What made you pick your?????

[ITFD#15]

not much choice here in Ontario, BBQ and pellet grills have not caught on around these parts.
I did the research and knew that I had to have a pellet smoker, all the while doing brisket, ribs, and chicken on small offset and a kettle charcoal grill.
The big thing for me was features and price, what would give me the best bang for my buck.... Started with a grill that was not a Traeger did two cooks on it and sent it back.. Now cook with a Traeger Texas and love it.
If you could find grills like Mak or Memphis around these parts I might be inclined to try one.

 

[kskomodo04]

I chose the Green Mountain for a couple of reasons. 1. Price compared to the Traeger. 2. I liked the temperature control settings as compared to just the 3 settings (later learned that Traeger has the temp control) 3. Local dealer for the Green Mountain none for Traeger. 4. Dealer gave me a really good deal.

 

[Daz]

My buddy used to bring his Traeger with him to the Lake house in Tennessee. We had some awesome food on those trips. After our last trip down on Labor Day weekend, I decided I had to have a pellet smoker. After some lengthy research, I decided the Mak 2 was our best fit. BPS seemed pretty committed to pellet smokers, so thats why I bought the Mak 2 where I did.

 

[SmokinMAK]

I had originally planned on getting a Traeger, mistakenly thinking that my wife was going to freak-out if I spent more than $500. I started coming up with a plan to get the Deluxe. Then I saw a GMG, and decided I was going to go that way.

My wife works in Dallas, OR. and told me there was a pellet smoker made there. I checked MAK out online and liked what I saw. I told my wife the price and she said no problem!

I never looked back...


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[HoDeDo]

My first pellet cooker was an FEC100... I had been cooking on various offsets, and really liked rotisseries, so I had BBQ Bonanza customize a 4-tray kingfisher rotisserie for my trailer. Double walled, side firebox doors that sealed (vs. rear) it was P.I.M.P. Pimp!
But it probably weighed 500-600lbs. I had Bob (BBQ Bonanaza owner) with me at a comp, and went to load that cooker (I used a powered winch) - My trailer door had a breakover barrier, and the firebox steel caster caved it - high centering the cooker on my door.
AT that moment, Bob told me I was not dragging a cooker that heavy to a comp again in my toy hauler... and he had this brand new line of pits that was selling.... Cookshacks. Pellet cookers. Guys like Phil Hopkins (Smokin Guns) and Rod Gray (Pellet Envy) were using them with much success, but I had bagged on pellets as a cheat.... until I broke out that FEC and tried it... I was sold, so the Kingfisher got retired, and it was pellet all the way, ever since. The pellet grills are great, but at the time traegers were it, and I wasnt a fan of their grilling... Louisiana grills came along with thier units, and those were really designed only to be a grill... lower indirect cooking created greasefires... so then they launched thier country smoker line... and it was about the best I had seen, we got the first whole hog unit coming this way, and 1st day out of the crate won chicken at the GAB with it! I was in love. (2006, I think?) It's been pellets ever since!!!

 

[NorCal Smoker]

A friend brought some ribs to work that he cooked on his Traeger. After tasting the ribs, I started to look into getting a Traeger. This was about the same time they quit making them in the USA. I also wanted something I could grill on as well. So, I started looking at what else was out there. I eventually stumbled on to MAK and Memphis. I had my heart set on the Memphis Pro, but it was more for looks than anything. After more research, I ended up with a Mak 2 Star because of all the features. I am sure I would have been happy with a Mempis Pro or a Mak 2 Star, both seem to be great smokers and grills. No regrets since finally pulling the trigger, just wish I had done it earlier!

 

[WiscoSports]

I live in Wisconsin and pellet stoves for heating houses have become very popular with rising gas prices. I was in the local pellet stove shop (Earthsense) and I saw the Green Mountain Grills. They had a great deal going on and I decided to give it a try. Earthsense was selling these grills as quick as they could assemble them. I really liked the versatility of the grill and also the indirect heat like a Holland grill. After I purchased my grill I found forums like this. The GMG is a good grill to get me started with pellets but, after reading posts from others, I can see an upgrade in the future.

 

[Big_Jake]

My Yoder?I am glad you asked.

I would say quality and space.I kinda went into on blind faith seeing as I could not see it in person before i bought it.But it was worth it for sure.It is built like a tank and puts out a wonderful product.

 

[HoDeDo]

My Yoder?I am glad you asked. I would say quality and space.I kinda went into on blind faith seeing as I could not see it in person before i bought it.But it was worth it for sure.It is built like a tank and puts out a wonderful product.

I've finally decided to give up my Country Smokers... And have been using the Yoders. I took a 480 to the royal, and 640 to the Jack this year. It helped us get our 1st place Chef's Choice. I've cooked on a ton of different cookers that have come out in the last couple years, and few have "moved the bar" in terms of features/build/value... There are really two pits that stand above the rest, and both are made in the USA! The MAK and the Yoder. They go about achieving thier goals differently - but both are a notch above whats goin on out there, IMHO. Thanks to BPS, I was introduced to the MAKs in Scottsdale last year, and got to use them again Mesquite this year. I cooked the comp on 3 MAKs (one off of BP's patio!!) and won the GC! They cooked exactly like I wanted them to. I've had a similar experience with the Yoders. They just do what you want. (And who doesnt love the permanence of 10 Gauge steel.) That can't be said for a lot of the stuff coming out. Once your pellet appetite is whetted, I think it's a worthwhile upgrade moving from old tech pellet to the new generation of equipment on the market. And it's even cooler that all the new tech is coming out of the good old USA to boot. Can't wait to see what's next. Great thread, love seeing all the reasons people got thier pellet pits!

 

[jimsbarbecue]

Why we have a MAK

Like a lot of others I started with a entry level pit and actually traded it in on our first MAK Two Star. HeDeDo points out the american made pits are a big step up from the others, just looking at one you can tell. As most of you know we liked our MAK enough to get a second one from Big Poppa. I called it the "Big Poppa Signature Edition" because it is fully loaded. We cooked all the meat for large gatherings on the MAK Grills because they are a set it and forget device. When cooking for many it is nice to program the pellet boss to adjust the temps during the cook rather then remind myself with timers etc to adjust the pit temps. It gets to temp faster then our Ge Profile oven or our Viking Oven. Which is why it gets so much use. A frozen pizza is about 30 minutes to the table from when I turn on the MAK. As a reference we have early MAK grills serial # 68 and #186. Both work better then when they were new. The reason is all the upgrades (like the pellet boss remote or the MAK Griddle ) fits every one sold. The customer support from MAK Grills and Big Poppa Smokers is what you expect from a top tier pit.

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[Big Poppa]

Hey thanks Jim!

 

[Scallywag]

Got my Traeger as a gift from my wife.. never even knew pellet grills existed until then! It is a great unit but after looking around here I am thinking a Mak will be in my future this year! Hope the shipping to Canada wont be a killer!!!

 

[RickB]

Went to Sams one day and saw a Trager rep showing thier grills. Almost bought one on the spot. But thank goodness i did a little research. After a couple of months reading the reviews settled on the mak2. Never a regret. Great company,great people and great product. Bought one from BPS. Could not have been a better experiance. Highly recommended.

 

[SisInLaw]

After much research, testing, thoughtful meditation and careful review, I decided to buy the Memphis smoker my brother-in-law was offering for a HUGE discount. hehehe

 

[BBQ Joe]

I went shopping for a traeger last spring after hearing all kinds of great stories about the cooks some of my friends had with them. looked up the closest dealer on traegers web site and went to take a look. They had stopped selling them because they felt the quality was not not as good as in the past. They were selling a Canadien brand that looked o.k., but I was not sold on them. As luck would have it, I found BP's web site and started reading just about every post. After about a month I had narrowed my choice down to a Memphis and a MAK. Chose the MAK for the features and have never looked back. Just got my remote, just one of the features that sold me on this product.

 

[warpath]

I had a few friends around the country with traegers.. That got me interested in pellet cooking.. then two close friends bought Green Mountain Grills.. and the rest is history..

Living 100 miles west of nowhere there are not alot of dealer choices..so I have had to rely on factory support which has been excellent.. I think at this stage of expierence I would buy the same grill..

seeya
Dave

 

[Carter13]

In October 2010 I bought a Treager Jr at Costco because it was the cheapest way to get into smoking and was an easy sell to my wife.
I found this site the next day and was seeing all the Mak hooplaw which sparked my interest. I was able to put out some really good food on the Treager with a lot of babysitting due to the wild temp swings.
For over a year I researched all makes of grills but kept coming back to Mak. I watched evey youtube video of the 1 and 2 Star at least ten times. In fact I think I watched SmokinMAK's 1 Star smoke output video 50 times.
As I am typing this I have some pistachios cooking on smoke mode and can see that sucker billowing smoke 10 feet away outside my window. I chose this smoker for the pelletboss, smoke output and because it is made here in the Pacific NW. BPS was great to work with.

 

[Porkbelly]

I've been a fairly successful backyard meat smoker for a number of years with a modified horizontal stick-burner that I put a gas burner in for better temp control. Didn't cook as often as I would have liked, as was still a bit of a hassle, needing to get up and go downstairs hourly to check temp and add wood.
My Sister bought a Traeger at Costco and smoked a wonderful turkey at Thanksgiving, causing my wife to declare her desire to receive one for Christmas. (A Traeger mind you, not a turkey)
I had know of Traeger, but was unaware of all the other pellet smoker choices out there.
I'm a somewhat obsessive researcher, and once I got started, was staying up late at night, reading everything I could find about pellet pits.
Our final choice was a MAK 2 Star for three primary reasons.
First was the versatility of being able to hot and cold smoke, as well as to grill.
Second was the belief that the unit was as well built as anything on the market and head and shoulders above almost all the others. Third was a little tid-bit of self knowledge. When for financial reasons I buy something other than what I perceive to be the best choice (for me, at least), it isn't long before I'm stategizing about what I can sell, or how I can rat away enough money to get "the good stuff" and most, if not all the money I spent on the starter model, is wasted. (And often I'm grumbling about, rather than enjoying the starter model, while I'm saving up and getting spousal approval to spring for what I really should have gotten in the first place)
Very happy with the MAK!

 

[Acill]

I went in to get a MAK 1 Star from our local dealer the other day and found they are all out because of a new model due later this month. So I looked at some of the others in the price range. I really liked the Cookshack PG500 design but didnt need the stainless steel fancy for a cooker. Another US made grill using the same design was $500 less by England's Stove Works under the name Timber Ridge. I love this thing so far! My first run with it made the best chicken thighs I have ever done in my life.