Purchasing a pellet pooper soon. EX6 or RT-700


 

J Burke

New member
Believe it or not my wife has been pushing me to buy a smoker. I know, shocking, but we moved cross country late last year and the WSM 22 I've had forever didn't make the trip. Don't worry though, it is in good hands with a friend. So now, with Spring approaching my wife is getting a hankering for some que. Makes it nice when they love it as much as you do and are ok with spending the money, within reason, to buy a smoker.

I've been reading a ton, talking to friends who have them, and just generally doing all I can to inform myself.

With that said I have narrowed it down to the EX6 and the RT-700. This is mostly based on price, but also on a lot of experiences I have read. I have spoken with friends who have the RT-700. None of them have had anything bad to say about the Rec Tec so that is good to hear. Nobody I know has an EX6 though so they can't speak to it.

So now I come to you, asking advice. I know I'm not super active here, but I have been reading this forum for almost 5 years now and trust the knowledge of the folks here.

I know about the EX6 issues, but have seen a lot of good results with them and Weber seems to be addressing the issues so I'm not super concerned about that.

Thank you for your time.
 
There has been quite a bit of conversation about the Smokefire here so, there is lots to read. Take your time, Bruno has been very free with his EX6 experience and what he has shown sure looks good! His first brisket looks killer!
 
I can’t speak for Rex Tec. It sounds like they really control the information released about them but that is only from hear say. I love my ex6. It has been a little bit of work at times but I personally don’t mind it. Weber has been good to me and has offered free pellets and a grill accessory as compensation. For me, I need a grill that can sear as well as smoke. The Weber will sear better than a Tec Tec. I also think the smoke profile seems better. However, there seems to be a bit more upkeep and maintenance involved in the Smokefire. If you are looking for something that will be purely set it and forget it and don’t care about searing than maybe the rec Tec will work better for you. If you are looking to sear and/or you don’t mind putting in a little more maintenance to and care more about smoke profile than I would say the Smokefire. So far the food has been great off the Smokefire.
 

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Thank you for the replies.

As to the care and maintenance of the EX6, that isn't really off putting to me. I have a bit of OCD when it comes to my grills, well everything really, so that doesn't bother me at all.

The searing aspect of the EX6 would be nice, but I have a couple of 22" kettles and a gasser for that. I'm sure my wife would like me to get rid of a few things, but I just don't see that happening. :cool:
 
Couple things, I love the EX6, it is not what was portrayed in the hype videos, you have to keep it clean and use drip pans, you definitely need to move the pellets around every now and then.
I did not use the hopper ramp, I like the 22 pound capacity and don’t mind at all moving some pellets around. Hell, I like to be in the backyard when I cook so I have to do something.
I also have really enjoyed the grilling aspect of the SmokeFire, it‘s just as easy as firing up a chimney for a kettle but you use so little pellets on a short cook.
All that being said those rec-tecs look awesome and I hear great things.
Personally I got mine on Amazon and used the financing option, so it’s like $76 a month interest free.
Weber has amazing customer service and as always has gone above and beyond for me.
 
I'm with you when it comes to being in the backyard while I cook. That is quality sunshine and beer drinking time.
 
One other question....

It seems like pellet preference is all over the place. Is there a brand that folks here have been more impressed with than others? My friends seems to be equally divided between Lumberjack, CookIn and B&B pellets as their "go to."
 
My Camp Chef with the Rec Tec wifi controller is 4 yrs. old and I've been weighing the EX4 against the Camp Chef Woodwind 24 and the Rec Tec RT-590. I do a ton more low and slow than searing. I especially do a fair amount of Jerky. Low temp on the Weber is 200 so it's out for Jerky. The Rec Tec controller goes down to 180 and gives my Jerky a great smoky flavor. I'd like to smoke Jerky at a lower temp so I'm looking at the Woodwind. I had a small Rec Tec, loved it, and passed it on to my son. My CC holds more than twice as much Jerky as the RT-300 which is why I kept the CC. I found Rec Tec support to be the best I have ever experienced and while I bought my Rec Tec used they acted like I bought it from them. Their grills are solid and their controller is very reliable and gives great smoke below 260°. Did I say I'm impressed with Rec Tec? If you want low and slow get the RT-700 and if you want to sear get the EX6. To sear with the Rec Tec you'll need GrillGrates. Jon Tofte is our resident expert on the RT-700 and he can give you his personal experience.

I have used Green Mountain Grills pellets, Lumberjack, and Pit Boss. Since my palate can't tell the difference I use Pit Boss which is cheaper and available at Lowe's. I use their competition blend but also used Apple.
 
I think you will be happy with either grill. I almost bought the Rec Tec 700. I ended up going with the Smokefire and am happy overall with my purchase (even with some problem- biggest one I am dealing with is the temp variation from right to left). I am sure if I purchased the Rec Tec I would have been happy as well. All about preference and what you are looking for in a grill.
 
To add a bit more confusion to your choices have you considered a Grilla Grills or a Traeger Timberline? I have been very pleased with both. The Grilla Grilla as of now does not have Wi-Fi, but they just announced that that will be a available Summer/Fall of this year. Good company to work with. Contrary to some people’s experience, I have had not issues with my Traeger. It is very well built and works well. Also, Traeger only sells the Timberline through full service and “Premier“ BBQ/Fireplace dealers, so you should have good support If a problems arises.
 
Great feedback everyone. Thank you.

MDiBar, I did consider Traeger when I first started looking. I ruled them out due to two old, old being the key word here, high school friends who had Traegers and had considerable issues with them. One ended up with a Rec Tec, the other with a Yoder and haven't had any issues with either. I'm glad you have had a great experience with your Traeger, but hearing their stories made me turn away from one of those. I'm not sure what model they had. I believe one of them purchased from Costco, but can't swear to it.

I did some brief reading on the Grilla, but honestly not a lot.

The Yoder my friend has is nice, but man was that sucker pricey.
 
Yoders are a good deal more expensive than RecTec, but do seem to have sturdier construction. My client manager has a Yoder pellet smoker and he's very happy with it.
 
When I bought my Pit Boss Austin LX I was wanting a Rectec , it was a little over 2x the price of the PB and I couldn't swing it, I have been very happy with it, the searing part is small but can do 2-3 steaks at 1 time. I have other ways to sear a steak so I might smoke them lownslow to get a bit of smoke the remove after 30=60 minutes and run the temp up over 500 to sear or the gasser. I wasn't sure I would like pellet food or not, I do and will keep 1 around for a long time.
 
Thank you everyone. After much deliberation I have decided to go with the Rec Tec. It will be a little weird seeing something other than a Weber on our patio, but everyone has that one weird cousin in their family so it is about time one joined mine.
 
Thank you everyone. After much deliberation I have decided to go with the Rec Tec. It will be a little weird seeing something other than a Weber on our patio, but everyone has that one weird cousin in their family so it is about time one joined mine.
I don’t think you can go wrong with that.
 
My experience with my RecTec:
- It just works.
- I think it looks good.
- Lots of thick gauge stainless steel, including the grates.
- The PID controller is really stable. The only time the temp fluctuates is when I open the door.
- The app just works. I can start, stop, and change temp from the app, or at the grill. Here is my only issue, and it is small. The alarm in the app that lets you know when meat has reached a desired temp hasn't worked for me. I think there is a fix, but I haven't chased it down yet. It's really a minor issue.
- The hopper on the RT-700 holds 40 pounds of pellets. My RT-590 holds 30 pounds of pellets.
- It is so easy and trouble free that I use it a lot. Every couple of cooks, I replace foil on the drip pan and grab a handful of ash out of the firepot.
 

 

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