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[Ghost_rider]

Hey everyone! Looking to get into the pellet grilling world. A dealer near me has the Sl700 for $450, or another option I'm considering is a used Daniel Boone. I have used a Daniel Boone before and liked it, but since it is a pre-owned unit, who knows the life of various parts.


Are temps stable?
Hot spots?
Any issues you've had?

Thanks!

[pmillen]

I'm of no concrete help to you since I don't have experience with either the 700SL or DB.  But I offer this thought—almost any pellet pit is better than doing without.

[02ebz06]

Greetings Ghost_rider, and welcome to the forum.

Statements below are based on the price you listed.
My  for someone new to smoking game
Find one you like in that price range.
That way if you discover you are serious about it, you can upgrade to higher end units.
For your questions:
I believe you will probably experience some temp swings.
However that is true to a certain extent for all pellet grills.  Ones with better controllers/design will have smaller differences.

Hot spots are pretty common. The extent of how hot depends again on design of the grill.
The biscuit test is the way to find out where the hotspots are.
Buy a package of biscuits.  Pillsbury is only one that comes to mind.
Spread them out over the grate and cook according to directions on the package.
That will show you where any hotspots are.

Have you looked through the treads in this section.
This would be the area where people that have these types of grills have posted.

Since I do not have that grill, so can't help you with the issues question.

Others may have other comments.

Happy smoking...

[Brushpopper]

But I offer this thought—almost any pellet pit is better than doing without.

Words of wisdom right there!  I bought a used 2011 model DB several years ago that had a bad controller and a bad hopper fan.  It was an easy fix for the controller.  The fan was a pain but I got it done.  I used it for a long time until I got a great deal on my Pitts & Spitts.  I sold the DB to my neighbor and it's still going strong. 

The SL700 has the same controller manufacturer as my P&S and it is really stable with the temps.  The only difference is the how they are programmed probably.  You'll just have to do a biscuit test to see where the hot spots are and adjust your heat shield as needed.  That's a really good price for the LG by the way.  Let us know what you decide.

[Canadian John]

 Firstly, Welcome!

  I have no experience with the the pits in question.  However from my limited experiences over the years, uneven cooking areas (hot spots) exist in all cooking devices to one degree to another. This includes

kitchen ovens.

  The decision: If you have a strong gut feeling as to which pit you should choose, go with it  with a caveat. That being the potential of the DB to require some sort of repair. Check for rust, general condition

(look underneath) & make sure to see it running, start up to max heat.

 Enjoy your new pit .

[Ghost_rider]

Hello, thanks for the responses.

I do currently have am ugly drum smoker, I just like tinkering. Definitely not a need, as my UDS seems to do well. In general, doesn't seem like a lot of positive reviews online for this unit (hard to find any), so I think I'll be patient.