Welcome!


This is a membership forum. Guests can view 5 pages for free. To participate, please join.

[ Pitmaster Club Information | Join Now | Login | Contact Us ]

Only 4 free page views remaining.

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Wanted: Help with picking new pellet smoker!

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    Wanted: Help with picking new pellet smoker!

    Hello everyone! I recently posted introducing myself, but thought I'd post here as well and ask for help! My wife and I are going to start a little side hustle with BBQ. I figure if I'm going to cook for my family, why not make extra and let others enjoy too! Anyways that being said, I currently have a GMG Daniel Boone and we love it, but I'd like to upgrade and be able to make more at a time. What suggestions do you have for $2k or less in the pellet smoker market? Thanks in advance for your feedback!

    #2
    https://amazingribs.com/ratings-revi...smoker-reviews

    Comment


      #3
      Never had a pellet pooper, but interested to see what you pick. Maybe Jerod Broussard will weigh in. Seems like a question right up his alley.

      Comment


        #4
        With your budget, I'd probably look at the American made pits. I don't know if a Mak 1 star would get you much more capacity or not. They have some shelving units available and have a pretty tall chamber it appears. I've been very intrigued by the Pitts and Spits Maverick pellet grills, they look very nice and solid. They have a few different sizes and I think they have various shelf options as well.

        Blaz'n, Yoder, Smokin' Brothers also have US made pellet grills and some others I'm not thinking of. Smokin Brothers I think has some huge grills and other two make at least 34-36 inch models.

        Not in the same class build wise, but has been good for me is Camp Chef. They have the Woodwind 36 WiFi which would have a ton of space with the large upper shelves it has and right at half of your top dollar amount. I like my SmokeFire, but primarily smoking and your goals, I think managing tons of drip pans all the time might be cumbersome and durability questions might cause frustrations.
        Last edited by glitchy; July 29, 2020, 09:03 AM.

        Comment


        • BFlynn
          BFlynn commented
          Editing a comment
          I saw the Pitts and Spits Maverick at the BBQ/Grill store the other day. It looked pretty solid.
          If I had been in the truck, and not the hatch back, it might have followed me home.

        • JoeSousa
          JoeSousa commented
          Editing a comment
          Those Pitts and Spitts pellet grills do look pretty nice. There is a place close by that sells them and they have tempted me a time or two. Seem like they are thicker steel and heavier duty than Traeger and other mass market brands.

        #5
        Like glitchy said. I have the Blazen Grills Grid Iron and at the time I wanted the most space for the buck while maintaining a quality build. I've had it almost 2.5 years. If I was busier with cooking I'd get another.

        Pitts and Spitts would have been my second choice, followed by Yoder.

        Comment


          #6
          I have a Rec Tec RT 700 with the optional upper shelf. Cook chamber is about 36X20. Can really load it up. It's been flawless for me and would be in your budget range easily.

          Comment


            #7
            While I don't own a pellet anymore (owned a Traeger for 10yrs), my brother just recently purchased a Rec-Tec RT700. I helped him put it together and the build quality is superior to my old Traeger or any of the other's I've seen recently. He's not technically inclined, but raves about the wifi feature and has cooked all 4 (pork, chxn, ribs and brisket) on it. Claims the brisket is the best he's ever done. I think, if I ever got back into pellet grills, I'd jump all over this one properly accessorized of course.

            I like the competition cart, extra int. shelf, griddle (not grill grates), cover, folding front shelf and smoke box. This would get right in line with your budget....

            All that said, my second choice would be a Yoder YS640S Comp.

            Comment


            • BFlynn
              BFlynn commented
              Editing a comment
              I believe the competition cart is half off if you buy a new smoker right now

            • au4stree
              au4stree commented
              Editing a comment
              BFlynn, don't tell me that, you'll stoke the MCS flames.....

            #8
            I have a Youder YS640, not the "S" model and love it. It's built rock solid and has room. I did a cook with just over 70# of pork butts. Took about 14 hours at 225F and turned out great. The "S" models now have Fireboard based WiFi and probes built in.
            Last edited by ofelles; July 30, 2020, 08:41 AM.

            Comment


            • Texas Larry
              Texas Larry commented
              Editing a comment
              +1 on this recommendation.

            • hogdog6
              hogdog6 commented
              Editing a comment
              Ditto

            • BBQPhil
              BBQPhil commented
              Editing a comment
              I also have a Yoder, the 480 and it's excellent. Really well build, reliable and turns out great results.

            #9
            I agree with glitchy and Jerod Broussard . The brands they mention would be my choices for the price range you're in. I lean toward US made as well. Good luck with you're decision. Keep us all posted on your purchase.

            Comment


              #10
              If you're going to side hustle with food, you could possibly make an LLC and all the fun legal stuff dealing with food entails. As such, you'd possibly be able to write of some or all of your next cooker (you'd have to talk to your tax person for your situation of course).

              Obviously if it's just for family and friends you're probably not going that route, but figured I'd throw it out there

              Comment


                #11
                Thanks all! I'm going to keep looking over the next few weeks and then I'll make a decision! Lots to digest there! My Daniel Boone GMG has been fantastic, I've literally had zero problems but I just posted on FB the other day that I was making brisket and sold 2 out in no time. There is no BBQ really in my hometown so I figure why not let others enjoy what I love so much! I've looked at the Yoders and Rec-Techs so far but not a few of the other models mentioned!

                Comment


                  #12
                  Cookshack's Fast Eddy's line makes some high end commercial pellet cookers. One of them in the realms of your budget is the PG500 56" at $1,815.

                  https://www.pelletgrillpros.com/coll...0-pellet-grill

                  Comment


                    #13
                    Yoder 640 or Silverbac Alpha.

                    Comment


                      #14
                      I would go from pellet to chunk.
                      American made, and good BBQ.

                      https://cookshack.com/collections/re...ic-smoker-oven
                      Last edited by Cheef; July 30, 2020, 08:42 PM.

                      Comment

                      Announcement

                      Collapse
                      No announcement yet.
                      Working...
                      X
                      false
                      0
                      Guest
                      Guest
                      500
                      ["pitmaster-my-membership","login","join-pitmaster","lostpw","reset-password","special-offers","help","nojs","meat-ups","gifts","authaau-alpha","ebooklogin-start","alpha","start"]
                      false
                      false
                      {"count":0,"link":"/forum/announcements/","debug":""}
                      Yes
                      ["\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads","\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads\/1157845-paid-members-download-your-6-deep-dive-guide-ebooks-for-free-here","\/forum\/the-pitcast","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2019-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2020-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2021-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2022-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/current-2023-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/current-2024-issues","\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads\/1165909-trial-members-download-your-free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-here"]
                      /forum/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads/1165909-trial-members-download-your-free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-here