Pellet smokers. Yay or nay?

bigalsworth

hondabbq said:

bigalsworth said:

I'm not sure what the prices are of the Louisiana grills are but the smallest Yoder pellet smoker is near 3 grand Canadian.  I believe @hondabbq mentioned that he has no retailers for Yoder near him as well.  But we do have one in Saskatoon and if you want @hondabbq I can get you their contact info. 

I was just on their site looking for dealers and saw the 3 in SK. If that's the prices ill pass. Im on the fence with this process already, so Im not willing to drop 3k on it. thanks though.

LG are CS 570 -$1099 and CS 680-$1199 for the 2 im looking at and comparing against.

I hear ya on the pass, I just wanted to throw it out there in case you were interested. I have gotten the prices from http://canadaq.ca/ not directly from the dealer here, but I imagine they are very close.

bigalsworth

@hondabbq not sure where you have landed on this yet but I have investigated Yoder smoker in the US and they are much cheaper even with the exchange rate.  Assuming they are similarly prices throughout the states you can get the YS640 for $1450 US, which is about $1900 CAN.  Just and FYI

hondabbq

bigalsworth said:

@hondabbq not sure where you have landed on this yet but I have investigated Yoder smoker in the US and they are much cheaper even with the exchange rate.  Assuming they are similarly prices throughout the states you can get the YS640 for $1450 US, which is about $1900 CAN.  Just and FYI

Thanks Al,

I haven't pulled the trigger on one yet. I too looked at the Yoders. A couple of things about them, I feel that they are more than Im willing to spend on one, Id like to have a dealer close to me instead of a province over or having to deal with possible issues via email or phone.

MattBTI

I've got a franken-smoker I'm working on. A master-built propane vertical smoker was given to me. I'm planning on putting a traeger unit on that for lazy days or extra cook space. 

MattBTI

I'm partial to Yoder as well, They are hand built 50 miles from where I live. Heavy well built units, and a controller to boot!

MattBTI

Yoder also has a unique ability so cook directly, sear meats and veggies over an open flame.  a friend of mine has one, i havn't yet had the opportunity of trying anything off of though. 

johnkitchens

My neighbor has a Traeger and loves it, but I don't know if I would like one or not. I have thought about it. He loves cooking butts and ribs on it, but I don't like the idea of relying on electricity when cooking outside. 

Rec Tec is made in Augusta, GA, (close to me) and I have heard good things about them as well, but I doubt I will be adding one to the mix. 

bigalsworth

hondabbq said:

bigalsworth said:

@hondabbq not sure where you have landed on this yet but I have investigated Yoder smoker in the US and they are much cheaper even with the exchange rate.  Assuming they are similarly prices throughout the states you can get the YS640 for $1450 US, which is about $1900 CAN.  Just and FYI

Thanks Al,

I haven't pulled the trigger on one yet. I too looked at the Yoders. A couple of things about them, I feel that they are more than Im willing to spend on one, Id like to have a dealer close to me instead of a province over or having to deal with possible issues via email or phone.

No doubt, having a dealer close when you are forking out that kind of cash is a good idea.

hondabbq

You guys have a lot of access to different smokers than I do up here.

I don't doubt the yoders are a great smoker, especially when you start getting up to that price range. I don't want to dump that much cash on one to find I dont

Rec Tec had a crazy sale on one of theirs a few weeks ago. I think it was about $500 off, I wanted to see how much shipping was and they don't ship to Canada.

tonyled

johnkitchens said:

 I don't like the idea of relying on electricity when cooking outside. 

 

agree

JRWhitee

Big_Green_Craig said:

hondabbq said:

@bhedges1987 that's what I was looking for by a comparison. 
I know the egg puts out great food. I was looking to see if a pellet smoker does an improvement on it. 

I don't cook for a lot of people often, but when I do the  egg seems small sometimes. 
If im gonna run the same charcoal for 12 hours for 1 butt I might as well do 4 is my train of thought. 

If if the pellet was going to give me just as good if not better finished product plus give me more room that's what I was ultimately looking for. 
If the food is just as good but not an improvement and the only bonus is more space I'll just invite less friends over for bbq. 

Here's my most recent pellet brisket. I have a Rec Tec Pellet Grill. This was cooked at 225F, buicher paper wrapped at 165F IT. My pellet cooker has turned into my brisket & rib cooker and I love having it as a secondary cooker to the Egg. 

Now I am really hungry! I had a Pig off Craigs Rec Tec, it was fantastic.

hondabbq

tonyled said:

johnkitchens said:

 I don't like the idea of relying on electricity when cooking outside. 

 

agree

Why would this be an issue?

where do you guys live that you don't have continuous electricity?

johnkitchens

hondabbq said:

tonyled said:

johnkitchens said:

 I don't like the idea of relying on electricity when cooking outside. 

 

agree

Why would this be an issue?

where do you guys live that you don't have continuous electricity?

It isn't a problem with the lack of electricity, but I can just picture being a few hours into a low and slow and the power going out. It does happen down here in the summer, and winter, from time to time. 

For me grilling means I don't need anything, but a vessel, fuel, and fire. I feel like if I need to plug it in I may as while let my wife cook it in the oven while I play golf. 

This is just my opinion though. Not knocking those that use one. We can all grill in harmony. 

Ladeback69

My brother in law and a couple friends have a Traeger and like it a lot, I have never eaten food off it so I can't say as to the flavor of smokiness.   Another friend sold his Traeger for a Rec Tec Pellet Grill and loves it and says it is better. I have thought about checking into a offset smoker, but would want it on a trail.  The thing is I wouldn't have room to store it anywhere.  If I was to get a stand alone smoker I would look at Stumps or GoodOne, they both use lump and that way I don't need to buy another fuel source for cooking.  The GoodOne Marshall is what I have been looking at and once its set you really don't have to mess with it like the egg.  Stumps is cool that it has a temp controller and is gravity feed.  Another brother in law is building his own lump gravity feed smoker.  He hopes to have it done this year. 

@hondabbq, what are you trying to accomplish for finish product in food?  More smoke flavor and something that can cold smoke?  From what I read on one of your post you want to go below 180 for cold smoking?  You can use a coffee can or if you have a Mini or MM you could use it with a flexible duct from them to the bottom vent of you bigger egg.  I am thinking of doing this with my little Kahuna sometime with maybe cheese, pork belly or sausage.

There are many choices out there for smokers.  There are many offset smokers out there you can go with as well.

Here is what I am wanting.  http://thegood-one.com/the-marshall/

hondabbq

Ladeback69 said:

My brother in law and a couple friends have a Traeger and like it a lot, I have never eaten food off it so I can't say as to the flavor of smokiness.   Another friend sold his Traeger for a Rec Tec Pellet Grill and loves it and says it is better. I have thought about checking into a offset smoker, but would want it on a trail.  The thing is I wouldn't have room to store it anywhere.  If I was to get a stand alone smoker I would look at Stumps or GoodOne, they both use lump and that way I don't need to buy another fuel source for cooking.  The GoodOne Marshall is what I have been looking at and once its set you really don't have to mess with it like the egg.  Stumps is cool that it has a temp controller and is gravity feed.  Another brother in law is building his own lump gravity feed smoker.  He hopes to have it done this year. 

@hondabbq, what are you trying to accomplish for finish product in food?  More smoke flavor and something that can cold smoke?  From what I read on one of your post you want to go below 180 for cold smoking?  You can use a coffee can or if you have a Mini or MM you could use it with a flexible duct from them to the bottom vent of you bigger egg.  I am thinking of doing this with my little Kahuna sometime with maybe cheese, pork belly or sausage.

There are many choices out there for smokers.  There are many offset smokers out there you can go with as well.

Here is what I am wanting.  http://thegood-one.com/the-marshall/

Ultimately im just trying to get some more real estate for cooking larger amounts of butts, ribs etc.

I thought if the food that comes off the pellet is comparable to the egg +-, plus go low enough so I can do my kielbasa, meat sticks, and sausages etc then I would consider one.

I have a "Propane" Smoke Vault 24 which I got to do larger batches of cold smoking bacon etc. I use it only for low temp smoking of the kielbasa and meat sticks as I cant get the egg low enough plus i need more room. I was thinking if I could get a single unit that I could accomplish those tasks I would add it to the collection for the times I need it.

These days I make a lot of meat products at a time as my friends all want some. So to do a small batch of 10 lbs of anything isn't enough. I did a run of 50 lbs of bacon last run. I do no less than 20 lbs of any sausage at a time and I do multiple flavors. If Im getting the stuffer dirty for 10 lbs I might as well do 20-30 lbs, and I have no trouble getting cost for it from friends.

johnkitchens

Perfect example. The power went out at 2AM this morning and didn't come on until 4AM. No wind, no rain, no lightning. 

It just went out. 

hondabbq

@johnkitchens
Thats horrible. No wonder why you only want to cook with fire. 
I have occasional power failures but only during a storm, and that is rare. I even live out in the country. 
Id be scared too. 

paqman

hondabbq said:

You guys have a lot of access to different smokers than I do up here.

I don't doubt the yoders are a great smoker, especially when you start getting up to that price range. I don't want to dump that much cash on one to find I dont

Rec Tec had a crazy sale on one of theirs a few weeks ago. I think it was about $500 off, I wanted to see how much shipping was and they don't ship to Canada.

@hondabbq I read somewhere that they ship to Canada if you call them.  Not sure how much they charge but if you find out, let me know.

johnkitchens

hondabbq said:

@johnkitchens
Thats horrible. No wonder why you only want to cook with fire. 
I have occasional power failures but only during a storm, and that is rare. I even live out in the country. 
Id be scared too. 

We had a storm this afternoon and sure enough it went out again for an hour! This is getting old. 

GregW

Ladeback69 said:

My brother in law and a couple friends have a Traeger and like it a lot, I have never eaten food off it so I can't say as to the flavor of smokiness.   Another friend sold his Traeger for a Rec Tec Pellet Grill and loves it and says it is better. I have thought about checking into a offset smoker, but would want it on a trail.  The thing is I wouldn't have room to store it anywhere.  If I was to get a stand alone smoker I would look at Stumps or GoodOne, they both use lump and that way I don't need to buy another fuel source for cooking.  The GoodOne Marshall is what I have been looking at and once its set you really don't have to mess with it like the egg.  Stumps is cool that it has a temp controller and is gravity feed.  Another brother in law is building his own lump gravity feed smoker.  He hopes to have it done this year. 

@hondabbq, what are you trying to accomplish for finish product in food?  More smoke flavor and something that can cold smoke?  From what I read on one of your post you want to go below 180 for cold smoking?  You can use a coffee can or if you have a Mini or MM you could use it with a flexible duct from them to the bottom vent of you bigger egg.  I am thinking of doing this with my little Kahuna sometime with maybe cheese, pork belly or sausage.

There are many choices out there for smokers.  There are many offset smokers out there you can go with as well.

Here is what I am wanting.  http://thegood-one.com/the-marshall/

You may interested in this:
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=231890

It's a used Marshall for sale.

SmokingPiney

johnkitchens said:

hondabbq said:

@johnkitchens
Thats horrible. No wonder why you only want to cook with fire. 
I have occasional power failures but only during a storm, and that is rare. I even live out in the country. 
Id be scared too. 

We had a storm this afternoon and sure enough it went out again for an hour! This is getting old. 

I suffer the same issues where I live - basically out in the woods and we are the last to be considered when power goes out. After losing power for 4 days each with hurricanes Sandy and Irene, I now have a whole house generator system - hook up the generator to the outside plug, and throw the switch on my breaker box. As long as I have gas for the generator, I'll have house power. 

Losing power sucks! 

johnkitchens

The storm was a biggie. It ripped the roof of off a furniture store two blocks over. I have some damage to the upstairs area of my home. Wind damage. 

I know some people that 10 miles from town and they have been told it will be days before the power is restored. 

bosco0633

I live in Ontario, and a local shop carries traeger and yoder.  I love Dicksons BBQ in Toronto and they only carry the traeger.  I have been told that they overhauled their units and they are really well built now.

Having said that, my local shop in Hamilton ON now carries Yoder and the s640 is a very well built unit.

I have spent way more time wanting one then not over the past year.... however, one thing holding me back is that I am not sure that I need it.  

Some reasons for leaning towards not pulling the trigger are the following:

• pellets are not 100% (cherry, apple, oak etc)  They are filled with binders. To get the pure pellets, up here in Canada it is very expensive.  
• softer smoke profile usually compared to a stick burner, so I am not sure that I will achieve that much more of a smoke flavour to my Kamado style cooker
• hoppers etc break down, pellets can get stuck causing fire hazards
• they are not very thick material (yoder more so than the traeger) but you can buy a blanket accessory for them.  Up here in Canada with the extreme cold, I really don't think that I can beat the thermal properties of a ceramic.
• I keep asking myself... what will the pellet grill do that my current setup will not.  I can't come up with a quality reason.  I have a cyberQ wifi if I want to go totally automated.
• Although they say you can grill on it, it really is meant for low and slow where as my Kamado is a swiss army knife of BBQ.

But...

With all of that said, I think that they are a neat concept, they will produce a different smoke profile, they seem to produce some amazing food, I can have my wife turn it on and have it ready for when I get home.  

I have spent thousands of dollars determining what I like from WSMs to kettles, gassers, to 8 Kamado grills.  I have learned the most important thing and that is that I am a griller and an occasional smoker, therefore other that pure want, I really can't justify the purchase.

I remember reading a post on Facebook from Big Green Craig when he got his pellet grill and did his first brisket on it.  It was something to the effect of the right tool for the right job, and he produced some of his best brisket to date.  That really got me looking into the pellet. 

I have cleaned up the yard a bit and reduced the amount of grills that I own, and now I am not sure that I am ready to jump back into multiple grills.  I think my two now are just perfect... but man when I read these posts, it really makes me rethink things lol

Pghegger

I am anxiously awaiting a Blazn Grill Works Grid Iron Pellet cooker.  I looked at rec tec and Yoder and they were close but feedback I read on Blazn plus talking to the owner and being made in USA really sold me.

i went that route as I just didn't like e Bbq digi q Guru (selling it barley used if interested) and sometimes I don't have time to watch fire.  I also don't want to BBQ m colder weather but don't like messing with the egg in the winter.  We will see how it goes

hondabbq

Update: 
as usual summer got busy and this fell to the wayside. It was still in my mind, but just wasn't at the forefront. 

So so low and behold a staff member was interested but didn't have a lot of cash so I looked for him on kijiji. 
I came across an ad for Green Mountain Grills. I was interested in these when I was doing my research but they were more than I wanted to spend $1399 for the Jim Bowie wifi model. The ad had the above model for $1040 from a dealer about 1.5 hours away. 
I called the local dealer to me and asked about the price. GMG has a $100 off promo right now. I told the lady about the ad and she said she would call me back. 
30 mins later I get a call back. She proceeds to tell me that there is a promotion (the $100 one), I thought she meant for the $1040 price. I asked her how long the promo was on for and she said it's just for me. I said what do you mean. She said she spoke to the rep and the guys who's ad it was doesn't have a storefront and he only sells about 4-5 a year and makes about $100 each time. They said they will honor his price of $1040. She also told me that the ad will be taken down and he could possibly lose his GMG account. Oops. 

The he long and the short of it for me is that I got the grill I wanted for the price I wanted to spend. Looking forward to get it up and running. 

Thanks for all the comments and replies. 

feef706

beteez said:

 I would 2nd you looking into a Stumps Gravity fed.

The Baby retails for $2200, Wowza! You guys are serious!

Pghegger

Loving my Blazn

pgprescott

We just test drove a Memphis at our store. Might get some in. They are very high end, but look to be worth it. Impressive units, but definitely not in everyone's budget. 

fishindoc

I have the large egg...been thinking bout a yoder640. I looked at one and was pretty impressed. Would the gf28 be a better choice?

bigalsworth

Great find @hondabbq.  Please give impressions if there is added value having a pellet smoker with an egg when you have run it in a few times