The Official Pellet Grill Smoker thread.

[twofishy4u]

Originally Posted by pjtexas1

Mak 1 Star should fit the bill.

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over budget with shipping much less wifi. It's a little smaller too. Have a hard time believing Yoder would rust out too much on me.....its under a canopy/sheltered area.

[GrantAshton]

Originally Posted by twofishy4u

over budget with shipping much less wifi. It's a little smaller too. Have a hard time believing Yoder would rust out too much on me.....its under a canopy/sheltered area.

You said your budget was $2,000.

The MAK 1 Star is $1,800. (That includes shipping.)

[pjtexas1]

Originally Posted by twofishy4u

over budget with shipping much less wifi. It's a little smaller too. Have a hard time believing Yoder would rust out too much on me.....its under a canopy/sheltered area.

A little over budget. Way more space with upper grate. Upper grate from Smoke Daddy is $40 and fits perfectly.

$1800 - 1 star
$300 - wifi
$100 - full upper grate
$0 - shipping
------------------------
$2200

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[twofishy4u]

Didn't realize shipping was FREE/included in price. That puts it within reason. What sets them apart? How are they in the COLD of winter at 0 degrees? I will say I never hear anything negative about them

[rwalters]

Originally Posted by twofishy4u

Didn't realize shipping was FREE/included in price. That puts it within reason. What sets them apart? How are they in the COLD of winter at 0 degrees? I will say I never hear anything negative about them

Hey there- As far as MAK’s and cold weather, they do just fine. There are guys in the MAK family that live in freezing cold climates, including Fairbanks Alaska. I have seen a good number of pics of guys smoking and grilling in extremely cold weather. You do NOT need a blanket with a MAK. You asked what sets MAK’s apart. I posted a response to a similar question earlier today in another thread. Here’s a copy/paste that may help explain some of the things that sets them apart. If you have further questions, please fire away. Lots of happy MAK family members here at the Brethren :)
——————————————————————
I actually stumbled upon a used MAK 1 Star that my buddy was selling back in 2016. Had a backyard full of cookers at the time and just figured I’d add the MAK for those days when I didn’t want to mess with charcoal and/or splits. Never in a million years did I expect the MAK to become my favorite grill and smoker of all time... but that is exactly what happened. Fast forward to 2017 and I ended up selling off my entire cooking arsenal due to us moving and my new cooking area being quite a bit smaller than what I had previously had. As a result of the move I sold 4 Kamado Joe’s, a Weber Genesis, an M1 Grill/stick burner along with my MAK 1 Star. With a pocket full of cash, I could’ve bought pretty much any new cooker or two I wanted to replace the 7 I had just sold. I researched the heck out of the market. Based on my previous MAK 1 Star experience and my newfound love of pellet cooking, I began to dig fairly deep into the pellet grill market. I came to discover that there are a few very nice units out there other than MAK. As I began to dig though, I created a pros/cons list of each cooker I was looking at. No matter how I sliced and diced it, the MAK 2 Star would surface as the winner every single time for me and the way I cook. What was it about the MAK 2 Star that pushed it over the top (and past the Yoder lineup)?

1) The MAK’s were built from the ground up to be a pellet grill. Many of the US competitors more or less slap a pellet hopper onto a stick burner body. 10 & 7 gauge (2 of the brands I looked at) steel IMO is completely unnecessary for a pellet grill. Thick steel does not have insulating properties as it is a conductor of heat not an insulator. Yes, it can provide temp stability in the world of stick burners, but really does nothing for a properly constructed pellet grill with a solid controller.

2) The 2 Star is constructed of 304 Marine Grade SS which will require zero paint and rust maintenance for the life of the grill.

3) Virtually every pellet grill on the market that offers some type of direct flame exposure is isolated to a small portion of the main cooking grates surface. That just doesn’t work well for a family when you simply want to load down the grate and grill up a nice meal. The MAK is the only pellet grill on the market that has the Funnel Flame Zone (basically a reversed funnel) that provides very intense heat front/back and side/side. Being able to grill on a pellet cooker was very important to me!

4) As I dug, and spoke with owners and company reps, I began to learn why MAK’s seem to smoke soooo much more than the competition. Smoke production from day 1 has been one of the main goals of MAK Grills and the cookers have been designed and are VERY dialed in when it comes to producing tons of smoke. From the controller algorithms, to the variable speed fan, to the newer Funnel Flame Zone to the stackless hood... the MAK’s not only produce tons of smoke but they do not allow it to quickly billow away from a large smoke stack on the lid.

5) MAK’s have a fantastic internal grease management system. You’ll rarely find a drop of grease is the belly of the cooking chamber as the grease runs down channels that surround the Flame Zone drip pan and are directed to an internal grease bucket. Makes for easy peasy cleanup... not to mention the removable firepot (no more shop-vac needed).

6) The Pellet Boss controller. Best in the biz IMO. Highly programmable. The only controller to accept industrial k-style probes. You can buy your probes from places like Thermoworks now. Highly accurate and extremely durable.

Please do not take this as me knocking other top-tier pellet cookers, because that is not at all my intent. I am just trying to share what it was that took MAK to the top of the list and pushed it over as the winner for me.

Absolutely LOVE my 2 Star!!!!

[kiva822]

Thanks for that repost on the mak. Was above my price range, but sounds like a sweet set up

[ryan10]

Anyone have any info on the group buy mak did with the brethren? I just stumbled across the "appreciation post" rwalters set up today unfortunately. I had no idea they were doing this or else I would have pulled the trigger and got in on that. Any idea if they will do something like that in the future as well?

[pjtexas1]

Originally Posted by ryan10

Anyone have any info on the group buy mak did with the brethren? I just stumbled across the "appreciation post" rwalters set up today unfortunately. I had no idea they were doing this or else I would have pulled the trigger and got in on that. Any idea if they will do something like that in the future as well?

You have to call Mak to get the details. This is a great place. I check in daily. Never know what I'm gonna miss. Sorry you missed out. I have not heard of any other group buys.

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[rwalters]

Originally Posted by ryan10

Anyone have any info on the group buy mak did with the brethren? I just stumbled across the "appreciation post" rwalters set up today unfortunately. I had no idea they were doing this or else I would have pulled the trigger and got in on that. Any idea if they will do something like that in the future as well?

Hi Ryan- Heres the thread that went bonkers as a result of the MAK group buy. As far as the deal, MAK asked that each person that took advantage of it not share the specifics. I can tell you that each person received the same discount, but out of respect for MAK’s request I have not seen one person share what they were asked not to. As to whether or not this type of group buy deal will happen again, I am not sure. This was the first time MAK has ever done anything like this as they rarely if ever discount their product lineup.

https://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/s...d.php?t=279141

[MattGoose]

Originally Posted by rwalters

Ok, here’s my opinion. Take it for what it’s worth... lol.

With you pushing your budget a bit higher $750ish, and based on the types of proteins you mentioned you cook most often (chicken, plate short ribs, ribs and pork), I would absolutely go with the Grilla Grills Silverbac. I really feel at the 750ish price point you are going to be very hard pressed to beat it.

As far as “grilling” ability, with the exception of steak, which you didn’t mention, I think you’ll be quite pleased with the high temp indirect results for things like chicken, burgers, sausage, etc. It won’t be a “searing machine” but IMO you don’t need that power for anything other than steaks. High temp indirect heat produces really good/moist results.

As far as the PID questions, Grilla now offers their dual function controller where you can set it to PID behavior and it’ll keep a tight temp range, or you can turn that off and let the temps swing a bit more but also produce more smoke. Kinda cool.

As far as WiFi, that’s up to you... I personally love it on my MAK, but if I had to choose between WiFi on a lesser quality pellet grill vs no WiFi on a higher quality pellet grill... hands down I’d give up the WiFi and go with quality.

If you do go with the Grilla and decide that you still need the searing power from time to time, then personally, I’d recommend a small secondary cooker... something like the Weber Jumbo Joe or a small Weber gas grill... or even a small Blackstone griddle... something that can be easily stored away when not needed. But even then, I have a hunch that the Grilla will see 99% of all cooking duties.

Just my 2 cents :)

Hi, thanks for the input. And my apologies - I posted a question and then went on vacation like an idiot.



I have a Weber Performer that I'm never, ever giving up, so I'll cover the real searing duties with that :)



Right now, I need to start by selling the kamado and I'll go from there!

[twofishy4u]

I've called Yoder, Blaz'n', MAK and Smokin Brothers within the last week. Will take a closer look at pitts and spitts too. Will say of the 4 I called so far it's Yoder and MAK. I really wanted to love a Blaz, but there C.S. isn't great from what I have found so far. I get it's hard with everything going on currently but when you finally get to talk to a person and give them your info they should get back.....and they didn't, I had to call numerous times and then was told I'd get a quote emailed.....didn't happen. Emailed Monday and nothing.

[WBDubya]

You’ll never find another company (selling any product) that has better customer service than MAK!


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[Crispy Bacon]

Originally Posted by WBDubya

You’ll never find another company (selling any product) that has better customer service than MAK!


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Ditto! Great people & company!!

[twofishy4u]

yea it did seem that way. Took a long time with me asking all sorts of questions. Would love to see one in person.

[rwalters]

So do you truly have it narrowed down to MAK vs Yoder? If yes, you are sooooo close :)

If Yoder which model, and if MAK which model? What is it at this point that is keeping you from a final decision?