re: Pellet Grills

I’ve had the RecTeq 700 for a little over two years now.

I’ll be honest, it’s had some problems. It really struggles to get hot. By that I mean over 450°. My unit will take nearly an hour to reach for 450; to this day I have never got over 500°. So for grilling it leaves a lot to be desired. Searing just isn’t an option.

To their credit, the customer service is solid. I’ve had to replace the internal temperature probe, bend the fan bracket to get more airflow, replace the main control board and most recently replace the igniter. All of which cost me nothing. The WiFi has never worked properly either. We gave up on that.

We bought them direct from RecTeq in a group purchase which saved us a lot of money. Mine appears to be the dud of the group. The others who got them have been thrilled with theirs.

As a smoker, it has worked perfectly. As a grill, I’d rather have propane. Lots of issues. When I replace it I’ll be buying the Yoder.

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I ended up finding a barely used Mak on Facebook Marketplace

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Mak is a great company that makes some great grills. I have dealt with them several times over the years and when you call them with a question you actually talk to a human being and most times with one of the owners. They will go out of their way to help you with any issue you are having. I have two of their smokers and one of them has had over 2 tons of pellets run through it. The digital controller they designed is second to none. They are not for everyone because they are expensive. But if you are at a point in life where you can afford to support a family owned American business they are an excellent choice. They even named the business after the first letter of their kids names. Mat, Alex, and Kal.

Mak grills

Man this sucks. The WiFi system had a relatively recent update that made it work much better from my understanding. Like your friends mine doesn't break a sweat getting up to 500-550.

Yoder 640 does seem like a great upgrade. I really like the fact that they can be setup to grill directly over an open flame. True sear capability just isn't possible with a normal pellet grill, even with grill grates at 550.

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I just bought a ZGrill a few weeks ago on sale for $447. Absolutely love it. It's not the best or most expensive but it serves my purpose. I've used it 10-12 times already since memorial day sale.
This is the one I bought..

I have had a pit boss for over a year and I was unhappy with how hot it would get for sears. For something like a burger when you opened it to flip or put it on the grill it would just be getting back to temp when it was time to remove. Nothing really got a sear i was happy with. I recently purchased the Rec Tec (TM) Bullseye B380 Wood Pellet Grill and Smoker and am happy as a dog with two dongs over it. Gets to 750 degrees with the lid closed and 600 or so with it open.

LINK

I have a pit boss 820 and love it

I have been researching grills for over 2 months now. There are so many it is hard to choose. I have three on my mind though that I think are worth the asking price.

It seems like the competition guys like Green Mountain Grills and they are a good value for what you get. Heavier steel than most of the mainstream grills. They run on 12 volts too which can add versilitilty. The are very efficient at burning pellets. It can hold a steady 180 degrees and below temp for making jerky and sausage. This is something a lot pellet grills are not good at apparently, especially the smaller ones. The usefulness and addons make it a value.

Smoke Daddy Inc. makes the Pellet Pro which has some made in the USA parts and has a 7 year warranty. It seems to be worth the $1000 price tag for the larger grill. The body is 13ga steel and the lid is real stainless. The internals are also heavy steel. It is also very highly regarded by professional cooks. They have a lot of aftermarket parts that work on other grills including cold smoke infusers. They give you 60 lbs of pellets with the grill. Good at super low temps as well as very high temps. Great customer support. Family owned.

Then there is Camp Chef Woodwind which has the side box that would be extremely useful for me. I don't think the construction is worth the price tag though, and I already have 3 different camp stoves. However, they have a very nice PID controller that is supposed to deliver very good smoke flavor. The rack system is very nice as well. Good at holding very low temps for sausage an jerky as well. They make jerky/sausage smoking specific racks. The value comes back in this thing with what you can do with it. The weak point seems to be steak searing on the grill itself in stock form, but that is what the side box and grill grates are for.

Traeger seems to be an absolute ripoff in all aspects after just doing a little research. It seems to be fit for the Yeti everything guys.

That said, I think I want the Camp Chef and Pellet Pro. I can't choose. The Pellet Pro would be an easy choice if I didn't have a good completely out of the weather place to store it. I think the Camp Chef would need a nice covered area to last for many years as it is not built as well as the Pellet Pro.

Any of you all fooled with the charcoal gravity grills? Those interest me for some reason.