I've currently got a GMG DB WiFi and have been considering a
Rec Tec as it's replacement for several months now so what you read ahead will be largely comparing this Pit Boss 1000, the GMG DB WiFi and the
RT-700 & RT-590.
I was considering an
RT-700 for a bit and then realized I don't really need that much smoker for my wife & I plus the occasional football party. I started looking towards the RT-590 as it was more along the lines of the size of my current GMG DB WiFi with a few nice upgrades to what I'm currently running. This Pit Boss looks like an even better value and I like the idea of being able to get it locally and then return it if it sucks since Walmart's return policy tends to be very generous.
I like the 30lb hopper capacity on the RT-590 but 26lbs is also a significant upgrade from my current GMG DB that seems to hold a few handfuls of pellets by comparison. In fact, the difference between the RT-590 and 1000 capacity (4lbs) is probably about how much my current smoker holds. lol
One negative I saw with the
Rec Tec grills compared to my GMG is that their low temp setting is only 200 degrees. My GMG will go all the way down to 150 which is perfect for kissing some steaks with a little bit of smoke before searing them up. Looks like the bottom end of this 1000 is 180deg and a max of 500deg which is 50ish shy of what my GMG tops out at. Granted, the GMG seems to win in the low to high temp category but this 1000 gets closer than the RT lineup based on specs. To be fair, the RT has an "extreme smoke" setting so perhaps this is closer to that 150-180 range but it's actual low temp isn't listed.
It looks like the external dimensions are ever-so-slightly larger than the RT-590 but that also takes into account the side shelf/burner so it's not really square footage of smoking space. I'd like to see more in terms of dimensions and what not to compare the various options. Walmart external dimensions aren't much to go off of. It looks like it lists the side burner as square footage of "cooking" area so it's hard to say but the above number of 850sq. ft. is probably close. It's more than the 592 of the RT-590 by a fair margin as a comparison.
Walmart site says this 1000 comes with a 5-year warranty which is one more year than the RT-590 so that's another pro for the 1000 over the RT-590.
It also looks like this 1000 comes with a built-in front shelf (?) w/o the need to buy any accessories which would be extra to add to my GMG or a RT smoker. That's a nice bonus IMO. I could be wrong and that's just an angled portion but it looks like a front shelf folded down.
It looks like it has both WiFi and Bluetooth which is interesting. I wonder if it will allow me to connect via WiFi and active it to begin pre-heating while I'm on my way home and not on the same network. That was one glaring omission from my GMG that renders the WiFi next to worthless for my needs. From what I've read from RT-700/590 users on this forum this feature exists on the RT grills which was a major factor of considering them since this seems a simple feature that all smokers should have IMO especially one with more mature (based on time) software like the GMG. If I can get an answer on this I may be willing get one of these 1000's to test out since info so far seems rather limited. I don't even see it on their website as of the time of this post.
It looks like the reviews of the "Smoke IT" app which is used to communicate with this smoker is a solid "meh" at best. The Android version has a rating of 3.2 which isn't solid. As a comparison, the GMG app on the Android store has 5x more reviews and a rating of 3.9 and I haven't been super impressed with that one either. I can imagine that 3.2 by comparison is borderline dumpster fire. That's not good since it's going to be the primary means of interaction.
Somewhat related; I'd like to know actual WiFi specs of all of these smokers too since none of them seem to list this. Some list 2.4Ghz/5.0GHz but even that is rare. I've been buying devices w/WiFi 6 for a while now just biding my time until Ubiquiti releases a solid WiFi 6 Pro AP.
Lots of thinking out loud here so I'd be curious to hear from anyone who has at least seen this in person or (ideally) used it and can compare first-hand to any of the smokers listed above for bonus points.
