another "Help me choose" thread, $500-800(ish) intended budget

Hi all, first post but I am looking to buy a pellet smoker to replace some old stuff--I have a propane grill and a home-made drum. I have read a fair bit on here and understand the pellet smoker has some limitations in both grilling and smoking, but they appeal all the same--controlling temps was a pain in the drum, and my grill was already a deeply sub-par grill.

I have a budget of between $500 and $800, with an ABSOLUTE ceiling of a thousand. Bonus points to keep me below that, for sure. I know I won't get everything on my wish list at that price, but since different people value different things here are my main objectives:

1. Big enough for at least one turkey. Ideally two.

2. Most stable temp control I can manage in that price range--I know people here complain of some devices having 20-degree swings, which may not be ideal and if I can avoid that, great...but my drum did worse than that and still cooked very well, including never burning anything. It just made timing and when dinner was really done much more of an adventure.

3. Best/heaviest construction. Stainless would be great, so would thick, and double-walled. Somethings gotta give but there's also degrees of construction as well, so looking for the most robust builds in my price range.


Things I don't care about (admittedly I may just not see the value and you can point out my newbie errors):

Bluetooth (I can check probes by stepping outside once in awhile....again still vastly easier than my drum, where I was sliding a cooking thermometer into a hole in the lid-is there another big value-added to this?)

multiple meat probes (again nice, but I can poke the meat once in awhile, and it will still be way less work than my drum plus I can buy these as aftermarket add-ons)

Sear box (I have several portable burners and cooktops, and cast iron skillets)


so, thoughts? Where is my money best spent Sales are certainly welcome, anything $1200 bumped to 899 for example would be great. I looked at the rec tec grills hard, but it seems a number of 680 complaints have cropped up recently in terms of build finish and apparently some of the assembly hardware, so less certain now. The woodwind looks nice but includes a searer I don't want, however there's a lot of camp chef (and green mountain, and other) units out there.......thoughts anyone?

Thanks in advance,
Mark

The new Rec Tec Stampede which is $899 shipped or the Grilla Grills Silverbac at $699 shipped would be two that I would look at in your price point. The Woodwind as you mentioned is another and you don't have to purchase one with the sear station saving $200 since you don't want it. A really good made in the USA PG is Smokin Brothers, really like their Premier Grill line, but the base units are well built, a little more than the imports but worth it imo. The Firecraft Q450 which is on sale right now would be another one to look at although it does't come with a top shelf if that's important.

ok, so I think I have things pretty narrowed down now:

REc-Tec Stampede: 592 sq inches, solid temp control, expensive and not shipping till nearly June
Rec-Tec 680: Bigger, even more expensive, but on sale as closeout at just within budget highest end

Grilla Silverbac: love the fact its cheaper, and it has a cabinet which seems nice. 507 sq inches is a bit bigger than the FireCraft 450. Stainless lid, insulated (but non-stainless) lower portion.

Firecraft 450: stainless, good sale, smallest

Piot Boss Austin XL: cheapest at 500 at Wal-Mart, I know nothing about its controls or construction and haven't heard much here

Anyone else I should add to the list? Which of these would you pick, or avoid, and why?

First, Welcome to the forum!

I was faced with this same decision eight plus years ago. My wife and I spent almost a year researching because I cannot stand to waste money. So...

markalbob said:

thoughts? Where is my money best spent...

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In a nutshell, if you're willing to drop $1,000, then why not consider adding another $699 and get a MAK 1 Star? YES the price difference is worth it. No one else compares to MAK's quality of materials, or service, period.

You should at least consider this before you pull the trigger. Buy once - Cry once (as Scooter likes to say)!


If you have to stick within that budget, then out of the choices you named I'd go with the Rec Tec 680. I've cooked on Rec Tec's and while they don't match MAK quality, they're a pretty decent grill.


Just my 2¢ (and you can keep the change)!

TentHunter said:

First, Welcome to the forum!




In a nutshell, if you're willing to drop $1,000, then why not consider adding another $699 and get a MAK 1 Star? YES the price difference is worth it. No one else compares to MAK's quality of materials, or service, period.

You should at least consider this before you pull the trigger. Buy once - Cry once (as Scooter likes to say)!


If you have to stick within that budget, then out of the choices you named I'd go with the Rec Tec 680. I've cooked on Rec Tec's and while they don't match MAK quality, they're a pretty decent grill.


Just my 2¢ (and you can keep the change)!

Click to expand...

hah....thank you, but to answer your question of "why not spend the extra to get the MAK" basically its this: my wife said I could spend around 500. Then maybe 800.

I can spend a grand and get a little bit of mockery for it. I can buy a MAK and outright get my a$$ beat. so.....that's why. ;-)

This is a common story. Get it and let her cook on it a time or two and she'll come around.

Yes, very common scenario. Unfortunately this usually leads to spending more over time than buying the right one up front. Know too many people that have gone through this 'upgrade' path multiple times only to land on what they should have purchased up front. End result total money spent was more than what the final cost was for the last upgraded unit. Regardless for some it becomes a necessary inevitable step. Next best position is to jump to the top on round two vs three.

JMTC

Matt