Looking to get a pellet grill...

[thestrangebrew1]

I'm looking into pellet grills and having a hard time deciding which brand to get. Most of my friends have older Traegers and they seem to work ok with some minor issues. However, looking at more recent reviews, I'm seeing a lot of poor reviews mostly concerning hardware/warranty issues and poor customer service. With Rakutan and Cap One cash back offers, I can get the Pro 780 and a cover for around $800 incl. taxes.

But I'm also looking at the RecTeq brand. They seem to get better reviews and good customer service with 6 yr warranty instead of 3 with Traeger. For those that use pellet grills what are your recommendations? I don't know anyone who owns a RecTeq so if you do I'd be happy to hear your thoughts.

 

[BoomerD]

A few years ago, my neighbor bought a Trager pellet grill from Costco. The pellet box caught on fire. He returned it, spoke to the rep (it was a "roadshow event") bought another one...pellet box caught fire again.
He returned that one too...biught a charcoal grill.


That's my only experience with the pellet grills...but I have a pellet stove in my house and love it.

 

[thestrangebrew1]

Ha funny you mention that. My BIL's traeger caught fire in the little grease container. I didn't think it was an issue with the Traeger itself, more a lack of cleaning with my BIL but the flames went up pretty high lol

 

[BoomerD]

Ha funny you mention that. My BIL's traeger caught fire in the little grease container. I didn't think it was an issue with the Traeger itself, more a lack of cleaning with my BIL but the flames went up pretty high lol

My neighbor didn't have his long enough for their to be grease buildup...both pellet grills caught on fire the first time he fired them up.

 

[thestrangebrew1]

My neighbor didn't have his long enough for their to be grease buildup...both pellet grills caught on fire the first time he fired them up.

Yea that's not good.

 

[JC]

Not sure if those grills actually caught the pellet box on fire, but mine surely pushes some smoke in there on shutdown....but never 'catches on fire'.

 

[BoomerD]

Not sure if those grills actually caught the pellet box on fire, but mine surely pushes some smoke in there on shutdown....but never 'catches on fire'.

I believe "flames coming out of the pellet box" qualifies as catching it on fire.

 

[Exterous]

Do you need or want anything fancy? I have a camp chef and it works well. No fancy accessories and it struggles a little bit keeping a high temp when it's super windy but it was also the base model I picked up at Walmart on clearance for $150 several years ago. Walmart also clearances the pellets around this time of year. One year they had 40lbs pellet bags for $1.67

 

[JPS35]

Although i have never used one, Rec Teq has an excellent reputation, but are spendy. Camp Chef are better than Traeger and cost less than Rec Teq; love mine. You can get the Camp Chef dlx 24 for about $450 - $500 which I paid $800 for about 4-5 years ago. It has a few newer upgrades that make it even better for the price. Customer service is incredible and a 3 year warranty. After using it MANY TIMES for all kinds of cooks, I have found it would be nice to have a larger grill area. I am now looking at the SGX 30; 36 is pretty huge. I am also looking at their new Woodwind Pro with Smoke Box, but not sure the box adds much more value.

 

[Dr. Detroit]

We started with a vertical electric smoker that was like $70. We found we liked smoked meats wanted more temp control, and ease of use was a major factor.

Ended up buying a cheap clearance PitBoss at WalMart for like $150 and it has been churning out the meats for the past 4yrs.

We can do a rack of rib and a dozen whole chicken wings at the same time. Its perfect for our family size of 2 + guests. We're not making competition BBQ but compared to the absolute shit BBQ restaurants that we have in the Bay Area of California, we swear our ribs & chicken comes out far superior to the garbage places that charge $35 for a rack + 2 sides. Our guests seem to humor us in thinking the same as well.

We were happy to spring for a $750 Traeger or equivalent but wanted to ensure we wanted a pellet smoker and it would get used. We fire up the smoker maybe once a month, $750 is definitely not worth the investment as we have a Weber gas grill as well that takes over Grilling duties a few times a week.

We have something like this but not no probe. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Pit-Boss...rill-w-Flame-Broiler-and-Meat-Probe/160692525

 

[nutxo]

Been using the crap outta my Traeger for 3 years and never had an issue.

 

[MrSquished]

Just get a couple fire extinguishers with the pellet grill. They should come as a bundle.

 

[PowerEngineer]

I bought a small Traeger from Costco a few years ago to replace my crumbling Weber charcoal grill.

I was initially disappointed that the Traeger does not get hot enough to singe meats, but have now come to realize that its different way of cooking gives results that are IMHO just as pleasing.

The only problem I have had with the Traeger is having the fire go out - and you have to be very careful in the way you relight it. Once started, the Traeger continues to feed pellets into the fire box under the assumption that there is already a fire there. If the fire goes out then the pellets dropped into the firebox just build up into a big pile. You should remove these unburnt pellets before restarting the Traeger. If you do not (as I once did not) then you can end up with a much bigger fire in your Traeger than you want!

 

[thestrangebrew1]

Thanks guys. I pulled the trigger on a Traeger over the weekend but cancelled my order this morning, mostly due to buyers remorse haha. I don't NEED it, but been wanting one for a while, and I just can't get over the poor recent reviews and issues folks are complaining about in some of the Traeger FB groups. I have 3 weber kettles that I've inherited over time that still work great, and I'll keep researching the pellet grills and maybe look into a different brand in the near future. I cooked a turkey on the weber yesterday and it turned out fantastic (forgot to take pics though).

Prob should be a different thread but I'm considering doing a prime rib for xmas and may just use the weber. Never done prime rib before though.

 

[Muadib]

I'm also in the market, but I think I'm going with Camp Chef. I'm hooked on the Woodwind Pro, but can't makeup my mind on what size to get.

 

[thestrangebrew1]

I'm also in the market, but I think I'm going with Camp Chef. I'm hooked on the Woodwind Pro, but can't makeup my mind on what size to get.

That woodwind pro looks nice. Def. an option to consider. If I were to order one (again), I think I might just go with the RecTeq. 6 year warranty and good customer service from the reviews. Also, the unit is steel and doesn't rust apparently. Been reading about some of the other brands paint peeling off after a few uses.

 

[JPS35]

I'm also in the market, but I think I'm going with Camp Chef. I'm hooked on the Woodwind Pro, but can't makeup my mind on what size to get.

Get the 30 if offered or 36. Nobody ever complained about "too much grill space." If you enjoy grilling and do it often, bigger is better.

 

[JPS35]

That woodwind pro looks nice. Def. an option to consider. If I were to order one (again), I think I might just go with the RecTeq. 6 year warranty and good customer service from the reviews. Also, the unit is steel and doesn't rust apparently. Been reading about some of the other brands paint peeling off after a few uses.

Rec Teq and Yoder are great higher end grills. Woodwind Pro with the new smoke box looks interesting. Add a sidekick grill for reverse searing and you've got it made.

 

[Muadib]

That woodwind pro looks nice. Def. an option to consider. If I were to order one (again), I think I might just go with the RecTeq. 6 year warranty and good customer service from the reviews. Also, the unit is steel and doesn't rust apparently. Been reading about some of the other brands paint peeling off after a few uses.

Sounds like I need to take a look at RecTeq. What model are you considering?

Get the 30 if offered or 36. Nobody ever complained about "too much grill space." If you enjoy grilling and do it often, bigger is better.

I don't grill often enough, but you have a good point. I have to try and go the Home Depot to get a look.

 

[thestrangebrew1]

Sounds like I need to take a look at RecTeq. What model are you considering?

I'm looking at the 700. It's more than likely overkill for my family of 3 but when our oldest and his gf and extended family come around it should be more than adequate.

 

[mztykal]

I’ve got a Pitboss Pro that I love! Way nicer than my Traeger and sears a nice steak!

 

[KK]

I've got an older rectec 680, had it probably 5 years so far. works good. Upgraded the controller on it when the new wifi controller came out years ago. Had an issue with that wifi controller connecting and rectec sent out a replacement quickly. Last year I went down to their scratch and dent and got one of their smaller rt-340 grills for the fifth wheel camper. I was leery when Ray and the other owner sold out to current company but I haven't haven't heard anything negative yet regarding that.