a(nother) help me choose thread, $500-800(ish) budget

[markalbob]

Hi all, first post but I am looking to buy a pellet smoker to replace some old stuff--I have a propane grill and a home-made drum. I have read a fair bit on here and understand the pellet smoker has some limitations in both grilling and smoking, but they appeal all the same--controlling temps was a pain in the drum, and my grill was already a deeply sub-par grill.

I have a budget of between $500 and $800, with an ABSOLUTE ceiling of a thousand. Bonus points to keep me below that, for sure. I know I won't get everything on my wish list at that price, but since different people value different things here are my main objectives:

1. Big enough for at least one turkey. Ideally two.

2. Most stable temp control I can manage in that price range--I know people here complain of some devices having 20-degree swings, which may not be ideal and if I can avoid that, great...but my drum did worse than that and still cooked very well, including never burning anything. It just made timing and when dinner was really done much more of an adventure.

3. Best/heaviest construction. Stainless would be great, so would thick, and double-walled. Somethings gotta give but there's also degrees of construction as well, so looking for the most robust builds in my price range.


Things I don't care about (admittedly I may just not see the value and you can point out my newbie errors):

Bluetooth (I can check probes by stepping outside once in awhile....again still vastly easier than my drum, where I was sliding a cooking thermometer into a hole in the lid-is there another big value-added to this?)

multiple meat probes (again nice, but I can poke the meat once in awhile, and it will still be way less work than my drum plus I can buy these as aftermarket add-ons)

Sear box (I have several portable burners and cooktops, and cast iron skillets)


so, thoughts? Where is my money best spent Sales are certainly welcome, anything $1200 bumped to 899 for example would be great. I looked at the rec tec grills hard, but it seems a number of 680 complaints have cropped up recently in terms of build finish and apparently some of the assembly hardware, so less certain now. The woodwind looks nice but includes a searer I don't want, however there's a lot of camp chef (and green mountain, and other) units out there.......thoughts anyone?

Thanks in advance,
Mark

 

[wanna-be-smoker]

The woodwind does come without the sear box in the 699.00 range direct from camp chef but there are better deals out there for their cookers.

The LUX from camp chef is the bigger of their cookers and still has the patented ash dump and along with many of thier other models it has a pellet dump for the hopper.

If equipped with the same racks inside the cooker they all have the same cooking space and that space jumps up a lot when you add the jerky racks which are strong enough to cook pretty much anything and not just jerky.


they also have a new SG model that has a different drip pan and a sliding heat shield for a direct grilling mode. I was originally concerted with the potential mess in the cooker but a few people that not have them say its not messy at all. This model has the same grate space but a full upper rack and a bigger barrel so it will hold bigger turkey and hams.

I have a facebook group that you are welcome to join and checkout the cookers in action and get good honest feedback

https://www.facebook.com/groups/153802645382102/

 

[ross77]

Look into the new RecTec lineup. They are mostly stainless now. There is a new mid-size model called the Stampede that is right in your price range.

The 680 has been discontinued. I saw the post about quality issues but that’s one person. The people with problems tend to be more vocal. I’ve only had an ignitor go out and customer service was excellent.

I don’t have experience with other brands but I can say that I’ve been very happy with the 680. It holds temps really well.

 

[wanna-be-smoker]

I think most of them are pretty similar and you dont need to spend 1k to get a good cooker. I have the bottom of the line camp chef smoke pro SE and it has been amazing.

I have had it for two years and have put 100s of hours on it and 1000s of pounds of pellets. I cook in the snow rain and temps upwards of 40 below and never have had one issue. A few weeks ago I did a 19 hour all night cook when it was -16 and the cooker never missed a beat

 

[markalbob]

for the camp chef folks, does the direct-flame grilling feature make a difference, or is it a gimmick?

Will it sear like a grill?

 

[PerazziMx14]

Not sure if your willing to look at kamado style ceramic cookers but the are amazing at lots of thing keeping and maintaining temps for long periods of time is one of them. They are also very efficient due to the thick wall insulation properties. My BGE will cook at 225* on a single charge of charcoal (approximately 8 to 9lbs) for around 40 hours unaffected by weather conditions or power outages.

 

[markalbob]

not interested in the kamado.BGE types.....I think they're pretty cool and have an uncle who swears by his, but it isn't what I'm looking for in terms of footprint, etc. I am afraid

 

[old sarge]

I have been looking at going pellet off and on for years but have not taken the plunge yet. From what I have deduced from manufacturers and certain user videos is that grilling/searing is done over the fire pot area which admittedly somewhat smallish with the much larger area set off from the fire pot being reserved for smoking or low temp cooking. And those reasons/facts are what is holding me back.

 

[gr8day]

I posted this to your question that you posted elsewhere.

The new Rec Tec Stampede which is $899 shipped or the Grilla Grills Silverbac at $699 shipped would be two that I would look at in your price point. The Woodwind as you mentioned is another and you don't have to purchase one with the sear station saving $200 since you don't want it. A really good made in the USA PG is Smokin Brothers, really like their Premier Grill line, but the base units are well built, a little more than the imports but worth it imo. The Firecraft Q450 which is on sale right now would be another one to look at although it does't come with a top shelf if that's important.

 

[wanna-be-smoker]

I have been looking at going pellet off and on for years but have not taken the plunge yet. From what I have deduced from manufacturers and certain user videos is that grilling/searing is done over the fire pot area which admittedly somewhat smallish with the much larger area set off from the fire pot being reserved for smoking or low temp cooking. And those reasons/facts are what is holding me back.

I cook pork and beef low and slow at 225 and i cook pizza/biscuits/cake muffins and other things all the way up to 500 degrees all in the same cooking space.

No different than say my offset smoker and its hot spots as they all have them. But i can do a 18 hour low and slow and then crank it up to 400 plus and so chicken wings. There is almost nothing i cant cook in my pellet cooker

 

[wanna-be-smoker]

for the camp chef folks, does the direct-flame grilling feature make a difference, or is it a gimmick?

Will it sear like a grill?

I dont have the direct grill in my cooker and they re still very new but some folks have them and love them. Unlike a grill with a few heat sources in the bottom they will of course cook hotter in the center but they seem to do a very good job at spreading the heat around the cook chamber.

I know my cooker with the hat shield and solid drip tray will do a pretty good sear cranked up to 500. So there is no doubt in my mind that one that has the heat shield moved to the side and the louvered drip tray will sear.

I did this chicken on 400 in my reg Camp Chef cooker now imagine what an open wood fire cranked up to 500 would have done.

 

[markalbob]

ok, so I think I have things pretty narrowed down now:

REc-Tec Stampede: 592 sq inches, solid temp control, expensive and not shipping till nearly June
Rec-Tec 680: Bigger, even more expensive, but on sale as closeout at just within budget highest end

Grilla Silverbac: love the fact its cheaper, and it has a cabinet which seems nice. 507 sq inches is a bit bigger than the FireCraft 450. Stainless lid, insulated (but non-stainless) lower portion.

Firecraft 450: stainless, good sale, smallest

Piot Boss Austin XL: cheapest at 500 at Wal-Mart, I know nothing about its controls or construction and haven't heard much here

Anyone else I should add to the list? Which of these would you pick, or avoid, and why?

 

[ross77]

I got the 680 for the size, warranty and heavy construction. I felt like it was the best value overall. I wanted a large main cooking area.

 

[wanna-be-smoker]

I would for sure put Camp Chef in the mix.

The LUX has 875 square inches of space and a main grate size of 19.5" x 34" but with the jerky racks you would lose the upper Smoking/Warming Rack (6" x 34") but gain a ton more cooking space.

The camp chef also have the burn cup empty by just pulling a rod and it dumps into a cup below. You still have to vacuum the cooker out from time to time but you can have a clean burn pot to start with every time without having to tear the unit apart.

I have not researched any of the other cookers and they might have some more ridged designs but I know they dont/wont cook any better. Just search my name and see the food this thing produces in the rain snow and up to -40 temps.

The SGX is the new direct flame/grill is the same size as the The LUX but the barrel is a bit taller on the SG models. The LUX is 899.00 on the camp chef site but there are better deals out there to be had. The Cabelas magnum is made by camp chef and the same size a the LUX.

 

[wanna-be-smoker]

I have the bottom of the line SE and have had it for two years. In those two years I have loaded it many times in the truck to take to camp and its a 3 hour round trip. I have ran thousands of pounds of pellets through it and it has ran flawless with not one single issue or breakdown.

I use it 3-5 times a week and wheel it in and out of the garage across the driveway and its a solid unit and the upper models have stronger sturdier bases. And their customer service is second to none.

As you can see i love camp chef and have own many of their products over many years. Im not saying it will be the unit for you but I believe its worthy of being on your short list

 

[markalbob]

so.....another question (the more I read up the more things I need to ask, it seems):

Some augers feed directly into the firebox, some drop into it from a distance to avoid risk of fire in the auger assembly.

1. Is this a real threat?
2. Assuming it could be, who makes drop-in setups or other improved pellet feeds over the traditional type that poses a risk?

 

[bconrey]

Pit Boss Austin XL: cheapest at 500 at Wal-Mart, I know nothing about its controls or construction and haven't heard much here

Apparently the Austin uses a new controller versus the 700 or 820. Not sure if that's good or bad. I was at Wal-Mart today and they had the 700 for $396.

 

[stljay]

GMG Daniel Boone with WiFi is in your budget and is a nice grill for the price point. WiFi lets you program cooks and keep the grill up to date with the latest Firmware. Another great feature of the DB is you get 13.5" of headroom. Most of the other grills at this price point are going to give you less than 10". Big Birds are going to be tight unless you spatchcock them. If you add a second shelf there should be ample room between that first and second rack and the ceiling. GMG is known for great service. The heat shield over the firebox is adjustable so you can tweak temps in the grill. That can be a plus or minus depending on if you want to be able to tinker with the position to keep temps relatively even across depending on ambient conditions. It might need to be in one position when it's cold out versus when it's warmer out. But at least you have the ability to compensate. Part of knowing your pit.

 

[bangstick]

Woodwind, all the way. Plus, Home Depot is running a sale on them. Love mine so much, I sold my BGE and haven't looked back. The fact I can smoke (low and slow), grill (up to 500 degrees), bake and sear all with one cooking apparatus makes the Woodwind the best all around fit for me.

 

[markalbob]

So quick question: can you actually grill start to finish On the sear box?