Need a New Pellet Smoker

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Mlhunter

Got Wood.
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I have Myron Mixon G33 and Monolith ceramic. I like the idea of having a pellet smoker too. I've always owned a pellet smoker. My first smoker was a Traeger. I currently own a Green Mountain that is worn out.

I want a quality pellet smoker. I was thinking about Yoder but I'm worried about the paint issues I've read about. I don't like the looks of the MAC but it is probably a great smoker. I'm heard great things about the Fast Eddy's too. Lots of people like the Rectec but it seems like a Traeger or GMG.

I do storage my smoker inside the garage when not in use.

Any advise?
 
I recently went through about a year long quest for a pellet smoker. When I started the only thing I knew about was this kind of cool looking thing from a company called Traeger. Then I started doing some research and happened across the Yoder. Boy, did I think that I had found the be-all and end-all of pellet smokers. Looked cool, built like a tank. I was ready to go all in. Life happened, and I had to move. So I held off buying. Then I found this forum. And read some more. (This place is rich with opinions!!! - And it's a very good thing!!!). Long story short - it really made me define what I wanted to do and what I wanted from a smoker/grill.

I ended up in a two way tie between Yoder and MAK - but eventually my doubts about the quality of the finish (and some photos of rusty grills) tipped the scales FOR ME - to the MAK 2. Sure the Yoder looks "cooler" when brand new, but long term durability coupled with the manufacturer's stellar reputation for supporting their products AND a bunch of folks who can't seem to find enough great things to say about their MAKs helped me make the decision. Good luck on your quest - and enjoy the ride along the way!
 
seakuv said:
I recently went through about a year long quest for a pellet smoker. When I started the only thing I knew about was this kind of cool looking thing from a company called Traeger. Then I started doing some research and happened across the Yoder. Boy, did I think that I had found the be-all and end-all of pellet smokers. Looked cool, built like a tank. I was ready to go all in. Life happened, and I had to move. So I held off buying. Then I found this forum. And read some more. (This place is rich with opinions!!! - And it's a very good thing!!!). Long story short - it really made me define what I wanted to do and what I wanted from a smoker/grill.



I ended up in a two way tie between Yoder and MAK - but eventually my doubts about the quality of the finish (and some photos of rusty grills) tipped the scales FOR ME - to the MAK 2. Sure the Yoder looks "cooler" when brand new, but long term durability coupled with the manufacturer's stellar reputation for supporting their products AND a bunch of folks who can't seem to find enough great things to say about their MAKs helped me make the decision. Good luck on your quest - and enjoy the ride along the way!
Click to expand...



Awesome! Do you already have your MAK?
 
I looked at, researched most of the PGs you have mentioned and own a MAK 1 Star, I like the looks of the 1 Star by the way so that's a bonus I guess, it was down to it and the Memphis Advantage, really liked the Memphis Pro too but didn't want to spend that much on a PG. The way the MAK is built and engineered is second to none and that is what sold me, they call it a lifetime grill and I expect to be.

It's been a great cooker and if someone stole it off my back patio I'd be ordering another one.
 
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I have cooked on Traegers and MAK’s. I have seen many of the other makes/models in person. In my opinion, you will be very hard pressed to beat a MAK. There are numerous things you won’t even notice or realize until you have one and are using it. I researched the heck out of the competition before going with MAK. With these MAK kudos, I will be completely honest though... I have had a couple of hiccups with my 2 Star, but MAK has bent over backwards to get things dialed in and resolved. I am one heck of a happy MAK owner.
 
pjtexas1 said:
Higher end... the Blazn would be at the top of my list too.

Less expensive, but not cheaply made with lots of options, Smoke Daddy Pellet Pro.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
Click to expand...



I have not cooked on a Blaz’n, nor have I seen one in person. I have however spent time on their FB fan page. The fit and finish quality seems to be spotty. That was really the only reason I did not consider them when I bought my MAK... otherwise their eye-candy status had my full attention! :)
 
Before ordering the Mak 1 star which hasn’t arrived yet I was between the
Mak 1 star
PG500
Memphis pro
Yoder 480

Decided against the Yoder due to paint issues, lack of pellet dump, ash clean out, and I didn’t trust yoders homebuilt controller. Also doesn’t come with meat probe you can plug into the controller.

Decided against pg500 due to lack of flexibility in cooking configurations.

I might as well have flipped a coin between the Memphis and Mak. I kept repetitively reading that if you plan on grilling more than smoking go with Memphis and if you plan on smoking mostly go with Mak. The Mak controller is the best period and it’s not even close. Plus I can get more large cuts of meat on the Mak than the Memphis pro with the full upper rack. I purchased some grill grates to go on the Mak and will see how they do. If I decide I need a flame zone I’ll get one later but searing isn’t a main priority and I still have my kamado joe big joe.

To me the best pellet smokers are made by the big 3. Mak, Memphis, and cookshack. They are the priciest but they are pricey for a reason.
 
Love my Yoder and a little care goes a long way in preventing rust. I do have a Blazn controller on my FEC-100. It was a good option for replacing the Traeger controller it came with and alot cheaper than the $1500 Cookshack wanted for the IQ4 upgrade kit.
 
I own two GMGs, a Davy Crockett and a Jim Bowie. I just got a Cookshack Fast Eddy's PG1000 and it works so well I'd have a hard time recommending anything else.

Here's what I like about their design compared to the GMG layout (and others like them):


  • Indirect is truly indirect. Nothing burns over there. It's impossible because the firepot is on the other side of the grill, blocked by wall of stainless steel. Want to cook at 600° indirect? No problem.
  • Upper racks are nice to have for stuff that cooks at different speed. This grill has 4 cooking zones.
  • The Chargriller section is AWESOME and is IMHO what every pellet grill is missing. Smoke/cook your food at your preferred temps, then sear/crisp everything up at the end. Painless and perfect.
  • The insulation on the PG1000 is definitely effective. Even with the comparatively large size to my little Davy Crockett, the pellet burn is comparable, and the DC has always been a pellet mizer.
  • LHt/HHt is where it's at. PID controllers sound great, but I don't think the manufacturers have the Process Control background to program them correctly. My GMGs sometimes just drift up and up and up in temp and there seems to be no way to bring it under control. With the PG1000, HHt is a quick and easy adjustment that you can use to bring it easily under control. I had no problem adjusting to run at 180° with very little temperature swing. This method also produces more smoke than a PID controller.
  • The warming/cold smoking drawer is more useful than you think. Stuff like chicken thighs/breasts never cook at the same rate and it's easy to pull them off and hold them down there. Cold smoking is going to be easy with temps of 85° that should be able to be achieved without the use of ice.
  • Ash cleanup is also easy. It's a tray that pulls out. A flat piece of aluminum foil in there makes it even easier. I don't wrap it around the corners because the tolerance of the drawer is pretty tight.
  • I foiled the drip pan, but probably won't in the future. There's no heat under it to burn stuff on, so it's just a matter of wiping it down every so often.

Places to improve. These are more "nice to have" than "need to have":

  • No WiFi, but it's not a dealbreaker. I use my Fireboard, which is WiFi and allows me to have several sensors.
  • Not sure if this really needs improvement, but the temperature sensor is halfway up the back wall. This leads to temps at the grate in the indirect section being about 20°+ or so lower than indicated. You're going to want an ambient temp sensor if you want to really know what your cook temps are at the grate in all the different zones, but you knew that, right? ;)
  • No thermocouple ports. The lid is heavy and has a bit of a lip on it, so it's a bit hard on the cables. I may end up drilling a hole under the right shelf...but I do not look forward to drilling SS at all!
  • Getting to LHt/HHt is a bit of a pain, but not impossible. Would be nice to just be able to adjust these directly, but that is probably not done so as to provide a cleaner user interface for the average user. I am obviously not the average user!
  • A switch for Chargriller mode. Cookshack's chargrillers have a L/M/H setting. Would be nice to have something duplicated on the PG1000/500. You can sorta do this by knowing where the HHt changes and picking those temps (L = 305°, M = 405°, H = 505°) and just leaving the lid open. Did that last night with some chicken thighs and it worked great.

I just posted a pork shoulder cook on the PG1000. It's on the front page if you want to check out the cook.
 
Does anyone have any thoughts on the Academy Sports PG? I’m strictly a weekend home smoker and am looking at options. Not sure some of the higher priced units are within my budget.
 
Currently sharing your same journey. I’m in between the MAK 2 star and the Memphis Pro. Went and looked at a Memphis today, the quality is second to none.
 
I've had my Yoder YS 640 for over 5 years. I absolutely love it. I have done everything on it from Compitetion, regular BBQ, grilled steaks, smoked my homemade bacon and Addouille. I have several smokers & if I could only keep 1 for home use it would be my Yoder. The only paint issues I've had is all the scratches on the cart from hauling all around the country. You can't go wrong with the YS 640
 
I looked for over 6 months and for bang for the buck I went with the Assassin 36” Pellet grill. It is not set up for grilling, just smoking and it does a great job at that. Without additional grates in the others it has more capacity then any of the other except the Pitt and Spitts 1250. It has the same contoller as a lot of other grills and it works great. Also they have a 48” model in testing at this time. It gives a great smoke flavor without have to use any additional smoke devices. It is built out of 11 gauge steel and the door is insulated. For the price IMHO it can’t be beat unless you want to gill direct on it the way it is designed. That was no big deal for me since I have a Weber kettle or my Shirley I can do that in.
 
I’m waiting on someone to put up a camo paint scheme model .........
 
rwalters said:
I have not cooked on a Blaz’n, nor have I seen one in person. I have however spent time on their FB fan page. The fit and finish quality seems to be spotty. That was really the only reason I did not consider them when I bought my MAK... otherwise their eye-candy status had my full attention! :)
Click to expand...


That’s disappointing...
 
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