If its any consolation Ive got a friend who has had his CC for at least ten years. He smokes every week if not multiple times. His is a basic unit no wifi. Stays outside all the time. I dont believe hes had any problems no parts replacement.
I looked at all price ranges and decided if I had bought just a smoker, Id also have to purchase a propane grill or use my charcoal grill for searing. The sidekick fixes that problem. If Im ever inclined to purchase the sear unit Ill get a stand fabricated to make it stand alone.
My buddy who just bought a CC added the insulated blanket and he notices a difference in pellet usage.
The one thing about the welded steel units is they weigh a lot. Relocating it could be a problem depending where its at. And even though a lot are double walled they are not insulated. To me I think in cold weather the more air exchange that is required to maintain temp the higher the probability of a dry meat. In the winter time I would add layers of towels to the weber to insulate it. Ill add insulation to the Camp Chef exterior where the insulated blanket doesnt cover. That will probably be with the towels I bought for the Weber Kettle and use magnets to hold them on.
The other for me is is there going to be support long term. I think CC and Weber are going to be around.
These other brands maybe maybe not.
Anyway thats my thought process on the whole thing.
I'll wager you a PF dollar™ 😎
The lunatics are running the asylum
Does any have a good pellet smoker cookbook? My mom got my stepdad a Pit Boss for Christmas and I wanted to get him a cookbook for it. I’ve always just googled until I found a recipe but I suspect he’d prefer a traditional book. Bonus points if it uses meat temp as the guide instead of time.
The Amazing Ribs book comes to mind to nerd out on the stuff. I haven't read the book but I've used their website extensively.
It's not pellet smoker specific.
David S.
I'm inching ever-closer to ditching the charcoal smoker for a pellet. The setup and cleanup times with the charcoal are getting in the way of me doing simple stuff like wings and salmon that I could have up and smoking in no time with a pellet.
I kinda feel like maybe I should buy a Traeger or a Recteq to get my feet wet with pellets, and then upgrade later if required. Only thing is I've rarely had good luck starting out with "cheap" or even "middle of road" and tend to jump right in the deep end in terms of price and quality to much better overall effect.
frontrunners are as follows...
Lone Star Grillz 20x36 Pellet Smoker
Pros
-beefy
-apple watch monitoring
-pretty much universally good reviews
Cons
-Pricey at $2400
-hard to get (no dealer network?)
-long lead
-smallest pellet they make, bigger than I really want
Yoder YS480s
Pros
-seemingly good quality and strong customer satisfaction
-apple watch monitoring
Cons
-Still pricey at $2k+shipping
-known to be susceptible to rust
RecTeq RT-700 (or possibly RT-590)
Pros
-least expensive of the bunch
-even smaller size available in the 590
-relatively good reputation
Cons
-no apple watch monitoring
-cheapest of the bunch
-least-good reputation of the bunch
Does the above offend? If you have paid to be here, you can click here to put it in context.
Yeah having just got a new grill for the new house, I’m inching ever-closer to a pellet smoker myself, with the Recteq in the lead. I was thinking CampChef as the runner up at the moment. I’m coming from a different place; never smoked anything in my life. I’ll pay for less skill needed and easier setup and cleanup.
I was in the same boat 5 years ago and bought the little $300 Traeger when Costco had them on sale. It's worked well for me except the igniter died about a year ago. I've been manually starting it by hand with a torch but need to get a replacement. Bluetooth would be nice but I just set the temp on the grill then set a timer on my phone.
-Seconds Count. Misses Don't-
I don’t know if I’ve asked this before. CRS.
Our new home has a large covered patio - the house structure is the roof. It’s about ten feet clearance. Is it safe to put one of these under a roof like that? I’m thinking heat, not smoke.
Ken
BBI: ...”you better not forget the safe word because shit's about to get weird”...
revchuck38: ...”mo' ammo is mo' betta' unless you're swimming or on fire.”
"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." - Thomas Jefferson, Virginia Constitution, Draft 1, 1776