Pellet Smokers

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Set to 225 the startup timer on mine is 7 minutes.

Perfect. Thats exactly the kind of speed Im looking for. Ive got a buddy who has a Camp Chef one of the earlier models it has temp control only. It sets outside next to his barn and he never takes the pellets out. He buys the cheapest pellets and is not very diligent about cleaning. He vacuums it once a month or so and scrapes it once in a while. Id say he uses it at least three times a week and probably often more than that. Hes never had a problem with it. Absolutely loves it.

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After being sorely disappointed with my foray into pellet grills with a lemon unit from Green Mountain, I bought a Big Joe II kamado. It's awesome. You can do everything on it from low n slow to pizza oven temps.



I'm no pellet expert, but "few minutes" probably won't get a pellet grill up to temp. It will be faster than charcoal or kamado, though. You can do pretty much anything in a kamado but you have to do it from cool to hot. It has so much thermal mass it takes a long time to cool down. I've done 12 hour cooks in mine without adding wood or fiddling with dampers. Obviously there is no bluetooth, so you can't start it remotely or anything. It doesn't break, though, and it doesn't go on the fritz and ruin the meat on it.

I dont understand the attraction of baking on a grill except for Pizza but apparently people do it.

[scjbash]

Perfect. Thats exactly the kind of speed Im looking for. Ive got a buddy who has a Camp Chef one of the earlier models it has temp control only. It sets outside next to his barn and he never takes the pellets out. He buys the cheapest pellets and is not very diligent about cleaning. He vacuums it once a month or so and scrapes it once in a while. Id say he uses it at least three times a week and probably often more than that. Hes never had a problem with it. Absolutely loves it.

I work from home while chasing a toddler around so I got the smoker to make life easier. Between it and the Thermoworks Smoke thermometer it's easy to cook, monitor temps from inside the house, and cleanup. Being able to slide the bottom open and finish things like burgers in an open flame is a nice plus. I'm going to get the Sidekick Sear as well.

[Spartan1980]

I know some folks that make delicious stuff on their eggs. I didn't enjoy cooking on one the one time I tried. Pellet smokers are truly the lazy persons way to get great results. You can get fancy with technique and technology, or play with wood types, or set and forget... but any way you cut it... pellet smokers are easy. Especially if you have a nearby grill to reverse sear.

With my adjustable rig I can remove the stone mid-cook open the air vents and be direct searing in about 5 minutes after the temp comes up. Probably about the same time it takes on a 2nd grill. I would concur with you if you are talking about the basic rack and plate setter that comes standard in one. They aren't near as versatile.

After being sorely disappointed with my foray into pellet grills with a lemon unit from Green Mountain, I bought a Big Joe II kamado. It's awesome. You can do everything on it from low n slow to pizza oven temps.



I'm no pellet expert, but "few minutes" probably won't get a pellet grill up to temp. It will be faster than charcoal or kamado, though. You can do pretty much anything in a kamado but you have to do it from cool to hot. It has so much thermal mass it takes a long time to cool down. I've done 12 hour cooks in mine without adding wood or fiddling with dampers. Obviously there is no bluetooth, so you can't start it remotely or anything. It doesn't break, though, and it doesn't go on the fritz and ruin the meat on it.

I'm convinced that ceramic just cooks better. I can't explain or quantify it, but it just seems to. Also if you get one of the several temp controller fan thingies you can have bluetooth too.

[rob_s]

Ive just put MAK on my list. Veteran owned all mfg and materials US based . https://makgrills.com/

Presumably you’re aware that the 2-Star is a $3k pellet smoker, yes? And currently seemingly unavailable?

Amazingribs.com loves them, so there is that.

[JHC]

I've been perfectly thrilled by 3 years on a vertical cabinet style Pit Boss pellet smoker which was really smoking for dummies (and I qualified). But it's getting beat to hell and it's cut off on it's own a few times now inexplicably. So it was my starter kit and I'm pondering the next smoker/grill.

My brother in laws push their BGE's hard and ceramic is a maybe.

This one however from Char-Griller has caught my eye. Half the price, build quality sounds good and this gravity fed lump or bricket fuel sounds pretty neat.

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Presumably you’re aware that the 2-Star is a $3k pellet smoker, yes? And currently seemingly unavailable?

Amazingribs.com loves them, so there is that.

Im on a 1-Star budget. Buy once cry once right?

[rob_s]

Im on a 1-Star budget. Buy once cry once right?

I am too.

Which is, among other reasons, how I wound up so interested in the Yoder.

The good thing about the 1-star vs 2-star is that the cooking area is the same. Primarily what you lose, in terms of function, is the "cold smoke" or "warming" box to the right on the 2-star. Then there's material differences, etc.

I've been comparing various pellet smokers for awhile. One thing to note, in updating it prior to posting this link I noticed that most of the models I was tracking had price increases of at least $200 recently.

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I am too.

Which is, among other reasons, how I wound up so interested in the Yoder.

The good thing about the 1-star vs 2-star is that the cooking area is the same. Primarily what you lose, in terms of function, is the "cold smoke" or "warming" box to the right on the 2-star. Then there's material differences, etc.

I've been comparing various pellet smokers for awhile. One thing to note, in updating it prior to posting this link I noticed that most of the models I was tracking had price increases of at least $200 recently.

Its definitely not buying a grill season. A buddy just ordered a camp chef. The lower priced unit was not available anywhere so he had to buy a more expensive model at a price below msrp but not a good deal. Across the board it seems made in China models are having board/controller/fan problems how prevalent this is is unknown.
Im headed to the Yoder site now.

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I am too.

Which is, among other reasons, how I wound up so interested in the Yoder.

The good thing about the 1-star vs 2-star is that the cooking area is the same. Primarily what you lose, in terms of function, is the "cold smoke" or "warming" box to the right on the 2-star. Then there's material differences, etc.

I've been comparing various pellet smokers for awhile. One thing to note, in updating it prior to posting this link I noticed that most of the models I was tracking had price increases of at least $200 recently.

Nice chart by the way. I called the closest dealer and the 480 is $1779 a bit less than your chart. Im trying to sort through their forums. Quite a few temp problems posted but also quite a few people who havent taken the time to read the forums to get familiar with procedures before getting started and also new to smoking.
I still go back to my original question of temp control and double wall vs double wall insulated. Ive read an article by a custom builder in Australia that fuel usage is cut by 50-60% and temps are much more stable with double wall + insulation.

“In experiments done at BSG Smokers, Dan has found that smokers with his insulated firebox use 50-60% less fuel than those with traditional fireboxes. To use specific numbers, in his competition team BLVD (in which he partners with Josh Lawson), Dan found that they used just two milk crates of an iron bark for an entire Australasian Barbecue Alliance competition. These findings have been confirmed by a leading competition team The Smoking Hot Bros who use a BSG offset and have returned almost identical statistics.”

https://smokinghotconfessions.com/wh...nge-your-life/

The only builder I know of who offers both is Traeger. The flare ups with Traeger are controlled through grease drain managment. According to my BIL its not a big deal once you understand whats required. That said it shouldnt be such a problem with a grill in that price range.