Bullseye quit 3 times on an overnight brisket. Looking for a reliable pellet cooker, ~$1,200 budget

[dtresca]

Hey all,
Long-time cook, first time asking for gear advice here (I think, lol). I’m looking for a new pellet cooker that can handle long, overnight cooks reliably, and I’d love some input from folks who’ve run these machines.

Current setup:

• Recteq Bullseye: my daily driver. Love the 180–700° range and use it for nearly everything, but my longest cooks have been 6–7 hours on pork butts.
• Pit Barrel Cooker: my original cooker. Solid, but I’ve never been happy with my brisket results. Just ok for briskets. Pretty amazing for everything else.
• FireBoard for temp monitoring
• I lost my Grilla Kamado to an eastern Nebraska windstorm a couple of years ago and haven’t done a brisket since.

What happened this weekend:
My mother-in-law asked me to smoke a brisket for Sunday dinner, so I put a full packer on the Bullseye at 6 PM Saturday. It was a Franklin-style trim with SPG, run at 225° with a drip pan under the grate, and spritzed every couple of hours. At 11 PM, I moved it into a butcher-paper-lined pan.
The Bullseye held 225° within a few degrees for the first 6+ hours. Then it shut itself down overnight, three separate times, with an “Error” on the screen each time:

• ~2 AM: meat at 134°. Power cycled, and it restarted.
• ~3:30 AM: meat in the low 140s. Power cycled again.
• ~6 AM: meat around 150°. I gave up and finished it in the kitchen oven at 250°.

The oven finish went fine. I covered it with foil around 195°; it was probe tender around 2 PM and stayed warm until 5 PM. It honestly turned out to be one of the best briskets I’ve made (pics attached). But I don’t want to babysit a cooker all night again.

What I’m looking for:

• Budget: around $1,200
• Reliability on 12–16+ hour cooks is the top priority
• Capacity: I usually cook for a family of 4, but we host fairly often, and that can mean 10–15 people. It needs to handle a full packer comfortably, and ideally a packer plus a couple of butts for bigger gatherings.
• Weather: Eastern Nebraska, so wind and cold are real factors. Insulated or well-built is a plus.
• Nice to have: WiFi/app control, a decent temp range for searing, and a good-sized hopper for overnight cooks without refills

What my current list looks like so far:

• Weber Searwood 600
• GMG Ledge Prime 2.0
• Recteq Patio Legend 600

Questions for the group:

1. What would you buy at this price point for long-cook reliability?
2. Are there models I should avoid because of wind or cold-weather performance?

Appreciate any input. Thanks!

[jfmorris]

The brisket looks great, but I can agree that babysitting a failing pellet grill controller is not the way to spend your night!

I am a big Weber fan, but looking at the Searwood, the warranty on the electronics is only 3 years. That is one reason when I won the grand prize here, in 2021, I went with a kamado rather than a pellet option - as an electrical engineer, I know fans, augers, sensors and control boards all have a limited lifetime, no matter how expensive the grill. Charcoal fired cookers, not so much - even if my blower dies, I can go to manual vent control.

Personally, I would look at the Searwood in person, and see what you think of the build quality. That will be a big step up from the little Reqtec Bullseye in size I imagine. I cannot comment on the GMG or Reqtec options really. I was a big fan of the Grilla OG back when I was considering a pellet cooker, 5-6 years ago, but scratched that itch by automating my charcoal cookers with a fan controller and remote/wifi monitoring.

[LA Pork Butt]

I have the Weber Weber XL 600, and I love it. We can get some gusting winds here in Dallas, Texas, and I have has no problem with it. It is my only pellet smoker experience, so I have nothing to compare it with. I like heavy smoke flavor and the only way I have been able to able to achieve it on a low and slow cook is with premium pellets. My research indicates that most petted companies use an abundance of cheap hardwood and very little of the wood flavor on the label. The result is weak smoke flavor.

[dtresca]

The brisket looks great, but I can agree that babysitting a failing pellet grill controller is not the way to spend your night!

I am a big Weber fan, but looking at the Searwood, the warranty on the electronics is only 3 years. That is one reason when I won the grand prize here, in 2021, I went with a kamado rather than a pellet option - as an electrical engineer, I know fans, augers, sensors and control boards all have a limited lifetime, no matter how expensive the grill. Charcoal fired cookers, not so much - even if my blower dies, I can go to manual vent control.

Personally, I would look at the Searwood in person, and see what you think of the build quality. That will be a big step up from the little Reqtec Bullseye in size I imagine. I cannot comment on the GMG or Reqtec options really. I was a big fan of the Grilla OG back when I was considering a pellet cooker, 5-6 years ago, but scratched that itch by automating my charcoal cookers with a fan controller and remote/wifi monitoring.

I appreciate the response! I do miss my Grilla Kamado sometimes. I even had the Fireboard drive system, which made overnight cooks really nice. Maybe I should consider going back to that setup. Thank you!

[Oak Smoke]

I have a kamado joe big joe with a Smobot on top. It is truly a set and forget cooker. The Smobot is so simple and yet works very well. If you consider going back to a kamado I think you’ll find this set up is easy and turns out great food.

[dtresca]

I have the Weber Weber XL 600, and I love it. We can get some gusting winds here in Dallas, Texas, and I have has no problem with it. It is my only pellet smoker experience, so I have nothing to compare it with. I like heavy smoke flavor and the only way I have been able to able to achieve it on a low and slow cook is with premium pellets. My research indicates that most petted companies use an abundance of cheap hardwood and very little of the wood flavor on the label. The result is weak smoke flavor.

Thank you! Yeah, that Searwood XL 600 looks nice. I've been to the local Ace and checked it out. Good to hear you have had such a good experience with it. I agree about the smoke flavor and pellet quality.

[jlazar]

Take a look at the Grilla Grills Silverbac or Mammoth. I have personally used the Silverbac and found it to be very tight on temps and extremely reliable.

[Sid P]

I came here to say this. My Silverbac has performed perfectly for 3+ years, and cranks out great food. Get on their mailing list and wait for a sale - it seems like they have big discounts at least once a month.

[dtresca]

Take a look at the Grilla Grills Silverbac or Mammoth. I have personally used the Silverbac and found it to be very tight on temps and extremely reliable.

I'll definitely look into them. I did love my Kong! Thanks!

[glitchy]

The way my mind works, if a product from a company doesn’t live up to expectations for technical reasons I wouldn’t shop another of their products for replacement. The other reqtec could have many of the same components in regards to controller, fans, fire pot, etc.

What pellets were you using and have you looked in the firepot since the flameouts? Was the firepot clean before you started a long cook? Except for an auger jam, every other flame out I’ve had (only a few over 15 plus years of being a pellet head) was because of excessive ash in the burn pot. The error message could simply mean the controller sensed the flameout. I’ve learned not to trust certain pellets for long cooks.

There is an American made pellet grill with a dealer network that starts only a little over your budget versus double plus like most of the rest, Smokin Brothers. https://smokinbrothers.com/product/s...er-plus-grill/

I’ve also been kinda wanting to try a Weber Searwood. The SmokeFire was so close to being amazing, I do often wonder if the nailed it with the successor. I love my MAK though and will probably keep it until I can’t keep it running anymore, but I’m still tempted at times to see if the Searwood could satisfactorily replace my Genesis for grilling. I’m very reluctant to do any high temp cooks on the MAK with current parts availability.

[WI Bubba]

To me the hardest thing will be to find a pellet smoker that can also grill well. I have no doubt that just about any of them will do okay for a burger or two, but the size of the fire pot really limits the exposure to direct heat that you can get.

I know my old WSM setup with a fan controller would easily run overnight without needing tending to, and you could deck out a 22" for well less than your budget. Honestly, once you learn how to control it, the fan isn't really needed either. But it does give you peace of mind on an overnight cook.

For pellet poopers, I agree with glitchy I would want to know what caused the error first and foremost. I think it would be worth firing it up first thing in the morning when you'll be home and just letting it run to see what happens, and what can be done to prevent it if it fails again. Rectec has a reputation for making pretty reliable pellet poopers, so I'm not sure what else to recommend in that price range that may not give you the same trouble if you don't know why the one you have won't run overnight.

Of course I am required by Pit Rules to say that the LSG is not cheap, but once it's paid for, you won't regret getting it.

[dtresca]

The way my mind works, if a product from a company doesn’t live up to expectations for technical reasons I wouldn’t shop another of their products for replacement. The other reqtec could have many of the same components in regards to controller, fans, fire pot, etc.

What pellets were you using and have you looked in the firepot since the flameouts? Was the firepot clean before you started a long cook? Except for an auger jam, every other flame out I’ve had (only a few over 15 plus years of being a pellet head) was because of excessive ash in the burn pot. The error message could simply mean the controller sensed the flameout. I’ve learned not to trust certain pellets for long cooks.

There is an American made pellet grill with a dealer network that starts only a little over your budget versus double plus like most of the rest, Smokin Brothers. https://smokinbrothers.com/product/s...er-plus-grill/

I’ve also been kinda wanting to try a Weber Searwood. The SmokeFire was so close to being amazing, I do often wonder if the nailed it with the successor. I love my MAK though and will probably keep it until I can’t keep it running anymore, but I’m still tempted at times to see if the Searwood could satisfactorily replace my Genesis for grilling. I’m very reluctant to do any high temp cooks on the MAK with current parts availability.

Thank you for this! Yes, everything was done right. I will say, though, that the Bullseye isn't really intended for the cook I planned. It is more of a backyard grill replacement that can also do some limited smoking. I knew that going in, but tried anyway. That said, you are right that Recteq likely uses the same components. Thanks for the Smokin Brothers mention. Adding that to my list right now...

[tstalafuse]

Before I moved on, I would contact Rectec to see if they can tell you what the error code means, unless you are just wanting a new cooker. It might be a cheap simple fix, but no one here will stop you from spending your money.

[JCBBQ]

No, no, tstalafuse is correct. It’s part of the by-laws Members of the Pit must spend an average of $500/year towards MCS in their first 5 years or they’ll be expelled.

[dtresca]

Before I moved on, I would contact Rectec to see if they can tell you what the error code means, unless you are just wanting a new cooker. It might be a cheap simple fix, but no one here will stop you from spending your money.

Hahaha. True. I did reach out to them. Waiting for a response. I did grill some burgers tonight for the fam. Everything worked fine. But yeah, I did already get the go-ahead from the wife on a new rig...so I definitely need to play this right.

[DavidNorcross]

Like others I would recommend the Grilla Silverbac or Weber Searwood. Both good cookers.

[dtresca]

Got a response from Recteq. Likely an airflow problem. I let them know I inspected the cooker after it cooled down, and the firepot looked clear, with no excessive ash. So something may still be blocking airflow between the fan and the firepot. They actually told me that this was "an excessively long cook for this model." I asked them to provide the maximum recommended continuous runtime for my RT-B380 and point me to where that is documented. We will see.

Anywho, when I get more time, I will inspect further.

[tstalafuse]

Without know how old it is and how much you loved on it, I would just think the fan motor might be wearing out. Likely an easy and relatively inexpensive fix so that you can still come out with a new smoker...

[Duanessmokedmeats]

Get a Hasty Bake Legacy.
Uses charcoal, never needs any electronics, and is easy to maintain smoke temps.