Now what?

[Colin1230]

Higher end pellet grills. Google 'mak grill'.

Oh, and I glad our dog doesn't have teeth like that. My arms get torn up enough!

 

[schlotz]

Google is your friend: MAK GRILLS

 

[larryb]

Thank you. They are out of my price range.

 

[mike243]

Yep some of the pellet cookers are $$$ and without setting 2 different units up sxs and use same temps/seasonings I would be hard pressed to say 1 cooks better/more smoke flavor than another. A blind taste test would be simple to do if you had the smokers. Its easy for me to add a tube but a spritz every once in awhile will also add more smoke, a water pan can add moisture/flavor also good luck on your search.

 

[cutplug]

Tough luck on the initial purchase. My kid across the street got a Cabelas re-branded Pit Boss. He has had just about every failure but the igniter rod. ... it happens.
Not a lot of experience with many brands or styles, but you won't be making the "thin blue smoke" without a pellet tube or tray. Pellet poopers generate white clouds.

Actually it is the other way around. Smoke tubes do not put out TBS. Pellet smokers on the other hand do. (if the fire pot isn't overloaded with pellets!)

 

[Fueling Around]

Actually it is the other way around. Smoke tubes do not put out TBS. Pellet smokers on the other hand do. (if the fire pot isn't overloaded with pellets!)

Which pellet grill do you have that puts out thin blue smoke (TBS)?
Or what controller are you using to prevent overloading the pot?

I use a smoke tube in my kettle and pellet grill for a variety of smoke tasks.
When I use just a tube in kettle to cold smoke (co coal) the TBS is obvious.
I've tried smoke mode on my pellet grill and all I see is heat and then billowing white smoke blowing out the exhaust vent.

 

[Buckeye02]

Which pellet grill do you have that puts out thin blue smoke (TBS)?
Or what controller are you using to prevent overloading the pot?

I use a smoke tube in my kettle and pellet grill for a variety of smoke tasks.
When I use just a tube in kettle to cold smoke (co coal) the TBS is obvious.
I've tried smoke mode on my pellet grill and all I see is heat and then billowing white smoke blowing out the exhaust vent.

I have a recteq and it always has TBS. The cheaper ones I've owned have the white smoke but not with the recteq

 

[cutplug]

Which pellet grill do you have that puts out thin blue smoke (TBS)?
Or what controller are you using to prevent overloading the pot?

I use a smoke tube in my kettle and pellet grill for a variety of smoke tasks.
When I use just a tube in kettle to cold smoke (co coal) the TBS is obvious.
I've tried smoke mode on my pellet grill and all I see is heat and then billowing white smoke blowing out the exhaust vent.

I had an original Traeger (made in Oregon) for 17 years and now have Rec Tec for a few. Also have an Amz Tube.
The controllers have been the 3 switch settings and then upgraded to a digital. The Rec Tec has PID.
As you said " Not a lot of experience with many brands or styles " so maybe that is it.
My experience is that the tube produces the white clouds and maybe settles in some after awhile. I have only used pellets in the tube.My "pellet poopers" have produced TBS almost immediately.
As with anything, your mileage may vary.

 

[bill1]

I'd love to be informed that the expensive units are different but I think ALL pellet grills pretty much use the same chinese igniters. They are just not as reliable as a steel box. Things that get real hot, or have moving parts, have limited lifetimes, that's just the way it is. Pellet machines have both. But these parts can be sourced from Chinese Amazon sellers and spares are plenteous and cheap...$10 for an igniter. (And sometimes it's easier to fix things yourself than deal with warranty supplied parts.)

Pellet grills last about as long as a car, but you do have to throw some parts at both of them occasionally. That's good enough for me. But I have the tools and aptitude to work on them both and actually somewhat enjoy it.

But no one here will fault you if you want something simpler. Consider Weber kettles or bullet-type smokers like the Smokey Mountain. They're a little simpler to use (or at least to "tend" while using) than an offset or other traditional "stick burner" and feature the reliabilty and simplicity of a steel box, because that's basically what they are.

The "gravity" charcoal smokers are "the next big thing" but they also have computerized controllers and moving fans. Should be somewhat more reliable than a pellet machine but they still have the same basic failure modes.

It sounds like the vendor will give you a full refund and you can buy anything you want. That's good, right? It doesn't sound like you had great customer support (repeated requests for the same pictures) but who does during Covid? At least they're not hanging you out to dry money wise.

Thanks for posting and let us know how you decide to proceed.

 

[schlotz]

There are exceptions, believe MAK might be one of them.

 

[JWFokker]

Igniter was bad? I'd exchange the grill, but it's one of, if not the most common repair on pellet burners. It will happen if you use the grill frequently. Very easy to fix on most units.

Regarding TBS, it is overrated and misunderstood. White smoke is not bad, it simply contains more moisture, which is actually desirable in high airflow cookers like pellet grills. If pellet burners could make 'dirty' smoke they'd be a lot more popular.

 

[larryb]

Which pellet grill do you have that puts out thin blue smoke (TBS)?
Or what controller are you using to prevent overloading the pot?

I use a smoke tube in my kettle and pellet grill for a variety of smoke tasks.
When I use just a tube in kettle to cold smoke (co coal) the TBS is obvious.
I've tried smoke mode on my pellet grill and all I see is heat and then billowing white smoke blowing out the exhaust vent.

Ok, so i ended up ordering a Traegerbecause of the super smoke mode. I coukd put a smoke tube on my gas grill, tep woukd be hard to control, so i'll give Traegr a try.

 

[bill1]

Ok, so i ended up ordering a Traeger because of the super smoke mode...

Good for you! Let us know how it works out for you as soon as you do a cook or two.

 

[larryb]

Supposed to arrive today

 

[bill1]

Supposed to arrive today

We'll be expecting a picture once you get it set up and in place!

 

[larryb]

R T D bent out of box. Traeger sending a new 1 that i need to install. May be a while

 

[bill1]

R T D bent out of box. Traeger sending a new 1 that i need to install. May be a while

Don't throw out the original. The guts are just in the very tip. Even if it looks pretty trashed, it may come in handy some day.
But I agree you should install the new (straight!) one they're sending. I'll be you can do it in less than a couple hours. And learning where the various key parts of your pellet machine are is a good/fun learning experience.
Be careful...these things are heavy. It can be useful to move them to their side to work on but if it gets away from you, you can smash up a lot more than a temp sensor. I find mine can be leaned over fairly easily using a couple strong patio benches and some 4x4's. And I'm old and weak!

 

[larryb]

Why lean the grill? Kerping the bottom (wheels) from moving sounds next to impossible. Hey i am 74, and no he man either.

 

[retfr8flyr]

You will never get strong smoke flavor from a pellet grill. I have a Traeger Timberline 1300 and I am very happy with it but it puts out a lighter cleaner smoke flavor than a stick burner, or a charcoal grill does. I think the better the quality of pellets used makes a bigger difference than the grill itself. All pellet grills work on the exact same principle, so the more expensive ones just have better materials and designs. I hope you will be happy with your Traeger when you get to use it some.

 

[larryb]

It was D O A! Bent RTD, no wifi connection. I had a Grilla, connected right away, worked fine until ignighter broke on day 4. Maybe i should just stickwi agas grill.