Smoke Daddy Pellet Pro Vertical

[potato]

Greetings all!

Amateur enthusiast cook, buying my first smoker. Not a lot of room on the patio and want the low maintenance convenience of pellets. Budget $1-2K, so MAK and Memphis are out. Would like to have ability to cold smoke as well, if possible. Have a pretty good gas grill and will probably get a simple charcoal unit (or a santa maria if budget allows) as well eventually, so grilling on the smoker is not a priority.

This seems most appealing, but it's really new and there are very few reviews/experience testimonials: https://smokedaddyinc.com/product/th...pellet-smoker/
Lack of WiFi and no stainless option - Miami humidity will make anything and everything rust - are annoying, but not deal-breakers. Also considering the REC TEC 700 with cold smoke box. Wish they made a standalone vertical.

Would love some advice from the veterans! Thanks in advance.

[RonB]

I can't help, but Welcome to The Pit. Someone will be along shortly who can help.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

You said grilling isn't a priority, so the MAK 1 star is actually in your budget. It's not full stainless, but the coated aluminized steel won't be affected by your climate.

I don't think Ive ever seen anyone mention that smoke daddy unit before. But it looks interesting.

Take a good look at the blazn grillworks and grilla options too though.

[Troutman]

I have the Smoke Daddy PID controller and hopper custom fitted to my grill. It's been a real workhorse but the smoke level is minimal unless you cold smoke. I really don't think the cabinet would be any different. He may have his cold smoke generator hooked up to that unit as well. Again good for low temp smoking but not sure otherwise. You also hit the nail on the head, they've been promising a WiFi/Bluetooth version of their controller now for 2 years. That's not really that necessary to me but it dates their unit, as an FYI.

[MBMorgan]

Don't overlook THIS one ... minimal footprint, excellent performance, and top notch support.

[JimLinebarger]

I was looking at that one for a while and had the same issue with not much info. However, Gator Pits (gatorpit.net) uses the pellet hopper in a couple of their pits. It seems that the hopper is pretty good. That vertical is 1848 sq. in. of cooking space with the (4) 21"x22" SS grates. It does only heat up to 450°F.

[potato]

Hello gents!

RonB: Thanks! I appreciate it. Seems a nice place.

ItsAllGoneToTheDogs: MAK 1 star...ehhhh. My thinking is, it's like buying a Porsche - you don't want the boxster. You want a 911...not the cheapest/budget-est thing they sell. Wrt MAK, the 1-star seems to be their Boxster. With the Wifi option and cover and the other things I would want it's about $2400, which, ok, if it was the _perfect_ unit, I could spend that, although it's at the very very top of my budget. But you can't get the extension smoking box, the wheels look whimpy (I have a brick patio), it's only 430 sq in of primary area, etc etc. I want to be able to handle at least a 20pp gathering easily, it just seems that it'd be tough with the 1-star. Blazn grillworks look interesting - and having a black friday sale - wasn't aware of them, thanks much for that.

Troutman: So the controller works but the smoke levels are low? I'm mainly aiming for low'n'slow cooking for parties (ribs, brisket, fish, cheese, etc.) I have high-temp stuff covered (and an upgrade for that is planned via another device eventually.)

MBMorgan: The Grilla is great price-wise, but seems pretty small? How many rib racks/briskets can one do with this, conveniently?

JimLinebarger: So what did you end up going with instead? Or are you still mulling your purchase? I don't mind that it only gets up to 450F, not looking for high temps with the smoker and am based in Miami, so severe heat loss is so unlikely as to be negligible. The GatorPits verticals (and the other configs, really) look fantastic, but quite pricey. Something to aim for in the future.

Thanks again for the replies! Cheers

[potato]

Honestly, I've been reading more and more about MAK and maybe I'll go for it, you're doing a good job converting me. Those cleaning features are pretty dope and the igniter is second to none, and the top guys from here seem to be head over heels for them. If I get the full-size option for the second shelf, will it be completely, fully usable and able to be loaded up just like the main surface? Man, I wish there was a way to connect that smoking box 2-star accessory to the 1-star.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

I think the 1 star loses a touch of head room just towards the front of the top grate, but still tall enough for a chicken or pork butt. As far as cold smoking, I do have the cold box accessory on my list of things to buy, but haven't really needed it yet. I've mainly made cheese and stuff in the warming box on the 2 star, but I know a lot of people use their grill or pellet smoker main chamber and then just a smoke tube to do cold smoking just fine.

[JimLinebarger]

I ended up with a Traeger Timberline 850 partly because I was able to spread the payments over 6 month 0% interest. It works, but it has issues. Not sure Traeger would want customer input for improvements. Also, customer service isn't that good. Sometimes wish I knew about Weber's new pellet or even went the Yoder route. But, it works for what I need at the moment.

[willxfmr]

I'm very happy with my Camp Chef DLX24. I also have the propane sear box that bolts right to it. The sear box I do not care for. I had some problems holding a steady temp on the smoker when I first got it, but Camp Chef customer service was responsive and helpful. in the end, changing brands of pellets solved the problem.
It has been mentioned before, by people with a lot my knowledge than me, that pellet poopers need to have some fluctuation in there temps to produce decent smoke flavors. The long and short of it is the pellets burn too clean to give off decent smoke unless they are starved for air and begin to smolder. Some manufactures build this fluctuation into their controllers with dedicated "smoke" settings. The High and Low smoke settings on the DLX work well, and give a good mix of temp control and smoke output. If I'm doing a fast smoke on a tough hunk of meat, then I'll also use a smoke tube with wood chips to boost the smoke flavor. *WARNING! THE FOLLOWING IS ONLY ONE PERSONS OPINION, AND THAT PERSON IS NOT VERY SMART* The units from Smoke Daddy may in fact suffer from too precise of control of their temp to give decent smoke.

Full Disclosure.
I do not work for or have any financial interest in Camp Chef.
I have never cooked on a Smoke Daddy.
The Smoke Daddy made it to my very short list when I was researching what smoker to buy, and I may be biased just because I want to believe I made the right choice.

[potato]

I'm cool without the sear box and from reading this forum and the site in general, I have gathered many opinions similar to yours wrt smoke generation vs. precision of PID controllers. The amazon reviews are a bit more critical than this place, and there seems to be more concern as far as temperature stability. Do you find those issues with yours? What was the deciding factor for you for the DLX vs the SmokeDaddy or others on your short list (what were the rest, if you don't mind me asking?)

[Max Good]

Have you searched our reviews of pellet smokers between $1,000 to $2,000? https://amazingribs.com/equipment-re..._value%5B%5D=6

[potato]

Also, I wanted to add, after realizing the scarcity of higher-capacity pellet vertical smokers for midrange money, I started looking at the more traditional configurations, which led me to the RecTec consideration. Blazn and Grilla units are also on my radar now, thanks to the forum participants who answered my call for help.

[Max Good]

The pellet smoker field is getting crowded. It's tough to cover every model available these days.

[potato]

Fair enough, there are a LOT of options. The SmokeDaddy vertical seems to stick out though, if that'll motivate you. Cheers

[klflowers]

If you can wait a couple of months, Weber is elbowing it's way into the field with a pellet grill:

https://amazingribs.com/ratings-reviews/pellet-grill/weber-smokefire-pellet-grill

[potato]

Just wanted to say that after all said and done, I went ahead and ordered a MAK 1-star.

ItsAllGoneToTheDogs Special appreciation to you for the advice! I joined the FB MAK fan group as well, btw.

Max Good Thanks for the detailed reviews in particular on the MAK units and for the entire site in general. Keep up the good work!

[Max Good]

Thank you! Please share your MAK experience on our review page.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

I keep ribbing MAK trying to get them to provide Max with a 2019 unit. They've made a lot of changes for the better. Still wish they would lower the price of the 1 star a bit or start including the wifi on all their units at current price. But I'm sure you'll be super happy with it, my friends with pellet smokers all like my MAK better than what they have, but it could just be the input and recipes I get from here honestly

[potato]

Max Good - It'll be a month before I can play with it, but once that happens, absolutely will do!
ItsAllGoneToTheDogs - It seems that per unit sold/reviewed, more people who cook with pellets _AND_ choose to spend money on good build quality have a good experience with MAK than with any other brand. It's also far harder to find someone UNhappy with a MAK product than others in their class. Thus, for my first unit, I think there is no safer/better choice to make, certainly not at my price point. Btw, your other suggestion - Blaz'n grills - was my closest alternate. Cheers!

[lcameron7]

Would adding the Smoke Daddy Heavy D to their pellet pro vertical make it at least a competent smoker? Difficult to find anyone who has tested the whole package.

[Troutman]

I did the testing on the Smoke Daddy Heavy D accessory and gave it high marks...

https://amazingribs.com/heavy-d-increases-smoke-most-pellet-cookers

Given that the cabinet has the same pellet setup as mine (albeit a different cooker) I would say that it should work in the vertical cabinet. If it does it will definitely give you a better smoke profile. Just did some ribs over the weekend and they turned out great !!

I'd call Dennis at Smoke Daddy and discuss it with him and confirm all that.