After months of forum reading.....

and accepting my budget limitations, I've got it down to the following PGs:
Yoder 480/640
Memphis Advantage
MAK 1 Star.
I cook year around. I live in the mid-west where we get real snow/ice in winter and rain in spring. My current grill/smoker is a large BGE. I do like smoke.
Anyone wish to help solve my quandary. None of these units are available for me to get a good look at.
Thanks,
Mike

I live in MN and smoke year round in my MAK without worry. It may use more pellets but it still gets the job done. I think for me the remote Pellet Boss is the clear winter winner. Not having to go outside to check the food or smoker temp... Priceless!

mak from big poppas great cooker and great guy win win

Either the Advantage or the One Star will do what you want...

I like the Advantage because it won't have paint issues being SS.

I have the MAK 2 star, but Im sure the 1 star is of the same quality... Go MAK!!!!

I have the Mak 2 star and I am also parcel to the Mak 1 is great. But the advantage is great also. BP can help you out either way. Good Luck and pellet smoking fever is awesome. Lots of luck.

I responded to your post from a month ago. I am now a proud owner of a Memphis Advantage purchased from Big Poppa. So far I like it a lot. I will continue to use my ceramic (egg) cooker when appropriate (e.g., when I want very high direct heat), but already know I will be getting a lot of great use out of the pellet cooker. For one thing, start-up time is much quicker, and since I've never owned a gasser I'll be doing more spur of the moment outdoor cooking. My weather (east-central IL) is probably like yours, but it'll be awhile before I get to winter cooking. I suspect there will be a month or two in there where I will keep the cooking indoors.

I also heartily endorse buying from Big Poppa. Speedy and helpful pre- and post-sale support, and very competitive pricing.

Mak. I love my 3 mak's.