converting from charcoal to pellet smoker ... I know the Woodwind and Smoke Pro DLX get good reviews from Max Good. Is the Smoke Pro SE is way cheaper. Is this simply an old model or is truly a piece o junk? Anyone know?
All pellet cookers have one thing in common, they all have some form of auger delivery system with motors, a burn pot and an igniter that fires up the pellets. To run all that is some sort of controller. It can be as simple as a rheostat that signals your auger to flow at some pre-determined rate, or as sophisticated as a PID controller that has variable rates of delivery and voltage to the drive mechanism. So obviously the more money you spend, the better the electronics and that delivery system. Said differently you want to pay as much as you can afford to get the best electronics. It's a matter of pay me now or pay me later on fixing electronics and moving parts that are going to break. There's also the degree of fine control you get in the cook.
The only other issues I would say to check out would be the cooker box itself. What gauge is the metal, how well made are the grates, is there an adequate grease collection system? All those things, once again, will get better with price point. Good luck with your research !!
SE is mounted on a lighter weight cart than some of CC's newer models. It has their ash clean out system but no hopper clean out chute. The digital controller is a stripped down model with no integrated meat probes and no LED screen. It's a good deal for the price.
I have the SE model and I use a maverick to monitor pit and food temp. Like Max said, it doesn't have a digital readout. Everything works great, I have done ribs, chicken and brisket. Everything came out great and it worked well.
I think it is one of those things where they put a cheaper cart and controller to reach a "Walmart" price.
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