Pellet Fan
Pit Talk -- Comments and Questions Regarding These Pellet Pits => Which Pit Should I Choose? => Topic started by: KrautBurner on December 12, 2018, 02:26:58 PM
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Edit:
adding a little background
I currently own an old Traeger BBQ124 (22")
I had a Traeger Jr for about 4 years (picked it up used when my father in law upgraded to a Texas (34))
I've since done a couple small local competitions as well as provided food for friends events
I've found myself volunteering a lot, cooking for fundraisers and my church
we often end up with my father in law and myself running 4-6 (or more) pellet grills at the same time in order to do our bigger cooks (the last time, we had 2 Traeger Texas Grills, 2 of the bigger Sawtooth grills, one Traeger Select, and my 124 (we've also had a couple Century's out at the same time too))
my church is considering purchasing or building a large trailer type unit,
but I won't always have access to this, and I've found myself doing more cooks for other people
Blaz'n Grid Iron - MSRP - $1449 (total price about $2,000)
http://www.blazngrillworks.com/the-grid-iron/
•Cooking Surface - 36" x19.5" 702 sq. in.
•Inside Shelf - 31" x 10" 310 sq. in.
•Total Cooking Space - 1012 sq. in.
•Weight - 224 lbs
•Hopper Capacity - 30 lbs
(https://static1.squarespace.com/static/56f84aba86db4392f0984067/t/5701b5edf8baf310d5804882/1522449375629/?format=750w)
MSRP - $1449
$328 for competition wheel kit
$259 for Pro shelf unit (I believe it adds about 1,000+ Sq-In)
$76.95 for the lid insulator (not that important)
Rec Tec BULL RT-700 $1199 (Sale price)
https://www.rectecgrills.com/bull-rt-700-wood-pellet-grill/
(https://cdn7.bigcommerce.com/s-0wl5cus/images/stencil/500x659/products/399/1525/bullfront2__01614.1512665705.png?c=2)
•Stainless steel cooking chamber • No paint to fade, flake, or fail
•40 lb. hopper capacity • Up to 40+ hours of continuous cooking
•702 sq. in. cooking area • Tall enough for turkeys or beer can chickens • Fits 6 large racks of ribs
•1054 sq. in. cooking area with optional large 2nd shelf • Cook more food
•Interior light • Easily removed dishwasher safe glass lens • Grill day or night
•2 grill grates made from 1/4" 304 stainless steel rod • Lasts the lifetime of your grill • Easy to remove and clean
•304 stainless steel fire pot • Indestructible • Won't fail
•304 stainless steel heat deflector with integrated smoke tray • Evenly distributes heat throughout cooking chamber
•304 stainless steel drip pan • Funnels grease out of chamber into bucket for easy cleanup
•HotFlash Ceramic Ignition System • State of the art • Longest lasting ignition system on the market
6 year warranty
FREE SHIPPING
grill price $1,199
Grand Champion Bundle - Add $899.95
◦Includes 200 lbs. Assorted Pellets + Custom Fit Grill Cover + T-Shirt + Front Folding Shelf $104 + Searing Kit $84 + (2) Cooking Mats + Large 2nd Interior Shelf + Small 2nd Interior Shelf + Bullpen Instant Read Thermometer + Rub & Sauce Bundle + Large Rubber Pad + Smokebox $229+ (2) Premium Koozies + Grill Towel
Competition Cart would be another $299
$2397 (including lots of extras that I don't necessarily need)
Traeger Timberline MSRP $1,999
Traeger XL MSRP $1,999
this would match my old 124
BTW,
I can likely get either of these TRAEGERS for under $1500
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What are you intending to cook that you need a bigger grill?
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What are you intending to cook that you need a bigger grill?
multiple briskets, multiple pork bellies, multiple roasts.
I've been doing a lot of bigger cooks (multiple medium sized grills at the same time)
I recently upgraded from a Traeger Jr. (4 years) to an old 124 (basically a 22 cooking barrel size)
my father in law has a Texas (BBQ075), my church has 2 of the larger SawTooth grills and a Texas
we still end up borrowing 2 or more other personal pellet grills for our bigger cooks
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Yoder YS-640 has about 1080 sq. in. of space (includes second shelf)
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Yoder YS-640 has about 1080 sq. in. of space (includes second shelf)
I was thinking the Yoders were significantly more expensive
$2,045 + shipping (about $300)
https://www.yodersmokers.com/ys640-comp-cart.html
I don't know a lot about them, as I've never seen one in person
they do look nice, and I've never heard (read) anything bad about them
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as of right now,
I'm leaning towards the BULL by Rec-Tec
I love that it's all Stainless
and it has the WiFi controller
they are built a lot better than the Traegers
and it's got the 40lb hopper (in the back)
one of the main things I love about the Blaz'n is that its MADE IN THE USA (and that does mean a lot to me)
I really like the competition shelving kit for it a lot
I really like the idea of the firepot cleanout system they have
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I wish I had known of Blazin before I bought my Rec Tec I would have owned one of them. The Rec Tec isn't on sale that is their gimmick, show an inflated retail and sell it for less. They have always done that I paid 999 for mine 5 years ago and when they sold the last ones they were still the same price with a 1400 list. It is the same size as the treager texas.
I would check out the Pitts and Spits line they have 3 different sizes now, and there is one or two on here that have gator pitts pellet cooker.
Of your 2 I would go Blazin.
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I wish I had known of Blazin before I bought my Rec Tec I would have owned one of them. The Rec Tec isn't on sale that is their gimmick, show an inflated retail and sell it for less. They have always done that I paid 999 for mine 5 years ago and when they sold the last ones they were still the same price with a 1400 list. It is the same size as the treager texas.
I would check out the Pitts and Spits line they have 3 different sizes now, and there is one or two on here that have gator pitts pellet cooker.
Of your 2 I would go Blazin.
yeah,
I'd definitely not pay the MSRP, for that price it opens up a lot of options
the BULL comes with a lot more stuff for the $2K price which makes it very tempting
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The Yoder without the comp cart is just $1449. It is also made in the USA. I would get the Blazen over the Rec Tec. Just check out the weights. The Blazen is much heavier. It will last a lifetime.
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The Yoder without the comp cart is just $1449. It is also made in the USA. I would get the Blazen over the Rec Tec. Just check out the weights. The Blazen is much heavier. It will last a lifetime.
Not sure how much sea salt moisture you get where you live. If you do, I would not recommend the Blazn based on my experience of the used grill I bought from someone near Atlantic City unless you want to continue to sand rust and repaint frequently.
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I own the grid iron and i have no complaints. In the last year, several of my friends have purchase a BGW after having cooked on mine and a few other brands. A very solid cooker...
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What are you intending to cook that you need a bigger grill?
multiple briskets, multiple pork bellies, multiple roasts.
I've been doing a lot of bigger cooks (multiple medium sized grills at the same time)
I recently upgraded from a Traeger Jr. (4 years) to an old 124 (basically a 22 cooking barrel size)
my father in law has a Texas (BBQ075), my church has 2 of the larger SawTooth grills and a Texas
we still end up borrowing 2 or more other personal pellet grills for our bigger cooks
here's a couple pics of us loading up my father in law's 075 (Traeger Texas)
and it's a foot longer than my 124
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KB needs more capacity period. How can I be the only one to vote
just build a custom monster pit and get it over with
Do you want to purchase two or three of whatever is on the list? Or make (have one customized) a single pit that will meet your capacity needs? Say goodbye to your budget, but what you want is out there to be purchased.
DK
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KB needs more capacity period. How can I be the only one to vote
just build a custom monster pit and get it over with
Do you want to purchase two or three of whatever is on the list? Or make (have one customized) a single pit that will meet your capacity needs? Say goodbye to your budget, but what you want is out there to be purchased.
DK
I've also been eyeballing this monster (the manufacturer doesnt have pricing on the site, but I think this one is around $3K + the pellet kit and shipping)
http://www.americanbarbecuesystems.com/Pit-Boss.html
(http://www.americanbarbecuesystems.com/images/Pit-Boss.png)(http://www.americanbarbecuesystems.com/Pit-Boss.html)
capacities
Boston Butt
20ea - Boston Butts 6 - 7lb
Brisket
8ea - Whole Briskets 9 -12lb
16ea - Flat Briskets 5 - 6lb
Pork Ribs
Saint Louis Style Ribs
16 slabs
or
Baby Backs
20 slabs
Chicken
Using 8 Rotisserie racks
32ea - Whole chicken
SPECIFICATIONS
Cooking Surface
1704 sq/in
432 sq/in of grilling surface
4 Stainless Steel Rotisserie Upper Racks 25 x 7 1/2
4 Stainless Steel Rotisserie Lower Racks 25 x 9 1/2
2 Stainless Steel Grilling Racks 16 x 14 1/2
Or
4 Stainless Steel Flat Racks 29 x 27
1 Stainless Steel Flat Rack 29 x 24
2 Stainless Steel Grilling Racks 16 x 14 1/2
Dimensions
Smokebox/Firebox 30”W x 30”D
Overall 37”W x 55”D x 63”H(top of stack)
Weight
560 lbs.
https://youtu.be/hftL-xiq1Jw?t=28
or maybe go all the way and get the JUDGE (this bad boy is probalby about $7K)
http://www.americanbarbecuesystems.com/Judge.html
it doubles the above unit's capacities
(http://www.americanbarbecuesystems.com/images/Judge.png)
Judge 4ft
Cooking Surface
5124 sq/in
744 sq/in of grilling surface
4-8 Stainless Steel Rotisserie Upper Racks 42 x 9 1/2
4 Stainless Steel Rotisserie Lower Racks 42 x 11 1/2
3 Stainless Steel Grilling Racks 16 x 15 1/2
Dimensions
Smokebox/Firebox 48”W x 56”D
Overall 80”W x 100”L x 69”H (top of stack and tongue in place)
Weight
1500 lbs.
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now you're talking! I think you need to assess how much money (protein, rub, injection, foil, pellets) are going into these cooks with 6 pellet grills all running at once. If it's a bunch of $.98 a lb pork shoulders it might not be compelling. When you go to Costco and purchase every single prime brisket (4 briskets per each of the 6 pits, $50 a brisket, you just spent $1200 on protein alone) the discussion becomes more interesting.
I got to a point in my arrival at Gator Pit when I first declared this was a hobby I was passionate about. Second I decided that the pit itself was not necessarily where the costs of this hobby lie.
Word of caution, if you do go big with a near custom pit from Kansas or Texas watch out for the shipping costs, they are not insignificant. (I'm also Washington State).
Good luck!
DK
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now you're talking! I think you need to assess how much money (protein, rub, injection, foil, pellets) are going into these cooks with 6 pellet grills all running at once. If it's a bunch of $.98 a lb pork shoulders it might not be compelling. When you go to Costco and purchase every single prime brisket (4 briskets per each of the 6 pits, $50 a brisket, you just spent $1200 on protein alone) the discussion becomes more interesting.
we've done $1200 in ribs for a single cook (+100 or so in pellets)
no way I can get 4 briskets on each of these little pits (the way we do them)
but we have done 10 briskets at once, that was about $600 (+$100 or so in pellets)
one of the issues we find with running multiple pits is power
trying not to have more than 3 pits in a single household circuit can be interesting with power cords run thru windows and all over the place
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If you are going to be using this pit in different places, you need to consider mobility. The Blaz'n and others have comp carts/wheel kits. Any unit will be heavy. If you move a standard pit with the standard wheels much, I don't think it will hold up.
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If you are going to be using this pit in different places, you need to consider mobility. The Blaz'n and others have comp carts/wheel kits. Any unit will be heavy. If you move a standard pit with the standard wheels much, I don't think it will hold up.
yeah,
I have moved lots of Traegers with the spindley legs
I'm probably going to get or make a bottom shelf for my Father in law's Texas
at least my 124 has some leg bracing built in
but if I get a RecTec, I'll hopefully drop the coin for the cart, that thing looks great
I also like the cart setup on the Blaz'n with the pull handle and the pnumatic tires (but getting a flat could suck)
I'd also look into upgrading the wheels to airless utility wheels
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If you are going to be using this pit in different places, you need to consider mobility. The Blaz'n and others have comp carts/wheel kits. Any unit will be heavy. If you move a standard pit with the standard wheels much, I don't think it will hold up.
yeah,
I have moved lots of Traegers with the spindley legs
I'm probably going to get or make a bottom shelf for my Father in law's Texas
at least my 124 has some leg bracing built in
but if I get a RecTec, I'll hopefully drop the coin for the cart, that thing looks great
I also like the cart setup on the Blaz'n with the pull handle and the pnumatic tires (but getting a flat could suck)
I'd also look into upgrading the wheels to airless utility wheels
I bought a used blazn a few years ago and swapped out the tube ties for airless utility wheels. Much better IMO to get around on my patio.
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still cookin' with my old Traeger BBQ124
probably going to upgrade this winter
pretty sure I've narrowed it down to a Yoder or a RecTec Bull
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Really have no idea how I missed this thread for 11 months.
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still cookin' with my old Traeger BBQ124
probably going to upgrade this winter
pretty sure I've narrowed it down to a Yoder or a RecTec Bull
I would choose the Bull. Lotsa room, stainless, and great service. Lotsa happy customers. And price is right. Includes delivery.
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You might take a look at the larger Traeger Ironwood. The P&S pits look beautiful. I only hear good things about RecTec. Also, the larger Weber coming out soon is rumored to be a 32-36 inch wide unit.