Did a lot of research, and it seems like the best option for my budget. Pros? Cons? Other options? I was also looking at the Grilla Grills because I heard the smoke profile is better, but I really like that RecTec has wifi. Thanks, and I hope everyone is having a good weekend. I'm up at 5:30 AM tomorrow to put a waygu packer on my WSM 18". Will be sure to take pics.
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A neighbor has that exact grill. Having seen it up close I like it. It emits a constant stream of smoke, I don’t see how any other pellet grill will have a better smoke profile. The camp chef he had for years would puff smoke, run clear, then puff smoke. The rec tec never puffs, it just emits thin smoke for the entire cook.
Im not saying it is the best, there are other good pellet smokers too. But you will certainly have one that is among the top tier with rec tec.
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I have a Stampede and am very pleased with it. I support the comments from Gator above, the smoke comes from the vents as long as the temps are below around 350, after that efficiency takes over and the pellets burn clean. I participate in a forum dedicated to RT products and the question often comes up about capacity. If you do sufficient evaluation the Stampede is only 6 inches narrower than the Bull, probably RT's biggest seller. We've fed groups of 20ish from the Stampede, and it's not too big/inefficient for just the two of us in day to day cooks. The mix of a PID controller at the price point, and the efficient use of space, particularly with the hexagon shape, equal a winner by my assessment. The thing that may not get enough emphasis is the customer support attitude of RecTec. They are an aggressively growing company who, at this point in time, are well focused on customer support. If you research effectively you'll learn that some of the more well established companies have forsaken that aspect of their business profile.Comment
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SmokeyGator Uncle Bob Excellent recommendations, thank you. Great to know it's a good size for 2-20. Was also looking at their smaller Trailblazer, but I'm going to stick with the Stampede. Looking forward to buying one in the next few weeks.Comment
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I have a Trailblazer and it is great. For me, quality of the cooker and temperature control are just a little more important that the amount of smoke, so I'm very happy with it. At 225 degrees, it does put out a nice stream of light blue smoke. I sometimes start at the low setting which hits around 180 degrees for the first part of the cook when i want a good amount of smoke; I do this for chicken and then crank it up to hig heat for the finish. I also use a smoke tube on occasion. GET STAMPEDE
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LOVE my Stampede. I use the thing three times a week!
I find it to be way too efficient to use a smoke tube. Not enough air left over to burn it efficiently.
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Shouldn't be too concerned about smoke profile unless you're one of those folks who's got to have a ton of it. I did a 3.5 lb beef roast today, 225 for about 4 hours to get to 140 temp internal. When I made the first slice off the end, about 3/16 of an inch thick, it was all smoke ring color. Had smoke coming out of the exhaust vents almost the entire cook.Comment
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I've had the Stampede for almost 2 months now, after 13 years of owning one of the early Traeger's. Mine was so old it was made in Oregon and it still cooked fine right up until the day the RecTec arrived. What astounded and delighted me the most about the RecTec was how rock solid reliable their PID thermostat to auger speed is. Whatever temp you set, that's what temp you get and it just stays that way for hours. My old Traeger was lucky to keep the temp within 30° of the thermostat setting, and God help you if it was a really hot or really cold cooking day.
RecTec has just updated its monitoring app and it's much improved from the old one. One glance at your phone and you know what your pit and your meat is doing, without the need for any other external thermometers, although I confess to being paranoid so I bought a Thermotemp Smoke, just in case.
RecTec phone support is terrific. This morning, out of curiosity, I called to ask if they were ever going to make a front shelf for. Yes, it's coming, but not till late fall. Then I asked if there was a sweet spot to get max smoke flavor. Jaimie explained that because there are 3 vent holes, rather than a single chimney, smoke rolled over the entire cooking surface, so meat could be placed anywhere, and that the temp of the pit was pretty much even at grill level. He did mention that if using Grill Grates, which I highly recommend, they should be biased toward the right side of the pit, away from internal grill temp probe. RecTec actually talked me out of buying the Bull when I mentioned that I would only be cooking for 2 people 99% of the time and probably never for more than 8 people. Before I bought the Stampede, I talked to RecTec probably 4 or 5 times, always getting a different person who answered the phone. I wanted to know why they didn't have some of the bells & whistles that some of the other pellet grills had. To a person, they knew why their product had been designed as it was and they were honest and forthcoming about it. From the experience I've had with them, they're a terrific company on the rise. Hope they never change.Comment
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AZ Fogey I would concur on the grill grates to the right side, they work very well there.
As for the shelf, they've been promising that for awhile, and the date has slipped some, who knows what the issues are. But even before they started promising some of us just took matters into our own hands. Lots of folks have used wood, some plastic, me, I had a black powder coated shelf left over from some shop cabinets in the garage and put it to work. A couple 304 stainless folding brackets, some fasteners and. tah dah, a shelf. No stamped bull head, but who needs the flash anyway?Attached FilesComment
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