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[Andygev35]

The Silverbac has a beefy stainless lid, and the body is powder coated which will withstand heat and weathering far better than a painted surface. The Rec Tec is well built as well, though being considerably larger, is less fuel efficient. The Pit Boss uses considerably thinner gauge metal than both the Silverbac and the Rec Tec.

[Kristin Meredith]

The Silverbac has a beefy stainless lid, and the body is powder coated which will withstand heat and weathering far better than a painted surface. The Rec Tec is well built as well, though being considerably larger, is less fuel efficient. The Pit Boss uses considerably thinner gauge metal than both the Silverbac and the Rec Tec.

What gauge is each of the 3 you mentioned?  What information do you base your statement that:  "The Rec Tec is well built as well, though being considerably larger, is less fuel efficient."?

[Goosehunter51]

The Silverbac has a beefy stainless lid, and the body is powder coated which will withstand heat and weathering far better than a painted surface. The Rec Tec is well built as well, though being considerably larger, is less fuel efficient. The Pit Boss uses considerably thinner gauge metal than both the Silverbac and the Rec Tec.

What gauge is each of the 3 you mentioned?  What information do you base your statement that:  "The Rec Tec is well built as well, though being considerably larger, is less fuel efficient."?

If I am ever in court, I want you on my side.

[Kristin Meredith]

Andygev35 -- I am sorry, I was trying to reply to your post and I modified it and could not get it back so I deleted it.  Sometimes I forget I am in admin mode.  There was absolutely nothing wrong with the post and I apologize for my error.  Please feel free to re-post.

[Canadian John]

 Kristin - That was a oops. I was almost sure that I was the only one capable of such a thing.

[Andygev35]

Andygev35 -- I am sorry, I was trying to reply to your post and I modified it and could not get it back so I deleted it.  Sometimes I forget I am in admin mode.  There was absolutely nothing wrong with the post and I apologize for my error.  Please feel free to re-post.

No problem.  I think it went something like this :

If memory serves, the Pit Boss is 18 gauge all around, the Silverbac is 16 gauge with a 12 gauge stainless steel lid, and the Rec Tec is 16 gauge all around.  The reason I say the Rec Tec is less fuel efficient is simply due to the fact that the barrel is larger in volume.  It'll take more fuel to heat it.  It also doesn't offer double walled insulation which would make it less fuel efficient.  Honestly the Pit Boss is more of a entry level grill than either the Rec Tec or Silverbac.  But my opinions are just that; opinion.  You'll need to decide what suits you best for your situation.  There are countless satisfied customers of all three brands.

[Bentley]

There is only one "backyard" Pellet Unit (I think this is correct) that is insulated.  That is the PG1000, solid core insulation.  Unless you mean that just being double walled with the "Air" between the walls is the insulation.  Which I could understand, but is not "true" insulation in my mind.  If the latter statement is what you are thinking, then there are 2 more that come to mind, the Memphis Line and The Blaz'n option on the lids!

As far as a larger chamber or lighter gauge steel making the unit Less efficient, or a heavier steel making the unit More efficient...I have not seen that in my 21 years using Pellet Units.  Pellet usage usually comes down to 1st, the controller being used and air management, and the ambient weather conditions.  Now does adding a double wall or a double wall and solid core insulation help that efficacy, in most (but not all) cases yes.

[markalbob]

So knowing it can easily drop to zero or colder here in southern wisconsin, thoughts on efficiency of the grills mentioned?

[Andygev35]

There is only one "backyard" Pellet Unit (I think this is correct) that is insulated.  That is the PG1000, solid core insulation.  Unless you mean that just being double walled with the "Air" between the walls is the insulation.  Which I could understand, but is not "true" insulation in my mind.  If the latter statement is what you are thinking, then there are 2 more that come to mind, the Memphis Line and The Blaz'n option on the lids!

As far as a larger chamber or lighter gauge steel making the unit Less efficient, or a heavier steel making the unit More efficient...I have not seen that in my 21 years using Pellet Units.  Pellet usage usually comes down to 1st, the controller being used and air management, and the ambient weather conditions.  Now does adding a double wall or a double wall and solid core insulation help that efficacy, in most (but not all) cases yes.

Yes, I'm referring to the air gap between a double walled chamber.  It absolutely qualifies as insulation. Consider a Yeti insulated tumbler. It uses this exact method of insulation and is one of the most efficient tumblers for maintaining temperatures.

As far as fuel efficiency, I have to respectfully disagree with you.  The laws of physics require that a larger cooking chamber requires more fuel to heat it than a smaller chamber would.  A good example would be the Original Grilla vs the Grilla Silverbac.  The Original Grilla, which has a smaller cooking chamber than the Silverbac, has been shown to be 10% more fuel efficient than the Silverbac using identical controllers and fans.  Now please don't misunderstand me.  My point isn't to beat the drum for Grilla Grills.  I'm simply pointing out the differences between two grills of the same manufacturer.  If there are fuel efficiency differences between grills of the same manufacturer, the same must be true of other grills as well.

[Bentley]

Initial heating and continued heat are two different things.  Very rarely, unless external forces are acting upon it, does the same amount of energy need to maintain a unit as to get it to a set point.  And as I stated earlier, the Number 1 reason for fuel efficacy is the controller!

Now please don't misunderstand me.  My point isn't to beat the drum for Grilla Grills.  I'm simply pointing out the differences between two grills of the same manufacturer. 

And as a guy that has run pellet forums for about 12 years...just so you know how some perceive you...After your last few posts, this is exactly what I am thinking, I am wondering what affiliation you have with the company?

[Andygev35]

And as a guy that has run pellet forums for about 12 years...just so you know how some perceive you...After your last few posts, this is exactly what I am thinking, I am wondering what affiliation you have with the company?

I'm sorry if I came across that way.  I've only been a pellet grill owner for three months.  I did research on pellet grills for over a year before actually pulling the trigger on one, so I can only speak of my limited experience and satisfaction with mine, along with the information overload that I subjected myself to once I made my choice.  I am in no way affiliated with any company whatsoever.  My apologies if I've offended anyone.

[Bentley]

Fan boys are OK...Dealers are another story!  Thanks for taking the time to respond!

[ylr]

If someone is going to plunk down $800 for a new pellet grill, pellet consumption, especially if you're mainly doing low n' slow, shouldn't be an issue. The difference between a Silverbac and an Austin shouldn't be more than a few ounces an hour, and $200 - $300 buys a whole lot of pellets, especially if you get a trusted brand of heating pellets.....

[okie smokie]

ok, so I think I have things pretty narrowed down now:

REc-Tec Stampede:  592 sq inches, solid temp control, expensive and not shipping till nearly June
Rec-Tec 680:  Bigger, even more expensive, but on sale as closeout at just within budget highest end

Grilla Silverbac: love the fact its cheaper, and it has a cabinet which seems nice.  507 sq inches is a bit bigger than the FireCraft 450.  Stainless lid, insulated (but non-stainless) lower portion.

Firecraft 450:  stainless, good sale, smallest

Piot Boss Austin XL:  cheapest at 500 at Wal-Mart, I know nothing about its controls or construction and haven't heard much here

Anyone else I should add to the list?  Which of these would you pick, or avoid, and why?

Austin XL does not appear to be a PID.  So while it is a big bang for buck, I am inclined to go for the q450 at the current sale price.  My only criticisms are that the SS is 430 and can rust under certain circumstances, esp. in salt air and the grill grates are steel with nickel coating, and also will eventually rust.  How long that would take, I do not know.  Since I live in a dryer, non-salty atmosphere, I would go for the Q450, and have a way to convert the grill grates to SS if the need arrises. 

[LowSlowJoe]

IMHO - the insert inside grills like is in the bottom of the Silverbac , isn't really so much 'dual wall'... I mean in some sense it is, but I believe the main benefit of that is related to if/when your grill overheats or you run it really hot, that insert thing will act like a shield to keep the outer portion of your grill from blistering or discoloring... it doesn't do all that much to provide insulation IMHO. 

  FYI, Fast Eddy's PG500 has a dual wall around the firebox area ( left hand side, bellow the direct grilling area, right were all the heat comes from )... I'm 99.9999% certain that the reason this area has dual walls, is because if it didn't the exterior of the grill near there would become very very hot and very likely would discolor badly when you run the grill anywhere near it's maximum temperature.  However, this dual wall area, probably does very little to improve efficiency of the grill. 

 Anyway, I don't consider anything less than dual wall throughout the entire grill to be dual walled construction. But that's just me.

   As for 430 stainless rusting...   cheap stuff sure can, but unless you live like directly on the coast or something, I'd suggest that there's not much wrong with using 430 SS on the exterior of a grill... There may be some good arguments for running 304 SS for some of the internal components , but I see very little good reason to use the more expensive 304 SS everywhere.   I've got a old propane grill that's sat outside through about 8 Michigan winters ( spring, summer, and fall too ) and it has only very minimal surface rust that is easily removed with something like Barkeepers friend...     So, I don't buy into this idea that if it ain't 304 SS, then it ain't no good for a grill...
   
   Personally, I just simply can't recommend the Firecraft Q450... I may  be the only former owner that feels this way about it, but I didn't find it to preform to my satisfaction.