What do you think separates
RecTec from the others?
Pros & Cons?
Well, ......you asked what I think. Though if you've thoroughly researched the two grills that you mention alongside the Rec Tecs mentioned, some of the following you may already know.
What do you think separates
RecTec from the others?
Pros & Cons?
In a nutshell, the things that I think separate
Rec Tec from some of the others, are construction and construction materials, expected durability of parts, customer service, the
Rec Tec PID controller and algorithm, warranty length, and price point for all of the aforementioned.
Regarding the Rec Tec, well, 304 Stainless construction in multiple areas. The cooking chamber, fire pot, grates, drip pan, diffuser, pull handles, emblems and horns. 304 stainless offers better corrosion resistance than the steel used in some of the other manufacturer's products.
The Traeger doesn’t seem to have much, if any, stainless steel in it.
OTOH, the GMG that you’re looking at, well at least the lid, diffuser and drip pan are stainless steel. But what about the rest of the cooking chamber? If it had 304 stainless in it, seems that they’d tout that. They don’t. They just say what gauge steel they’re using. Which doesn’t say much about corrosion resistance.
Ask about the construction and construction materials of the fire pot, some of the other components mentioned above, the cooking chambers, and igniter rods of the other two grills that you are considering.
You mentioned that you wanted something that would last for years. Well the newer stainless steel Rec Tecs are a safe bet.
The cooking chambers in some of the others are constructed of cold rolled commercial steel vs the more corrosion resistant stainless steel of the Rec Tec Bull and Stampede.
6 year warranty on the Rec Tec Bull. 4 yrs on the RT Stampede 590. The Traeger Ironwood 885 you mentioned has a 3 year warranty. GMG also states a 3 year warranty.
Ask yourself; "why would Rec Tec offer a long warranty unless they had confidence in their product and it's components, and were confident that there would not be very many warranty claims to deal with?"
Then ask yourself; "why the shorter, sometimes significantly shorter, warranties on some of the others?"
If you own some of the others for a longer period and something goes wrong with it, it rusts out, controller goes out, the auger, the fan, then you're left holding the bag.
Companies offering warranties on their products, take into consideration how many warranty claims they can expect over a given period of time, and they determine their warranty periods accordingly.
PID controller and algorithm, that is so respected, that some owners of other brand grills such as Pitt Boss,
Camp Chef and Traeger have retrofit their grills with Rec Tec PID controllers. For proof of this, do a bit of research on this site and others like it, and check YouTube. There, "how to" videos on the matter can be found. It begs the question;"why have those owners gone to the expense and trouble, sometimes jeopardizing whatever warranty they have in the process, for such a modification?"
The Rec Tec controller has 2 meat probes which can be read remotely in the app, along with the actual and set temperature of the grill and the meat probes. It is easy to calibrate them if necessary, and also easy to calibrate the grill's internal thermometer with a third party thermometer if desired, and adjust minimum feed rate, etc. if desired, with the controller.
I believe that the Ironwood 885 that you mentioned, has one meat probe. And it does not have 304 stainless steel grates. It has porcelain coated steel grates.
Porcelain coated steel grates in the Ironwood 885 vs 304 SS grates in the aforementioned Rec Tecs. Painted mild steel construction in the Ironwood model that you mention vs 304 SS in the Rec Tec.
You set your target temperature, when it hits it, you put your food on. This might sound like a "given", or something to expect from a pellet grill, and maybe would make you say "well, duh" if someone brought it up. But just a few days ago we discovered that it is not necessarily a given depending upon which grill you buy.
Rec Tec gives their Bull and Stampede model grilling size specifications based on the primary or main rack.
702 sq in on the Bull, 592 sq in on the Stampede, vs 570 sq in on the main rack of the Ironwood 885. And the Jim Bowie Prime Stainless Wifi 658 sq in.
The other 315 sq. in in the Ironwood 885 comes from a secondary or top level or shelf. It is important to take into consideration how much food can be put underneath that top shelf as well as on it. In other words, how useful is the top shelf.
But assuming that it is quite useful and speaking of top shelfs, the Rec Tec Bull has an available top shelf which will expand it's total cooking area from 702sq in, to 1054 sq. in. The second shelf cost about $65.00.
40lb pellet hopper on the Bull. 30lb pellet hopper on the RT 590. The Traeger Ironwood 885 that you mention, has a 20lb hopper. The Jim Bowie has an 18lb hopper.
You can go a nice long time without having to refill or top off the hopper of a Bull or Stampede. A long, overnight cook, won't empty or nearly empty your pellet hopper on a cold day that turns into a cold night, or in warm weather for that matter, if you started out with a full or near full hopper of pellets.
Ceramic igniter rod. Intended to last the life of the grill. Again, check on the ignitor rods of the other grills you are considering.
Wifi controlled using iOS or android apps on those respective devices. The app is intuitive, easy to use, and adjustments to the grill can be made right on the app.
Customer service which is simply second to none.
30 day, no questions asked return policy. If you decide that you don't want it, you can return it to Rec Tec within 30 days.
Not saying that other grills out there do not offer some of the same things mentioned above.
But at it's price point, it's hard to beat the Rec Tec Bull and Stampede for what you get.
IMO, for what you get, taking into account warranty, construction materials throughout, customer service, customer satisfaction, one really has to spend a lot more money and go Yoder, MAK, or Fast Eddy, if you're going to beat the Rec Tec.
The Ironwood 885 retails for $1399.99. While you say that you can get it for near the same price as the GMG that you’re looking at, anyone else who has to pay retail might want to take that into consideration. The Rec Tec Bull sells for $1199.00.
