I have the original Grilla, the model without the alpha controller, and have found a pretty good smoke profile from that in a smaller grill.
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Have had the Rec Tec for going on 6 years now and still working fine.Comment
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I can tell you why I don't own a pellet grill anymore. My reasons for owning one were two fold: I was sick of babysitting my stick burner during competitions and I wanted convenience of gas on weeknight cooks. I was a traeger owner for about 10 years and it met my needs...for a while. But, like all things mechanical, it began to have issues, a fan here, a heating rod here, a thermometer here, etc etc. Now, to Traeger's credit, they took care of me, but I just had enough and missed cooking with charcoal. So I sold my traeger.
If I were to get another pellet cooker, I'd have a hard time getting away from the Traeger name, because they took such good care of me. But do know there are more robust cookers out there, if you're willing to pay. I'd give the Yoder a hard look, all I've ever read is good things about them.
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Much good input. I started with a Camp Chef DLX24, the forerunner of the current Woodwind line. I now have a MAK 2 Star and can say that it is one great cooker. I should have heeded the advice many gave - Buy Once, Cry Once, Buy Twice, Cry Twice. Meaning, if you can afford it, go for the one of your top line list.
There are some features that you might think about as differentiators:
1. Materials - I really wanted 304 stainless due to issues with ocean air/moist air where I live. Is that a consideration?
2. Pellet dump - I wanted to easily switch the kind of pellets I used or to empty the hopper between cooks to avoid moisture without needing to vacuum the pellets out.
3. Grease tray/bucket - do you care if it is outside the body of the cooker, or have an internal tray to keep critters out of it?
4. Ease of cleaning - some have a cool firepot ash dump feature, while many require takin gout internal parts to get at cleaning the firepot.
5. Type of controller - BIG debates about that. PID vs non-PID. Temperature swings versus tight cooking temp control.
6. Ability to grill - another hot topic. Many high end pits have had this capability for awhile: Yoder, MAK, Memphis, Cookshack PG500/PG1000. Now with the Weber Smokefire, once Weber really addresses some of its weaknesses, the line between grilling and low-slow in one unit is getting a big push.
7. Lastly, if you want to stick to charcoal, but have the same "set it, forget it" convenience of a pellet grill, take a look at the Masterbuilt gravity fed pits.
Hope all this helps!Comment
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Great advice, I really appreciate those differentiators. Let me ask some follow-up.
1. Materials - I live in Wisconsin, no ocean air but insanely cold at times. Insulated seems be the way to go? Anything else?
2, 3, 4 - Great thoughts.
5. Can you elaborate on PID vs. non-PID. I would think you would want tight cooking control.
6. While important, not the biggest thing on my list.
7. I'll take a look at the Masterbuilt.
Thanks!
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robd since you live in Wisconsin, I think that insulated is most definitely the way to go.
If its just for weeknight cooks, and you have your Backwoods for big weekend jobs like a huge party, I think you ought to look hard at the Grilla and the Silverbac. Both of those are budget offerings compared to some of the stuff on your list, but they both have a double walled body, and are designed and sold up in Michigan, so they know a thing or two about the cold weather you deal with.
Personally, I feel like the original Grilla just looks cool, especially with the glass window to see the fire, and I like the uniqueness of it versus other smokers, plus the higher smoke profile it puts out compared to many other pellet cookers, based on reviews I've seen here and elsewhere. With the expansion rack on the top level, you can fit 6 racks of ribs flat, or 5 boston butts, or up to 4 briskets. With rib racks you could probably fit more. It has the same size main grate as a Weber 22.5" kettle, so accessories like Grillgrates designed for the Weber also fit the round Grilla. I confirmed that with Grilla when I was talking to their customer service folk.
The only reason I don't have a Grilla in my back yard today is that I've spent the last few years marrying off three kids, and also had college tuition to pay for 2-3 at a time. Last wedding is this May, but parts of it have now been pushed to September due to COVID-19. And my company just cut all paychecks by 20% or more, to avoid layoffs. Half of our customers are not paying their bills to us, so making payroll and paying our own bills is tough right now. I in turn have to cut the household budget by 20%. Fun stuff.Comment
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On #1, look for double-walled. I know Blazn is double, but there are a number of them out there. Others use an insulated blanket during cold months such as a welder's blanket.Originally posted by robd View Post
On the controllers, basically a PID uses a firmware/software algorithm to measure and respond to the need to feed fuel or not. Non-PIDs use a internal timer method to turn the auger/feed on and off. That is a very basic explanation. There are pros and cons and advocates for both. For example, PID controllers may give tight temp control, but may sacrifice smoke generation (lower smoke output) - I have not found that with my MAK, but there is plenty of dialog out there that contend larger temp swings produce more smoke, thus more smoke flavor. I favor tight temp control.Comment
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Check out blackearthgrills.com
Nice hybrid grill - gas for those quick cooks and a pellet burner in the center. Loads of nice features.Comment
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New to this forum and have a related question. I currently use a charcoal smoker. If I move to a wood pellet smoker, my goal would be to obtain the strongest smoke flavor possible without having to use smoke tubes or other add ons. So what model might that be?Comment
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If you're using this just for the odd couple racks of ribs, pork butt, chicken, etc as you stated above, I think you can get one of the cookers you have in the tier 2 list. I have a 1st generation Traeger and it serves us well for that volume of cooking that you describe. Bought an insulation blanket for the colder winter months here in Massachusetts and have had no issues.
The cookers in the Tier 1 category you have are all dynamite but may be unnecessarily costly given what you're using it for. Just my two cents which is probably only worth one...Comment
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That's a tough "ask" - I know MAK has one of the strongest reputations for producing and imparting smoke. However, I am sure a significant number of other brands/makes produce plenty as well.Originally posted by jaseverson View PostComment
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If it were me, out of those I would get the MAK 1 star out of the Cadillac group, or the Rec tec out of the lower cost group.
I had Yoder YS, it is prone to rust which I didn’t like. It did sear very well, but the effort of transitioning from low n slow to sear (remove diffuser plate door, crank up temp, replace regular grates with grill grates, wait to come up to temp) you may prefer to just get a chimney of coals started and sear on your kettle. JMO, I’d get a mak over a yoder if buying a high end pellet grill again. But it sure seems like everyone who has a rec tec loves them, so I’m not sure it’s necessary to go higher end than that. The Weber might be interesting as well, but I’d want them to work out some of the issues first.
If you get the Yoder, spring for the stainless shelves and the diffuser plate with door.Last edited by Walt Dockery; April 26, 2020, 11:08 AM.Comment
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Hi All. Does anyone know where to go to get a good review/comparison say between Rec-Tec, Yoder, & Mak? I hear and read nothing but good about Yoder BUT.............I'm bothered by the lack of stainless and thus the rust issue? And input, thoughts would be very welcome. Thx!Comment
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I'm not aware of a good head to head review. All 3 have very good reviews as far as I know.
On the Yoder rust, I will say the body of the grill itself with the heavier gauge steel is fairly resistant to rust. The thinner gauge steel of the standard cart and the pellet hopper assembly are more susceptible. Yoder's solution is to periodically hit it with a light sanding and spray paint over it. This works best on the main body of the grill.
The worst part of the grill by far as far as rust was the chrome plated standard wire front and side shelves. I could scrub and scrub all the rust off and they would be rusty again in a week or two. So I would definitely spring for the stainless steel shelves if rust is a concern. The comp cart would likely help as well as again that lower standard part was more susceptible to rust than the grill body.
FWIW I live in Central Florida, so a humid area but not by the beach or anything. I stores my grill on a covered patio but did not use a grill cover (I hate grill covers, I would use the grill less if I had one). If you live in a dry area, and/or are the type of person to use a cover and don't mind periodically touching up the rusty spots with a light sanding followed by spray paint. it's probably not a big concern. For me, it was annoying enough in that it was a factor in my decision to sell. I did not end up replacing with a pellet grill.Last edited by Walt Dockery; April 27, 2020, 01:20 PM.Comment
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I have a Green Mountain Grill and love it! Have done some great cooks with it, from HOT smash burgers on a cast iron griddle, to 18 hour slow cook/smoke Brisket. Has WiFi so its hooked to my network and I can watch it and control it from anywhere. Does a great job cooking and smoking.Attached FilesComment
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Have you checked out AR's reviews on the free site: https://amazingribs.com/ratings-revi...smoker-reviewsOriginally posted by SmokinGrillin View Post
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