Pellet grills

[jimim]

Regardless of which way you go with the pellet grill, check out Malcom Reed’s video on getting the fire going in 10-15 minutes on the BGE. I’m assuming you went green. If you went red, there are also plenty of videos on the KJ, too. There’s also a great forum on Kamado cooking - Kamado Guru

Just hate to hear you struggling with your egg! I absolutely love my KJ!

exactly how I do it. I say 60-90 mins cause to get up to 250 after I ash over it climbs really slow for me in the early morning. maybe cause I have it choked off too much when it's lid is closed but like I said one time I closed the lid and opened the vents too much and I was at 600 degrees and it was a mess getting it back down. but again love my egg. I have made some killer food on it. but I do want something automatic for my porch during the week vs going out to the pool house and setting up down there.

 

[SaltyBHouston]

This is what I have and I love it! Running strong for 5+ years with no issues.

They are fully welded like a traditional offset smoker with a pellet controller bolted on. The body and legs are all 3/16" steel with stainless lid and shelf. If the controller fails, you just bolt a new one on!

Maverick 850

 

[jimim]

ok RecTec people. . . im deff going with them. it really seems like a no brainer. do i get the 700 vs the 590 for the 300 dollar difference. I have the room. I don't need the space I don't think but do we know the differences in how they are built minus the wifi board being different and the lid being different along with vent system. hopper obviously larger vs smaller. . . but are both built the same?

 

[dschlic1]

I have a Pit Boss pellet grill I purchased from Lowes. I recently had an issue with one of the casters. Pit Boss replaced the leg and the castor. I talked with them on Monday and the parts arrive on Friday. I call that good service.

 

[Noreaster]

I have a ~10 year old green mountain grills Jim Bowie. It’s been good to me. At the time it was the only wifi connected pellet smoker. GMGs are made in China if that matters to you. The newer prime units have a lot of power supply issues.
A lot of the GMG users have gone to “pitts n spits “
The yoders are nice , but they tend to lose the finish and rust. I have been wanting a 640s for a long time and I get disappointed every time I see a pellet smoking brother complaining that his Yoder is rusting.

Recteq is weird in that they are not really a main stream maker but the few people have them like them a lot.

I have always stuck my nose up at traeger, but the timberline 1300 caught my eye. Looks like they are refreshing that line already though.

Def check out pitts n spitts.

 

[jimim]

I have a ~10 year old green mountain grills Jim Bowie. It’s been good to me. At the time it was the only wifi connected pellet smoker. GMGs are made in China if that matters to you. The newer prime units have a lot of power supply issues.
A lot of the GMG users have gone to “pitts n spits “
The yoders are nice , but they tend to lose the finish and rust. I have been wanting a 640s for a long time and I get disappointed every time I see a pellet smoking brother complaining that his Yoder is rusting.

Recteq is weird in that they are not really a main stream maker but the few people have them like them a lot.

I have always stuck my nose up at traeger, but the timberline 1300 caught my eye. Looks like they are refreshing that line already though.

Def check out pitts n spitts.

the timberline refresh it beautiful looking but 3500 is nuts. i don't need the side burner. i don't need the meater probe. i got a ton dumped into thermo pen. i think rec teq is making good sense.

 

[Noreaster]

the timberline refresh it beautiful looking but 3500 is nuts. i don't need the side burner. i don't need the meater probe. i got a ton dumped into thermo pen. i think rec teq is making good sense.

Ya. I don’t like the refresh. And it makes me wonder if the gen 1 had issues? I will be mostly looking for greater capacity- unsure what direction I will end up going.

There used to be a great forum called pelletheads. Unfortunately it’s now defunct. (Guy who ran it passed - wife sold it to a company that trashed its usefulness)

 

[BMerrill]

There used to be a great forum called pelletheads. Unfortunately it’s now defunct.

I was a member and one of the moderators of Pelletheads.
Cooked on the Pellethead Cooking Team at a few KCBS BBQ competitions in 2012: Peak City Pig Fest, American Royal Invitational, Jack Daniels World Invitational.
The team only cooked on pellet grills.
It was sad when the owner, Larry, died and then his wife sold it to the highest bidder.
After this happen, the admin of the site started his own forum Pellet fan

There was an offshoot forum started before pelletheads shut down you may want to check it out as well Lets Talk BBQ

 

[ahampleman]

I love my RT700 and RT380. Best cookers ever and CS is over the top..

 

[React]

No I haven’t looked into them. There is so many freaking companies out there it’s crazy. That’s why I literally might stop at Rec Tec. When I bought my egg it was easy. You go green or you go red. Lol. I mean there are others but it’s pretty much one company or the other. I love my egg. I just don’t love it enough to use during a work night. You know what I mean. I figured with a pellet smoker I can still smoke some chicken pieces or reverse sear a steak and do other grill type stuff without the 90 min heat up forcthe egg. I know others can get thier eggs going quicker but I’m just slow. Cause if I don’t go slow I overhear it and then it’s even worse.

IMO the cheaper pellet grills will suffice and know many who have had success with them. When I look to replace my Traeger I'll more than likely go with a Rectec though.

 

[SJPoe]

I love my RT700 and RT380. Best cookers ever and CS is over the top..

I have a 700 and 380 also. The 700 is a tank, has been 100% reliable since I bought it. 180F for 20+ hours with no worries, will get up to 500+ if you need to... it's essentially a big wood fired connection oven . The 380 is a bit more finicky, but keep it clean and I can hit 700F in 15 minutes to sear some burgers or steaks... or smoke at 200F overnight.

 

[jimim]

I have a 700 and 380 also. The 700 is a tank, has been 100% reliable since I bought it. 180F for 20+ hours with no worries, will get up to 500+ if you need to... it's essentially a big wood fired connection oven . The 380 is a bit more finicky, but keep it clean and I can hit 700F in 15 minutes to sear some burgers or steaks... or smoke at 200F overnight.

The 380 can get hotter than the 700? I have the room for the 700 so was just going to go big to have the space of need be.

 

[jseyfert3]

I have been using my pit boss AustinXL for about a year, and absolutely love it. I went with a Pit Boss from a coworker recommendation and cost. Also @jseyfert3 has one. They have great customer service, one of my wheels got a flat spot and they sent new wheels with some rubs. I would buy it again. I don't use the gasser anymore.

Funny you should tag me on this now.

The one issue my Pit Boss had is the pellet container isn't sealed around screw holes or the window on the hopper, and water from rain seeps in and gets the pellets wet. I meant to seal the openings with silicone but didn't get around to doing that. Usually this just resulted in the pellets turning into wet powder you had to remove and then refill the pellets, but after some period of unuse this winter the auger stopped turning. I suspect what happened is the pellets got so wet from water leaking in that they expanded the pellets into this thick wet Crud that hardened around the auger and jammed it, given how hard it was to dig this stuff out of the portion of the auger that is in the hopper.

I haven't taken apart the grill yet to see if just clearing the auger by pulling it out will fix the issue, or if a fuse or the auger motor itself burned up too. Due to some life changes, that may be something I will never do at this point. I do suspect it's quite fixable though.

But for anyone with a Pit Boss, seal the window and screw holes into the hopper with silicone or similar, or keep the grill under a cover when not in use, to avoid the pellets getting wet and ruined and/or jamming your auger.

 

[SJPoe]

The 380 can get hotter than the 700? I have the room for the 700 so was just going to go big to have the space of need be.

The 380 is the 'Bulleseye' - it'll get over 700F pretty quick, so it's perfect for hamburgers, brats, that sort of thing. You can smoke on it, but it's not as consistent and stable as the bigger grills like the 700 (probably a mass thing as much as anything else). It looks like a fancy webber charcoal kettle grill

The 700 will get up to 500-600 depending on pellets, ambient temps etc, but it is primarily a smoker, not a grill. It's designed for low and slow for long periods. Can you grill up some hamburgers or sear a steak on it ? Sure...fairly well if you add some GrillGrates or equivalent too, but it's not designed for that really. Can you smoke 6 pork butts or 9 racks of ribs for a party on it - heck yeah

The 590 is in between the two - it's more of a smoker, but not quite the size of the 700 - 4yr warranty vs a 6yr for the 700. There is a 340 too which is a smaller version of the smoker - people use them for camping and RVs etc a lot.

 

[jimim]

i was messing up the 590 and 380. my bad. i'm going to get the 700 i'm pretty sure. i've had it with my deck weber. it's just old.

 

[jimim]

ok I just ordered a 700 for myself and I got my parents the discounted little one. They need a new grill. Thier weber is pretty old and it's only the 2 of them so I figured this will be perfect for them. my mom likes the idea of the pellets vs gas.

I'm excited. it will be really nice for during the week and when I don't have time to babysit the egg as much.

 

[YankeeTexan]

Depending on your budget there's good options out there. For me I bought a RT590 and fell in love with it. Then I picked up the RT380 when they redesigned it, love it! heck my 380 is my go to since it gets hot quick. It can smoke but it's not ideal. That's where my 590 takes over. It does all my low and slow work.

If you are looking for American made and can put down about $3k... I'd recommend the Lone Star Grillz pellet smokers. They've got great reviews and a lot of comparisons to stick smokers where people have a hard time telling the difference between the two. If I can get another one, this will be my choice in the future.

 

[mbUofL]

I've had a traeger for 19 years. Its been outside the entire time, uncovered even for the first 7 years. After the 17th year i had to replace the heating rod, $30 part. That's it, thing is a tank.

 

[SJPoe]

I've had a traeger for 19 years. Its been outside the entire time, uncovered even for the first 7 years. After the 17th year i had to replace the heating rod, $30 part. That's it, thing is a tank.

The old ones were far better built than the current models., especially since the Traeger family sold it off in 2006 and manufacturing shifted to China

 

[BMerrill]

The old USA made Traeger's have the legs welded on (before 2008), the China version has bolt on legs.