Hello folks ,new to the site and looking for advice

[Ronan]

Just wondering what you guys think.After much consideration im going to pull the trigger and buy a entry level pellet smoke(just bough a new house and a new truck in the last 2 months)so it has to be at the lower end of pellet smokers.Im currently torn between the Treager lil tex and the pellet pro 627.Can anyone please explain the pro's and con's of each smoker.

Thanks

Ronan

 

[Big Poppa]

look at green mountain....the very best imported pellet smoker

 

[scooter]

As with any purchase in life, the first purchase will teach you exactly what you want in the subsequent purchase. I started off with a Traeger Lil Tex for the same reason you stated and learned a lot from it. I also learned what features I wanted in my next pellet pit from my Lil Tex. Four months later the MAK 2 Star production model hit the market and I jumped at it. Every single pain point I had from the Lil Tex was removed in the 2 Star.
I bought the Lil Tex in August of 2009 and December of 2009 I sold my Lil Tex and purchased my 2 Star. I lost about $300 on the Lil Tex sale from what I paid 4 months earlier. I don't regret buying the Lil Tex at all. It cooked well and as I said before, it was a great teacher. It totally prepared me to appreciate what followed it.
The imported pellet grills (Traeger, GMG, etc) are cheaper but build quality and quality of the build materials suffer so the price point can be kept low. Just know that going in. The old adage is true in that you get what you pay for.
The likely hood of your success as a pellet pitmaster will improve greatly if you plug yourself into an online support system for advice and encouragement. Your learning curve will be dramatically shortened.

Remember, no matter what pellet cooker you purchase, you'll be welcome here!

Welcome to PS.com! Post lots of pics!! We love to see them. Also take lots of notes so you can revert back to them to repeat your successes and avoid repeating the failures.

 

[dnew]

Well said Scooter! I agree with your point of view as I too started with a Traeger and still use it from time to time. I have thought about selling it but I have needed for expanded capacity from time to time. It still cooks great and I learned a lot from the use of it. I like the fact that info is shared here by all regardless of what appliance one uses and what arena in pellet smoking they fall within. Thanks to all for their help in making me a better pellet smoker.

 

[Tatonka3A2]

Purchase what you can afford now... when you are ready to upgrade sell it on Craigslist and start shopping again.

 

[scooter]

Tatonka makes a great point. When I purchased my Traeger, I had to do a bit of justifying to the Mrs in order to spend the $900. After 4 months of eating what I cooked on the Traeger, there was no argument from the Mrs when I wanted to spend twice that price on an upgrade.