Newbie: Hello from the Cincinnati Area, Looking at Pitts and Spitts

[MarkSetSmoke]

Hello everyone,
I'm new here. Not sure how I got here but glad I'm here talking about smoked meat with you guys!
History.
-Had a camper, put some wood on my Smokey Joe and the resulting chicken thighs got me hooked. Needed more!
-Ended up with a small Wal-mart grill and tried smoking on it. Sucked.
-Bought a red electric bullet shaped smoker on Craigslist for $25 bucks and that was much better, I was off to the races! Got me hooked more:-) Serious space issues there though.
-After some success with the electric I bought a propane Masterbuilt 30 but never could obtain consistent temps. Bought new regulators and Masterbuilt could not fix the problem either. Sucked!
- Which brings me to today.

I'm looking to buy a pellet grill/smoker. I'm tired of mediocre products built in China so after looking around for a couple weeks I think the Pitts and Spitts 1250 Maverick is my next purchase. It was between it and the Mak 2 Star General. Yes, the Mak does a little more with the warming box/cold smoker and the large grill tray and ash cleaning deal, but I often get burned with items that promise to do so much. I also want something that I could smoke a whole 55 pound pig on. With Pitts and Spitts smoking pedigree, I think I'd like to have a smoke centric pellet grill and rely on my Weber Genesis and Spirit and 18 inch kettle to support my grilling needs. Call me crazy:-)
So there you have it!
Any other American built pellet machines I should look at?
I'm not really interested in Yoder, I've seen Sawtooth's website but could not find user reviews.
So hello and thanks in advance for all the advice I will glean from all the forums here!
Mark

 

[Scott Eisenbraun]

Welcome to SMF. I can see why you're interested in the Pitts & Spitts 1250. Good heat range, weight, and quality build. I use to have a Traeger, food was good, but build quality and paint were terrible. Bought a Yoder 640 two years ago. Totally satisfied. Built like a tank and have the removable plate above the firepot. Blast a couple steaks at over 600 degrees for a couple minutes each side and set over indirect until med rare. No need for a kettle grill. It's about time we have quality American made pellet grills to choose from.

 

[kruizer]

Welcome to SMF from Minnesota. I have the Camp Chef Woodwind and I am very happy with it. I especially like the searbox to finish my steaks on.

 

[MarkSetSmoke]

Welcome to SMF. I can see why you're interested in the Pitts & Spitts 1250. Good heat range, weight, and quality build. I use to have a Traeger, food was good, but build quality and paint were terrible. Bought a Yoder 640 two years ago. Totally satisfied. Built like a tank and have the removable plate above the firepot. Blast a couple steaks at over 600 degrees for a couple minutes each side and set over indirect until med rare. No need for a kettle grill. It's about time we have quality American made pellet grills to choose from.

Scott, that insulation around your Yoder looks like a great idea! Wow, I bet you save pellets and have less temp flux! The YS640 was on my list until just recently. That would be my 3rd choice I think. So how often do you actually grill on your Yoder?
Mark

 

[MarkSetSmoke]

Welcome to SMF from Minnesota. I have the Camp Chef Woodwind and I am very happy with it. I especially like the searbox to finish my steaks on.

I saw the Woodwind (that sear box looks cool!) early in my search and would have that on my radar if I had a little more restricted budget.

 

[Scott Eisenbraun]

That insulated jacket was probably my best purchase for the Yoder. It was early fall when I first got the unit and I was surprised at the amount of pellets I going through on windy cool days. I hadn't planned on putting the insulated cover on until it got colder, but did as an experiment. I noticed a huge difference right away in pellet burn. Used 1/3 to 1/2 less pellets. Now I leave on year round. Easier to hit those searing temps in winter too.

 

[gmc2003]

Welcome to the site glad you joined.

Chris

 

[MarkSetSmoke]

View attachment 377814 View attachment 377815 That insulated jacket was probably my best purchase for the Yoder. It was early fall when I first got the unit and I was surprised at the amount of pellets I going through on windy cool days. I hadn't planned on putting the insulated cover on until it got colder, but did as an experiment. I noticed a huge difference right away in pellet burn. Used 1/3 to 1/2 less pellets. Now I leave on year round. Easier to hit those searing temps in winter too.

Scott, nice-looking Tomahawk there! So that cover seems to fix the issues I had with the Yoder. How expensive is that insulated cover? Also, my guess is that your Yoder never gets rained on? I can imagine the rain getting under the the cover and rusting.
Mark

 

[Scott Eisenbraun]

I keep it in my garage. The old Traeger was outside with a cover and it rusted something terrible. I just roll it out the door when needed. I've got too much invested in it to watch deteriorate. We did buy an 8x8 metal shed to house it in the back yard and free up some space. By the way, that picture was taken just after I assembled from the shipping crate. (Beauty shots before use) That cover is slightly discolored now at the door seam from smoke, but cleans up easily.

I included the steak pics so you could see the sear quality, because most pellet grills won't go above 500 or so. I do get a nice woody flavor during cook.

I use it more as a grill during the week for steaks, chicken pieces, shrimp, etc. Weekends are for smoking projects. Just the wife and I home most the time, but we find it almost as handy as a gas grill.

 

[Scott Eisenbraun]

Oh, the cover was about $260 two years ago. Spendy but probably paid for in pellet savings by now.

 

[Danno44]

Welcome to the forum from Michigan. I too had temp control issues with my LP Masterbuilt. I chalked it up to user error until I did some search and bought an OKJ Highland offset to see if I liked that method before dropping the $$$ on a better quality rig.
So far I am very happy with OKJ and has turned out good meals and the temp control is A LOT easier than the LP unit.
Can’t help with pellet, just wanted to reaffirm that LP smokers for some folks (me included) can be tricky and you’re not alone there.
Good luck in your search, many folks here can help with your quest.