I go using my phone — even across town at the store!

there are plenty of posts on the decisions folks have made on which to buy, so I won’t make a specific recommendation. In your price range, there are many excellent choices that will hold up to high standards.

[Troutman]

Thanks that's the kind of feedback I'd like. I have my eye on a couple but again don't want to spend a ton of money and have a rust bucket of bolts as you say, in year three.

[FireMan]

Always check to see what Max has tested. You won't go wrong, he's the maestro.

[Troutman]

Thanks FireMan I agree Max is an excellent source of information when it comes to NEW pits. What I want to find out is what happens several years into it after several dozen cooks, in other words wear and tear. Which one seems to hold up the best over time.

[Letmebefrank]

I've had my pellet grill for 4 years or so. It lives outside in New England, gets a lot of use and never had one issue operationally and there's no rust, no corrosion of any kind. I'd say it's in mint condition but...I probably ought to clean it before I start throwing things like that around. Have gone through a couple of cheapo covers I bought for in on Amazon, they haven't done that well, but the grill is great. No reason to suspect it won't last for years and years.

FWIW, my unit is not insulated but when it's cold I drape a (non fibreglass) welding blanket over it and it works perfectly. If you search there are some old threads here about that.

[Troutman]

Thanks, that's the kind of feedback I'm looking for. Looking at Camp Chef and REC TEC. I just don't want to pay $1000 and end up with a giant repair bill or rusty box at the end of a couple of years.

[sblair1255]

Well I do not own one but a couple family members have a pellet cooker. I have looked at them and thought if I ever bought one I would look seriously at the Yoder's. Heavy duty and I hear the software running the thing is very good.

[dave_trimble]

I've been using pellet smokers for 8 years. I've only had Traegers so far, and my Blazn Grill Works Grid Iron is arriving Monday.

#1 piece of advice: Don't let the pellets get wet, and avoid water inside your pellet smoker at all costs! If the pellets in the auger get wet, they deconstruct into wet sawdust, then re-solidify into something resembling wood-based concrete when they dry. Then you have to do a lot of disassembly to clean it out.

The most common malfunction you'll have with a pellet smoker is the hot rod. Standard hot rods are supposedly only good for about two years tops. I've seen them last as long a four or so, but they'll fail eventually. Rec Tec has just introduced a ceramic hot rod that is supposed to last significantly longer, but it hasn't been in the wild long enough to know for sure.

Given your price range, and that you want thicker metal, the Rec Tec 680 is probably your best bet. As kmhfive said above, Memphis and Blazn Grill Works both make double-walled smokers, and you can insulate any other smoker with a welding blanket or a thermal blanket made specifically for your grill.

[CandySueQ]

dave_trimble said it well! Pellet-crete isn't fun to get out of that auger. I have an FEC100 (Traeger burn system) from 2004 and never have had to replace the starter. Control board 3 times, but that was because of electric surges.

There are lots of good pellet grills out there! I predict you'll ditch your gasser.

[Troutman]

Thanks for all the comments. As to ditching my gasser that will never happen. Just like ditching my Lyfe Tyme stick burner and my WSMs, it's like saying one child is better than the other. If you ever watched Grillin' with Bobby Flay you will know that I try to employ the proper tool and use all the tools in my tool box. Again thanks for the comments, like brother sblair1255 suggested, I'm getting real serious about the Yoder YS640.

[rwalters]

Thanks for all the comments. As to ditching my gasser that will never happen. Just like ditching my Lyfe Tyme stick burner and my WSMs, it's like saying one child is better than the other. If you ever watched Grillin' with Bobby Flay you will know that I try to employ the proper tool and use all the tools in my tool box. Again thanks for the comments, like brother sblair1255 suggested, I'm getting real serious about the Yoder YS640.

Looking through old posts... soooo, what did you finally decide?

[vandy]

While I would love to have a Memphis or a Mak I can't afford the lofty price of admission into that group so it would probably be a choice between the Yoder and the Blazn Grill Works with the nod probably going to the Blazn just because of the burn pot clean out feature.

[rwalters]

While I would love to have a Memphis or a Mak I can't afford the lofty price of admission into that group so it would probably be a choice between the Yoder and the Blazn Grill Works with the nod probably going to the Blazn just because of the burn pot clean out feature.

Between those two options, I'd go for the Blazn as well. The clean out not only looks much easier, but the number of reported paint/rust issues with the Yoders is alarming.

[vandy]

Now see I have not heard about the Yoder paint problems so the Blazn looks even better.

[Pirate Scott]

I have been enjoying my GMG Jim Bowie for only a Short time, but I am putting it through some pretty tough conditions and it has not hiccuped once. If you have any specific questions about this particular grill feel free to ask. As always anything with moving parts can break. But how soon is the question.If you decide on something check and see if they have a social media page. You usually get the Good, Bad and Ugly spelled out in a hurry. I was doing the Research on The Rec Tec,compared to the GMG and got a Black Friday ad on GMG website and I couldn’t resist. Local Dealer too which is a great way to operate, I like to support Local smallbusiness if possible and that is getting very hard to do. Good Luck and have fun Shopping.

[Troutman]

To answer your question rwalters , here's a post I did to introduce the Pitts & Spitts 2436 I bought back in October. It has hardly had a rest since, cooked everything imaginable on it and it does a great job !!! Just be prepared for a much lower smoke profile in any pellet cooker you buy, but the set and forget feature is outstanding!!

Also, as FYI, this unit costs about $2500 all in. It's up there with a MAK, Yoder YS640 and other high end pellets. There are a number of them around $1500 and then they drop from there. Try to spend at least $1000, looking for the best control system you can afford. Ultimately you want a good PID controller, they are key to holding temperature in the cooker.

Let me know if I can help in any way.

[vandy]

Those Spitts & Pitts look down right interesting!

[Huskee]

I forgot all about you getting that cooker. It sure is a beaut'!

[RonB]

There was a post here some time back about a cabinet smoker that runs on charcoal. If you add a PID to that, you should have almost set and forget plus more smoke flavor.

[Troutman]

My P&S is actually a converted stick burner with a Pellet Pro attached to it. Pellet Pros are sold separately and have been used with old refrigerators, vertical smokers and even a WSM. It’s a good unit pellet wise.