Trying to decide on a pellet grill, help please.

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Slicklefty

New member
I have been pouring over every piece of online info on pellet grills. I have a Bradley smoker which died recently, a friend bought a green mountain pellet grill and I was interested after eating some dang good ribs. I have narrowed it down to three options...a green mountain grill, rec tec, or blaz'n. Does anybody have experience with these types? The GM seems nice, meat probe, turbo mode to warm up when it's cold (I live in the upper Midwest), and fan to blow out ashes after use. Rec tec looks to be very sturdy, is similar to GM (cannot tell if it has a meat probe) and from reviews gets awesome customer service. Finally the Blaz'n is made in my neck of the woods (USA), I hear it has thicker steel, offers an insulator to retain heat. So which to choose? Thanks for any responses.
 
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dnew

New member
Welcome to PS.com. I do not have any experience with any of the smokers on your list but there are many here that do and I am sure some will post. I suggest that you develop a checklist of your wants and needs and evaluate the smokers based on that checklist. Most smokers are near the same, key components to consider are the controller and its abilities, service reputation and what you can get for your budget. To many of us, where the smoker is manufactured is also important. Pellet smokers all work about the same and they all can produce great results based on the skills of the operator. I am sure you can get satisfactory results regardless of what smoker you decide to give a home. Good luck and enjoy.
 
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BamaSmoker

New member
Slicklefty,

I own a Rec Tec and love it, as I'm sure that those who own GM and Blazin love theirs. I based my decision on a couple of things:

1. Quality
2. Cost

After weeks of research I felt the best quality grill for the money was the Rec Tec. They have one of the longest if not the longest warranty out there. It is heavy, ~ 200 lbs empty, made from 304 stainless and as you have read you can't beat Rec Tec's customer service. There are more expesnive smokers out there, MAK's, FEC's, etc. which will do things the Rec Tec won't or at least was not built for,but for my budget and the things I planned on cooking the Rec Tec satisified those needs with high quality and competitively priced smoker.
At the end of the day it comes down to what you are going to be cooking and what you want to do on the grill. Hope this helps and if you have any more questions please ask.

Bama
 
Kite

Kite

New member
Slick - I have a Memphis Pro with a meat probe, and I NEVER use the thing. It is just a pain in the neck to hook up and use. I bought a Maverick (electronic thermometer with a wireless remote) and I use it all the time - works GREAT! Personally, whether a grill has a meat probe or not would be of little importance to me.
 
TentHunter

TentHunter

Moderator
Out of those three, I'd go with the Rec Tec, but if you really want the best controller with superb performance, and the most versatility, look at the MAK's


On a MAK using the meat probe could not be easier. You stick it in the food and plug it into the grill. That's it. It auto detects it and shows the reading. You can then set alarms or programs, etc. if you want, but you don't have to.

The MAK also offers some add-ons that I have not seen with other grills making them the most versatile grill on the market.
 
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Slicklefty

New member
Hey all, thanks for your thoughts. I looked at a GMG today, legs seem a little thin, otherwise not a bad unit, metal thinner than I expected. Called the Rec Tec folks and had a good conversation with them...I'm now close to pulling the trigger. Has anybody had a hopper fire with a Rec Tec, I'm sure it can happen in any grill, but GM has a an that blows through the auger to limit this. Thanks, Slick.
 
Scrapmanson

Scrapmanson

New member
Just got my mak and I couldn't be happier! It's so awesome, I'm actually sitting on my couch with my kids watching a movie while my ribs are smoking with my timer, and my temps on my phone! Loving it!
 
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