Recteq or Grilla?

[coldrice]

Hey, team. I've narrowed down my choices to 3 smokers. I'm leaning towards the Grilla OG because of all the positive reviews and it sounds like the cream of their line up. However, I'm also considering the Recteq Deck Boss or Bullseye because of the high temp searing/grilling/pizza making ability. Recteq totally let me down in the past with their overrated customer service (I'm not here to go into that), but was wondering if anyone had experience with these models and hopefully help me make a choice. I'm attracted to round smoke chambers for a smokier profile but there's a lot of complaints on the Bullseye being flimsy and cheaply made. My concern about the Grilla OG is that it tops out around 450 and I was hoping for an all-in-one machine. If it got hotter it would be a slam dunk for me and I wouldn't even be considering a WreckTeq. Please share thoughts. Thanks!

*please note my profile says I'm a newb. I am not. I'm a professional chef and I've been smoking meat going on 20 years.

 

[Flatrate]

I have no experience with either, but when I was looking into a pellet grills Grilla and Recteq were on my radar. Almost pulled the trigger on one or the other many times. I don't think you can go wrong with either. But if those were my only two choices and had to pull the trigger today, I would go RecTeq.

 

[coldrice]

I have no experience with either, but when I was looking into a pellet grills Grilla and Recteq were on my radar. Almost pulled the trigger on one or the other many times. I don't think you can go wrong with either. But if those were my only two choices and had to pull the trigger today, I would go RecTeq.

Any reason why? Just reputation?

 

[6GRILLZNTN]

I have no experience with Grilla, but I've had a Req Teq for almost ten years now. I had to replace a fire rod, and that's been it. Their customer service is also top notch. This thing has been an absolute tank. A lot of people on this forum swear by Rec Teq.

 

[Flatrate]

Any reason why? Just reputation?

I just feel with Rec Teq you get a quality cooker for a fair price, once again I am not saying anything bad about Grilla.

 

[02ebz06]

I don't think you can go wrong with either.
Recteq has good reputation.
Grilla Grills is newer to the market so not as many people have them.
I have A Grilla Gas grill that I am happy with.

 

[mike243]

I know nothing about either but lools to be 2 versions of the bullseye, upgraded is stainless and hotter than the basic 1.

 

[Ishi]

I had Recjunk a few years back. There CS was terrible and everything was my fault on their faulty Chicomm product! Happy day when it left my premises

 

[sandyut]

Rec Teq for sure. Mine is at least 8 years old and never had an issue. Not sure what happened with the negative CS comments. I talked to them a few times about the settings and what not - always fantastic To over the top.

I would buy another one in a second.

 

[6GRILLZNTN]

I had Recjunk a few years back. There CS was terrible and everything was my fault on their faulty Chicomm product! Happy day when it left my premises

Alrighty then! I think you're probably the ONLY person with that opinion.

 

[Ishi]

Alrighty then! I think you're probably the ONLY person with that opinion.

In life it’s okay to agree that we disagree! Everything will be fine

 

[Winterrider]

Those 2 is what I was looking at the most. Went RT basically because it was around longer. Think Grilla would be a great unit also.

 

[bansorge]

I wouldn‘t recommend a Reqtec(RT). First of all they manipulate their reviews. I bought a RT 2500 BFG for $2500 because of the mostly 5 star reviews. The lowest rating on the RT site is 4 stars and there weren’t many. I left a 2 star rating after customer service refused to believe I had a temperature issue with my smoker. RT did not post my rating which was honest, respectful but pointed out the customer service deficiencies, the temperature problem and a problem with the grill not imparting any smoke flavor to my meats. I’ve seen the lack of smoke flavor issue on several smoking forums but you will not find that or any other negative review posts on the RT site. The RT rep did acknowledge the lack of smoke flavor problem stating the RT provides a “mellow” smoke flavor. The rep suggested I buy a cold smoke generator to enhance the smoke flavor. Imagine paying $2500 for a smoker and having to buy additional equipment to get smoke flavor. IshI was right RT customer service is a joke. Once RT has your money you are on your own. If burning pellets on a very expensive smoker that produces the same smoke flavor as your oven sounds great, the RT is your grill. Sorry 6GRILLZNTN but a lot of folks have negative opinions on RT. RT just doesn’t allow those opinions on their site.

 

[bansorge]

I forgot to mention the pre-drilled holes on my RT 2500 BFG were misaligned so screws had to be angled in requiring excessive pressure during assembly. Because of this I could not use a cordless drill as the RT video shows. Base assembly took over an hour as opposed to the few minutes the RT video shows with a drill.

 

[bansorge]

In all honesty I should mention my RT is very large and impressive looking. Too bad it doesn’t preform as advertised.

 

[tpc74]

I haven’t done enough with my deck boss to know exactly where I’m at with it. Compared to my dad’s camp chef, it’s a much much better piece of equipment. Mine went together great, and they offer a front folding shelf now which I love.

If I was primarily looking for high temps, and something that can do pizza, I’d look for something more designed to buying a pizza cooker. My recteq can do 500 degrees just fine however. Not sure how it would do with a pizza stone in there.

As for cs with the recteq, I have found them to be very good. I like that I can get online and talk to a person, and rectify a situation easily.

As for smoke flavor. It’s had some hit or miss, but I’m still learning it. My dad’s camp chef was almost primarily a miss in that department, so this is already better. It does hold temp way more consistently than the cc. And the Wi-Fi works great.

 

[schlotz]

Grilla is new so you aren't going to find many who have one. RecTeq has been around for some time. Yeah there appear to be a few outliers and its difficult to ascertain all of the circumstances involved but those are negative data points to be aware of. I will say there are a number here that have reported very good performance with their RecTeq model(s). Some of them are long time members which I tend to lean towards when doing any research. Good luck with your selection!

 

[tpc74]

After a cursory glance at the grilla website, it doesn’t look bad at all. In fact it reminds me a bit of the recteq website.

I don’t know where they get their stuff from, if it’s American made or just assembled here (kinda like lectric e bikes) but I think you could do a lot worse, whatever you decide.

My choice was made primarily based on good reviews and the amount of stainless on the deck boss. It’s interesting that grilla looks the opposite of the recteq. Stainless door and coated barrel vs a stainless barrel and coated door (recteq). I also liked the controller interface on the rt and the solidness of the cart of the deck boss versus my dads camp chef and some of the smaller units recteq had.

I do like the “jerky” rack that they offer for the silverback. Makes me want to get some measurements to see if it would fit in the rt. I have the small shelf offering from rt, but this could offer even more configuration.

The sb also has a small second shelf I think, which you don’t get on the db590. I think that was a mistake on rt part.

Again if your doing pizza a lot though, I’d look into something more designed to do that first.

 

[civilsmoker]

I don’t have any experience with the GG other than research, but I do have a RT 1250 and it is a very nice cooker. I had an American made Memphis for over 10 years and the RT is right there with it at 1/2 the cost. I also have a baby GMG as well. The GMG does give a slightly better smoke profile but isn’t the same workhorse and the RT. I use my 1250 an average of 2-3 days a week burning about 800 lbs a year. It will hit 700 degrees easy (crazy hot) by the way. I would recommend the RT with high regards as the deck boss and all the new models have the same upgrades that the 1250 came with when I got it.

 

[clifish]

I have to tell you, if/when I move down south and would be starting from scratch I would be researching these options:

Outdoor Kitchen | Grilla

Outdoor Kitchen

www.grillagrills.com