What pellet machine NOT to buy. Or to buy.

[Dortmund01]

I had a Yoder ys640 and it was fine. As a learned more about smoking I realized the convenience of a pellet grill wasn’t worth the “perfectly fine” product it produced. Jack of all trades, master of none. The biggest issue I had was dirty power at comps, threw it all into wack. Didn’t want to keep fooling with that.

I sold it to a friend about 5 years ago and he still uses it weekly to this day. It’s a beast of a machine.

[Hot Spot]

Originally Posted by Bob C Cue

Have you tried Lumberjack Hickory pellets?

No, I used Bear Mountain and when they did not have any in store, I bought some Cabellas which were available. The Mak has been staying dead on set temp, and pretty much no smoke at all. I clean everything out before each cook. I contacted Mak and was told to clean the vents after telling them I cleaned everything out before I started.

Dennis OGG said that is a good thing that it is holding exact and I said that without a swing, it would seem that there would not be much smoke and he said it is designed to not swing much.

[AClarke44]

I have a recteq RT700 and love it. In my opinion if you buy a higher end ($1000ish or more) pellet cooker you’ll be happy with the results. Not saying lower end cookers aren’t good I just think you’ll run into more issues such as temps swings and cheaper parts. Aside from that the most important advice I have is use good pellets!!! I use Lumberjack pellets and have had very good results in smoke flavor and heat when I need it. I cook a LOT on the low setting and have never experienced soot on my food. Everything has turned out great. One more thing. You won’t get the same level of smoke from a pellet cooker as you will a UDS or similar. But the smoke is cleaner and I’ve come to really enjoy it. To me the flavor is closer to a stick burner than a charcoal/wood chunk smoker.
Good luck!

[chingador]

I bought a Rectec 590 in spring of 2020 and have been using it heavily since then. In terms of bang for the buck, this is a really good cooker. Considering I paid less than $1000 I am really happy with it. It is made from cheap Chinese materials but is holding up okay. Still works fine. Just not nearly as pretty as it was when I bought it. The stainless they use isn't the best quality. The drip pan is really thin, cheap material and is sagging a bit, leading to pooling of grease. But it still works very well and problem free. Any time I had to deal with their customer service I came away happy.

Flavor can be a bit subjective. I bought this grill because I wanted a clean smoke profile. That is my preference. On shorter cooks like ribs, the RT is perfect in my opinion. It really shines cooking ribs. On larger cuts like briskets or pork butts, you can be lacking in smoke if you try to cook with the same time and temperature techniques you would with a stick burner. I have found best results cooking overnight just below 200 degrees, then cranking up as needed in the morning. Plenty smoke in my opinion. But fast cooks will leave you wanting.

The convenience of pellet cooking works for me. I much prefer the flavor to charcoal smokers, but that is my taste. I still think stick burners produce a superior product but I simply do not have time tending a smoker. Just too busy.

If I had to do it all over again and my budget was about the same, I would spend a little more and go with the RT700. My brother in law has one and it seems to be a little more stout in materials and construction.

I am actually in the market for a new smoker. My wife and I are about to knock down our detached garage and replace it with a new building with an indoor kitchen that leads to an outdoor bar and covered grilling area on one side and a pool on the other. It is going to be sweet. I want to treat myself with a new smoker and want to retire the RT to the farm. Looking hard at the LSG pellet cooker. Love the design for sure. Chris does some excellent work and have been wanting to own one of their grills for a long time.