Wife wanted to get me a smokefire for my birthday, and then saw the reviews...


 
R

Robert Dilbert

TVWBB Fan
and promptly stopped short of buying it. Since them I have researched a ton of pellet grills, but I was initially dead set on getting the weber.

To me it looks like the main contenders would be:
Camp Chef Woodwind - because it has the slide and sear
Louisiana 800 Black - same thing a slide and sear. this also gets to 600f

Other grills:
Traeger - Not a fan
Pit Boss - Contender, similar slide and sear as Louisiana
Green Mountain - not seeing a slide and sear (I could be wrong though)
Rec Tec - no slide and sear

When I read reviews, GMG, Rec Tec and Camp Chef are all the top recommended pellet grills. They all seem to be set and forget, no worries, no issues.

When it comes to what I want (a do it all smoker grill) the Weber comes out on top, but easily the least reliable, and easily the most expensive of all options.

Now I read about the software updates from December, it can't keep temperature. I also have read that the hopper does not work still (pellets get jammed and won't feed anymore).
 
I've done some shopping for pellet grills and I got it down to Recteq 590 or a $600 Camp Chef model sold at Amazon, which the model number escapes me right now.

But Baby Back Maniac was sent a Camp Chef to review. He says the slide and sear doesn't work. Explains here , vid should start with him reviewing the slide and sear. And btw, there's a lot of reasons I liked the Camp Chef, but the slide and sear would not be on the list.

 
I love my Rec Tec (now Recteq), but all I ever expected was great low and slow bbq. I have the GrillGrates add-on and with that you can do very good burgers and decent steak if you really are determined. I have gassers, so to me for hot searing/grilling I would rather use a gas Weber with a smoke tube or box to provide smoke. Recteq’s current offerings include only one that I think can do high heat: the Bullseye kettle. Plain and simple but can also still do reasonably good low and slow, too. Maybe too small for you to use as an all in one grill, though.

Hopefully, Weber will get the SmokeFire working better. One other cheaper option I have noticed is the Oklahoma Joe Rider Deluxe that has an opening cover above the firebox for searing and features cast iron grates. Not so sure about quality, durability, etc. Some reviews I have seen suggest some failures of components. Definitely not built like a Recteq.
 
Can't speak to the Camp Chef pellet smoker directly but I have one of their double burners with the cast iron griddle and pizza oven tops and love it. Its been used and abused for years now and took it all in stride. Nice quality overall on all three products.

BTW, that is one hell of a wife you got there. Might want to hold to one willing to buy you a smokefire.
 
Lynn Dollar said:
I've done some shopping for pellet grills and I got it down to Recteq 590 or a $600 Camp Chef model sold at Amazon, which the model number escapes me right now.

But Baby Back Maniac was sent a Camp Chef to review. He says the slide and sear doesn't work. Explains here , vid should start with him reviewing the slide and sear. And btw, there's a lot of reasons I liked the Camp Chef, but the slide and sear would not be on the list.

Click to expand...
That's good to know, thanks. Everyone discusses how great the sidekick is, but to me it is just one more hassle to have to remember to have propane. I really want the simplicity of a pellet grill, with the ability to sear and smoke.
 
If your talking about the PG24MZG Camp Chef that's sold exclusively on Amazon I bought one a year ago and it's been faultless, zero issues and it doesn't have Wi Fi or and other remote monitoring options. I can upgrade if I ever wanted to for $200. But I use my Thermoworks smoke for that. My slide and sear works just fine I've used it twice for steaks just to see how well it worked. I do prefer using my performer or my gasser for those kind of cooks.
It eats any pellets you feed it and it holds very steady on temps. For the price point I am extremely pleased with it.
The only upgrade I did to it was I purchased the front legs with casters as the thing is a bear to move espically if the pellet box is full.
 
Rich Dahl said:
If your talking about the PG24MZG Camp Chef that's sold exclusively on Amazon I bought one a year ago and it's been faultless, zero issues and it doesn't have Wi Fi or and other remote monitoring options. I can upgrade if I ever wanted to for $200. But I use my Thermoworks smoke for that. My slide and sear works just fine I've used it twice for steaks just to see how well it worked. I do prefer using my performer or my gasser for those kind of cooks.
It eats any pellets you feed it and it holds very steady on temps. For the price point I am extremely pleased with it.
The only upgrade I did to it was I purchased the front legs with casters as the thing is a bear to move espically if the pellet box is full.
Click to expand...
I was looking at the same one as the video above, but the 24in. I'm glad to hear yours works so well, that's what I've heard about camp chef, GMG & rec tec.
 
I understand that there are much better pellet grills out there, but I don’t understand the overwhelming negative, bordering on hate for Traeger. I have had my pro 22 for almost 5 years now with absolutely zero problems. I can’t begin to guess how many pounds of pellets I have ran through that thing. And again no problems. Now in all honesty I did replace the stock controller with a PID controller from Savannah Stokers. But that was back when I was somewhat fixated on temp swings. But even with the stock controller I never got unacceptable swings. It was more about me than the grill. I have no expectations about it’s ability to sear and such. But that is why I have my Weber Mastertouch grill. And for more serious smoking I use my WSM. Just sayin’
 
Robert Dilbert said:
I was looking at the same one as the video above, but the 24in
Click to expand...
Robert Dilbert said:
I was looking at the same one as the video above, but the 24in. I'm glad to hear yours works so well, that's what I've heard about camp chef, GMG & rec tec.
Click to expand...
Mine has all the same features with the exception of the remote monitoring and the SS hood. It's also a 24" and it has loads of room and the twin upper racks are great. I mostly use those and put a drip pan on the lower racks, makes clean up really easy. As he said cleaning that drip tray is a real pain.
I also wanted to get the 24" Weber but I'm sure glad I didn't.
 
Robert here is a good thread on the Winwood, we were all following Dave for awhile as he seems to to have pooped out more pellet grills than anyone I have ever heard of :) he also was a Smokefire guy early on. Hope he is doing well by the way.

tvwbb.com

Dave's Camp Chef Woodwind 36 WIFI Experiences

Dave is back with another smoker thread and I hope this one is a bit less eventful than my EX6 thread. I ordered the Woodwind 36 WIFI today which was released during the past few months, along with the OEM cover, front shelf and the side kick accessory. Total cost with The side kick replaces...
tvwbb.com tvwbb.com
 
ChuckH said:
I understand that there are much better pellet grills out there, but I don’t understand the overwhelming negative, bordering on hate for Traeger. I have had my pro 22 for almost 5 years now with absolutely zero problems. I can’t begin to guess how many pounds of pellets I have ran through that thing. And again no problems. Now in all honesty I did replace the stock controller with a PID controller from Savannah Stokers. But that was back when I was somewhat fixated on temp swings. But even with the stock controller I never got unacceptable swings. It was more about me than the grill. I have no expectations about it’s ability to sear and such. But that is why I have my Weber Mastertouch grill. And for more serious smoking I use my WSM. Just sayin’
Click to expand...
Actually since I am retired and spend my days on doing research on all kinds of stuff including pellet grills maybe on certain forums there are Traeger haters maybe here also but you know what in 2019 and that was the year they kind of upped their game quality wise as I understand they controlled 70% of the pellet market at one time 100% till the patent ran out. In some 2020 market research I have seen and the year just ended they probably still controlled 70%. I doubt the Smokefire hurt them much might have actually driven more customers to them. You cannot and I used to work many years ago for the big red soda company you cannot underestimate distribution.

Want to see a Traeger go to your local Ace, HD or Costco which I can't imagine how many units they move in those Costco stores. Hard to knock them off if you can't find competing models to actually look at and compare. Yes you can read reviews on the internet and personally if I was going to get a pellet grill I would lean toward the Camp Chef only because it seems to work and looking at the lower end like Rich bought at a reasonable price but the fact is my Performer and Silver C aren't going anywhere. My UDS would be gone.

Not a pellet guy but there are people happy here with Smokefires not all obviously, Camp Chef, RecTeq and others really that's what its all about.
 
I owned a Rec Tec RT-300 portable and it was a rock solid smoker but, like Jon, I needed grillgrates and perseverance to sear a steak. I also had a used Camp Chef DLX that became a rock solid performer when I put the Rec Tec WIFI controller in it. Camp Chef has since vastly upgraded their controller. I bought my EX6 in July hoping for a "do it all" grill and I made the right call - for me. I sold my WSMs, Performer, and my Camp Chef. My son has the Rec Tec. The SmokeFire is temperamental and if you expect the stability of a Rec Tec or Camp Chef then it will frustrate you. The food it cooks tastes great and my family told me they preferred a spatchcocked Turkey off it to oven baked. I cooked it at 400° and it had great flavor with little smoke. However, until Weber gets the software right it takes a lot more attention than the Rec Tec or the Camp Chef. I pay close attention to it because when the software hiccups there are actions I take to get it operating normally. I have yet to lose a cook or move something to the oven to finish but there is drama.
 
Last edited:
Lew Newby said:
I owned a Rec Tec RT-300 portable and it was a rock solid smoker but, like Jon, I needed grillgrates and perseverance to sear a steak. I also had a used Camp Chef DLX that became a rock solid performer when I put the Rec Tec WIFI controller in it. Camp Chef has since vastly upgraded their controller. I bought my EX6 in July hoping for a "do it all" grill and I made the right call - for me. I sold my WSMs, Performer, and my Camp Chef. My son has the Rec Tec. The SmokeFire is temperamental and if you expect the stability of a Rec Tec or Camp Chef then it will frustrate you. The food it cooks tastes great and my family told me they preferred a spatchcocked Turkey off it to oven baked. I cooked it at 400° and it had great flavor with little smoke. However, until Weber gets the software right it takes a lot more attention than the Rec Tec or the Camp Chef. I pay close attention to it because when the software hiccups there are actions I take to get it operating normally. I have yet to lose a cook or move something to the oven to finish but there is drama.
Click to expand...
Seems like the SmokeFire makes you work extra hard right now, but sone of the results we have seen show it can work spectacularly when it wants to.
 
Had anybody besides me seen the Oklahoma Joe one? There was a guy trying to sell a lightly used Deluxe for $300 but with a broken auger. That seems like either an opportunity or a lot of red flags!
 
My wife and sons surprised me with a Traeger for Christmas this year. Said they bought it for me because they knew i would like one, but I would never buy one for myself. I honestly felt guilty the first time I used it, since it was the first time I had smoked or grilled something in over 15 years that wasn't on a Weber! I have to tell ya, so far I absolutely love it! Temps seem to hold rock solid, and everything I've pulled off of it, the family has loved! There are a lot of very reliable players in the pellet grill market, do your research and find the one that fits your needs the best. You won't be sorry I promise!
Tim
 
Similar to TimK, my wife also surprised me with a Traeger Pro 575-she works at the local Ace so the discount was amazing! Like others, I had been researching the SF since early on and followed its continuing growing pains. I am not technically or mechanically proficient as Lew, Bruno and some others are, and couldn't do any of those updates. You shouldn't have to anyway on something that costs over $1k!
So far so good with the 575-was extremely easy to set up from the box, burn in and cook. The new controller and motor it utilizes seem to have cured a lot of the maladies with with the older models. First non-Weber for me as well. I had strongly considered Rich's model until this deal.
Daniel, I looked into the Spider 22 a lot, and others on here pointed out that theres no apparent warranty, and for not a whole lot more you could get a Bullseye.
 
I have a RecTeq RT-590 and it has done me extremely well. I'm looking at upgrading to something bigger so I am in a similar boat as you. I have been eying up the Pits-n-Spits, Yoder, Mak, Webber EX6, and a Masterbuilt 1050. So far the Masterbuilt to me is in the lead as I'm looking for something I can fire up to cook burgers/steaks on and get a nice crust as well as something that I can also run low and slow to feed my new found addiction to chicken wings.

Also like others have stated, the RecTec will defintely sear a steak/burgers but you've got to be dedicated and make sure you have grill grates AND make sure they come up to temperature for a good long while as they'll get hotter than the setpoint.


I'll be following along on your journey!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top