New pellet smoker help

[ShakeNbake]

I had a gmg Daniel boone for about a year. Worked well for a few smokes then was all over the place, even when duplicating recipes, sat unused for 6 months then was returned for a refund. Just purchased a new Yoder ys640s and it's going back as 1 rack of spare ribs took over 8 hours at the grills set temp of 225 plus it used almost 20lbs of pellets between the burn in and the smoke. Not impressed with the complete lack of customer service either. Not impressed with the cheap build quality of a few tack welds covered by silicone holding it together and some spray paint , for a $2600 grill, so it's going back.

Any opinions on the Pitts&spitts? They are a heavier build, and no silicone holding the barrel together. Although the grill grates are kind of a joke. Rec tec? Can't see them locally so on the fence there but seem to have a good rep. MAK 2 star? Also can't see them and they are kinda small but good rep. Pellet pro, little light in the build department also not local.
Looking for advice to get back to making good ribs and chickens

 

[kruizer]

There is a bad apple in every barrel. You have had the misfortune of getting two of them. Both brands you mentioned are good brands and you should be able to depend on them.

 

[ShakeNbake]

At least the gmg worked good for a few months, I think a temp sensor was bad but they replaced the controller which didn't help and wouldn't replace the sensor so I got my money back. Yoder won't reply to emails so the distributor is refunding my money.

 

[Smokin' in AZ]

I just bought a Rec Tec and it is flawless....although I have only done 2 cooks in it it is performing as advertised. I also know quite a few people here on the forum own them. Their customer service is fantastic and based in the USA.

Here is my cook of a couple of yardbirds:

Spatchcocked Chickens in the New REC TEC

Ok folks, I received the New Rec Tec grill on Tuesday and put it together and did a burn in. So I decided to do a couple of yard birds for the maiden voyage (as secondhand smoker calls it :emoji_laughing:). I did one with Jeff's Original Rub and one with his Jeff's Texas Rub. I cut out the...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

Here is the most recent one of a couple of racks of ribs:

Ribs in the New Rec Tec (Heavy Pics)

Ok everyone here is my cook Sunday of the ribs I promised to post. I did a rack of Baby Back and St Louis ribs (have never done St Louis before) and they turned out fantastic. Needless to say I really love this new smoker. Still using the 100% Pecan Lumber Jack pellets and they are fantastic...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

John

 

[justmattb]

I'd also recommend taking a look at Grilla Grills - their Silverbac and Grilla models are fantastic machines and the customer service is out of this world.

 

[ShakeNbake]

How's the headroom in a rec tec bull 700? Any pics of upright chicken or big turkey?

 

[Smokin' in AZ]

How's the headroom in a rec tec bull 700? Any pics of upright chicken or big turkey?

Sorry can't help as I have the Rt340....maybe tx smoker can help. He has one.

 

[mike guy]

You could fit an upright chicken or turkey in the bull. Maybe a very large turkey would not fit.

Not really a concern to be honest as spatchcocking is just the way to go. Once you go that route and see the breast meat and dark meat both end up perfect it’s hard to cook a bird any other way.

But you can definitely do a beer can chicken or 7 in the bull. And maybe even a tall boy turkey if that is your thing

 

[sandyut]

I bought my RT-700 Bull a year ago and love it. rock solid temps, wifi, makes good everything. not sure where you live, but i am in Slat Lake City and I used it all winter with a cold weather cover - no problem at all. I needed a little help here and there, called Rec Tec and they went above an beyond EVERYTIME. its crazy how good the support is. I emailed them one nite and they called me first thing in the morning to talk me through my questions.

I searched FOREVER for a pellet grill, I am very happy with my choice and it was less $ than I expected in the end, with a better outcome than expected.

 

[sandyut]

sorry to double down here - i had to work for a min babahaha

my short list was, yoder, mak, and rec tec. and here was my issues/dilemmas that led me to the Bull;

• Yoder - very heavy and rust issues. googled yoder rust and there it is.
  • didnt like that and my wife is tiny so the weight was an issue too.
• MAK 2 star - looked nice, good reviews but blew the budget. 3K plus with extras...too rich.
• Rec Tec - right on the money, killer reviews about product AND support. 6 year warranty. Out the door for the right amount of $$ with lots of extras and pellets too.

 

[tx smoker]

Yes, I was waffling about getting a pellet grill from the beginning. I read literally thousands of articles and reviews about the Rec Tec and all were positive. Not a bad word to be said. That was enough for me so I started researching the grills themselves and decided to go with the RT 700 Bull. I had my reservations about the grill and temp settings right out of the gate but found out through the world-class customer support from Rec Tec that the grill was performing as designed. I've had mine for just over a month now, along with a bunch of other top shelf cookers, and I'm ready to sell several of the others. The RT 700 is simply amazing!! I wouldn't trade this grill for love nor money. Without question the easiest grill I've ever had to operate and the food I'm turning out is simply superb. If that doesn't fit into your budget (from the sound of it though, that's not an issue) you could look into the Camp Chef. A good friend has one and he swears by it. They are also highly rated but none are as highly rated as the Rec Tec. It's just another option to look into. If mine goes out to lunch 5 years from now, I won't hesitate to get another one, but please bear in mind that I use mine a LOT more than most folks do.

My .02,
Robert

 

[ShakeNbake]

Yeah, I live in northern Idaho. It gets cold, real cold(below zero and lots of snow) but I'd still like to pull it out of the garage and smoke ribs or chicken, or a pork loin on weekends. Yoder ys640s is going back as it's just not right to burn roughly 18lbs of pellets in 9 hours, 1 hour at 350 and 8 at 225. That's with a welding blanket doubled up over it after the burn in and it was only 50 degrees outside. The least Yoder could do is make some qc improvement like more than a couple tack welds and silicone holding the barrel together and silicone around the burn pot. Maybe do something about the burn rate of the pellets. Fix those and I'd be more than happy, except having to remove the drip tray at anything over 400 degrees, what's with that? Or the fact the grill grates don't fit after it's hot and their fix is to cut one bar off them, for a $2600 BBQ that just isn't right though. Maybe I got a bad one, maybe that's how they all are, I don't know. But with their excuses and so called fixes I won't get another or recommend them.

 

[kstone113]

Hey,

Another Rec Tec RT-700 Bull owner here. I LOVE MINE!!!! When I was looking, I did consider Yoder but like you, I googled their rust issues and felt like if I'm paying over $2k for a grill, It should not rust within a year. Maybe all don't but I live in Chicagoland so the weather around here is unpredictable.

Somehow researching I found Rec Tec. I honestly don't remember how but like said above, I only found positive reviews. So like any researcher, I then said this is too good to be true so I started searching hard for negative reviews. I did find a few but they easily could of been fixed by Rec Tec CS and would of been. Rec Tec's controller keeps the temps within a degree or two. It is pretty crazy how good it does.

I can't recommend Rec Tec enough....they should be having a black friday deal next weekend so I'd keep an eye on their site. I "think" they will be discounting their packages and grill accessories. Their grills are never on sale but they do have specials on accessories and most people buy some accessories.

If you want to see one in person, I'd recommend joining a facebook(if you have it) Rec Tec group and see if anyone has one in your area that will let you come see it. I've found a number of people in my area that have them. I didn't see in person first, I just got it. My dad got the Bull also and he loves his as well. He hardly uses his Weber Summit any longer.

 

[retfr8flyr]

For cold weather you should really look at the new Traeger Timberline 1300 D2. I have the original 1300 and it has been great for me. The new D2 has some very nice improvements over mine. I just did 6 Butts at 225°, started at 2 am and it was in the 30's outside, finished at 4 this afternoon, they were very large butts and it had warmed up to the low 50's. I didn't measure the hopper but it was still half full. At 225° mine burns a little less than 1 lb per hour, unless it very cold outside.

 

[ShakeNbake]

So, Yoder is going back Monday. When I cleaned it after 1 rack of ribs, the bottom of the whole inside was covered in 1/4" of Ash from lumberjack pellets. Also noted the heat diffuser warped and welds on it cracked. Yoder really needs to hire people that know how to use a mig welder, the welds look like mine the first time I ever used a welder.

Picked up a Pitts and spitts 850. Some things I don't like, some I do. Did a beer can chicken after burn in. Came out good. Didn't use much pellets either and it was about 35-40 degrees out. I did notice that this smoker does not produce much smoke at all, even set to 180. Using lumberjack fruitwood. But the chicken came out good and within the expected time frame.

 

[mike guy]

Not having seen what the smoke output looks like I can’t comment on if it is good or bad. But I will say far too many people use their eyes to determine smoke amounts and it’s the wrong way to go for any kind of smoker. The best smoke is nearly clear and not something you should see pouring out of the smoker. stick burners strive for clear smoke and would not look at visible smoke as ideal, but for some reason people tend to look for it in pellet smokers.

smell and look and taste of the final product counts more!

 

[ShakeNbake]

Well, that's good to know. I'm not any kinda pro or even a good cook, so I just go by what I'm told. On fire up it smokes like a chimney but once it's settled in after 15 minutes it barely has any smoke, so maybe it's good. I just know my gmg produced way more visible smoke at 180 and the Yoder was in between the Pitts and gmg. That's where I'm basing my observation. I'm pretty much new to smokers after my few good gmg cooks and many failed ones after those few good ones and my failed smoke on the Yoder. I'm going some bacon now, just store bought and cooking it then later today is a 6lbs pork loin.

 

[kstone113]

So, Yoder is going back Monday. When I cleaned it after 1 rack of ribs, the bottom of the whole inside was covered in 1/4" of Ash from lumberjack pellets. Also noted the heat diffuser warped and welds on it cracked. Yoder really needs to hire people that know how to use a mig welder, the welds look like mine the first time I ever used a welder.

Picked up a Pitts and spitts 850. Some things I don't like, some I do. Did a beer can chicken after burn in. Came out good. Didn't use much pellets either and it was about 35-40 degrees out. I did notice that this smoker does not produce much smoke at all, even set to 180. Using lumberjack fruitwood. But the chicken came out good and within the expected time frame.

No pellet smoker no matter how expensive will get you the smoke an offset will. I am sure you will be happy with your Pitts and Smith but don't expect deep smoke flavor.

You could always add a smokedaddy cold smoker to your pellet smoker. I am probably going to add one to my Rec Tec.

 

[bregent]

Somehow researching I found Rec Tec. I honestly don't remember how but like said above, I only found positive reviews.

I've read plenty of negative Rec Tec reviews on this and other forums. Back when PelletHeads was around there were plenty of folks with some serious complaints about the product and customer service. They said their posts on Rec Tec's Facebook page were removed right after they posted, so it appears Rec Tec actively culls anything negative about them. There were also stories about forum web masters being contacted by them to remove negative content. All in all, they appear to have the same types of problems, failure rates and customer service as others - although they want you to think otherwise.

Don't get me wrong, I think they make a great grill, and would probably recommend them above others in their price range. I just don't agree with their marketing tactics.

 

[bregent]

The best smoke is nearly clear and not something you should see pouring out of the smoker. stick burners strive for clear smoke and would not look at visible smoke as ideal,

I agree that taste of the food is what counts, but you can't compare visible smoke of a pellet grill to a stick burner. Food would be ruined in a stick burner with white smoke pouring out. On a pellet grill, it doesn't really matter as it won't produce an acrid taste. On a pellet grill, you don't need to strive to get TBS - it's a different type of animal.