Pellet Grill/smoker recommendations under $700ish

m274

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Joined
Jan 23, 2018
Messages
372
Location
Greater Seattle Area
thats a good deal there. You'll enjoy it. There is a good Green Mountain Grills FB group too to get you started (But after you're up & running the group posts get a bit old).
 

ridgefire

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Joined
Feb 24, 2012
Messages
623
Location
western wa
I have had my GMG for probably 6 years now and not one problem, I have used it quite a bit too. I would recommend GMG to anyone and everyone.
 

Murdy

WKR
Joined
Jun 6, 2014
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623
Location
North-Central Illinois
I've been looking at buying a smoker (other style than pellet), so I've been spending some time on bbq websites. I do not own a pellet grill, so this is not from personal experience. One of the brands I see getting a lot of love is MAK. They are pricey, but if you decide to spend a little more, give them a look.

Here's a smaller Rec Tec on sale:

https://www.rectecgrills.com/rec-tec-grills-trailblazer/

BTW, Camp Chef reviews pretty good, and I find this website pretty trustworthy:

https://amazingribs.com/smoker/camp-chef-smokepro-dlx-pellet-smoker-review
 

Aklin458

FNG
Joined
Sep 16, 2019
Messages
69
My parents have had a Traeger for 12 years now. It is crazy consistent and the customer service is hard to beat.
 

Bulldog2nine

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Jul 2, 2017
Messages
130
Location
Pennsylvania
Pit Boss Austin XL is their top of the line grill and will come in under 700. If you have time, wait until an older Traeger comes up on CL or FB, I found an american made Texas Elite for $200.
 
Joined
Dec 14, 2018
Messages
604
Personally, I have a Pittboss. Buy a wireless meat thermometer off amazon and forget the Wifi option, save yourself some $$.
 

crich

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Jul 7, 2018
Messages
673
Location
AK
Man I went back and forth between Grilla Grills, camp chef, rec tec, Yoder, Gmg and all the rest for a solid year. I just bought a Camp Chef wiodwind 24SG with the sidekick and grill box 3 weeks ago. What swayed me was the ability to use the sidekick as a mini gas grill for quick dinner cooks and the fact that through ExpertVoice they give an amazing Military discount. I didnt feel like committing to dropping 1600 on a smoker right now. Id rather buy a Barrett Fieldcraft 😁 I did have issues with FedEx beating the grill up twice during shipping. Camp Chef offered to send a replacement or give me 250 in free merchandise and parts to fix it without question so that was nice. Retail on this grill is 899. Idk what your credentials are but if you qualify through ExpertVoice youll come in well under your budget. What Ive gathered is that until you cross into Rectec territory and up, quality of construction is only so good. Youre mostly paying for different features. The welds on this thing aren't perfect but they're solid enough and has been pumping out some awesome food since I got it.

Just realized this thread was resurrected from a year ago. Still relevant i guess...
 

Agross

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Joined
Jan 25, 2017
Messages
1,678
Location
Michigan
I went back and forth for a long time between the grilla silverback and the gmg Daniel Boone Then a couple months ago gmg had an insane sale and I couldn't resist. I got the stainless steel, wifi( which I didn't really care about , but for the price had to) version of the Daniel Boone for $399!
I've done steaks, burgers ribs, brats and chicken legs. Everything turned out great and best of all juicy. Really like being able to set the temp and not have to worry about flame ups. Seems very well built and hopefully will last a long time.
 
Joined
Oct 29, 2017
Messages
22
Location
Montana
Green Mountain all the way, wife was hesitant not getting propane one but I can do everything on the GMG. After the first rack of ribs shes happy. All my buddies have GMG, a lot better quality and prices !
 

gibby97

FNG
Joined
Jan 14, 2020
Messages
80
Take a hard look at RECTEC. I have the 700Bull and love it for cooking or grilling. Very heavy built cooker, even the lid.

I also own a Louisiana pellet pooper that is a POS and hear nothing but bad things about Treager. I think they may both be built by the same company. Lots of issues with the controllers and burn outs.
 

kickemall

WKR
Joined
Feb 10, 2013
Messages
963
Location
SD
I just went down the rabbit hole of pellet grills about four months ago. Researched almost all of them under $1500, RecTec, Traeger, Pit Boss, Camp Chef, the new Weber, Grilla and on and on. Ended up buying the Grilla Silverbac Alpha which is a very high quality built grill for $799. Shipped to your door, easy assembly and so far has worked great. However, my brother in law bought a much cheaper Pit Boss that works just as well. Honestly, if I had to do it again I would buy the $699 Traeger Sliverthorn that Costco has. Comes with WiFi, a cover and seems to be the best deal out there with the features its has. Not the quality build like some of the others but good enough. By time I added a cover, a front shelf and accessory kit I was in my Grilla over a grand then ordered an upper end wifi kit for a couple hundred more so I could monitor temps on my phone. So now I'm around $1200 for the same things the Silverthorn has for $699. I'm sure the Grilla will last longer because of the stainless but not sure it was worth the extra cost. Realistically, almost any of the grills that were listed here are solid if you end up with a good one.
 

mcseal2

WKR
Joined
May 8, 2014
Messages
2,671
I have a small Traeger JR I got used when a buddy got divorced. My parents got the big 34" Traeger. Mine heats up to where I can throw a steak on in 10 minutes, their big one takes upwards of 30 minutes to hit the same heat. They ended up putting the big one in our shop for grilling burgers when we have a big crew helping us and getting one like mine for the house. I have no complaints with my little grill after 3 years of use. It's just right for my family of 4.
 

JAD915

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Jan 9, 2020
Messages
118
Look into RecTec Grills. They're awesome grills, they and have the best customer service in the business.
 

mardal2

FNG
Joined
Apr 15, 2020
Messages
22
I'm talking trager style. Although I think you pay alot for the name.
I do get the expertvoice deal on camp chef. But we dont discuss expert voice prices.
Green mountain.
Doesn't need to be super big just me and the lady.
Mostly interested in features and quality under $700
I have a camp chef and I like it more than my father's traeger! Gets up to 500 degrees no problem
 
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