Hi All:
I had no intention of buying a new smoker but when a good deal comes along you just cant pass it up.
I have had my old dependable Treager Lil Tex for 12 years and it has served me well.
I bolted a 3/4 steel plate to the deflector, added a front shelf, added an upper rack, installed a Savannah Stoker controller and a shelf between the lower legs to give more support.
My wife went to Costco and sent me some pics of what she found.
They were selling the Texas Elite for $599 after the Treager road show.
That didn't get my interest until she showed me the pic that the Elite 34 was marked down to $420.
I drove my truck up there to get it.
The reason that it appealed to me was because I bought the cold smoker attachment for my Lil Tex and it has served me well also.
This would bolt on to the new smoker. $200 add on.
I wanted a FEC 500 but they priced themselves out of my budget.
So after a few days of assembling and cleaning, I am now good to go with my new set up.
The unit was damaged when I got the box home.
It appears that it was hit in the handle on the pellet hopper and was bent so the controller had about a 1/2" gap on the left side.
I called Treager and they put me on a video call so they could see the damage.
They are sending me a new pellet hopper next week.
Kind of a PINTA to change it out but for the price, I am not bring it back to Costco.
I took the cold smoker from my Lil Tex and spent several hours cleaning and re-painting the cover.
This is the only reason I considered the Elite. It saved me $200 and they don't sell the cold smoker any more.
I think I am good for the next 12 years. I don't need all the fancy stuff because what I have had worked well.

Here are the pics

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Sounds like a pretty good deal. Congrats!

Enjoy

Looks like a great find. What kinds of things do you like to use your cold smoker for? I have one for one of my grills, but have never used it.

  As my son-in-law says, "I just love a good deal".  You lucked out on that one Bob.

Good Deal.

I need your wife to talk with my GF, sending me pictures of a new cooker of any kind for me to buy would never enter her mind. If I was there she would tell me I have enough smokers and grills.


 will you be moving the Stoker over to the new one also?

No on the Stoker. I let it go with the Lil Tex that my neighbor bought.

Burn in complete. Ready for a couple of butts on the maiden voyage this week end.

It looks like it may be easy to hammer that flat.  Maybe try that so you don't have to take it apart and you will have a new hopper ready to go if needed.

I replaced the hopper because the one they sent me had a pellet dump door. (I really don't change pellets very often but it is there if I decide to). No holes for the protection screen in the hopper. I would not have put it back anyway.
No holes for the bottom protector for the fans. Didn't need it anyway. The power cord was in a grommet in it so I had to remove that and disconnect the power cord to get it through the hole and reconnect. No big deal. Just a few minutes on my back to fix it. The new hopper also has the copper lid instead of the black so it looks nicer.
They also sent me a new barrel because there was a small dent in the drip side but I put my cold smoker on so it did not show.
That is now in the shed in plastic. I will give it to anyone on this forum that wants it. I will give away the slightly dented hopper also. They are in my way.

Went to BJ's to get a brisket but at $6.49 a pound for a flat I said no. Still no maiden voyage. Going to Costco next week.

I am in the process of looking to replace my Lil Tex that looks just like that one, Savannah stoker and all.   Mice chewed the wires and fried the board.   I would jump at a deal like that in a second.

Had you just taken the unit back to Costco, they would have replaced it on the spot or refunded the total amount, no questions asked. Would have saved you the "pita". I think on electrical equipment you have 30 days, and all other merchandise no time limit. I took a Shark robot vacuum back after 3 weeks of use and they refunded me the total. Of course I may be incorrect if it was a "sale" item.??