Country Smoker Vs Traeger

K

kwantz

Guest
Which is the better company and product?

Im looking at spending around 1000 bucks on a new smoker/grill.

Im not rich so this kind of has to be the last grill investment the old lady will let me have for a very long time.

I want to know which is the better product. Which has longer longevity and made out of better components that will last longer? Who has better customer serivice, better warrenty? From what I can see the country smoker can actually reach grilling temperatures? If I have 1000 dollars to spend, which product would you get. I am looking for quality in the product and not so much quanity (grilling surface), so the product that is more durable, constructed better with better quality materials and will last a long time without having to replace parts or have to buy a new grill after 5 years. Also I am from Ontario canada, if possible I would like to smoke and grill during the colder seasons. IM not sure how thick or well insulated each of these grills are but one that is better suited for all seasons would be better as well.
 
Normally I wouldnt agree with this but up in Canada, No question a Large Egg. Or BW Party.

2 Reasons

Cold winters at least 6 months out of the year.
Your not rich and pellets get spendy

Just my opinion
 
I would build a sweet UDS and put $800 in a checking account solely to buy meat because after you build it you will be addicted.

I have seen pics from Bbq Bubba of him cookin in his drum with snow on the ground.

For $1000 you could build a whole UDS family.....
 
Neither are insulated. So cooking in the cold, you are gonna burn a lot of pellets. Welders blanket will help either. I have had a Traeger 075 since 2002. It will last the rest of my life, it will need a part or two here and there, but that will be just about true of any product. I have a CS WholeHog, it will last the rest of my life too. I think they are both good companies, Traegers CS is second to none. The Traeger units are being built in China now so I have no idea about quality. The Country Smoke will get 200 degrees hotter than the Traeger and is slightly heavier meatel. Good luck, welcome to the DarkSide!.
 
I've had a Country Smoker and was happy with it except in the wind rain and snow, but I knew that going in. I choose it over the Trager and would again today.

There are other pellet grills that deserve your attention which were not available when I bought my CS.

Green Mountain
Mark

And while it is not within your stated budget you and it deserve a look see.
That would be Fast Eddys NEW Pellet Grill not to be confused with his FEC series!

mm
 
why did you choose the country smoker over the traeger?
which one carries a better warrenty and customer service?
 
The CS line will do an easy 200 degrees of more heat than the Traeger, as Bentley mentioned, I thought that was important at the time.

The CS is a better built unit and is built in Canada as opposed to PROC I've dealt with the CS support team and they are wonderful.

Now as to the wind, rain and snow issues here in the Mts of Colorado I've solved that issue by replacing the CS with a FEC-100 :p

So I'll use my gasser for Hot grilling and the FEC for everything below 400 degrees.

Everything is a compromise you just need to work out what your priorities are. :mad:
 
Just FYI, pellets don't have to be that expensive if you look around for deals. I just bought 600lbs. of Country Boy White Lightning Oak Pellets for $75. That's enough to last me until next summer.

I have a CS-680 and I will NEVER give up this rig. I absolutely love cooking on it, and I can do so year round with no problems. I did a Christmas ham last year in 5º weather and it cooked perfectly. Barely used more pellets than normal (just put the unit somewhere where it won't be hit by direct wind and you're fine).

Neighbor has a Traeger...I prefer my CS. Like Bentley said...it gets hotter, and is built a little heavier.
 
Not to start a flame war on pellets, Id advise that if you are new to pellet cooking, you should do a little research on heating pellets vs cooking pellets..............

You do the research then make your decisions, just remember an old wise man once said "you get what you pay for".
 
WineMaster said:
Normally I wouldnt agree with this but up in Canada, No question a Large Egg. Or BW Party.
Click to expand...

My brother and I have CS's and BWS's. At first I was thinking an insulated cabinet smoker for a Canadian too ... but then thought about the benefits of the pellet pooper up near the artic. With the pooper, it's just load the hopper, flip the switch and go back inside and wait for it to warm up.

With the BWS, it's load the chimney, light it and make sure it burning, and load the charcoal basket before going back inside the first time. Then after the chimney is ready, dump it into BWS, get it up well over 250 or 300 (in cold cold weather) then add in water, then possibly waiting some more for the smoker to get up to cook temp if the water drops the temp a lot.

Sure the CS isn't as efficient but even loading the hopper from time to time could mean less time outside.
 
And while it is not within your stated budget you and it deserve a look see.
That would be Fast Eddys NEW Pellet Grill not to be confused with his FEC series!


Where can I get the info on the NEW Pellet grill. I went to the Cookshack web site, but did not see it.
 
pelletcooker.com

what are the differences between heating pellets and cooking pellets?
 
MountainMan said:
Not to start a flame war on pellets, Id advise that if you are new to pellet cooking, you should do a little research on heating pellets vs cooking pellets..............

You do the research then make your decisions, just remember an old wise man once said "you get what you pay for".
Click to expand...

Good point - heating pellets are not necessarily food approved.
 
im really likeing the fast eddy pellet cooker, double walled, that could help out with the ****ty candian winter. but the price is pretty steep iw ould say
 
I think the Mak Grill is the best by far and I have Mak, Traeger, CS, and the Fast eddie...You can buy my fast eddie as Im not a fan of it.

THe cs gets hotter the traegers digital thermostat is slightly better.

Traegers CS has been good...Danson who makes the fast Eddie has been slow to take care of some problems with the hood hitting the pellet hopper door when the grill gets above 350

The drum is crazy cool too....
 
Nice the mak grill looks awesome. how does it compare to the CS and traeger , pros and cons? How much do they cost and what is the warrenty and customer service like on them?
 
MountainMan said:
Not to start a flame war on pellets, Id advise that if you are new to pellet cooking, you should do a little research on heating pellets vs cooking pellets..............

You do the research then make your decisions, just remember an old wise man once said "you get what you pay for".
Click to expand...

No war here just facts. :icon_clown There are "heating pellets" that are fine to use in your pellet cooker. If you really want to get down to it then see if there is a HPBA stamp on the bag. I have used both heating pellets and cooking pellets. It's friggen sawdust compressed with a natural glue called linogen and you don't really have any idea where it came from. Alot of them there cooking pellets advertised flavor is only a percentage of what's in the bag. Personally I see nothing wrong with the 4 dollar for 40 lb bag of 100% hardwood. Not many are HPBA certified but some are, please do your research. Do you use veggie oil in your chainsaw? That bar leaves contaminents too. :smile:
 
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