Consult the ratings and review section of Amazingribs.com
it has objective reviews and specific information pertaining to pellet smokers, as well as many other types of equipment. I bought a pellet grill solely based on Max’s review and it was spot on. As far as cost and quality, they usually go hand in hand, but not necessarily always true.
Consult the review section, you won’t go wrong.
Cheers,
Ricardo
I'm new here,... looking for the "ratings and review section" and don't see it.
I'm looking at buying a Green Mountain Grill brand, the Danial Boone model and would like to know what folks think about that brand. Can any one point me in the right direction? The DB model is on sale right now for $550. Some dealers will throw in 3 bags of pellets with the purchase.
Delta Heat 32" Gas Grill on Cart
Yoder YS-640 on Comp Cart
Camp Chef SmokePro SE pellet grill - Sold LSU Purple Thermapen MK4
Maverick Et-732
Griddle grate
Boiling and turkey fryer pots and burners
Hit the "Home" button on the upper left had corner, where it looks like the page is being peeled back. The ratings and reviews are there.
Thank You bten,... lots to learn here. Not only to learn how to operate the board but I'm new to Smokin' too! In fact, I don't even have a smoker yet. Plan to buy one maybe this week. Need to learn the terminology also,... I'm NOT a cook,... YET either.
I'm dangerous huh.
I have had 2 smokin brothers grills, the first I owned for 5 years and gave it to my dad so I could get a bigger one and it is still running. The 2nd one I have owned for about 1 and 1/2 years and have not had anything go wrong with either of them. I have had buddies buy cheap ones from walmart and they worked for about 3 months and had to replace parts.
I got a woodwind from camp chef. I believe they have a new and improved model with newly designed heat management plate and overall system.
I got it it solely based on Max’s review about a year and a half ago or so. The unit is very good. I’ve pulled off some amazing smoked goodies with it. I called camp chef, placed an order, they shipped it to me in FL.
Put the unit together and while I don’t use it every weekend, we do run it to a couple of times a month, sometimes 3. Our freezer is full of vacuum packed items that we keep producing with the smoker. It’s trully reliable.
We've made babyback and St. Louis style ribs, beef ribs, pork belly burnt ends, smoked lionfish, salmon, turkey legs, chicken, pork butts, whole briskets, beef jerky, habanero peppers, bacon, fatties, burgers, prime rib, pork tenderloins and loins, sausages and fillet mignon, ny stakes and hotdogs.
Its easy to clean, easy to feed and frankly speaking, tough to screw up. If you buy good ingredientes and use good pellets, and you season your cuts the way you like it, you can pretty much count on good results if you keep the hopper with enough pellets, if you let the cooker do it’s thing and if you practice.
I know the question is... are they reliable. Yes, they are.
You should be able to find a good pellet cooker in your price range. Do your homework!! One of the things I had to make sure of was shipping costs and parts availability at my location. For me that was a deal breaker. I'm going to sound like a broken record but do use the reviews on this site as starting point.
I do not have a top o' the line pellet grill. Based on what I've read about the model that I have, I should be having more problems than I experienced; but, I'm not. I baby all my barbecue/grilling equipment -- maybe that has something to do with it. Still, I'm quite satisfied with what I bought, and I'm still considering whether or not to "upgrade" to a better model, maybe from a different manufacturer, if/when this one wears out.
I think it depends on what you are reading, and where. Is it the reviews on this site, or feedback on Amazon, etc? Unless there are a LOT of bad reviews, I always take those with a grain of salt. 99 people can use a product, and it's fine, and they don't bother writing a review, because it's doing what they expected. The 100th person gets a lemon, and he leaves bad reviews everywhere he can.
I have Traeger pellet smoker that is about two years old and I think it is a piece of crap and I would never buy another one. Traeger has good distrubition and that is why I bought it locally. It has been my obseveration that most pellet smokers are made in China or made from Chinese components and eventually they will fail. When you have a pellet auger, combustion fan and circulation fan all running at the same time driven by a temperature controller eventually one will fail. My Traeger has a problem of going out on me so I can not trust it now. They are nice when they work but eventually they will fail and that is what I think.
I don't think you can use "Chinese" as indicating poor quality across the board. I pulled out my Chinese sax a couple nights ago for the first time in 3 years, and was still amazed at its quality (as have been a few pros). I have a tube amp made there, and it remains a champ 8 years later. They manufacture to spec, and will do quality if that's what's speced. So consider the role of your importer.
These things happen with electronics. I know people that love their pellet grills and they don't have issues. Then I know people, like BC Buck and Argoboy who have had nothing but problems. It seems to me that, for the most part, they are pretty reliable. That being said, I think you get what you pay for; both in quality, and service.
I've had my pellet cooker for a few months now and have been more than pleased with it. It sucks the hot rod on yours was faulty but any time there are moving parts controlled by electronics, there is the chance for something to malfunction. If the manufacturer is good, they will replace the part for you.
I would also echo the others on the price. I think there are very good cookers at that price point and would consult the reviews on the main site to determine which is best for you. Those reviews were invaluable in helping me choose mine.
I haven't had any major problems with my Pitboss 820 yet. One minor gripe is the pellets seem to worm hole a bit and can auger a hole right through the middle and run dry if you're not paying attention.
Was always curious about the PID controllers on pellet grills. Does the auger have a variable speed drive or is the PID used as a remote setpoint for one of the on/off timers for the auger?
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