Opinions on Pellet grills

[bregent]

If you think you'll be doing a lot of grilling, consider the Cookshack PG500 - it's has the best char grill on any pellet grill. It's also said to produce some of the best smoke flavor thanks to the unique design and smoke flow. It has a little less capacity for low/slow than some of the other smokers, but I've seen folks get a lot of food into it. Really depends on how many you plan to cook for, grilling needs, budget, etc.

 

[sandyut]

I bought a Traeger Elite 34 last year. It's worked great and has pumped out some awesome product but I made the mistake of selling my Weber Spirit to cover some of the cost. Now I feel like I'm missing the high quality searing even though a steak has never touched it and I'm not really buying into the whole GrillGrate add on (they are awesome when I had them for my Weber) producing a good sear. I definitely would like one piece of equipment that can do it all but the more research I do, the more confused I get. I'm down to Traeger Ironwood, Yoder YS640, Camp Chef SmokePro 36 SGX w/ Sear Box, and the Pitts & Spitts Maverick 1250.

I'm leaning more towards the Camp Chef due to the sear box and it's high rating on AmazingRibs.com. I think my 2nd choice would be the Pitts & Spitts based off of reviews I've read. I was hooked on the Yoder for a while but they're pretty pricey and chew through pellets.

I kept my Weber Genesis and dont regret it. thought for amin the wife would want it gone but won that one. I bought grill grates but havent used them. its easier to fire the genesis, pull the meat off the rec tec and toss it on the gasser for grilling - mostly reverse sear

 

[retfr8flyr]

If you are willing to spend the money for a Yoder you really should check out the Pits&Spitts. When I was doing my reasearch there were lots of guys that switched from Yoder to the P&S. If I hadn't run into such a great deal on my Traeger 1300, I would have gotten the P&S Maveric 1250.

 

[texomakid]

I got a Yoder 640 and I got no complaints. As a matter of fact, I just got home from 3 weeks of hard labor and I'm fixing to fire that puppy up and do a reverse sear on a couple of Rib eyes. It's a great cooker but I'm sure there are dozens of other cookers that are good as well. My advise is get a pellet cooker (get what YOU want) and start enjoying all the benefits of pellet cooking!

 

[boognish]

Apologies for hijacking this thread and thanks for all of the input. It’s a daunting task trying to find the right smoker for you. I guess I’ll just break down a draft board of my current potential picks and anyone with input regarding these certain make/models can chime in. Criteria includes 1) Smoking/Searing flexibility 2) Price 3) Pellet Consumption 4) Aesthetic appeal. Much appreciated!

1) camp chef smokepro 36 sgx w/ sear station
2) p&s maverick 1250
3) Yoder ys640
4) traeger ironwood

 

[retfr8flyr]

I would get the P&S Maverick with the sear station drip pan. My only complaint about my 1300 is it doesn't sear very well, even with Grill Grates.

 

[ToppDogg]

I'm a very happy Rec-Tec Stampede owner. I looked and researched them all and choose the Rec-Tec Stampede for the heavier stainless and customer service. So far I'm very happy with my purchase, I hope Rec-Tec will get more accessories for the Stampede. Would like to have the blanket wrap for smoking in the winter months.

 

[mike243]

I bought a moving blanket for about $10 and drape it over the cook chamber and tuck it under a little, cheap and works great so far, temps don't get high enuf to need a welding blanket, also no sparks like a stick burner to set it on fire lol

 

[BulldogsCadillac]

I bought a Traeger Elite 34 last year. It's worked great and has pumped out some awesome product but I made the mistake of selling my Weber Spirit to cover some of the cost. Now I feel like I'm missing the high quality searing even though a steak has never touched it and I'm not really buying into the whole GrillGrate add on (they are awesome when I had them for my Weber) producing a good sear. I definitely would like one piece of equipment that can do it all but the more research I do, the more confused I get. I'm down to Traeger Ironwood, Yoder YS640, Camp Chef SmokePro 36 SGX w/ Sear Box, and the Pitts & Spitts Maverick 1250.

I'm leaning more towards the Camp Chef due to the sear box and it's high rating on AmazingRibs.com. I think my 2nd choice would be the Pitts & Spitts based off of reviews I've read. I was hooked on the Yoder for a while but they're pretty pricey and chew through pellets.

I did a lot of reading and researching as a 100% complete newbie to this thing we call smoking, I wasn't quite ready to open the wallet too wide (read : "wife wasn't" in place of "I wasn't") on something I've never done, nor knew if we would use. If I did have my pick of the litter, pretty sure it would have been a MAK One Star General, Two Star if you need more room. Never read anything bad about them, and the company was extremely responsive to my questions. Take a look at them, just my zero experience opinion! Haha

 

[sandyut]

I almost went Mac One Star but the costs were prohibitive when i rolled up everything i wanted with it. someone mentioned this earlier but it makes the most sense to me; find what you can afford cost wise, then see what units are in that range and then compare;

• some come with the Wifi controller and some charge for it. some people dont care if they have this - I cant see cooking without it.
• aesthetics - if that matters to you
• grill size
• accessories
• warranty
• customer service
• reputation
• shipping costs (included or extra)
• many factors...

I wouldn't rush a decision - but I over-analyse a fair amount and took months to throw down for an RT 700. but glad i did.

 

[flyboys]

I just bought a Pit Boss Pro 1100 this morning. Like you, I never had a pellet smoker. It was always my UDS and MES. The UDS is at the campsite and the MES took a crap after 10 years of service. I’ll let you know how I make out with it.

 

[RCAlan]

I just bought a Pit Boss Pro 1100 this morning. Like you, I never had a pellet smoker. It was always my UDS and MES. The UDS is at the campsite and the MES took a crap after 10 years of service. I’ll let you know how I make out with it.

Good luck with Your PB Pro Series 1100.. Just make sure You read and follow the Preheating steps and procedures every time you run your grill and get a good understanding of the P-Settings in your owners manual as well... Keep the Fire Pot clean after every cook with a shop vac and You’ll be very happy with the bbq it puts out and in your new investment...

PB Austin XL in SoCal and Always... Semper Fi

 

[flyboys]

Good luck with Your PB Pro Series 1100.. Just make sure You read and follow the Preheating steps and procedures everything you run your grill and get a good understanding of the P-Settings in your owners manual as well... Keep the Fire Pot clean after every cook with a shop vac and You’ll be very happy with the bbq it puts out and in your new investment...

PB Austin XL in SoCal and Always... Semper Fi

Thank you RCAlan, I appreciate the pointers

 

[forktender]

I bought a Traeger Elite 34 last year. It's worked great and has pumped out some awesome product but I made the mistake of selling my Weber Spirit to cover some of the cost. Now I feel like I'm missing the high quality searing even though a steak has never touched it and I'm not really buying into the whole GrillGrate add on (they are awesome when I had them for my Weber) producing a good sear. I definitely would like one piece of equipment that can do it all but the more research I do, the more confused I get. I'm down to Traeger Ironwood, Yoder YS640, Camp Chef SmokePro 36 SGX w/ Sear Box, and the Pitts & Spitts Maverick 1250.

I'm leaning more towards the Camp Chef due to the sear box and it's high rating on AmazingRibs.com. I think my 2nd choice would be the Pitts & Spitts based off of reviews I've read. I was hooked on the Yoder for a while but they're pretty pricey and chew through pellets.

The P&S cookers are made at least 5X better than the C.C. units, so if you plan of using it for years to come and can swing the funds you might want to take a closer look at the P&S cookers.

 

[Pelagic]

I picked up a Z-Grills ZPG 7002E last year ($376 delivered) and am very happy with it. It is virtually identical to the Grilla Silverbac and all the Silverbac accessories fit. I recently added the Alpha Smoke controller from Grilla Grills and now have the option of tradition control (more smoke) and PID control for more precise temp control. This controller ($129) should be plug & play for many other brands.
I don't need wifi as I have a thermometer (Therm Pro TP-07) with a remote 300' range and I'm always home when cooking.

 

[SlowmotionQue]

I picked up a Z-Grills ZPG 7002E last year ($376 delivered) and am very happy with it. It is virtually identical to the Grilla Silverbac and all the Silverbac accessories fit. I recently added the Alpha Smoke controller from Grilla Grills and now have the option of tradition control (more smoke) and PID control for more precise temp control. This controller ($129) should be plug & play for many other brands.
I don't need wifi as I have a thermometer (Therm Pro TP-07) with a remote 300' range and I'm always home when cooking.

I'm curious about this, and I'm glad to see that you are enjoying your grill and controller.

But I have to ask. Where does the notion that wild temperature swings, which are characteristic of non PID controlled pellet grills, are "good" for a better smoke flavor come from, and has anyone actually proven this?

I've seen the claim made by companies who in the past didn't, or which still do not offer PID controllers. But I've often wondered if this was more of a situation of saying: "yeah, we can't give you precise temps down to plus or minus 5 degrees. But wild temp swings are not a bad thing because they give you more smoke."

If anything, I suspect a placebo effect here, and a blind taste test possibly would not prove any difference in smoke profile between meat cooked on a PID controlled pellet grill vs one which was not PID controlled and allowed 30*-40* or more temperature swings during the same cook.

Does anyone see that they're getting "more smoke" from pellets in a grill set at and showing 250* straight through a cook, vs another one set at 250* and showing say, 275-285* at multiple points then backing down to 230* for a few minutes before going back up to 265*, 270*, etc?

 

[Pelagic]

I usually sit out on the patio while my grill is running and observe the operation. My grill definitely makes more smoke in the traditional setting. When I switch to PID mode there is only occasional smoke and very little at that. No real measurement, just observation.
I'm putting St. Louis ribs on in about an hour for a 3 hour smoke session and then switch to PID for the remainder of the cook...I'll be paying more attention today...Hey, it's raining and I have nothing better to do!

 

[SlowmotionQue]

Out of curiosity, what is the temperature of the lowest PID setting when you’re in “PID mode”?

The reason why I ask is, some PID controllers have a low setting which is less than 200*, down around 180* actually. I wonder if this would be the equivalent of running in what you’re describing as “traditional setting” with your controller.

 

[Pelagic]

Just fired the grill up...I'll switch to PID mode and run the temp down to 180 and check it out.

Interesting...Holding a constant 200 degrees and no noticeable smoke - has no sign that it's going to go down to 180 degrees though - fan is cycling on/off as is usual in PID when temp is reached.

OK, settled in at 180 degrees....can hear auger run every other fan cycle to feed just enough pellets to maintain temp - virtually zero smoke since initial start up.

I'm switching to traditional mode because I want to get SOME smoke on the ribs!

 

[bregent]

I've seen the claim made by companies who in the past didn't, or which still do not offer PID controllers. But I've often wondered if this was more of a situation of saying: "yeah, we can't give you precise temps down to plus or minus 5 degrees. But wild temp swings are not a bad thing because they give you more smoke."

.

My own observations after owning a PID and non PID grills, and eating food from several other of both styles is this. PID's I've worked with appear to have more continuous smoke during operation. Non PID's produce more intermittent smoke that is much heavier during smoke phase, and lighter to non-existing during the non smoke phase. The net amount of smoke produced during the cook is probably about the same, and the amount of smoke flavor is indistinguishable by me.

The non PID grills I've experienced are my CC, and other friends Traegers. PID grill are a few different Memphis's and a RecTec, both of which use Roanoke controllers which pulse the fan to produce more smoke and keep it in the chamber longer. Obviously, other makes/models might produce different results.