Considering a new Smoker, a 270 - comments please!

[Bigfish8]

I have the "wants" for a new, small, smoker to cook purely for family and friends. I currently have a Kamado (Grill Dome), a Stainless Steel UDS (Big Poppa Kit), Gas grills and a pellet grill that is on the market for sale. I have absolutely no interest in competition smoking.

My search for a new smoker has allowed me to eliminate a Stick Burner from consideration. Sticks are available locally but I just do not want to have to feed a smoker every 30 to 45 minutes. So, I have basically decided that I want a gravity feed or insulted cabinet smoker. Another consideration is that I want to be able to drive a reasonable distance to pick the smoker up as freight is simply outrageous.

One smoker I am seriously considering is a 270 Hollywood Model. Almost anything I can find on-line about 270 Cookers is not very recent (2 to 3 years old). Some of you may own a 270, have used one and/or tasted the food cooked on one. I would greatly appreciate your comments.

Thanks,

Ken

[PatAttack]

I know Tom (Rusty Kettle) has one and he loves his.


Hopefully he'll be along to give some advice.

[Sid Post]

Assassin is in Macon, GA. When I searched for a more 'value' oriented option, it was either them or TK. Macon should be a reasonable drive distance for you to skip the shipping issues.

270 seems to carry a good reputation too so, I suspect it is a solid choice among many good options.

The biggest discriminator for me today would be shelf orientation (wide door with a shallower depth vs. a narrow door and deep) and builder backlog.

As far as outrageous shipping, my TK quote wasn't terrible. I get some crating fees are really high along with high priced delivery charges.

[scp]

I researched hi and low...and thats my next step up from my WSM. I was real close on a Humphreys...then discovered the 270's...looked at them side by side and the workmanship leans heavily towards the 270. The convection type cooking really appeals to me as well.

Just my opinion

[Bigfish8]

Originally Posted by Sid Post

Assassin is in Macon, GA. When I searched for a more 'value' oriented option, it was either them or TK. Macon should be a reasonable drive distance for you to skip the shipping issues.

270 seems to carry a good reputation too so, I suspect it is a solid choice among many good options.

The biggest discriminator for me today would be shelf orientation (wide door with a shallower depth vs. a narrow door and deep) and builder backlog.

As far as outrageous shipping, my TK quote wasn't terrible. I get some crating fees are really high along with high priced delivery charges.

Sid:

Thanks! I have actually pared my choices to an Assassin 17 or a 270 Hollywood. I am tentatively going to a competition in Concord, NC in 3 weeks to see these style cookers in action and talk to the competitors. The one thing that has me slightly leaning toward the 270 is that it does not need a Guru (electricity) to accurately hold tempts. However, my one largest overriding issue is food taste. The 270 uses convection and I am wondering if that will impact food taste?

[Bigfish8]

Originally Posted by scp

I researched hi and low...and thats my next step up from my WSM. I was real close on a Humphreys...then discovered the 270's...looked at them side by side and the workmanship leans heavily towards the 270. The convection type cooking really appeals to me as well.

Just my opinion

Thanks! Have you tasted the food from a 270 versus other smokers? I am being a little hesitate in making a decision until I taste food prepared on a 270 or Assassin. I jumped onto a Pellet Grill a couple of years ago, without trying the food and I just cannot get into the flavor. The food is not, to my taste buds, in the same league as the food prepared on my Kamado or my UDS.

[pharp]

Originally Posted by Bigfish8

Sid:

Thanks! I have actually pared my choices to an Assassin 17 or a 270 Hollywood. I am tentatively going to a competition in Concord, NC in 3 weeks to see these style cookers in action and talk to the competitors. The one thing that has me slightly leaning toward the 270 is that it does not need a Guru (electricity) to accurately hold tempts. However, my one largest overriding issue is food taste. The 270 uses convection and I am wondering if that will impact food taste?

....

[Evil-g]

Bigfish8, I’ve been running with a 270 Sumo for three years. The folks at 270 make an excellent smoker. Musltiple configurations for shelving and rock solid temps. Doesn’t care if 0° outside. My biggest regret was not going bigger, the Hollywood is the replacement for the Sumo and has more capacity so you may be ok size wise.

If your doing a large cookout timing is your friend.
I agree they need to spend more time on social media. They do have a FB page.

[Evil-g]

Originally Posted by Bigfish8

Sid:

Thanks! I have actually pared my choices to an Assassin 17 or a 270 Hollywood. I am tentatively going to a competition in Concord, NC in 3 weeks to see these style cookers in action and talk to the competitors. The one thing that has me slightly leaning toward the 270 is that it does not need a Guru (electricity) to accurately hold tempts. However, my one largest overriding issue is food taste. The 270 uses convection and I am wondering if that will impact food taste?

No not at all, it can also be used as a reverse flow, turn the chimney cover over the front chimney.

[Bigfish8]

I spoke with Stephanie of 270 Smokers today. First of all she took an hour of her time to talk with me about the 270 Smokers. Stephanie told me they increased the size of the Hollywood versus the Sumo to allow for more airflow around meats and pans. It also 7 shelf brackets for more spacing options. While it does not seem important the Hollywood is capable of sustained 400 degrees cooking where the maximum on the Sumo is 350.


Thanks again for the reply and information.

[luv2smoke]

Bending over to access the cooking chamber and fuel door would be a deal killer for me on the 270.

[Bigfish8]

Originally Posted by luv2smoke

Bending over to access the cooking chamber and fuel door would be a deal killer for me on the 270.

Yep! Unfortunately the requirement to bend over to access a cooking chamber seems to be a fairly common characteristic of the smaller smokers for personal use. I guess, fortunately in this case, I am a short guy. LOL!

Thanks for the reply.

Ken

[Red Valley BBQ]

You would enjoy the 270 immensely. The combination of the fully insulated cabinet and the convection air flow creates even temps throughout the cooker. I find that there is only about 3* difference top to bottom, front to back, and left to right. The convection effect also helps meat cook about 20% faster. I've been using 270s exclusively for the past 5 years. I have three of them, two Standards for my comp trailer and a Mini for home use. My opinion is they are the best cooker on the market for the money. FYI I saw a Standard for sale on Facebook for around $1000 I think.

[Monte Cristo]

You will not regret getting a 270. I love my sumo and am considering getting a bigger unit for more capacity. Everything you read is true...steady temps, no electronics needed, and great tasting food. I can’t get over how easy it is.

I paid $385 shipping to RI. I’d do it again tomorrow...

[kevinstaggs]

I’ve always been interested in them as well. Hear tons of good things. For those with 270’s - how easy and how long can you maintain 250F on the KC and the Hollywood. How long to come up to temp?

Thanks in advance.


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