Pellet smoker for under $350

[Fairweatheroutdoors]

HI all I am new here, I'm from upstate ny just outside of Middletown.anyway I'm looking to get my first pellet smoker, I've used offset smokers, charcoal grills, pits for doing bbq chicken halfs for the fire department. But no expert.

I'd like to get a pellet smoker to try out, like to say under $350. I like the idea of the portable ones for when I go on fishing trips, hunting camp or when I visit up at my dads upstate. I really like what I see from the gmg Davy Crockett and the new version the trek looks even better.

I also was looking at the small grills like the asmoke as150 or the pit boss which I believe is basically the same thing, they about $250ish.

Or should I just get a normal pellet smoker, I'm not real sure which are better in the price range. The pit boss Lexington 500 looks good but think something with a pid would be nice. I like the idea of the vertical smokers, tho you can't sear but could just use the gas grill for that.

Perhaps I should list what is like to use the smoker for.
Ribs
Chicken wings/ legs, spachcocked, thighs, hole
Jerky, I love making the stuff.
Summer sausage
Burgers
Pork butt
Brisket
Really everything I guess lol


Any help or recommendations would be appreciated.thanks.

 

[Dirtdad]

So, on the small table top style pellet smoker. Pit Boss, Country Smokers, and Lousiana, all have very similar ones. All are marketed by Dansons. I wouldnt be surprised if the Asmoke was also built at the same factory, its so similar. The only one with a PID controller is the Louisiana, it is also bigger, at 333 square inches, as compared to 256 for the others. It also has a 10 lb. hopper, as compared to about 4 lbs. for the others. (I think Walmart has a version of the Pit Boss with a 7 lb. hopper, but its out of stock). The Lousiana is quite a bit heavier than the others, 65 lb vs 45?

I bought a Country Smokers traveler thru Lowes, for 207.00. I also returned it to Lowes. I cooked a few things on it, and was able to run it off a 500 watt inverter, off my motor home. Initially I was thrilled, but discovered huge temperature swings, and very unreliable temperatures. The mechanical thermometer on the lid read 50 degrees different from the digital read out, and that varied 50 to 100 from the set temperature. An oven thermometer placed on the grate, read way cooler than the digital. I also had to check on pellets every hour or 45 minutes, and when you do this, you have to open the smokers lid, adding to the temperature swings. You also only have about 5 inches of head room above the grate. Some of these come with a meat probe, the Country Smokers did not have provision for one. If you look at reviews on line, most of the complains on these guys, is temperature swings.
I suggested to a friend, that he look at the Davey Crockett, and he bought one about 5 weeks ago. He has done 5 or 6 cooks, and is very happy with it. You get a lot for your money. A 10 lb or so external hopper, a PID controller with wifi, and some preloaded cook profiles. Although it has less sq inches space, I think 212?, it is more usable space with a tall peaked lid. I think the new Trek, adds a way to clean out ashes, and a couple of other things. They are also 12 volt based, so no need for an inverter if camping or tail gating, also run off 110. They also have several accessories available, and are reputed to have great customer service.
If I didnt already have a larger pellet grill at home, I would buy one for home use. For my motor home storage, I find it too big and clumsy, otherwise I would buy one for that.
Lately I have had a lot of time in my hands, so have done a lot of research on these. Hope it helps you.

 

[Fairweatheroutdoors]

So, on the small table top style pellet smoker. Pit Boss, Country Smokers, and Lousiana, all have very similar ones. All are marketed by Dansons. I wouldnt be surprised if the Asmoke was also built at the same factory, its so similar. The only one with a PID controller is the Louisiana, it is also bigger, at 333 square inches, as compared to 256 for the others. It also has a 10 lb. hopper, as compared to about 4 lbs. for the others. (I think Walmart has a version of the Pit Boss with a 7 lb. hopper, but its out of stock). The Lousiana is quite a bit heavier than the others, 65 lb vs 45?

I bought a Country Smokers traveler thru Lowes, for 207.00. I also returned it to Lowes. I cooked a few things on it, and was able to run it off a 500 watt inverter, off my motor home. Initially I was thrilled, but discovered huge temperature swings, and very unreliable temperatures. The mechanical thermometer on the lid read 50 degrees different from the digital read out, and that varied 50 to 100 from the set temperature. An oven thermometer placed on the grate, read way cooler than the digital. I also had to check on pellets every hour or 45 minutes, and when you do this, you have to open the smokers lid, adding to the temperature swings. You also only have about 5 inches of head room above the grate. Some of these come with a meat probe, the Country Smokers did not have provision for one. If you look at reviews on line, most of the complains on these guys, is temperature swings.
I suggested to a friend, that he look at the Davey Crockett, and he bought one about 5 weeks ago. He has done 5 or 6 cooks, and is very happy with it. You get a lot for your money. A 10 lb or so external hopper, a PID controller with wifi, and some preloaded cook profiles. Although it has less sq inches space, I think 212?, it is more usable space with a tall peaked lid. I think the new Trek, adds a way to clean out ashes, and a couple of other things. They are also 12 volt based, so no need for an inverter if camping or tail gating, also run off 110. They also have several accessories available, and are reputed to have great customer service.
If I didnt already have a larger pellet grill at home, I would buy one for home use. For my motor home storage, I find it too big and clumsy, otherwise I would buy one for that.
Lately I have had a lot of time in my hands, so have done a lot of research on these. Hope it helps you.

Thanks for the info, the small smokers like the asmoke and the country smoker maybe better to use like a grill more then a smoker, Lowe's has a nice model but see it like to have smoke in the pellet hopper so that's a problem.

I've been looking at the gmg DC for years now and see so many people like it, most problems I've seen are user error it seems. Believe they had a few problems but for the most part fixed them. I really like the 12volt to, there's probably some places were I could use it and just run it off a trolling motor battery or off my truck. Not really anyone else in my family like smoked bbq to much so the smaller size should be fine.

We're pretty limited on space at my house so even if I got a bigger smoker just for home it can't be to big, I just don't see any I like better then the gmg dc.

 

[Fairweatheroutdoors]

Any recommend any other smokers.

 

[jzadski]

For what you are wanting and at your price point I think the GMG is a great choice. I would think your family wouldn't be able to resist after a while smelling your cooks

 

[Fairweatheroutdoors]

For what you are wanting and at your price point I think the GMG is a great choice. I would think your family wouldn't be able to resist after a while smelling your cooks

They won't eat anything I make, funny since non of them can cook at all. My dad that doesn't live with us cooks good same with him, my mom will cook food and not even season anything. More for me I guess,

 

[Smokie185]

Any recommend any other smokers.

I have the GMG DC and I really like it. The only thing you need to watch for is the position of the heat deflector plate, it's picky about that.

It does make a little racket when it is running and it struggles in cold weather but you can get a blanket to put over it.

I really like the WiFi along with the app.

Keep an eye out and see if you can get one on sale. I got mine for 299.00 from a local dealer.

 

[Fairweatheroutdoors]

I have the GMG DC and I really like it. The only thing you need to watch for is the position of the heat deflector plate, it's picky about that.

It does make a little racket when it is running and it struggles in cold weather but you can get a blanket to put over it.

I really like the WiFi along with the app.

Keep an eye out and see if you can get one on sale. I got mine for 299.00 from a local dealer.

The new trek that is replacing the dc has a arm to adjust the the heat deflector from outside the grill, there there's other improvements to. Thanks for the info.

 

[Fairweatheroutdoors]

How are the pit boss Lexington 500, think there about $300

 

[Mrwokn]

Id look used, i just picked up a GMG DB for 200 on craiglist.

 

[mcyork28]

I know this is a little outside your stated budget but I saw this at Costco the other day and thought it looked pretty nice for $399.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

 

[Fairweatheroutdoors]

I know this is a little outside your stated budget but I saw this at Costco the other day and thought it looked pretty nice for $399.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

Looks nice, does it have a pid. I should probably save up for a better smoker but it's hard for me lol. The

 

[Fairweatheroutdoors]

Id look used, i just picked up a GMG DB for 200 on craiglist.

I looked didn't see much.

 

[Dirtdad]

That Lousiana grill at Costco, has gone on sale twice, in the last 3 or 4 months, for 299.00. I wouldnt be surprised if it went back on sale towards the end of summer. They are a Costco exclusive. It does have a PID controller, but not wifi. I almost bought one, but the wife gave the O.K. to spend more, so I bought a Silverback for the house. I think that Louisiana is very nice, even has a front shelf, and you can open the searing plate from the outside. Only a handfull of reviews when I was thinking about it. One very important thing to be aware of, that I got from the reviews, is that apparently the manual has wrong information on the shut down procedure, it says to press the button for 3 seconds, but it should just be push and let go. Seems like when pressed for 3 seconds it goes back to adding pellets, like on start up, instead of going into cool down mode. Some people have then unplugged the power cord. Next time they turn it on, it adds more pellets, and creates all kinds of havoc.
Make sure you read the reviews, this information is there.

 

[Fairweatheroutdoors]

That Lousiana grill at Costco, has gone on sale twice, in the last 3 or 4 months, for 299.00. I wouldnt be surprised if it went back on sale towards the end of summer. They are a Costco exclusive. It does have a PID controller, but not wifi. I almost bought one, but the wife gave the O.K. to spend more, so I bought a Silverback for the house. I think that Louisiana is very nice, even has a front shelf, and you can open the searing plate from the outside. Only a handfull of reviews when I was thinking about it. One very important thing to be aware of, that I got from the reviews, is that apparently the manual has wrong information on the shut down procedure, it says to press the button for 3 seconds, but it should just be push and let go. Seems like when pressed for 3 seconds it goes back to adding pellets, like on start up, instead of going into cool down mode. Some people have then unplugged the power cord. Next time they turn it on, it adds more pellets, and creates all kinds of havoc.
Make sure you read the reviews, this information is there.

Only thing is we don't have any Costco around here.

 

[CivilTrojan]

Only thing is we don't have any Costco around here.

You might be able to order it on Costco (dot) com.

 

[glitchy]

FWIW, I think CampChef makes some of the best bang for your buck pellet grills. I haven’t had any of the grills from Dansons, but have had quite a few other pellet grills and the CampChef SmokePro and Woodwind I had were both decent grills. I picked up the SmokePro as new old stock on eBay for around $275. That was pre-pandemic though.

Unless you need the portability, I’d avoid the tabletop pellet grills. Especially when you’re talking about ribs and brisket. They’re pretty small for that stuff.