Pellet cooker recommendation?

0 (0%)

Which brand and model?

2 (100%)

Total Members Voted: 2

Voting closed: May 07, 2020, 10:15:34 AM

Im ready to invest in my 1st pellet cooker.  Any recommendations on which brand and model?  Thx. TT

Welcome to PF, tt.

Gosh, it's not that easy to answer your question without knowing your answers to several questions we have.

Scroll down in the opening screen and read the section on Which Pit Should I Choose?  You'll have a good start on your search and you can supplement the information in that section by asking your remaining questions.

What's your budget? How many people do you want to cook for at one time?

Welcome to the site.  I have no idea what your poll is, it make no sense to me.

I think he just does not understand how the poll function works. No big deal. It is clear what he is looking for.

The "Which Pit Should I Chose" section is a great place to start. I will tell you how I made my choice. Usual criteria include things like: price, features, reliability, customer support, warranty, availability. How you weight them is a personal choice. I can say that I chose my GMG Daniel Boone because it was a lower cost option to start with, had a wifi feature so I could control while I worked, was sold locally, and used personally by the person that sold it to me who highly recommended it. I was also not looking for something that did everything since I already had other grills I could use for things like searing. I could not justify the cost of a high end do it all product before I knew how much smoking I would end up doing (turned out to be 3 to 4 times a week year around). I originally had a different idea of the direction I wanted to go, but that was based solely on internet research. The sales person I met that day continues to provide me with a wealth of first hand knowledge on the product and grilling in general. He really enjoys talking grilling. He has turned out to be a valuable resource in my BBQ journey. The product met my requirements getting started, and continues to meet them today. Your requirements will probably be different. As such, I am not making a recommendation of a particular product, rather a recommendation to determine what your requirements are before you make a choice. If and when my current pellet smoker wears out, I will reassess my requirements and make a choice. I tend to make purchases, house, car, bicycle, etc. fairly quickly because I start with requirements which I can usually work out pretty quickly. Typically for cars, it has to be high mileage, able to go 250,000 miles, have room to carry my stuff, and I have to fit in it without hitting my head on the ceiling, and falls in a particular price range. The first three narrow it down to the high mileage Honda, Toyota, Nissan in my desired price range. The last requirement ends up to be the decider. Nissan has higher ceilings in their cars, as such, I usually buy Nissan's.

 Welcome tt. Your question is asking a lot.. Please set some parameters such as # of people cooking for, cooking experience, what you have cooked on a pit + what you would like to cook. Your expectations.

 The list goes on..If it's your first pellet pit, no matter what you choose, there will be a learning curve that later may very well change your mind on what you want... Is there someone you know that can demo

their  pellet pit to you?  Other considerations might be the manufacturer relative to parts and service..Ease of service. How easy is it to maintain? Do you intend on keeping it, or will it be a  pit to get started on?

We are here to help. If you have any specific questions with the exception of financing, ask away!  Just start making up a comparison list and go from there. Disregard sales hype and evaluate what you think

may effect your decision.. Hands on is good but may be more difficult given the present distancing conditions.

Gentleman, thanks for the warm welcome and my apologies for my vague request and not including criteria.  I will definitely review "which Pit should I choose" and the other mentioned criteria suggestions.  Thanks again for taking the time to assist w/direction for my first Pellet pit and look forward to being part of this fun and informative forum.

Just my 2 cents worth.....

If you have the $$$$$   MAK is the best of the best no doubt, but there are a few like Ret Tec, Memphis, GMG that are very good as well. 

My pellet grill is a Re Tec RT680 and I love it but wish I had the $$$$ for a MAK

You need lots of bucks for a Memphis -- not so many for a GMG.

Yoder.  Pricey, very reliable, well made.

If you are not interested in dealing with rust (from both heat and elements) I would consider a pit with Stainless Steel, cooking chamber, or SS liners inside. There are several on the market and usually the more SS the higher the cost.  For me, I went from an all steel and paint and powder coated unit which was an excellent pit, (and would have lived longer than i will) to a more convenient (for care) SS unit that only the base and legs and lid are painted or enameled.  As for pure function, there several good brands to choose from. 
1. pick absolute upper price range.
2. How and where will it be stored? And in what common elements.
3. Decide what options you require; direct flame capable, WiFi, Pid control, pellet capacity, Stainless or not?, grates material, ceramic starter, cold smoker? Always include a cover!
4. Reliable user testimonials
5. Ease of movement if required
6. Then present this info to the forum for input.
7. That is just my advice, but is better than just quick decisions with no outside input.

I’ve had a yoder ys640 and a Memphis elite over the last few years. If I went down the pellet road again, I’d go with a Mak 2 star


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Why would you pick the MAK 2 Star over the Elite?