In search of new smoker

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lou f

Newbie
Original poster
Jun 17, 2011
24
17
Smith Mountain Lake, VA
Hi Folks,
I am in the market for a pellet smoker and have looked at three that are possible contenders.
The new Weber Smokefire, Traeger Ironwood and Rec Tec RT590.

I have pretty much eliminated the Weber afer seeing a few reviews due to a real possibility of grease fires ad other design issues.
What are your feelings about Traeger VS Rec Tec? Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 
My neighbor has a Traeger Likes His, I'm a stick burner

Gary
 
Rec Tec all the way.

weber smoke fire has many issues including grease fires. search for it here and on youtube. run away
tragers seem to have inconsistent quality for the money. after my research - i wouldn't touch them.
 
RecTec has a pretty cult following, and the Traeger hate on online forums is strong. Traeger makes a good grill, don't get me wrong, but for the money you can get a much more feature-rich grill by shopping other brands. The aestetics and a couple other things turned me away from the RecTec, I bought a Grilla instead. I know it's not on your list, but the Silverbac is the one that competes with the grills listed.

It has more cooking space than the RecTec 590 (with the rack extension it nearly matches the Ironwood 885), is insulated like the Ironwood, and you could almost buy 2 of them for the price of the Ironwood 885. Or at the very least you could get the cover, rack extension, and front shelf and still save like $500 over the Traeger.
 
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Yes, the Grilla Silverback has about 100sq in more of cooking space than does the Rec Tec RT590.

But none of it's cooking space, not one square inch of it, is under WiFi control.

Same as the cooking space on my Weber Kettle is not under WiFi control.

The Grilla has PID capability, but no WiFi control capability at this point. Hopefully they will get it soon and existing Grilla Silverback owners can upgrade to WiFi capabilities at a reasonable price.

The Rec Tec RT590 does have both WiFi capability as well as PID capability, and the 100sq in of cooking space that it gives up to the Grilla Silverback, can be made up with a cheap aftermarket grate.

The Grilla Silverback Alpha, which has PID capability, but no WiFi, is $799.00.

The Rec Tec RT590 is $899.00. The extra $100.00 that the RT590 costs gets you the WiFi and a 30lb hopper and 2 meat temperature probes for food, vs the Silverback's 20lb hopper, one meat probe for food and no WiFi.

The Rec Tec has a ceramic ignitor rod, rated for up to 100,000 starts. The Grilla's ignitor rod, I don't believe, I could be wrong, is not ceramic

The question then becomes, do you want to have a pellet dump, double shielded lower barrel, and lower cabinet doors, 100 extra sq in of cooking space, but none of it under WiFi, and a 20lb pellet hopper offered by the Silverback Alpha. Or do you want a 30lb pellet hopper, not one, but 2 food temperature probes, an ignitor rod that you'll likely never have to replace, and WiFi which will allow you to monitor the grill and control it remotely for the additional $100.00 .

Well, I'm not a big believer in shielding the bottom of a grill in an effort to minimize heat loss, any more than I would insulate the floor of my basement and neglect insulating my attic in an attempt to cut down on my heating bills because of the simple fact that heat rises. Always has, always will. Why isn't the lid of the Grilla not double shielded since heat rises? And so I don't see the double shielding on the bottom as a value added benefit.

I chose the Rec Tec for the extra 100 bucks. The 100 bucks gets what is important to me. Mainly WiFi capability and all of the benefits which go along with that, right out of the box. WiFi contributes to, accentuates, supplements the whole "set it and forget it" concept.

it allows for ignition or shutdown of the grill remotely. It allows for temperature adjustment if desired or necessary, again remotely. It allows monitoring the progress of the cook again, remotely and without going aftermarket to do so. I can monitor or alter things from the comfort of my bed, from the supermarket, or from elsewhere. I can start things up and go to Home Depot and monitor, keep an eye on things from right in the paint department of Home Depot, Lowes, Sam's, you get the picture. All things which to me are crucial to the "set it and forget it concept". Even if you've "forgotten" about it, well then if you want to check, or alter things, well you can. Remotely.

I chose the RT590.. And would choose it again.
 
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Thanks Guys, Lots of good info. Looks like it will be the Rec Tec for me. Will probably order in June for my birthday. I will post my smokes and comments when I get it.
 
Another vote for RecTec. I've been happy with my RT700. And these ribs don't lie.

IMG_20200425_173347.jpg
 
Rec Tec all the way.

weber smoke fire has many issues including grease fires. search for it here and on youtube. run away
tragers seem to have inconsistent quality for the money. after my research - i wouldn't touch them.
so frustrated with the smokefire. i have a weber kettle, smokey mountain smoker and gas grill and I have yet to be able to a cook on the smokefire without problems. Today, can't pair the phone with the grill so I don't know what temp I'm smoking at.

Had a Traeger and loved it for the most part. Decidied to go all Weber and now regret it. Any thoughts?
 
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