There is also a copy of the smaller RecTec Trailblazer too.

Now at Home Depot, the Rec Tec brand Bullseye kettle and the Matador are available.

looks like Amazon is selling them also.

looks like Amazon is selling them also.

They have been available on Amazon for quite awhile already.

The Bullseye is $200 more than buying direct from RT. 

Yes, but there are impulse buyers that don't do their homework, or that have more money than they have sense, or are just not frugal shoppers   The main deal is the exposure of the Rec Tec name and expanding their business.

I am talking about the knock-off units.

There is also a copy of the smaller RecTec Trailblazer too.

Considering the Trailblazer is nearly identical to a Traeger Junior, not sure how much of a issue a 'ripoff' of a Trailblazer is... I guess the folding legs are a bit different then the Traeger... other than that it's just material differences and controller.


 Meanwhile, I'm not a lawyer...  but I don't think there are patents on any of this stuff.   Not sure how copyright gets involved either...   other then possible the manual text.      Although, I vaguely remember that you can't copyright a recipe...

   Anyway, I assume that if there is anything that can be done, Rec Tec is doing it...   Although in my mind, ( other then maybe the bull horns ), there's not really a trademark issue at all...  Copyright might apply for the manual.

More than anything it’s the copying of the instruction manual right down to the recipes. I’ve never seen it that blatant before.

It isn't like it was Rec Tec's design, after all they copied their first unit and apparently the second. They went to the China folks and said we want something to fill in the gap in size between the 2 models we have, they were probably told/shown the octagon and said we have this and RT said that will work make the body in cheap SS, because people are whining about the paint peeling and rust. Now they will com-plain about discoloring.

There were three things I saw with the Rec Tec that were different from anything before.

1. the horn handles

2. The hopper in the back (before only on very expensive pellet grills)

3 the controller was significantly different that what was on the lower end grills.  Especially when it was installed on the shelf.

What I see now is copying #3 and possibly #2

There were three things I saw with the Rec Tec that were different from anything before.

1. the horn handles

2. The hopper in the back (before only on very expensive pellet grills)

3 the controller was significantly different that what was on the lower end grills.  Especially when it was installed on the shelf.

What I see now is copying #3 and possibly #2

Has this Chinese company copied the 'Bull', the one with the hopper in the back?

 As for the controller...  It's unclear to me, who developed that...   or who was developed the firmware...   PID is a fairly generic set of code these days, it's been around and used in a wide variety of applications.   

 FYI - Some have speculated that the new controller on the Rec Tec, was actually at least possibly developed by the same people as who did the controller on the Traeger Timberline.   Some people have said that in early versions of the app used, it actually had Traeger's name somewhere in it... (  although I can't offer any proof of that being the case ).

 Not sure if there is any aspect of all that that is copyrighted , or patented in any way.

The bull is just a SS version of the 680, there is or was a German version of the 680.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2oHjL5c5Rw

A few cosmetic changes.

As previously stated it’s the fact they photocopied the instruction manual from RecTec and swapped out RecTec with “grill”. I don’t know of many octagon shaped smokers except for Blaz’N and the Stampede.

I don’t think anything is patented.

On the Home Depot website someone asked where these were made and this was the response from Lonestar Chef:

The Grills are manufactured in Jinhua City, ZHEJIANG Province in China by JINHUA XINAN ELECT.CO LTD. They are a long time manufacturer of Wood Pellet Stoves, Pellet Grills, Griddles, Kamado Grills, Infrared Heaters, Infrared Fireplace, Cooling Fans and Standing Desks. They have been an OEM Manufacturer for many years and are now introducing their own brands including LoneStar Chef, LIFESMART, WORK UP and Sonicool into the USA, Canada and Mexico.