Smoker/grill opinions

[b0bbyg]

We are hitting Memorial Day weekend to be quickly followed by Fathers day. I am thinking it is time to upgrade from my original Traeger.  I bought the small version many years back and have been pleased with what it did for the burgers, smoked salmon, briskets and turkeys I have done. Cons of this older model  and reason I want to upgrade. 
   -- It was small which caused some issues getting the turkey to fit without dropping grate to create room
   -- The old 3 setting dial for heat, which made it hard to hold temps at a defined setting
   -- No integrated heat probe or Wifi to monitor longer smokes.  ( not a deal breaker but would be nice. )

Traeger, zgrills, green egg PitBoss, Camp chef  ......   There are a ton of brands and price points. There are features and options galore among all these models.

One question Pizza's,  how do these do for Pizza or am I better of just getting an Ooni pizza oven separate?

You know you have an opinion, and I am not sure there is one right or wrong answer so lets hear yours!.

I personally am starting to like the idea of the Pit Boss models as the price point is cheaper and I am not a 2-3 times a week grill type guy, more of a weekends and holidays occasional griller.

[92xj]

Pizzas are doable but pellet grills are not a do all device like everyone thinks they are.  They are good at everything but not great at everything.   Get a separate pizza cooker.  As far as pellets grills, they all do the same thing.  Research the electronics parts to avoid frustration in the future. I personally believe recteq is the best in the business in that department.  Also, they have the best warranty when I looked last.  I’ve had mine two years now and would never go back to a green mountain or traeger.  They have good deals randomly and do ship for free, last I checked.   

[phildobaggins]

I don't think you can go wrong with any of the main brands as long as it's in your price point and has the features you want! Any of them will be an upgrade because the controllers have come quite a long ways in the last 5 years or so. All of my friends have high end Wifi Traegers, I have a cheap Camp Chef XT24. The only difference is appearance and I have to go look at my controller to see the temps Sportsman's Warehouse has Camp Chef pellet grills on sale right now, worth a look!

You definitely do not need a separate pizza oven, you just need to figure out how hot and how long for the pizza in your grill!

[Fidelk]

I have an 18 1/2 inch Weber Smoky Mountain (WBM)......charcoal smoker. It produces excellent BBQ and is basically foolproof. Just watch your times and keep it in the 220-250 range. If turkeys (or larger gatherings) are on the menu, I'd go with the 22 inch WSM. No experience with pellet cookers.

[Jpmiller]

Following along. I've loved my traeger as well but thinking about a newer bigger model. I use my charcoal Weber alot though, never did like steaks on the traeger unless you sear over charcoal and smoke real low over pellets.

[Blacklab]

Had an old-school Traeger . Worked well good eats on it including pizza. When it finally gave up the ghost I went with a pit boss 1150 pro and enjoy that. Pitboss seems to be using a thicker gauge metal making it more solid. As for the pizza cooker. I went with camp chef artesian propane. Which is 750° in about 20 minutes. Cook 12 inch pizzas. Have fun with your decision and enjoy👍😉🥃🇺🇸

[zwickeyman]

My son has a Pit Boss and loves it and it works very good. Great grill for the dollar

I have a Rec Tec and love it. Electronics are amazing and doesnt vary in temp +- 4 degrees.

Treagers are good but way over priced for the quality. IMHO

[Badhabit]

Do pellet fed grills even smoke like a smoker? I have never owned one and just asking as I don't see how they smoke foods like a dedicated smoker. Where does one introduce different woods for smoking? Does that mean I have to buy different pellets? I like alder, cherry, apple and hickory. Mesquite is bitter and I stay away from that.

[Russ McDonald]

I have a 4-5 year old Costco only Traeger.  It is a model you can only get at Costco.  Firstbyear they had the pro contoller.  Since I upgraded to a PID wifi controller by smoke daddy.  Get me uo to 500 degrees.  That is my really only complaint on the traeger is you really can't sear because it doesn't get hot enough.  Cook pizza's on it all the time.  Even cookies.  I also have a traeger Little Tex/tail gater that goes in my travel trailer

Sent from my SM-G998U using Tapatalk

[jbeaumont21]

Green Mountain Grills period.  You can get a pizza insert for them as well and makes amazing pizzas.

[Dhoey07]

I've had my pitboss for probably 5 years now.  Only issue I've had is a clogged up auger from not cleaning out the fire bowl.  Easy fix to take it apart and maintain.  I think it's the 720 model. 

[Blacklab]

I should add buy bigger than you need because it’s a lot better to grow into it to grow out of it😉

[wadu1]

I think the different brands are like being a Chev, Dodge or Ford owner. I have a Z-grill only because I found one at the Sear's outlet cheap. I wanted to try a pellet grill and did not want to fork out the money if I did not like it. Anyway, I've had good customer service with Z-Grill support. After four years the only issue I've had was a controller went south, a quick call with the SN# and they sent a new one + 3 bags of pellets for my trouble.

[b0bbyg]

I should add buy bigger than you need because it’s a lot better to grow into it to grow out of it😉

This comment sums up most of why I need a new one now   
When I initially got my first Traeger is was a case of I would like to try this out and I have a big rebate check    went small and then wife started wanting 18lb turkeys smoked at Thanksgiving.

[b0bbyg]

Awesome feedback everyone!  Confirming some of what I was thinking and learning new things.

I need to start looking at prices and sizes in more detail, Safeway had one for sale the other day forget the brand but one of the main ones, Sportsman's has sales and I think Pit Boss had some on sale as well.  For the money I save not buying another Traeger I can probably get a pizza oven as well!  I really like the ooni wood pellet pizza ovens, makes them super portable for where ever you want to use them.

[bearhunter99]

I am on my second Camp Chef Woodwind (only reason I have two is because I had the 24" first and then upgraded to the 36" wifi last fall).  I love the Camp Chef , especially the ash disposal system, and the wifi is pretty awesome, I can control the cook even if I have to run downtown.  They have the sidekick and I have the sear burner (900 degrees of meat loveliness) and the pizza oven for it (came free on a promotion deal).  The pizza oven kicks tail but it is a little small.  I also love the adjustable smoke setting, the temperature swings a little more when the smoke is on 10 but it is nice having the high smoke and high heat available.  If I ever buy another one I will buy a Camp Chef again.

[dwtraut7]

We have been using the Grilla Grills Silverback here for over a year now and are very happy with it. Seems pretty comparable to a Traeger but for a few dollars less without the big brand name.

[Blacklab]

This is my camp chef. Next time I do pizza. Plan on putting a couple small chunks of wood. To get that added flavor.

[Tenkara]

I've had a green mountain for about eight years and it worked great for about four years, but has had a nothing but problems the last four years. Tomorrow I'm picking up my new yoder ys640 that I've been waiting on for about seven months,  can't wait to get it.

[Dansk]

Traeger is not what they used to be.  Have had major QC probs since offshoring to China and mass marketing them.  I went through 2 within 4 months- probs with electronics, auger system, etc... I did not buy a third and stuck with my weber performer.

[Mech]

I like our performer.
My only complaint is that the real estate is small.
Anything much larger than a big pork butt and you are stretching it.
Doing 2 racks of ribs is a challenge as well is a large brisket.
Other than that it great.
With a slow n sear I can smoke most anything.

[grundy53]

I just got a Recteq a couple weeks ago. I love it. Blows my old Traeger out of the water. No more temperature swings. No more shutting down halfway through a brisket. It's got a huge hopper so you don't have to refill pellets on a long cook. I have the RT1250 which goes over 700 degrees so it's good for steak. Plus it's huge and has an upper rack. I would definitely recommend. After using a traeger for years  I'll never go back.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

[grundy53]

Here it is side by side with my old traeger for comparison.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

[zwickeyman]

I just got a Recteq a couple weeks ago. I love it. Blows my old Traeger out of the water. No more temperature swings. No more shutting down halfway through a brisket. It's got a huge hopper so you don't have to refill pellets on a long cook. I have the RT1250 which goes over 700 degrees so it's good for steak. Plus it's huge and has an upper rack. I would definitely recommend. After using a traeger for years  I'll never go back.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

 

My brother had nothing but troubles with 4 traegers and after seeing my rectec bought one and will never own anything else

[steeleywhopper]

I've had a green mountain for about eight years and it worked great for about four years, but has had a nothing but problems the last four years. Tomorrow I'm picking up my new yoder ys640 that I've been waiting on for about seven months,  can't wait to get it.

Same scenario with our Green Mountain except ours was flunky from day one. Wife went and grabbed us a Yoder 640 last month and it’s amazing.

[fowl smacker]

Had a Traeger Lil Tex (from when they were still made in Oregon) for a long time, it cooked well for what it was.  It started falling apart last yr, so I upgraded to a Rec Tec Bull.  It's head and shoulders above the Traeger.  Gets hotter, holds temp way better.  App is easy to use for controlling it when you're not around it and the build is just better.  Also, we LOVE cooking pizzas in ours.  Papa Murphys turn out amazing in it.

[WapitiTalk1]

For myself and the better half, we’ve had great success with the two burner Weber Spirit series.  Gotta replace the guts about every 3 years (typical for Washington) but there is not a cold spot on the unit.

[Stein]

Camp Chef for no other reason than they have a patent on the ash dump and you don't have to take it apart and vacuum it out every time.  They have a newer PID control as well and they just work great.  As a couple mentioned, you can get a bolt on side burner with a bunch of accessories which is great when you just want to grill a couple burgers without going through the pellet lighting and warmup process.

[Lucky Eric]

I've had a green mountain for about eight years and it worked great for about four years, but has had a nothing but problems the last four years. Tomorrow I'm picking up my new yoder ys640 that I've been waiting on for about seven months,  can't wait to get it.

I bought a ys640 last year. you wont be disappointed. They are a beast.