Rec Tec Bull or Pit Boss Pro 1100

[SlowmotionQue]

At 225-250 degrees, you don't need a supplemental smoke tube, right? There is plenty of smoke at those low of temps?

No, you don't necessarily "need" a smoke tube at those temps.

But I use one anyway. I like smoke. You know me as "SlowmotionQue. That's on my birth certificate.

You've heard of "Big Moe Cason"?

OK, well I'm "Lil’ Moe Smoke".

Most food cooked on a pellet grill, to my taste, needs a “lil more smoke”.

Hence the smoketube or my SD HD, if not both when I use my pellet smoker at 225-250.

Anyway, these ribs came out nicely too. Tender and tasty.

.

 

[SlowmotionQue]

So. One more way to look at this
Its good you have that Weber Genesis. While I love the Bull IMHO it’s a better smoker than a grill. In fact that goes for all pellet grill. ( going to start a huge debate here)
I grill on a Kettle or a humongous Barbecues Galore Grand Turbo. ( mostly the Kettle because I’ve cooked on one since dad taught me back in the 70s) I believed whatever pellet unit you buy, you will also need a good grill.
So, all that being said I’d ask you what size was that MES you bought for 200 bucks? Is it a 30” or 40”?
If you had plenty of room for your needs in a 30” then gong with the smaller RecTec would be fine.
My MES was the 40”. My kids and grand kids are over most every Sunday. I’ll feed 15 or more. So I went with the Bull. Whatever you do.... I’d stick with a RecTec. B

Sage advice.

 

[BiscuitoftheSea]

I have the MES 40. I do like to cook a lot of extras with my meat, like throwing on whole ears of corn that have been shucked for an hour before the meat is done. Cooks them and gives them a nice smoky flavor. That takes up a good amount of room though.

 

[bdskelly]

I have the MES 40. I do like to cook a lot of extras with my meat, like throwing on whole ears of corn that have been shucked for an hour before the meat is done. Cooks them and gives them a nice smoky flavor. That takes up a good amount of room though.

Welp.... you answered your own question on which size to get! Sound like it’s the Bull. You will be happy

 

[BiscuitoftheSea]

I just read a report that said Rec Tec came down on a reviewer who gave one of their smokers / grills a poor review.

We are aware that the manufacturer is upset with this review and is asking owners to come here and to YouTube to call us idiots. Nobody likes a poor review. But we have never before seen a manufacturer act so childish (you should read their emails).
​

This appears to be from May 2018. Anyone had any issues like this before? I'm not a huge fan of companies sending review units to places and expecting them to give high marks just because they give a positive review.

 

[mpkelley20]

I'll add my 2 cents on the pit boss vs rec tec price difference. I am an idiot with a grill and have wrecked much food cooking on charcoal grills and even expensive gas Weber's. My entry point into pellet grills was an attempt to find a grilling for dummies solution. It has worked. I cannot mess up food on my Pit Boss. No matter what I do, it comes off tasting great. I am addicted to it.

I chose Pit Boss specifically because for price. It wasn't a PB vs RT back then for me. it was PB vs Traeger as I had no idea about this site or other brands. The PB at 549 seemed like a steal and something that wouldn't bother me if it wasn't my perfect solution. I wasn't ready to drop $1200+ on something I wasn't sold on yet.

I am several months in and if I was needing a new grill today, with the knowledge I have gained through my limited experience and what I have read here, I am not convinced that I would spend the extra money for the rec tec. Maybe in time, if my grill has issues or wears out prematurely, my opinion will change.

 

[sandyut]

I just read a report that said Rec Tec came down on a reviewer who gave one of their smokers / grills a poor review.

We are aware that the manufacturer is upset with this review and is asking owners to come here and to YouTube to call us idiots. Nobody likes a poor review. But we have never before seen a manufacturer act so childish (you should read their emails).
​

This appears to be from May 2018. Anyone had any issues like this before? I'm not a huge fan of companies sending review units to places and expecting them to give high marks just because they give a positive review.

without context its hard to have an opinion about this review. I read reviews on other sites and such and all were good.

the reviews on this forum are pretty much all good. if i was to write an in depth review it would be all glowing and good.

 

[BiscuitoftheSea]

without context its hard to have an opinion about this review. I read reviews on other sites and such and all were good.

the reviews on this forum are pretty much all good. if i was to write an in depth review it would be all glowing and good.

Yeah - I'm not to apt to rip on a company based off a reviewer's. Based on this forum, it seems like people have had great experiences with Rec Tec.

 

[jac63]

I have Rec Tec desires and a Pit Boss budget so I bought a PB and have not been disappointed. It does absolutely everything I ask of it, but if money was not an issue I'd spring for the RT in a heartbeat. The SS & PID controller are worth the extra cost IMO.

 

[kevin james]

I was looking for a pellet grill to replace my dead MES 30 and really wanted the Rec Tec 700 Bull, but ultimately decided that I couldn't justify the price so I started to think about getting something cheaper for temporary until I could afford a Bull in a year or so.

After doing much research looking at what was available locally from Green Mountain Grills, Camp Chef and Traeger I found the Pit Boss grills at Walmart and Lowes. I was really impressed with the quality as they seemed a little more heavy duty than any of the others and they got pretty good reviews here.

I settled on the Pro Series 1100 from Lowes and I've had it just over a month now. I am absolutely loving it and do not regret my decision whatsoever. I only wish I had done it sooner. Everything I have cooked has come out great.

The funny thing is, that after playing with this thing for a month what I have realized is that I like this thing so much I don't even want the Rec Tec anymore. What I do want is a Pit Boss Series 7 Vertical smoker because the combination of the two would be awesome. This way I can smoke whatever I want low and slow in the vertical with plenty of room and then use the 1100 for hot and fast and to sear steaks, burgers, veggies etc. which works great on the 1100. If I were going to spend $1,200.00 that is what I would do... get an PB 1100 and a Series 7 vertical and that way I would have a super versatile system that is the best of both worlds.

 

[BiscuitoftheSea]

kevin james

You are in the same position as me. Wondering if all the extras are worth the $650.

I've heard PID controllers are cool and all, but they really don't improve your smoke. Varying temps of ±25 degrees don't really impact the end product (though I hear their is another group who claim the exact opposite).

One thing that definitely is an advantage is the stainless steel. Though for the price, I could use the PitBoss till it rusts out and then buy a new one and still only break even with the Rec Tec.

Cooking space is going to be pretty similar between the two.

My MES 40 has a remote that I can check temps without having to walk to the smoker (which is nice since my smoker sits below my porch on ground level and most of our living is done on the main or upper levels of our house - it would certainly be less convenient without it). That could be solved with a wifi meat probe though.

Ceramic igniter that will last much longer than the one in the Pit Boss. I don't know how easy it is to get and change out an igniter though.

6 year warranty vs. 5 year.

Plus I've seen threads on this forum of Rec Tec deleting negative reviews from sites - makes it hard to trust the info that is out there...

 

[sandyut]

kevin james
Plus I've seen threads on this forum of Rec Tec deleting negative reviews from sites - makes it hard to trust the info that is out there...

Not sure I really believe this - yes I have seen the comment as well.
if this was a thing, wouldn't most manufacturers delete negative reviews and we would only see positive ones for everything sold? How exactly would a manufacturer go to someone elses website and delete reviews?
Sounds like conspiracy theory paranoia drama more than factual reality.

 

[SlowmotionQue]

You also don’t know when an igniter will fail.

Be a heck of a thing to have happen on a day that guest were due.

Let alone the time to swap it out.

If you’re talking about buying a spare one to have on hand, well there’s the price of it plus the price of your remote temperature system to allow you to check the temp of your food that you allude to above.

Also, which remote thermometer will allow you to control the grill itself?

As far as reviews and trusting them, well, that’s up to you.

I’ll say this though. I already own a Stampede, it is about 5 months old.

I just bought a second Stampede as a gift. It’s on its way.

Take that for what it’s worth if you’re considering customer satisfaction.

But few are going to spend that kind of money twice if they’re not satisfied.

 

[BiscuitoftheSea]

I would assume that if people were having terrible experiences with these, I'd have heard about it in this thread or others at this point. Anyone know how popular these are vs. say a Traeger / Pit Boss / Mak / Camp Chef / etc.? I'd assume they aren't nearly as popular as those since you can't buy Rec Tec in a big box store.

 

[sweetride95]

If an igniter went bad you could still start the grill with a torch or wax thing you use for starting charcoal in a chimney. It wouldn't be graceful, but you could still put a party on.

 

[kevin james]

kevin james

You are in the same position as me. Wondering if all the extras are worth the $650.

I've heard PID controllers are cool and all, but they really don't improve your smoke. Varying temps of ±25 degrees don't really impact the end product (though I hear their is another group who claim the exact opposite).

One thing that definitely is an advantage is the stainless steel. Though for the price, I could use the PitBoss till it rusts out and then buy a new one and still only break even with the Rec Tec.

Cooking space is going to be pretty similar between the two.

My MES 40 has a remote that I can check temps without having to walk to the smoker (which is nice since my smoker sits below my porch on ground level and most of our living is done on the main or upper levels of our house - it would certainly be less convenient without it). That could be solved with a wifi meat probe though.

Ceramic igniter that will last much longer than the one in the Pit Boss. I don't know how easy it is to get and change out an igniter though.

6 year warranty vs. 5 year.

Plus I've seen threads on this forum of Rec Tec deleting negative reviews from sites - makes it hard to trust the info that is out there...

I will say this, while a PID controller might be nice, the temp swings aren't too bad and have not had even the slightest negative effect on anything I have cooked. Also, after removing the flimsy "heat shield" temps from left to right are not that far off. In fact at temps of 250 or less they are usually not more than 5-10 degrees off which is nothing. I have used this to my advantage putting certain things on the hotter side and certain things on the cooler side depending what I'm cooking.

One thing I will say is you MUST follow the start up and shutdown procedures for trouble free performance, and clean the grill out after EVERY use. I suspect that some of the problems people have reported with pellet grills in general with flameouts, grease fires etc. are related to not following these procedures. But just to be on the safe side since this was my first pellet grill I decided that it was also better to learn the ropes on a cheaper grill for fear that if I had a problem and the grill ended up getting ruined... I'd rather it happen to a $600 grill than a $1,200 grill.

With the money I saved I bought a Fireboard 6 probe thermometer with WIFI and Bluetooth, a cover and other various accessories and still had leftover money.

 

[SlowmotionQue]

Other than just lighting it and waiting for it to come to your desired temperature and putting your food on when that temperature is reached, what other startup procedures are necessary?

The only startup procedure I do, and the only startup procedure that is required with my Stampede, is pulling out my phone, opening the app and setting the temp that I want to cook at and putting my food on.

Or if I’m at the grill, I can turn it on and twist the dial in 5 degree increments to that desired temp and wait for it to reach it before putting my food on.

 

[bdskelly]

Other than just lighting it and waiting for it to come to your desired temperature and putting your food on when that temperature is reached, what other startup procedures are necessary?

The only startup procedure I do, and The only startup procedure that is required with my Stampede, is pulling out my phone, opening the app and setting the temp that I want to cook at and putting my food on.

Or if I’m at the grill, I can turn it on and twist the dial in 5 degree increments to that desired temp and wait for it to reach it before putting my food on.

You must plug it in. (Joking). The RECTEC app works great.

 

[kevin james]

Other than just lighting it and waiting for it to come to your desired temperature and putting your food on when that temperature is reached, what other startup procedures are necessary?

The only startup procedure I do, and The only startup procedure that is required with my Stampede, is pulling out my phone, opening the app and setting the temp that I want to cook at and putting my food on.

Or if I’m at the grill, I can turn it on and twist the dial in 5 degree increments to that desired temp and wait for it to reach it before putting my food on.

For the Pit Boss 1100, the start up instructions are to set to smoke setting with lid open until the firepot gets going and starts producing smoke, then close the lid and set temp to 350 and run for about 10 minutes to pre-heat, then reduce to your desired temp. To Shut down, set temp to 350 for about 10 minutes, then lower to 200 for about 5 minutes to finish burning what's in the pot, then turn the dial to off.

 

[SlowmotionQue]

For the Pit Boss 1100, the start up instructions are to set to smoke setting with lid open until the firepot gets going and starts producing smoke, then close the lid and set temp to 350 and run for about 10 minutes to pre-heat, then reduce to your desired temp. To Shut down, set temp to 350 for about 10 minutes, then lower to 200 for about 5 minutes to finish burning what's in the pot, then turn the dial to off.

Wow.

So if you want to cook ribs at 250, you have to first start the fire pot and get it going, then go to 350 for 10 minutes, then dial back to 250 and wait for the grill to get back down to that before you can put the ribs on?

And when you take ‘em off, you have to jack the grill back up to 350 and for 10 minutes let it hit that, then back it off to 200 before you can shut it off?

Wow. Wouldn’t that go through a lot of pellets?

With my Rec Tec, I set it for 250 and when it hits 250, I put my ribs on.

When they’re done, I take ‘em off and either press the off button in the app on my phone, or hit the off switch on the Rec Tec. Either way, the Rec Tec initiates the shutdown sequence and completes it as I go about other chores.