Pellet Grill Selection


 
Lew Newby

Lew Newby

R.I.P. 1/26/2024
I see a lot of folks asking about different grills. I am most certainly not a pellet grill expert. I've only owned 2 and I bought them used off Craigslist. The Rec Tec, 1st gen., RT-300 was my first and the only mod I made was to replace the controller with their wifi controller. I was delighted with it but wanted more capacity for Jerky so I got my Camp Chef DLX. I made a lot of mods to it. I'm still interested in the Smokefire and may get more interested after Weber has had a chance to fix the deficiencies. I suspect they will.

When this forum section was added there were several threads about pellet grills in general, I went back and skimmed those. BFletcher posted that they're economical to operate, Bob Bass said, as a contest judge, he couldn't tell a difference in taste and texture. Some pellet doubters became owners. Now folks are asking about different brands. One knock on the Smokefire is how much it costs and it doesn't live up to the over the top Weber hype. If you're thinking about a pellet grill here's where some SmokeFire specs. sit among backyard pellet grills.
MakeModelCostCook AreaWeight
Mak USA2 Star$2800429 sq. in.235 lb.
Memphis Pro$2900562 sq. in.165 lb.
Yoder USAYS 680$18001070 sq. in.335 lb.
WeberEX6$12001008 sq. in.185 lb.
Rec TecRT700 Bull$1200700 sq. in.186 lb.
Camp ChefWoodwind 36”$10001236 sq. in.177 lb.
Pit Boss1000$6501000 sq. in.190 lb.
Z Grills700$448700 sq. in.112 lb.

I look at total weight to judge metal thickness. I hope this helps someone.

EDIT: Added Yoder, filled in missing specs, and identified "made in USA" manufacturers.
 
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Well, if were gonna look at grills that way.... Heres the weight of the MAK 2 star. They are mid sized smokers 235 pounds. Well well, looks like we get what we pay for. Not only that Marine Grade steel body, stainless steel pellet hopper, 3 inch heavy duty locking swivel casters. Pellet Boss digital controller has 15 separate features. WOW! And Wi-Fi ready. Smoke temp range 170-190 F. Cooking range 200-450* up to 600* F searing. Flame zone Direct Grilling surface. Also has a 110 Volt USA motor that will not jam & lock up. None of that 12 Volt converter crap. If were gonna tell it then lets tell it like it is. IF I was getting a pellet grill smoker, right here is unit I would be getting. They also have a bigger one but the price jumps way up. Don't you like the price of quality, I know I do. USA #1 we build the best.
 
I said I'm not an expert and I'm not pushing anything. I didn't mean to ruffle feathers. When I decided to get a pellet grill quality was secondary to price as I didn't know if I would like it or not and I can't afford a $2000 gamble. I'm happy for those that can. Guys on Pelletfan love their Maks and they get rave reviews. Thanks for introducing us to the higher tier. The more input we get the more we can help others decide. How does the Memphis stack up to Mak? I'm hoping that people look at the different price ranges and explore what they get for their money. Then they can decide to go low, medium, or high price.
 
Another Made in USA grill is the Yoder. Their small grill, YS480, sells for $1579, has 800 sq. in cook area, and weighs 277 lbs.. Owners like them but they aren't stainless.
 
Lew: thanks for taking your time to review, collect data, and share it for us. I feel as though this is an opportune time for me to make a confession. When we first began talking about the SmokeFire I didn't have intention of buying a pellet smoker. But between then and December I lost my mind and I now have an Ironwood 885 and the RT-700. I'll be as brief as possible on this: thus far, I haven't been able to distinguish a difference in taste between these two smokers but I often have to contort myself in painful ways to see smoke coming from the Ironwood. And I can open the lid, stick my head in, and rarely if ever feel my eyes burn. On the RT-700, however, I see smoke from the chimney (and the lid) 100% of the time and if I stick my head in the pit my eyes burn severely from the smoke. But, again, the crazy thing is I cannot tell a difference in the food that each of them produces. The Ironwood for me works exactly as advertised and I have not had any "blips" with it. I have close to the same experience with the RT-700 but the phone app temp alarms do not work (I don't use them, so it's not an issue to me but could be for others intending to use them). Once I get motivated my plan is to try to sell the Ironwood since I obviously don't want or need two but the reason I plan to unload that one is purely psychological, due to the visible smoke.

My biggest transitional hurtle, initially, was that food coming off my pellet smokers had a much different taste than what I was used to from the WSM's and PBC during my 4 year journey. I can only assume for now that I had become accustom to how charcoal (kbb) impacts the process. At first, I was very disappointed with the pellets because I didn't think the food tasted like it was smoked. But I've gone for probably 3 months where--when I smoke--I only use the pellet smokers, so it's been a while since I fired-up charcoal. I said that to say that, now, I can very clearly detect that our food has a smokey flavor coming off the pellets. As a matter of fact, I had pulled pork for lunch at the office today. I warmed it and ate it in a room shared with 4 others and I actually felt self-conscious and wished I had taken it to our cafeteria because that room had a hint of smokiness for a while.

Every time I plan to smoke something I tell myself I'm going to use charcoal as a test but so far I still keep using the pellet smokers because they still feel fun to use.
 
The top three pellet Grill/Smokers are MAK, Yoder, or Memphis. Expensive- Yes, however excellence normally is. Picking a Pellet Grill/Smoker comes down to how much you are willing to spend for the best you can afford. Russ Olin knows what I'm talking about. My Mak is run # 210 it's around 10 years old and still going strong. Do your research and buy what's best for you.
Good luck with what ever choice you make.

Bill
 
BFletcher said:
From what I just now saw from a quick search, no, I do not like that price of quality but I'm happy for you that you like it :)
Click to expand...
Not all of us have pockets as deep as Mr Olin's. :)

I've gone to extremes in the past to buy USA made products, the ones I could afford. I bought a new 22" OTG in 2009 because it was USA made, my first Weber, the rest is history.
My previous grill was a USA made Kingsford, shaped like a large black egg. It gave me many years of service. Prior to that was a square Sunbeam? grill, it was also made here and served me very well.
My financial situation was not great when the Performer first came out, but man I wanted one when I read about its features.
 
Bob Correll said:
Not all of us have pockets as deep as Mr Olin's. :)

I've gone to extremes in the past to buy USA made products, the ones I could afford. I bought a new 22" OTG in 2009 because it was USA made, my first Weber, the rest is history.
My previous grill was a USA made Kingsford, shaped like a large black egg. It gave me many years of service. Prior to that was a square Sunbeam? grill, it was also made here and served me very well.
My financial situation was not great when the Performer first came out, but man I wanted one when I read about its features.
Click to expand...
Actually my financial situation is no different from the average Joe. Fact is I'm retired & live in a beautiful area. That being said we don't waste our money on vacations. You know like ocean cruises where you catch virus's. In my work I lived away from home year around sometimes & always traveled to our jobs in 25 years. I had plenty of vacation time. So these days we stay pretty much close to home in the 4 corners camping & hiking. We don't waste our money on stupid things. Meaning, I can afford a grill here & there if I want one. So can you just save a little more. On the MAK site they have a saying: Buy once, cry once. Meaning once you buy it, It is a life time unit. Unlike a lot of units we are seeing flood the markets. For some people who they are so American they should step up to the plate. All the grills & smokers I use at this time are American made. And I am not going to apologize to no one for it. I worked hard for my money all my life. I'll spend it as I see fit.
BTW: one of our first grills was a square Sunbeam also.
 
Bob Correll said:
I've gone to extremes in the past to buy USA made products, the ones I could afford. I bought a new 22" OTG in 2009 because it was USA made, my first Weber, the rest is history.
My previous grill was a USA made Kingsford, shaped like a large black egg. It gave me many years of service. Prior to that was a square Sunbeam? grill, it was also made here and served me very well.
My financial situation was not great when the Performer first came out, but man I wanted one when I read about its features.
Click to expand...
Similar to me. My first smoker was a cheap side fire box cooker, I followed that with cobbled together used stuff to make an el cheapo Brinkman. Brinkmann cooking chamber (modified) over a Sunbeam patio grill. A $40 WSM wannabee that cooked delicious stuff but with a ton of baby sitting. Then I got my WSM. It cost me $300, same great taste, but a lot less work. My pellet grills give me great taste and even less work. I'm getting older and slower so easier is a big plus these days.

OK we've established that cost is a decision factor for some of us. Something I look at is something that rolls on all 4 legs. Do you want a sear capability in the cooking chamber? I think I would because I don't have a gasser. I appreciate the input from Rich and others on their grill's sear capability. No doubt the Weber and Mak both do searing right. I am delighted with my wifi controller but if I had to choose between a grill with wifi and only 2 wheels and one with 4 wheels and no wifi I'll pick the latter. How much grilling space do you need. For me 600 sq. in. is the sweet spot.

BFletcher, your experience is somewhat like mine but on a grander scale. Controllers are important and vary from brand to brand. When I replaced the non wifi controller on my Rec Tec RT300 with their wifi controller I noticed an increase in smoke output. Other Rec Tec owners had the same experience irrespective of model. When I replaced the Camp Chef controller with the Rec Tec wifi I definitely got an increase in smoke and I noticed it most when running at 180° for Jerky. Unlike you my family didn't notice a difference in flavor. That could be a function of what smoke wood we use in the WSM and what pellets we use in the pellet grill.

There's a lot of folks thinking about pellet grills right now so let us hear about what you have or what you want.
 
Thanks Bob. I'm not trying to push anyone to any particular brand and just contributing what I know and have experienced. I probably over complicate the decision making process but I like getting input from multiple sources and looking at what's out there. The only brands I've seen in stores are Yoder, Traeger, Pit Boss, and Green Mountain Grills. I saw the Yoder in a BBQ store in New Smyrna Beach and it's built like a tank. I truly only want to gather enough info here to help folks looking for answers.
 
A couple notes on Memphis. The Pro 340 (number is stainless grade, Pro is size) is actually $3899 now and they moved some of their manufacturing to China. It’s not clear what if any is still made in the USA.
 
BFletcher said:
Lew: thanks for taking your time to review, collect data, and share it for us. I feel as though this is an opportune time for me to make a confession. When we first began talking about the SmokeFire I didn't have intention of buying a pellet smoker. But between then and December I lost my mind and I now have an Ironwood 885 and the RT-700. I'll be as brief as possible on this: thus far, I haven't been able to distinguish a difference in taste between these two smokers but I often have to contort myself in painful ways to see smoke coming from the Ironwood. And I can open the lid, stick my head in, and rarely if ever feel my eyes burn. On the RT-700, however, I see smoke from the chimney (and the lid) 100% of the time and if I stick my head in the pit my eyes burn severely from the smoke. But, again, the crazy thing is I cannot tell a difference in the food that each of them produces. The Ironwood for me works exactly as advertised and I have not had any "blips" with it. I have close to the same experience with the RT-700 but the phone app temp alarms do not work (I don't use them, so it's not an issue to me but could be for others intending to use them). Once I get motivated my plan is to try to sell the Ironwood since I obviously don't want or need two but the reason I plan to unload that one is purely psychological, due to the visible smoke.

My biggest transitional hurtle, initially, was that food coming off my pellet smokers had a much different taste than what I was used to from the WSM's and PBC during my 4 year journey. I can only assume for now that I had become accustom to how charcoal (kbb) impacts the process. At first, I was very disappointed with the pellets because I didn't think the food tasted like it was smoked. But I've gone for probably 3 months where--when I smoke--I only use the pellet smokers, so it's been a while since I fired-up charcoal. I said that to say that, now, I can very clearly detect that our food has a smokey flavor coming off the pellets. As a matter of fact, I had pulled pork for lunch at the office today. I warmed it and ate it in a room shared with 4 others and I actually felt self-conscious and wished I had taken it to our cafeteria because that room had a hint of smokiness for a while.

Every time I plan to smoke something I tell myself I'm going to use charcoal as a test but so far I still keep using the pellet smokers because they still feel fun to use.
Click to expand...

Have you tried adding charcoal pellets to your mix? SmokeDaddy sells them and I heard that Pit Boss has them, too. Lumberjack sells a preblended “Char-Hickory.” I am. It saying that this will revolutionize your pellet smoking, but it might bring out more of the flavor you are looking for.
 
I’m surprised that more folks are not looking into some of the heavy pit manufacturers such as Gator Pits and Pitmaker. They are selling pellet cookers made out of 1/4” thick pipe just like a offset but with a pellet hopper for $1895-$1995. $1200 for a pellet grill made out of thin metal doesnt seem like money well spent when you can spend a bit more and get a lot better quality and you can customize them as much as you want depending on budget.
 
Here is a link for SmokeDaddy:

smokedaddyinc.com

Pellet Pro® Exclusive Charcoal Pellets – 20lb Bag - $29.99

Now available are the Pellet Pro® Exclusive Charcoal Pellets blended with Red Oak! Recommended to be mixed with any flavor wood pellets.
smokedaddyinc.com smokedaddyinc.com

If you are near a "Rural King" you can get LumberJack pellets at a great price. These Char Hickory, however are a blend with only 10% charcoal. Still, they are VERY good:

www.ruralking.com

Lumber Jack Char Hickory Blend Grill Pellets - 5177

Give your food a delicious, smoky flavor when you use the Lumber Jack Char-Hickory Blend Pellets. With 40% Hickory and 10% Charcoal, you can achieve a traditional charcoal taste, making it a versatile option for your next backyard barbecue. Product F
www.ruralking.com www.ruralking.com

And you probably can get the Pit Boss Charcoal Pellets at your local Walmart:

 
Thanks to all the contributors. This is what I hoped for when I posted my original post. Questions are appropriate on this thread. Hopefully, you'll get an answer..
 
One comment is that the square inches includes two shelves on the SmokeFire and some others. The Rec Tec RT-700 only has one shelf, but my used one came with Rec Tec's insertable stainless shelf. It is not as elegant a solution since it has to stand on the lower grate, but it does add a lot more square inches to the cooking area and works fine.

If, as some of us are surmising, Rec Tec is close to announcing a new "flagship" grill (although they already have some huge "monster" grills for pros) I would bet that a second (maybe even third) regular shelf will be part of the equation.
 
Don't forget Yoder. I like Memphis pits though, nicely made. I also like Cookshack. that was my OG pellet grill which I still have, though hopefully it sells soon.
 
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