Firepot design

[bten]

Looking at my next pellet grill and I would like to get some opinions on fire pot designs. I have a camp chef with a direct fed fire pot and it works fine. When I look at others like yoder, Firecraft, and I think MaK, they use a drop in design. Is there any reason one design is better than another? Just looking for opinons. Right now, I am looking at the Firecraft and Blaz'n grills. That may change when I finally decide to pull the trigger. Just too many good choices.

[Huskee]

Don't overlook the Grilla Silverbac, to make things more difficult for you! Blaze'N and Grilla are the two top players on my radar right now.

[bten]

Like I said, too many good choices.

[jfmorris]

I'm with Huskee on this one - the Silverbac with the extension for the upper shelf is on my short list of pellet smokers. I really LIKE the original Grilla, but don't think it would have enough capacity for some of my summer get togethers by the pool.

[Nate]

I agree with Huskee , those are the two I am looking at. Both are double walled insulated on bottom... Grill Silverbac just launched their version 2.0 with upgrades....

[Max Good]

The drop design was developed as a safety feature to prevent burn back, where the fire crawls up into the hopper.

[bten]

Thanks Max, that is what I thought. I have never had burn back on my Camp Chef, but I can see how that could happen

[bten]

A Yoder YS480 just came back into the picture. I can get one in the Houston area without paying shipping.

[Rod]

Not sure how most other grills work, but my Rec Tec has the auger coming from the back middle of the cook chamber. Therefore it's a much shorter auger. Had a Traeger before and it came all the way from the left side to the fire pot. Seems like a shorter auger would be less stress on the motor and smaller chance of a jam. I was torn between Yoder and Rec Tec, but one of my deciding factors was the hopper capacity. A 40lb capacity is super nice.

[bten]

The Yoder has a very short auger as well, with the fire pot to one side.

[Sweaty Paul]

Yoder’s is very short and hopper capacity is listed as 20 lbs, however, mine holds that and then some. Also has 2 fans for temp control. That said, my GMG Jim Bowie never jammed despite having a very long auger. Hopper capacity is less on GMG. I’ve been very pleased with my YS-640.