Trying to choose smoker for husband. Is it worth waiting for Memorial Day or Father's Day sales?

[pineywoods]

I agree with checking the Pit Boss smokers many of us have them and like them. Walmart carries a good line of them

 

[Hamdrew]

Yes, first smoker. He is kind of geeky, though, and I know he'd have fun with the fancy stuff. But also know it's not necessary to have fun and get a good result.

Geeky can mean different things.. There are plenty of cool mods-thermometers, probes, insulation etc. for him to "nerd out" about ANY type of smoker. For "stick burners" (wood smokers) like this, that includes dimensions of the logs ("splits"), placement of said splits, and so on.

 

[GrumpyGriller]

Smokers and grills are like cars....we all have our opinions on what we like/don't like. Personally, I love my Traeger Timberline 1300, but it's not cheap. I like the pellet grill and primarily use Pit Boss pellets. I can control it remotely and is easy enough to use. I wouldn't consider knocking any other type mentioned in other replies to your thread, it just comes down to trying something based on everyone's opinion and basing it on intended use and wants. As other's have said, see what he'd like and go from there :)

Good luck!

 

[not a smoker]

The best thing is to let him pick one out then your off the hook if he doesn't like it!!

There's definitely something to be said for that!

 

[not a smoker]

View attachment 495093
Geeky can mean different things.. There are plenty of cool mods-thermometers, probes, insulation etc. for him to "nerd out" about ANY type of smoker. For "stick burners" (wood smokers) like this, that includes dimensions of the logs ("splits"), placement of said splits, and so on.

Yes, I can definitely see him getting into tweaking whatever system he ends up with. That's part of the fun, right?

 

[ironbrewer]

Honestly the best thing is to just get him what he wants. If he is geeky, part of the fun is researching for the best deal for himself. We all want to optimize what we get for the almighty buck. I would have loved to get a super fancy expensive smoker, but had a budget. I got the Camp Chef DLX. I really like it. It has been idiot proof for me. I have only had it for a short time and it is my first smoker. I have done chix thighs, a brisket, 2 pork putts, and a few racks of ribs on it. My family has said it is the best grilling I have ever done. They love everything that comes off of it. Would I have liked to have one of the big names like Yoder or MAC or Pitts and Spitts of course I would. The Camp Chef has been great for me and is what I could comfortably afford so it was the right choice for me.

The other thing is he may cut his choice down to a few different smokers, and finds a sweet deal on craigslist or similar. If it is for his birthday give him a deadline on when he has to get it by. That way he doesn't over think it and you can have yummie food sooner.

 

[kruizer]

My Camp Chef has been a work horse but I think he should be making the choice of which one he wants.

 

[crazzycajun]

New smoker for my husband

Hi. I'm looking to get a smoker for my husband for Christmas. He's never had one before and has always wanted one but I don't know where to start. I've read a few posts so I know that we don't have a ton of space, our budget is probably max $300. And it needs to be versatile to set a temp and go...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

refer to this thread for suggestions

 

[Hamdrew]

Yes, I can definitely see him getting into tweaking whatever system he ends up with. That's part of the fun, right?

Absolutely, and no matter what he will be able to make his smoker "his own".. Set phone notifications for temp fluctuations with a fancy thermometer, etc.

You could just sit him down in a serious "we need to talk", and just tell him straight-up "You're getting a smoker for your birthday." Show him this website, this thread, the different forums and tell him to figure out what he wants. Ask him if he wants to assemble it himself, and if not you can take care of arranging that & delivery.

Surprises are nice, and I'm sure he's gonna be thrilled no matter what, but this would prevent any chance of a lingering "If only.."

 

[ostrichsak]

A lot depends on budget.For the guys here who own them the Recteq is it when it comes to pellet smokers/grills.

Like you said he only turns 50 once.Point blank ask him what he wants and then go get it!

Not too long ago I would have supported this post. Now, I can't.

As much as I wanted to love this Recteq RT-590 (slightly smaller version of the RT-700) I can no longer recommend Recteq in good conscience. I really really liked this thing when I first got it and I saw what all of the rave reviews were about. It was the significant step up from my GMG DB WiFi in just about every category and metric. Exactly what I wanted. So I thought...

Unfortunately all Recteq WiFi smokers have a fatal flaw: The notifications will fail to work during high-demand times like holidays. These also tend to be the time when you MOST need your grills notifications to work. If I ruin meat on a random Tuesday when it's just the wife and I that sucks but at least I'm not letting a dozen family members, friends or both down. That's basically what happens. The notifications just quit working w/o warning. No alerts when your smoker hits the set temperature, no alerts if your temp strays to a temperature far from your set temp and (maybe most importantly) any temperature alerts you set for the meat probes also will not work.

This is a fundamental pillar to the WiFi experience and w/o it you might as well just buy something w/o WiFi because... what's the point? At least then you'd KNOW to use some other method for temperature measuring and save a boat load of money on features that you pay for that don't work. The first time this happened (Super Bowl weekend) I thought it was a one-time thing. RecTeq even told me that they were aware of the issue and would correct it. They told me not to worry because it wouldn't happen again.

Wrong.

The very next high-traffic weekend it occurred again resulting in nearly the same thing for me: ruined food and hungry guests.

RecTeq has a real problem on theirs hands and they don't seem to care. Had I known about this before I bought mine I would have kept looking. If this is important to you I would advise looking elsewhere. If you aren't concerned about this flaw and like paying for features you don't actually get.... Recteq is your grill! Maybe they'll get their poop in a group (I use hope so since I've got about a grand wrapped up in this solution) but I wouldn't reward the bad behavior until they do. Maybe if the hit were significant enough to affect their bottom line they'd give it a little bit more urgency but I'm not convinced that anyone who can enact change even knows about this let alone cares.

At least I've done my part and people can make informed decisions rather than going in blind like I did thinking they were the greatest thing ever based on the things I read on this and other forums online.

 

[Rich250]

Doubt your going to see too many deals on pellet smokers any time soon as they are hot sellers right now, I would either let your husband choose the grill of his choice or you can't beat a pitboss austin xl for 447.00 from walmart.

 

[Winterrider]

Pitboss Copperhead or Austin XL would be good pellets for the money. The vertical charcoal Masterbuilt or the new Charbroil on recent thread may be a very good option also.
Happy Birthday to the hub. . .

 

[bigfurmn]

Plus Pit Boss has a 5 year warranty.

 

[forktender]

My Camp Chef will do anything the big money grills will do.
I have had amazing luck with C.C. customer service department they have always done 100% right by me on a few occasions. If you're planning on buying one locally I wouldn't wait for sales if they have exactly what he wants. Most places will honor the sales price and refund you the money for a week to a few weeks so save the sales slip just in case.

 

[SmokinAl]

I have a feeling that what ever you choose your husband will be thrilled. You have plenty of choices and many were submitted to you. But If it were me I would go with a stick burner. Lang would be my choice, and you may be able to find a used one on CL or the Lang facebook page.
Al

 

[DougE]

I just went through this for myself, and after much research, chose the Camp Chef SG24 wifi. Is Camp Chef the best out there? I'm sure they are not, but they have a solid reputation, good customer service it it's needed, and it was within a price range I could live with. I ordered mine through Lowes because it was about a hundred bucks cheaper than ordering it directly from Camp Chef, and I got 0% financing on it for 12 months on my Lowes card.

 

[JLeonard]

The best thing is to let him pick one out then your off the hook if he doesn't like it!!

Let him know in a roundabout way that he's getting one and if he doesn't pick one he'll have to live with what you get him.

Agreed and agreed. Find one at the box store you think he would like (like the BIL if you think thats what he wants), take him and tell him your taking one home. So he better decide before you take the money and go shoe/purse shopping.
Jim

 

[Bearcarver]

You should play it safe, and write him a nice Birthday Card, with a notice on it that says He should pick out whatever he wants in the Smoking World.
I'm sure he would be happy with anything you give him, but letting him pick it has to have the best results.
As for Memorial Day Sales????----I would suggest you give it to him about a Week before Memorial Day, to give him a chance to study the Flyers & Internet.

Bear

 

[Alsta]

I am still new here to the forums and to smoking, But I have been having alot of success with the Char-Griller Texas Trio Grill.
It is Propane / Charcoal with an offset smoker, made of cast iron.

I find it is great for the quick cooks ( propane ) The semi-slow stuff ( Charcoal cooking ) and then when I want to do an all-day smoke, its perfect.
It ran me $400 at my local Home Depot - Not all carry them, so you have have to store hop onlien to find one.


Again, just my 2cents

 

[K9BIGDOG]

I’m another Camp Chef fan. I bought my first pellet grill on Amazon, a Camp Chef Smoke Pro DLX and I haven’t looked back. I have all the extras that I’ve added over time, the front shelf and the Sidekick with the griddle, bbq box and the pizza oven. I liked it so much that I gave my big vertical gas smoker to my son-in-law and got myself the Camp Chef XXL vertical for big cooks. Just a word to the wise on pellet “grills”. They aren’t that great at grilling. I still keep a Weber on the deck next to my DLX for searing steaks, cooking burgers and dogs and chicken breasts, etc. My idea was to use the Sidekick but the wife decided she’d prefer the “traditional” gas grill, so we have both. Woe is me... Also, as said here in previous posts Camp Chefs customer service is excellent and there are a couple really great CC groups on social media that are super friendly and helpful. If you really can’t decide, why not just get him a gift card for your budgeted amount and let him pick what he wants for himself?