Putting Mak 1 Star c flame zone thru it’s paces...

[The Wookiee]

Is the flame zone a $400 add on or is that just for the older models.

I was cruising their site and I was a little confused because it said 2016 and previous.

yeah - BPS has 2 sizes of flame zone add on; older 1 star was smaller; newer 1 star same size chamber as 2 star so it's the post-2016 model (or whatever the newest option is)

 

[electron_si]

Will someone post a picture of the flame zone setup. I couldn’t find any with it installed on the grill.

I’ll be in the market for a new smoker next year, I’ve been waffling back and forth between adding a Hunsaker to the lineup or selling my traeger and getting a ys640 or 1 star.

That 1 star in all black is a nice looking rig.

 

[ssv3]

Well? Pull the trigger?

I guess I'm growing up strange but I decided to sleep on it. I am surprised at myself :becky: It's in the cart though, optioned out. So since BPS is a CA company my price automatically went up $130 (tax) Are they who you bought yours from or another retailer? One last question is how low can you go with temps? MAK states 170-180 and that's perfect for smoking home cured bacon. Is that pretty accurate?

 

[ssv3]

I decided to go with the 1 Star because of it's small foot print and it can still cook a good amount of food, Lantern sold me on the Flame Zone and full upper grate. The design of the FZ forces all the heat from the burn pot up into the grill, so it gets to temps quicker and works more efficiently. Lantern also told me that I could use the full upper grate on the bottom and use one of the bottom grates as a half on top if needed. Been up in the air about the bottom storage rack but after sleeping on it I'm going to add it to the grill.

I'm shying away from "Go big or go home" so MAK 1 and it's features are perfect for my needs as well Kevin. I'm telling you I'm growing up and getting wiser. :-D Who woulda thunk??

Thanks Wookie, Robb, Kevin for all the info. Truly helpful.

 

[OklaDustDevil]

I've been in between Yoder, Mak, Memphis Pro. Why did you guys go Mak??

Went thru this same debate last year. With the help of folks on this forum, I narrowed it to the same 3 you mentioned. One thing that helped me was to think thru why I wanted a pellet smoker and how I intended to use it. For me, I wanted a smoker that will chug along automatically all night so I don't have to pull any more all-nighters. But I'm perfectly happy to use my Weber for grilling, so don't need pellet grilling features.

I eliminated the Memphis because they're very pricey and designed more for grilling. If you want to grill with pellets, it might be a good choice if you can swing the $. I really liked the Yoder, mainly because it is designed more like my offset stickburners. But I chose the Mak over it because 1- I read about a lot of paint issues with the Yoder, 2- the Yoder was pricier, 3- the Yoder's internal volume is larger, and I felt the smaller volume of the 1-star might make it smokier, and 4- the 1-star has the best controller in the business. It also makes more sense to me to have the burn pot in the middle and eliminate the exhaust stack, using grill-level louvres intead.

You can program the cook in stages. Since pellets smoke less at higher temp's, I often program the cook to start with 3-4 hours at low-temp "smoke" setting, then shift to a higher temp like 225 or 250 until the meat IT gets as high as I want (using the included probe, which plugs into the controller), then drop back to 200 until I get up and out there in the morning. Load it up with pellets and it will shift thru these programs automatically all night.

Really applies technology to the chef's advantage. I've had no issue with lack of smoke flavour and no need for any smoke tubes like many folks with pellet grills. And since I don't plan to grill, I saved $ by not ordering the flame zone. If you want to grill, though, I hear it works well.

I dealt with Mak directly and found them awesome to deal with. As options, I would suggest the 3/4 upper grill rack, the front shelf, and the cover (unless you can store it inside). I will say the cover is poorly designed -- apparently they make it to cover the extra side-shelf, which I don't have, so my cover looks big and floppy and actually blew off in the breeze.

 

[The Wookiee]

Will someone post a picture of the flame zone setup. I couldn’t find any with it installed on the grill.

I’ll be in the market for a new smoker next year, I’ve been waffling back and forth between adding a Hunsaker to the lineup or selling my traeger and getting a ys640 or 1 star.

That 1 star in all black is a nice looking rig.

These are not my pics; poached directly from a review from TentHunteR on another site (hope that’s ok)

 

[ssv3]

Thanks Ray! I'll skip the cover then. Classic accessories makes an awesome cover for way cheaper. Quality is second to none and I have a few of them on different smokers. I'm good on grilling or searing since I have kettles for that. I'm now overwhelmingly confident the 1 Star is it.

Thank you again!

Went thru this same debate last year. With the help of folks on this forum, I narrowed it to the same 3 you mentioned. One thing that helped me was to think thru why I wanted a pellet smoker and how I intended to use it. For me, I wanted a smoker that will chug along automatically all night so I don't have to pull any more all-nighters. But I'm perfectly happy to use my Weber for grilling, so don't need pellet grilling features.

I eliminated the Memphis because they're very pricey and designed more for grilling. If you want to grill with pellets, it might be a good choice if you can swing the $. I really liked the Yoder, mainly because it is designed more like my offset stickburners. But I chose the Mak over it because 1- I read about a lot of paint issues with the Yoder, 2- the Yoder was pricier, 3- the Yoder's internal volume is larger, and I felt the smaller volume of the 1-star might make it smokier, and 4- the 1-star has the best controller in the business. It also makes more sense to me to have the burn pot in the middle and eliminate the exhaust stack, using grill-level louvres intead.

You can program the cook in stages. Since pellets smoke less at higher temp's, I often program the cook to start with 3-4 hours at low-temp "smoke" setting, then shift to a higher temp like 225 or 250 until the meat IT gets as high as I want (using the included probe, which plugs into the controller), then drop back to 200 until I get up and out there in the morning. Load it up with pellets and it will shift thru these programs automatically all night.

Really applies technology to the chef's advantage. I've had no issue with lack of smoke flavour and no need for any smoke tubes like many folks with pellet grills. And since I don't plan to grill, I saved $ by not ordering the flame zone. If you want to grill, though, I hear it works well.

I dealt with Mak directly and found them awesome to deal with. As options, I would suggest the 3/4 upper grill rack, the front shelf, and the cover (unless you can store it inside). I will say the cover is poorly designed -- apparently they make it to cover the extra side-shelf, which I don't have, so my cover looks big and floppy and actually blew off in the breeze.

 

[The Wookiee]

I guess I'm growing up strange but I decided to sleep on it. I am surprised at myself :becky: It's in the cart though, optioned out. So since BPS is a CA company my price automatically went up $130 (tax) Are they who you bought yours from or another retailer? One last question is how low can you go with temps? MAK states 170-180 and that's perfect for smoking home cured bacon. Is that pretty accurate?

170-185 has been what mine runs in ‘smoke’ mode.

I know BPS is preferred retailer (other than direct from Mak; but when ordering from BPS the cooler shipped directly from Mak). Not sure if you could avoid the tax by going thru Mak direct or not.

 

[rwalters]

I guess I'm growing up strange but I decided to sleep on it. I am surprised at myself :becky: It's in the cart though, optioned out. So since BPS is a CA company my price automatically went up $130 (tax) Are they who you bought yours from or another retailer? One last question is how low can you go with temps? MAK states 170-180 and that's perfect for smoking home cured bacon. Is that pretty accurate?

I see most of your questions have been answered... but yes 170-190 is where the smoke setting will keep you... with an average of about 180°.

And other than BPS, MAK is the only other place to buy from. I’ve spoken with BPS numerous times and chose to buy through MAK. Just my opinion, but I much preferred the service/conversations/overall vibe of dealing direct with MAK. I’d definitely check the no tax thing if you go direct through MAK. That potential savings could buy one of your options

 

[KevinJ]

I went through BPS because the grill was discounted $100 this weekend, the FZ is $25 cheaper going through BPS, plus double BPS points this weekend will earn me just under $80 towards future purchases and I use BPS for most my Rub and BBQ sauce purchases. Haven't received it yet but I also have a $50 BPS gift certificate coming from the steak TD. Figure once the gift cert comes in along with my accumulated points that will darn near cover the cost of the bottom storage shelf.

 

[rwalters]

I'm shying away from "Go big or go home" so MAK 1 and it's features are perfect for my needs as well Kevin. I'm telling you I'm growing up and getting wiser. :-D Who woulda thunk??

Thanks Wookie, Robb, Kevin for all the info. Truly helpful.

Today’s the last day of the sale I believe... just curious to know if you pulled the trigger or plan to? No pressure, just wondering

 

[The Wookiee]

Mak 1 fires up Slow roasted San marzanos for 3&1/2 hrs at 275 then flipped to high for strip loins, portabellas and potato bread.. when grill was on high/grill infrared read 525-650 depending on how long lidnwas closed. Good enough for government work / ‘weeknight’ steaks.

 

[KevinJ]

Great looking dinner.

 

[The Wookiee]

final complement i can give this amazing unicorn of a cooker = after cooking pretty much everything else on the Mak 1 i trusted it with a Wagyu brisket... Holy Cow (hah!) was it sumptuous and delicious.

cooked naked lumberjack 100% hickory until probed tender all over and then wrapped in BP and dropped to 'smoke' (~165-175) for a few hrs until serving time. crispy bark, perfectly smokey but not over nor under smoked... and just plain unctuous beefyfattygoodness. it started as a washington state grown 9lb wagyu frisky brisky...

 

[KevinJ]

Looks fantastic.

What were your set temps for the brisket?

 

[The Wookiee]

Looks fantastic.

What were your set temps for the brisket?

200 for 2 hrs then 225 till stall then 275 till finished

 

[sthamm]

Dangerous thread. Now it's got me wanting to introduce a friend to my LSG offset.

 

[The Wookiee]

Just did some bison+bobevans buttermilk Parmesan meatballs for dinner tonight... go mak go!

 

[The Wookiee]

Dangerous thread. Now it's got me wanting to introduce a friend to my LSG offset.

Tough to beat an LSG offset... cooking machines. The Mak and the LSG are both dwelling harmoniously at my place... each has its place and time(s).

 

[KevinJ]

I went through BPS because the grill was discounted $100 this weekend, the FZ is $25 cheaper going through BPS, plus double BPS points this weekend will earn me just under $80 towards future purchases and I use BPS for most my Rub and BBQ sauce purchases. Haven't received it yet but I also have a $50 BPS gift certificate coming from the steak TD. Figure once the gift cert comes in along with my accumulated points that will darn near cover the cost of the bottom storage shelf.

Update

Just got my ship notification and using my accumulated BPS points and gift cert ordered the $150 Bottom Storage Shelf which cost me $16 out of pocket, total savings ordering the MAK 1 Star with all the options I wanted through BPS vs direct was $266. Think that will buy me a Wagyu Brisket and a couple bags of Pellets. :heh: