Traeger Question

[jmardock]

I am going to purchase a pellet grill/smoker soon. I had my mind made up on a Rec Tec, but found out a family member can get me a big discount on a Traeger, so am now leaning towards the Traeger Pro Series 34. I have a few questions for those of you with Traeger experience...

1. Are you happy with the quality of Traeger? I had heard their quality had gone down in recent years.
2. Do you find it works well as a grill even though it's using indirect heat?
3. I think the highest temp on the traeger is 450°. Do you find that hot enough? Rec Tec's go up to 500°.
4. Anything else you love or hate about Traegers?

 

[tbrtt1]

If you can get a good discount on the Treager Pro 34 it’s probably a no-Brainer.

I have the lil Tex but I put in a PID controller in it. It works great and does what it does well.

As for a grill, assuming you want for grilling steaks and the like, use a grill, gas, charcoal etc. Even if the claims by the manufacturers are accurate, it wouldn’t be enough for my grillIng and searing. But that’s just me. In short I use a grill when I want something grilled and a pellet smoker/grill when I want to BBQ/smoke.

 

[markh024]

As for a grill, assuming you want for grilling steaks and the like, use a grill, gas, charcoal etc. Even if the claims by the manufacturers are accurate, it wouldn’t be enough for my grillIng and searing. But that’s just me. In short I use a grill when I want something grilled and a pellet smoker/grill when I want to BBQ/smoke.

I echo this statement. I prefer to grill on a gas or charcoal and smoke on my CC Smokepro STX. On the pellet you just dont get the same char like you do on a reg grill. With that said, I'm addicted to my smoker and extremely happy with my purchase.

 

[idahopz]

I too have a Traeger Lil'Tex, and also added a Pellet Pro PID which made the unit equal to my GMG in cooking reliability and quality. Because I need foolproof cooking techniques, I find that for me, a single cooker is like a jack of all trades, good at none, so I use a gas grill with infrared sear for any high heat direct flame requirements, a Bradley for cold/warm smoking, and the pellet cookers for everything between.

 

[ross77]

I don’t have a Traeger but I use Grill Grates on my Rec Tec and have no problem getting sear marks. I haven’t touched my Weber gas grill in over a year.

I wouldn’t necessarily buy something just because it’s cheaper. Buy something with all the features you want.

Keep in mind the Traeger has a 3 year warranty while the RecTec has a 6 year warranty. Pellet grills have moving parts and other components like controllers that can fail. By comparison a gas grill is pretty simple.

 

[jmardock]

I've read about the grill grates. I think I'll get those when I get my traeger and hold onto my gas grill for awhile just in case.

I don’t have a Traeger but I use Grill Grates on my Rec Tec and have no problem getting sear marks. I haven’t touched my Weber gas grill in over a year.

I wouldn’t necessarily buy something just because it’s cheaper. Buy something with all the features you want.

Keep in mind the Traeger has a 3 year warranty while the RecTec has a 6 year warranty. Pellet grills have moving parts and other components like controllers that can fail. By comparison a gas grill is pretty simple.

 

[jmardock]

I found out the discount on Traeger wasn't as big as I originally thought, so I went with what I wanted more anyways. Just placed an order on a Rec Tec.

 

[ross77]

I found out the discount on Traeger wasn't as big as I originally thought, so I went with what I wanted more anyways. Just placed an order on a Rec Tec.

Cool. Let us know how it works out for you.