Back to the Gator Pit.
BBQ/Grilling/Smoking is my hobby. I don't have a boat, RV, jet-ski, motorcycle. I don't own viking appliances. My trusty Toyota Tacoma is from 2003. When you wrap your head around how inexpensive pellet grills can be vs other hobbies, well that opened up opportunities for me. I could visualize spending thousands of dollars on this hobby. My 8 year old Traeger has had two hot rods, three controllers, a savage grease fire that was my fault for not cleaning after a huge cook and then trying chicken. It's warped and blistering, so I began replacing smoke stack, then SS burn pot and SS heat shield. I began to rethink light weight rusting components for heavy duty, long term, SS. Before my ultimate decision I looked at Jim Bowie (even with stainless and Wifi, it's near like for like of my old Texas) Timberline 1300 (this got me into the $2K thinking and fortunately for me, unfortunately for them, it has terrible reviews, 850 not so much) Rec-Tec (I'm so pleased they aren't orange anymore, but ultimately not for me) PG500 (I had a crush on this thing for a year, but ultimately decided the zones weren't for me) Memphis (this seems to be universally deemed the pinnacle of the pellet grill industry, but not for me.) I never really looked at Yoder which is odd as that's probably the closest comparison to a Gator.
I have no need for direct searing, I can do that on my very nice gasser thank you. I wanted additional capacity as last Thanksgiving, two turkeys and 30 lbs of turkey legs ... I had to borrow a Louisiana pit.
I ultimately decided that my style is low and slow. I ultimately admitted that I enjoy the artistry and experience of the process. I'll never be a stick burner, but that feeling is what I was going for. When I heard (here on PF) about Gator Pit, I quickly went into obsession mode. I watched hours of youtube videos. 1/4 inch steel, stainless burn pot and heat shield and drip pan (all things I either had or were planning on purchasing for the Traeger.) Dual stacks, wow this just did it for me. The design and function is just so cool. I hope to test out lower end smoking and cold smoking when I get some salmon. Which leads me to the controller. 35 lb hopper, really nice upgrade there. Pellet Pro controller and hopper assembly. I'm clearly still learning here, but the fan only option was appealing. Trying out a PID has been a modest learning experience. The bolt on hopper assembly to a industry leading custom stick burner pit was very appealing to me. You'll see 10 year old gators coming in for new paint and looking like new two days later. I can afford a new hopper assembly in 5 to 10 years or whatever the number. The pit should be in pretty much the exact same condition as it is today.
Then I finally discovered that these are actually custom pits. Built to order. I added a custom brand to the end of my barrel. (for perspective owners, think long and hard and get your options right.) So I didn't get a mass produced China made pit. I own a custom made-for-me pit built in the USA. That was a nice to have option.
More to come, 7 hours into a brisket cook as I type.
DK
PS any questions let me know. I need to get some more cooks under my belt to really know this pit.