There have been a couple of threads mentioning Traeger and Rec Teq, and I've read those.

Those seem to be the grill-style smokers; I'm looking at the vertical sort. I don't need a grill-style unit; I have gas for grilling. The Pit Boss vertical smoker ( like this, for instance) comes to mind quickly, largely because they're available over in town.

I'm looking into this as an upgrade from my current Masterbuilt electric smoker. It's a good little box, no doubt, and it's been good to me. I can't talk bad about it at all. These Pit Boss models offer a big ol' hopper, which would be nice for the long-smoke things. I have to feed my little Masterbuilt about every two hours. With a pellet hopper, it would be a lot easier for the overnight smokes.

But the hopper brings questions. Obviously, this thing would live outside on the deck. Would unburned pellets draw moisture and gunk up the mechanism? I'm not opposed to dumping the hopper after a smoke, I suppose. (Wow, that last sentence sounds terrible when read back.)

With my electric, I can cook in the rain or snow... no big deal. I'm working on a plan to put a roof over the deck, so maybe it won't matter soon, but is foul-weather cooking anything to worry about with a pellet unit?

What else should I be considering?

Thanks, all.

quote:

Originally posted by vthoky:
What else should I be considering?

Bradley smokers.

I gave away my Masterbuilt and bought one of these. For a dedicated smoker (not grill), you won't find one better. They do use pucks rather than pellets, though, so that might be an issue for you. I prefer the pucks though as each one burns for 20 minutes so you can only add the number you need for the time you want to smoke and keep the rest indoors or otherwise out of the weather.

They are on the spendy side, but if you're serious about just smoking, they're worth every penny. And, you can make your own pucks if you're so inclined.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
Bradley smokers.

I gave away my Masterbuilt and bought one of these. For a dedicated smoker (not grill), you won't find one better. They do use pucks rather than pellets, though, so that might be an issue for you. I prefer the pucks though as each one burns for 20 minutes so you can only add the number you need for the time you want to smoke and keep the rest indoors or otherwise out of the weather.

They are on the spendy side, but if you're serious about just smoking, they're worth every penny. And, you can make your own pucks if you're so inclined.

That looks nice! Good smoke flavor?

Thanks,
JP

quote:

I have to feed my little Masterbuilt about every two hours.

An add-on side loader from Masterbuilt will cover you for long smokes. (I'm totally new at this and don't know what the hell I'm doing.)

https://www.masterbuilt.com/pr...rbuilt-slow-smoker-1

I'm not sure if it will work with the unit you have, but it works pretty well (I think).

quote:

Originally posted by jprebb:
That looks nice! Good smoke flavor?

As much or as little as you like. It'll cold smoke as well.

As far as a pellet smoker, I have a Traeger and it works fine, I’ve always dump my pellets bag in a 5 gallon food safe bucket with lid when I’m done with it.

I’ve heard very good things about Rec Teq smokers from a friend of mine who did competition BBQ, (he competed on the BBQ Pitmasters show) he didn’t use them but recommended them when I asked about getting a pellet smoker.

Gus, that looks like a decent smoker. But do not like having to buy those proprietary pucks.

I would think a propane unit might be a worthy candidate.

I smoked a cooked ham for Easter in Japanese Kamado unit with Lump charcoal. Worked great. But a bit labor extensive monitoring the temp.

Thinking about another unit. The bradley $699 model looks decent and seemingly can maybe create more heat. I don't want something that will top out at 225 degrees in cold weather.

That is why I am wondering about a propane unit.

I have a wonderful Rec Teq 590. I keep leftover pellets in the hopper, smoker covered by an umbrella, Florida humidity, haven't had an issue with the pellets.

O.P., that's the smoker I own. I have had it for three years, it works great. The hopper is huge, easy clean up and zero problems. I got mine at Academy Sports

FWIW, I have a Smokin Brothers "Barn-B-Q model pellet smoker/grill. I've never used it as a grill. The hopper holds a 20# bag of pellets. We chose it because it is made in the USA and was dealer recommended.

I have a Trager, leave pellets in the hopper since it doesn't have an efficient way to unload it, never really have had any issues with them ending up bad. I do keep them in a sealed container from Lowes/Home Depot that allows me to pour them directly from it.

Link

Pit Boss has a good rep, and if you want a vertical smoker that looks to be a good choice, the hopper holding 60 pounds of pellets is huge.

I would suggest you spend a little more and get the model with BT and WiFi, having an app that lets you know what's happening in the smoker allows some freedom from constant monitoring and can alert you if something is off, say the hopper gets jammed and the fire goes out and temps start dropping, or you want to adjust temp.

The monitoring alone is worth the extra $100 for the same model with those features.

It also has a hopper clean out system so you can drain it of the unused pellets, and put them back into your storage container.

My neighbor has a traditional type Pit Boss and loves the tech aspect and it does a good job, he went from zero to pretty good using the smoker and no longer uses his grill...

I use the same or a more early model. I also was looking at a pellet smoker. I almost alway use hickory chips for my wood. Ever one that has eaten my Smoked meat rave about how much better the flavor is over their pellet smokers. Just saying, more $ doesn’t always mean a better outcome.

Camp Chef pellet here. Been happy with it for the few months I’ve had it. Nobody has complained about my smoked meats . Has a dump chute for the pellet bin. I like the WiFi, alerts me on temps and I can adjust it or shut down remotely.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
Bradley smokers.

That's pretty cool. I hadn't seen those before. The idea of making my own pucks is interesting, though I'm not sure I'd make the time to do that.

quote:

Originally posted by steve495:
An add-on side loader from Masterbuilt will cover you for long smokes.

Neat! More learning to do....

quote:

Originally posted by BigSwede:
O.P., that's the smoker I own. I have had it for three years, it works great. The hopper is huge, easy clean up and zero problems.

Thank you!

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:
I would suggest you spend a little more and get the model with BT and WiFi [snip]

The monitoring alone is worth the extra $100 for the same model with those features.

I'll certainly consider that upgrade.

quote:

Originally posted by Teddy Bear:
Smokin Brothers [snip] We chose it because it is made in the USA

Good to know! I'll look into it.

This also seems like a good candidate. Thoughts?

https://www.bbqguys.com/i/1530...csqLMVwaAhYvEALw_wcB

What about Yoder? I always wanted one, but pricy. Now to replace my KJ is $2-3000, and lump, not pellet. We have a local dealer that sells Yoder. Looked at them several times. Well made.

Teddy Bear, that (Smok'in Bros.) unit looks like a great unit. I like the Premier plus 24 unit. Big pill to swallow. Do they do any sales or free shipping that you know of?
Do you have to use their pellets also?

Thanks

I had a Yoder 640 and it was built like a tank. It also imparted next to no smoke flavor and used a lot of pellets, those two facts were widely known. I know they changed the electronics since then so both problems may be history but no doubt they were tanks. I've got a Rectec 590 now and couldn't be happier with it.

I have a Yoder and am very happy with it. With regard to the smoke, it does as well as any of the pellet grills, meaning it's not a dedicated smoker so it won't give you a heavy smoke. If I want extra smoke for something that I'm grilling I'll toss in an A-Maze-N tube.

I've had a pitboss 850 competition (grill style) smoker for a year. It's been great. The smoke flavor isn't as strong or as varied as it is with chips/chunks of actual wood (I don't taste much difference in the different pellet 'flavors' - trying the charcoal ones now), but the convenience sure is nice. Most things I set on smoke for an hour or so (low temp so more smoke) and then crank the heat at the end to crust things up/finish them. Something that is very difficult or nearly impossible with a traditional smoker/charcoal grill.