So if not Weber, then...?

[jfmorris]

• Reliable pellet mechanism for long cooks without constantly checking for bridging
• A robust app to control the unit and monitor the cook
• Something that can good burgers one night and then smoke a pork butt all day the next day.
• Budget: Right around $1,000

I think the biggest question on that is burgers, and I've heard enough from folks like Potkettleblack and Huskee who make burgers they like on their Grilla pellet cookers that I know its possible to do good burgers on a pellet cooker.

I window shopped a long time for pellet cookers, which my favorites being the Yoder YS640, Rectec RT-700, and Grilla. Of those, the best bang for the buck in the under $1000 price point is the Grilla, and after talking to their customer support folks, who were helpful, they told me the original Grilla design (the round upright one, Original Grilla or OG) would have a slightly better smoke profile than the Silverbac, since I would be coming from cooking on charcoal and wood smokers. The Silverbac has higher capacity though. Unfortunately, right now, Grilla is about the only hold out on having Wifi control of their cookers. That wouldn't matter to me a lot, but I can see it being convenient.

I have been using an offset smoker for about 30 years, and over the past couple, have found that I got great results with a lot less effort by smoking on a Weber Performer (22" kettle) using a Slow 'N Sear, basically an offset charcoal basket with water pan built in. I can smoke for 8-12 hours on the kettle, hands off, and monitor the cook with a wifi thermometer on my iPhone. Later I got a fan controller, and I easily get 12-13 hours out of 7-8 pounds of charcoal, allowing me to smoke while gone to work, while sleeping overnight, and so on. The only drawback on the kettle with the Slow 'N Sear is capacity (3 to 5 racks of ribs, 2 butts, 1 brisket, 3-4 chickens). My offset can hold a LOT more than that, but I have to feed the fire every 30 to 60 minutes. Anyway, the kettle + wifi thermometer monitor + thermostatic fan control let me to realize that aside from the extra 15 minutes to light some charcoal at the beginning, that smoking that way was about as hands off as the pellet cookers I was looking at. So now, I am considering a WSM 22 as my next smoker, and I'll just use the fan and thermometer with that, and mostly grill on the kettle. I have a gas grill, so tend to make burgers and other quick cooks on it.

[klflowers]

Jordan S, hindsight is 20-20, I know, but next move, leave the kids. Take the grills.

[jfmorris]

Andrrr I have a Thermoworks Smoke and the Smoke Gateway (wifi) for monitoring the cooks. I have a Party Q fan controller that I use on long cooks on the kettle. If I had nothing today and was starting from scratch I would get a Fireboard if I wanted Wifi or fan control, Maverick XR-50 otherwise. Right now I am happy with what I have, and will keep using both devices (Smoke and Party Q) until something dies and has to be replaced.

[Andrrr]

jfmorris thanks. I wish the fireboard or any of the thermostats had satellite displays. I use a Maverick 732 right now and I like just having it in the house to casually look at rather than have to pull out my phone. Then again when you have the fan going you really don’t need to look I guess

[Steve609]

We cancelled our order for a Weber SmokeFire EX6 today, and ordered a Camp Chef 36“ WIFI Woodwind Pellet Grill with a Sear Box.

A long time ago we bought a motor sailor boat (a sailboat with a pilothouse) and found that the boat sailed ok, and powered ok, but didn't excel in any area. A lesson we should have remembered before we pre-ordered.

Just our thoughts,
Steve609

[texastweeter]

3 come to mind. Pitmaker, Pitts and Spitts, and rectec. Or, a dedicated smoker, and then a grill.

[DavidNorcross]

I owned a RecTec 680 and sold it. The powder coating peeled off like a banana and for me temps were all over the place. It could have been the pellets or it could have been me. Not sure. I have read great reviews on the Camp Chef with a sear box and Camp Chef has a great reputation for service and quality. If you move away from pellets, then the advice here on the kettle are always a winner but would also consider either the Weber Summit Charcoal or for me the SNS Kamado is at the top of the heap.

[Bobby Q's]

I've had my Rec-Tec 340 for about 4 years now and have put thousands of pounds of meat through it with no issues to speak of except for color loss on the bottom part. I called them to discuss maintenance and they sent me touch-up kit for it and instructions even though it was out of warranty. Customer service is second to none. I picked mine up from their store in Augusta, GA and met the crew there. All jam up people. If I had to buy another pellet grill I wouldn't hesitate to buy again.

[Fitdad55]

Bobby,

Your exactly the kind of person that I would like to chat with. I have a 340 and have been very impressed with the build quality and the customer service. I've had it for about 7 months and have produced some wonderful smoked meats. About 3 months ago I noticed that things were changing inside my grill. What I discovered was my heat diffuser had warped even though I have only gone up to 500 degrees twice. Not only did my diffuser warp but my drip tray also. Have you experienced this?

[Murdy]

While we are talking about pellet grills, I did not see Broil King's (fairly) new offering mentioned? Anybody have any experience with them, they have a few under $1,000.

[Rod]

I had a Rec Tec RT680 for about 3yrs and a Traeger prior to that. The Rec Tec was a far superior pellet cooker than the Traeger for about the same price. I got out of the pellet game about a year ago and now cook exclusively on kettles and a good gasser for quick and simple cooks.

Check this out. Going that route blows away any pellet cooker in every way except for maybe capacity. One of the big downsides for any pellet cooker is the moving parts will eventually fail. It sucks when you plan a cook for a bunch of people and the ignitor rod fails (and they all do eventually) right before you're ready to cook. If you don't have a spare, you're dead in the water. What if the auger or fan dies? With the set up in the above link you don't have to worry about that. Even if the fan dies, you can still keeping rolling along with maybe a bit more monitoring.

[glitchy]

If your igniter rod fails, you can light the pellets with a torch if it's not shorting out the system. Yes, the convenience of a pellet grills comes with the risks of mechanical failures, but they generally aren't very frequent.

What Traeger did you have? The new D2 Traegers seem to have closed a lot of the gaps with Rec Tec. I know Rec Tec has more stainless parts, but I keep reading mixed reviews on their stainless rusting and the painted parts peeling and flaking pretty early.

[Rod]

glitchy I had the Traeger Texas. I know you can manually light the pellets if you have to, but if the fan or auger motor dies, you're hosed. Though the Rec Tec had much better temp control there would still be some pretty significant temp swings for my liking even though the controller on the cooker always says it's spot on. With the Traeger, I would get 80-100 degree temp swings. Especially in the summer. I never experienced any paint or rust issues with my Rec Tec, but I live in the desert.

[jfmorris]

Jordan S I can understand your frustration. If you don't manage to return the SmokeFire, some of the videos today about the issue make me hopeful that Weber can come up with a solution. Maybe slowing the fan down, and a redesign of the metal cover that goes over the firepot. The problem Baby Back Maniac clearly shows is that the holes for grease to drain out get covered with piles of ash that has blown out into the body of the grill, versus dropping into the pan beneath. So, I feel more hopeful that they can come up with a solution looking at the video today. It is certainly in Weber's best interests to engineer a fix and send it out to the early adopters like yourself. Otherwise, they will not make any more sales this year for the SmokeFire, and will be in the red in a big way.

The attraction to me of the SmokeFire versus charcoal smokers or grills is that it was to bring the ease of use of a gas grill in a device that can both grill and smoke. And while I love my Weber Performer Deluxe for grilling and smoking, and the propane ignition and easy ash cleanup make it nice for a charcoal grill - there is something to be said for running out, turning on the grill to preheat, going inside to grab the meat and other stuff, and being ready to grill in 10 minutes, versus the 30 it takes to get ready when using charcoal. So, I end up grilling on the gas grills I have almost as much or more than I grill with charcoal. I tend to smoke more with the kettle and offset, and direct grill more with the gas grill. So, yes - one grill to rule them all would have been nice.

If you end up returning it and going back to multiple grills, I would consider a gas grill in the mix, as it will give you some of the convenience for direct grilling that you were looking to get with the SmokeFire. I've loved my old Genesis 2 burner that I've had since 2002. I love the Genesis II 4 burner I picked up on clearance for $399 in January 2019, but in both cases, I've outfitted the grills with Grillgrates, and use them as griddles almost as much as I do grills. I also griddle some on my Performer using a Drip 'N Griddle pan from the SnSGrills folks, but not as often as I do on the gasser. The 2 burner is leaving to go live with my daughter after she gets married in May, as her fiancé has a house, but his "grill", which she ridiculed enough for him to throw it out, was an ELECTRIC grill - basically a George Foreman on stilts, sitting on his back patio. I expect my daughter to be the grill master in that relationship, haha.

I will say this - the Genesis II series has some advantages over the old Genesis I've had for 18 years, but time will tell it it lasts as long. The metal is definitely lighter, as is the construction, compared to the old one. Made in USA versus made in China is part of it, plus they went from their 10 minute turnkey assembly where the grill just had to be set into a pre-assembled frame, to a 3 hour assembly with 200 parts.

Anyway, long story short - maybe consider a WSM for smoking, and a Genesis or Spirit for grilling. Also consider gassers such as the highly rated ones from Broil King, if you can find it in your area. My Lowes usually has one or two models of the Broil King in stock.

[Falcofr]

Jfmorris, I agree with your comments above.

In my view the Smokefire is trying to be an all-in-one product that Weber Corp. believes will capture multiple market segments.

This usually makes the product more complex to properly engineer and support as I think back nostalgically to past all-in-one products such as the combo turntable\receiver stereo system, the combo coffee grinder/coffee maker and the famous combo car\pickup truck "The El Camino.

[surfdog]

+1
I can’t see ever getting rid of the Summit gasser that I’ve had since 2005.
It gives me all of the convenience of a pellet smoker without the potential headaches. And if I want smoke in there...it has a smoke box, albeit small...but there nonetheless. AND, it’s simple enough to add another smoke box/pouch/tube/whatever. Prior to getting a dedicated smoker, I did all of my smoking on that for years.

[rickgregory]

glitchy writes above " I know Rec Tec has more stainless parts, but I keep reading mixed reviews on their stainless rusting..."

A word about that. Stainless can rust. It's not going to do it easily and won't rust anything like carbon, but stainless isn't rust proof, it's just really rust resistant and abuse and wear can make it rust. See https://www.polymersolutions.com/blo...ss-steel-rust/ for a really good, very detailed explanation. This is interesting:

A less common form of rusting in stainless steel is after the stainless has been exposed to very high temperatures, often in the 750-1550°F range (400-850°C)1. This type of corrosion is often seen in welding applications in which stainless is heated and then cooled. If this happens, "sensitization" can occur which is where the carbon and the chromium bond together in the stainless steel and form carbides. These carbides situate themselves at the stainless steel grain boundaries, and the grain boundaries become deficient of chromium. With lower chromium concentrations at the grain boundaries, the chromium oxide protective layer can become discontinuous and rusting becomes possible. "Sensitization" can ruin stainless steel forever; however the damage can sometimes be mitigated with complex heat treating.

I don't have a rec tec and no skin in the game with them, but if someone leaves one out in the rain, doesn't clean it, etc then it might show some rust and really, that's on the user, not the product. Me, I'd be way more concerned about paint flaking and, as you've said elsewhere, the fact that they're the only source for their parts.

[Uncle Bob]

Good commentary and linked reference. There are varying grades of stainless that relate, in part, to their level of rust resistance. I do own a RT, they employ 430 grade, common to commodity level cookers. One way to test your cooker is apply a magnet, if it sticks it's likely 430 and will corrode easier than the more costly 304 used in high end (say over $2500 cookers) which won't hold a magnet, and will resist corrosion better. Hint; retail 4x8 sheet of 304 = $1250

[Old Glory]

If you are considering charcoal definitely check out the WSCG. It really does it all well. I have not used a controller yet but it is pre-drilled for one.

it is built to smoke and grill. Set up like a Kamdo or a kettle.

once ski season is over I will have more time on the weekends to play with it but so far it has been amazing.

[jfmorris]

His budget is $1000-ish - he broke the budget with the SmokeFire, I doubt he wants to REALLY break it with a WSCG.

[Spinaker]

Good suggestion. I'd take a kamado over a pellet rig, anyway.

[Potkettleblack]

I think the biggest question on that is burgers, and I've heard enough from folks like Potkettleblack and Huskee who make burgers they like on their Grilla pellet cookers that I know its possible to do good burgers on a pellet cooker.

Someone summoned the Original Grilla Daemon... well then...

https://grillagrills.com/recipes/no-flip-burger-recipe/

This is my go to, but I probe and take off a bit earlier. your mileage will vary, depending on your tolerance for burgers from 1975 and your desire to make a smash burger (mine is near zero, but I have a gas grill for that).

The no flip burger is a very solid pub burger. And the OG has a better smoke profile than the Silverback or the Chimp (or so I'm told).

No bridging, good in the cold weather due to it being R2D2's armored cousin, and the double wall in the lower half. Cooks fast, churns pellets at the right speed...

No wifi. I have wifi thermometers, wifi sous vide cookers, a wifi thermostat, and more, but have not felt the need to go wifi on the Grilla beyond the thermometer. If you need it, Grilla is out for the time being... but I don't really see the need. It's to smoking temp in fairly short order, enough for a quick seasoning to bring out some liquid to help the smoke adhere.

[Nate]

+1 on all of this... especially about the no flip burger being a solid pub burger!

[Potkettleblack]

Especially if you cook to 160... very solid... ;-)

[Bogy]

I'm going to second everything Potkettleblack said about Grilla. I love my OG, and have cooked everything from pulled pork low and slow to burgers and pizza at 500+ degrees on it. The only reason I don't use it all the time anymore is that I now have two houses, and wanted a smoker at each one. So the OG went to the new house, and a larger cooker was purchased for where we spend most of our time, and where I cook for 30 to 75 people. Occasionally.

So, for larger, and also if WiFi is a deal breaker, as other have already suggested, I bought a Blaz'n Grill Grid Iron. They also make the Grand Slam. I use the Wifi on the controller for the chamber temp, but keep track of the meat temp with my Fireboard. Meat probe for the Grid Iron is still in the plastic wrap. I have found the WiFi on the Grid Iron to be very stable.

Not going to go into the whole saga of how I bought my Grid Iron, but it came from the St. Louis BBQ Store. Blaz'n stopped using dealers, but when they were I had my wife lift up the lid on a Green Mountain setting next to the Grid Iron, then lift the lid on the Grid Iron. Or try to. Even with the counterbalance she found it hard to lift. She could see why I was interested in it, and not the Green Mountain. Both the Blaz'n and Grilla are built like tanks.

Blaz'n has a drawer that enables you to pull out the firepot and clean it out after cooks, without taking the whole thing apart. But, the ash and grease do NOT have a way to mix. I do take it apart occasionally, because the ash does build up on the bottom of the cooker, which I have found can cut down the air flow.

I'm cheap. If you like brand new, go for it. I bought my Weber Genesis gasser new, but both of my pellet burners were from the companies changing business plans and ditching their dealers for direct sales. One I bought from the dealer, the other just a couple months after someone with 2 Yagers decided he didn't need 3 pellet smokers. I've saved a significant amount each time, which allowed me to buy more grill than I would have otherwise. Lots of people buy one of these, find that in a year they only used it 3 times, and sell it for a loss. It's a gain for someone else.

[troymeister]

For me if not Weber then....Weber....with SnS and DnG. All purpose grill. If you want to get a pellet pooper or offset after that so be it. Remember you will always have your Weber.

Also remember, "One cannot have too many grills."

[Potkettleblack]

Divorce, running out of property... maybe you can have too many.

[troymeister]

Lol....I'm about at my limit...Though I'm still trying to fit in a PK Grill in the mix..Maybe a Kamado, Geez I need a gasser too. Can't forget about a PBC...Geez I guess I'm in MCS recovery...lol

[Sweaty Paul]

As noted above I think a lot of my Yoder YS-640, however, I know that it is a bit above your stated budget. That said, it is built like a tank and think it produces really good food and really keeps temps well.

Other brands that seem quite popular here are Grilla, Blaze'n Grill, and Rec-Tec. Good luck on your efforts and search.

Sweaty Paul

[NYC Que]

MAK. They just work.