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Smokers (Traeger)

Discussion in 'General' started by StaccatoFan, Sep 19, 2018.

  1. StaccatoFan

    StaccatoFan My 13 year old is faster than your President

  2. MGM

    MGM Well-Known Member

    I’m most certainly not an expert. I just bought a Pit Boss classic pellet grill. Did research on the Treager and found reviews of people having trouble with parts and shitty customer service. Also found out, they are built in china. Pitt Boss, made in the good ole USA, the reviews of their customer service have all been great..

    I’ve been cooking on it for a couple of weeks now. It is Truely incredible. Looooooove my pit boss
     
  3. I know 6 or 7 people with them. I know 3 people just this summer that had big enough issues they were all inoperable for at least a few weeks. And the other kick in the nuta is they all broke about mid cook.
     
  4. I talked to one guy just a couple weeks ago and he digs his. This guy has everything from a green egg to a smaller Jambo so does a bit of bbq. He said if you get the right mix of wood they are perfect, almost feels like cheating but he also added a very small and very slow fan just outside the flu to kind of pull the air through as he said if not it would over smoke stuff. I do know he’d recommend one and buy another one. He’s kind of a bbq snob so over smoked to him may not be same for me and you.
     
  5. brex

    brex Well-Known Member

    Damn near everyone around here has a Traeger. The only complaint I ever hear is they wish they bought a larger model.
     
  6. wmhjr

    wmhjr Well-Known Member

    I have the larger traeger. I’ve had multiple issues and am not crazy about it.
     
  7. _indy

    _indy Well-Known Member

    My son in law has one, not impressed.

    It's a bad grill, and OK smoker at best.
    Only real positive in my view is it makes smoking easy since it self feeds.
    So far the low and slow isn't something that works well.

    Checkout this site, decent reviews of equipment. https://amazingribs.com/
     
    SnacktimeKC likes this.
  8. SnacktimeKC

    SnacktimeKC Well-Known Member

    I had a master built $160 special electric smoker that I used pretty frequently and quit after about three years. I bought a Traeger and I never could get the smoky flavor I could with my cheap master built. Took the Traeger back and bought another master built and pocketed the $600 or whatever it was.
     
  9. wsmc42

    wsmc42 Well-Known Member

    I've had a Traeger Jr for 3 or 4 years now. I love it. We use it probably 3 nights a week at least. Food comes out more moist off the Traeger somehow. We use it in place of the oven and the bbq. I don't think I have used my regular BBQ in well over a year because of the Traeger. You do need to keep it cleaned. I have had a couple instances where the ash inside built up and caused it to smoke too much, almost seeming like it was catching fire. I don't leave mine going for a long smoke if I'm not home because of that. I can't compare it to other brands since this is the only pellet grill I've owned. Only thing I wish I had is a cold smoke box option.
     
  10. Funkm05

    Funkm05 Dork

    I’ve got a Camp Chef Woodwind and have been VERY happy with it. Can’t speak to the Traeger, though. Two of my neighbors have Big Green Mountain pellet grills, and both like mine better. Regardless of what you go with, lumberjack char hickory pellets FTW!!
     
  11. I want to buy a pellet grill just for the days I don’t feel like tending too my other smokers. They all seem small but in reality if I’m using it to be lazy I’m not cooking that much anyway.
     
  12. dobr24

    dobr24 Well-Known Member

    IMHO with pellet smokers you get what you pay for. At that price point you can find better smokers. Camp Chef, https://grillagrills.com/ , Rec tec all seem better than Traeger to me but in all honesty I've never owned one. I have a Yoder but that is a considerable bit more expensive than where you seem to be. They sell a lot of these units so they must do something right.

    I have found that with grills people become VERY brand loyal, to the point that they kick owners of other grills off their respective facebook pages. It's a bit ridiculous honestly.

    The pellet grill operate by means of a fans, igniters and thermocouples hooked up to some kind of temperature controller. All these parts can and will eventually need to be replaced. The key is making sure the company you buy from has the history to be able to quickly supply you with replacement parts. I actually keep spares on hand just in case I were to have a problem while doing a cook.

    If you are looking for a lot of smoke flavor I would either go with a charcoal smoker or add in a smoke tube to give you a little extra kick if using a pellet grill. I personally prefer a lighter smoke taste so a pellet grill is perfect for me. I also like that I can use mine as a grill too. One of the primary reasons I actually picked the unit I did. Not to mention that I don't have to babysit my smoker during longer smokes. Set it and forget it. Good luck.
     
    Funkm05 likes this.
  13. Jed

    Jed mellifluous

    They work great when they work. The pellets turn to wet sawdust in humidity after a few weeks. There's not an easy way to dump pellets out of them. I burned two motors due to packed in sawdust. Pellets all the way down to the feed screw were fine. Love the way it cooked but not going to touch another one.
     
  14. Funkm05

    Funkm05 Dork

    I’ve had my pellets sitting in the hopper, on the deck, all summer without a single issue. The Camp Chef also has a hopper drain that you can easily clean it out and swap out if you want. Just never had a reason to do it.
     
    Dragginass likes this.
  15. wrx_02

    wrx_02 Well-Known Member

    I know several people that have Traegers. They really do love them. Be careful with off brands as some do not have any parts support, but I don't know of anyone that has needed a part replaced on their Traeger. Depending what you like to cook you may want something different.

    You are married to pellets so check the cost of using those.
    Not good at high heat cooks but easy to smoke with the controller it comes with.

    Ceramic smokers do it all but cost a lot more for BGE or Kamado Joe.
    Lump is relatively cheap considering what you use for a 16 hour cook and you hardly have to use any wood.
     
  16. wrx_02

    wrx_02 Well-Known Member

    Reading the post from other owners maybe you should get a ceramic smoker. I see them in the FB groups for about $600 used all the time.
    Just don't get an Academy or Sams Club knock off.
     
    motoracer1100 likes this.
  17. Riders Discount

    Riders Discount 866-931-6644 ext 817

    Grilla Grills is just down the road from us. Went over to their facility and I was very impressed with the product. I have a BGE now, and am considering adding a Grilla Silverbac.
     
    tireman likes this.
  18. Sprinky

    Sprinky Well-Known Member

    I've been researching pellet grills / smokers for a bit now and I can't seem to find a real hard answer on this. Do they really "grill" well? I strictly grill on my charcoal Weber and I currently have a Bradley for smoking but am looking to replace the bradley. Yoder is one of the pellet grills on top of my list, but I'm having a hard time justifying the price for just a smoker. Would it resonably replace a Weber kettle for grilling duties?
     
  19. Funkm05

    Funkm05 Dork

    Depending on the setup, yes. My CC can get up to 500. I also have the sear box, which is basically a side mounted gas grill that can hit 900. I seriously love this thing. It just does everything I could ask, and all for under $1000. I replaced my grill and smoker with a single unit.
     
    dobr24 likes this.
  20. zamboiv

    zamboiv Well-Known Member

    I have a Weber smoky mountain and have two friends that have eggs and traegers.

    The traegar is nice to flip a switch and roll on. However we have agreed that my Smokey mountain does a better job if you have the time. But as Karl stated above if you want to use it frequently and it can be used as a grill it’s nice. My friend vacuums the bottom area where the pellets drop out before each use. He keeps his really clean and hasn’t had any issues as of yet and is on his 2nd year with his.


    Buddy that has the egg really likes it and I’ve done some stuff on it. I don’t find the value in it because it’s way more than my Weber and I can’t seem to find that much of a difference. it’s likely because I haven’t spent much time using it, but at their price points vs cooking space I can’t justify one.
     
    dobr24 and Funkm05 like this.

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