Time to get serious about a new smoker.

[falafel]

What is a "class rep"?

Basically be the face of the class action claim/complaint.

Yep, the named plaintiff in the suit. Jeff Lebowski v. Traeger.

[Eddie]

I have a Cabela's brand pellet smoker. And I'd say reviews are mixed, right now. I ended up with the Cabela's because it was on some outrageous sale price and I had some "points" - all of which made the thing super inexpensive all things considered. I have the 24" Pro Series model.

Cons: the auger broke and the control panel went out all within the first 3-4 months. They were back-ordered, so it took a month or so to get the parts. When I did, they were free. But it was a pain in the arse to take the thing apart and put the new parts in. Hated it.

The dumb thing has a window. Sounds great, no? How long do you think you can run smoke in the thing before the window is dirty and you can't see a darn thing? If you guessed an hour or two - you'd be correct. I suppose it might show a flame flare up if it happened. But the window is worthless for actually seeing what's cooking inside.

It's got a sear plate to put a crust on steaks and the like that opens and closes by swinging a lever. Unless you've used it to cook something - then there's enough drippings on it that there's no way it's going to swing open. And it's small enough that if you really want to sear something, you're doing one burger or steak at a time. Honestly - I think it's about as useful as the window.

Pros: When it's working, there is a lot to like.

It seems to have a much larger hopper than most grills I see. I can fill it once and do more than one cook. I've never ever worried about the pellets running out in the middle of the night while I'm asleep.

It has a dump chute if you want to change out pellets. Which is really nice if you don't want to be scooping everything out to swap - or if you happen to need to empty it to replace the auger.

It has a little spot in the back where you can hook up a shop vac to suck out the ash dust after it's cooled. It isn't a thorough cleaning - but it's a nice feature for between cleanings.

I like the size of it. As I said earlier in the pulled pork thread - I got the 4 largest shoulders I could find at Costco on it all at the same time. It's more of a square/deep grill than a long and narrow one, so they took the 4 corners. You said you won't ever cook that much - there are smaller models, or you might want a larger area to cook pizza. You never know.

It's got slots for 2 plug in meat probs, which I also like. They seem to be relatively accurate, though I use the digital to confirm now and then.

Apparently the Costco pellet grills are made by Dansons - who also makes the Louisiana Grills and Pit Boss pellet smokers. So I'm guessing quality and features would be similar.

They aren't particularly heavy duty - like a yoder. If price didn't matter to me, I'd probably consider one of those. But after getting the auger and control panel fixed, I'm happy enough with the one I've got.

[BigFatMeanie]

Found a brand new, in box, Traeger Pro 780 including the front table and cover for $850 on KSL.com. Mrs. Meanie is giving it to me for Christmas.

[creekster]

If you could get a new traeger for 50% of retail, any reason to look at any other brand? What model would this collective brain trust suggest?

[Pelado]

If you could get a new traeger for 50% of retail, any reason to look at any other brand? What model would this collective brain trust suggest?

There are probably better smokers out there, but I'm not sure what else would be a better value than 50% off a new Traeger.

[All-American]

If you could get a new traeger for 50% of retail, any reason to look at any other brand? What model would this collective brain trust suggest?

The size you are looking at right now? Chances are you should get the one just bigger.

Back when I got mine, I was choosing between what was called the junior and the lil Tex. We ended up getting the Lil Tex. I’ve never regretted getting the bigger of the two and in fact have in some occasions regretted not going even bigger (the Tex).

Nowadays they use numbers instead of those other names so I don’t know if their current models correspond exactly. But if you’re like our family you’ll be surprised by how much you use it and appreciate all the space you have.

[creekster]

Thanks. I assumed with that deal Traeger was a pretty easy choice. And bigger is always better, or so I have heard.

[BigFatMeanie]

The size you are looking at right now? Chances are you should get the one just bigger.

Back when I got mine, I was choosing between what was called the junior and the lil Tex. We ended up getting the Lil Tex. I’ve never regretted getting the bigger of the two and in fact have in some occasions regretted not going even bigger (the Tex).

Nowadays they use numbers instead of those other names so I don’t know if their current models correspond exactly. But if you’re like our family you’ll be surprised by how much you use it and appreciate all the space you have.

Yeah, the Traeger naming and numbering with the new models each year can get confusing.

The 2019 numbers are supposed to correspond to square inches of the grill space. 780 and 575 for the Pro. They have three lines: Pro, Ironwood, Timberline. With the 2019 models, even the base Pro model has wifi, the next level up has the insulated walls, and the next level up has the pellet sensor, although you can simply get the pellet sensor as an add-on to the lowest line.

2018 model Gen 1 Pros are listed as Pro 34 (older model of the 780) and Pro 22 (older model of the 575).

The other thing that gets confusing is that there are now several house-brand or custom Traegers - e.g. the one you get a Costco is specially built for Costco with its own model number.

[Tim]

I bought a Yoder YS640 when we moved to California a year ago and it's been a dream. It feels like cheating. I've done ribs a couple dozen times, experimenting with different smoke times, wrapping sometimes and not wrapping other times, putting water in the smoker sometimes, different pellet flavors, etc. The texture comes out a bit differently each time but the quality is always high, flavor is always spot-on, etc. I love this machine. I've also done about a dozen tri-tips, some using my own rub and others using a liquid preparation done by this little country market out in the orange fields near where we live.

Re: pellets, I've tried all sorts of wood varieties and enjoy the variance, but lately I've just been using the Traeger Gourmet Blend sold at Costco.

Tim

[Bo Diddley]

Re: pellets, I've tried all sorts of wood varieties and enjoy the variance, but lately I've just been using the Traeger Gourmet Blend sold at Costco.

Tim

That's pretty much all I've used in my Camp Chef for a while now.

[Green Monstah]

I bought a Yoder YS640 when we moved to California a year ago and it's been a dream. It feels like cheating. I've done ribs a couple dozen times, experimenting with different smoke times, wrapping sometimes and not wrapping other times, putting water in the smoker sometimes, different pellet flavors, etc. The texture comes out a bit differently each time but the quality is always high, flavor is always spot-on, etc. I love this machine. I've also done about a dozen tri-tips, some using my own rub and others using a liquid preparation done by this little country market out in the orange fields near where we live.

Re: pellets, I've tried all sorts of wood varieties and enjoy the variance, but lately I've just been using the Traeger Gourmet Blend sold at Costco.

Tim

Dude, welcome back.

[old_gregg]

what’s the move on a small family sized smoker? do the bigger ones use significantly more pellets? probably need room for a full packer and anything else is overkill. traeger? camp chef? need pellet and idiot proof.

[Pelado]

what’s the move on a small family sized smoker? do the bigger ones use significantly more pellets? probably need room for a full packer and anything else is overkill. traeger? camp chef? need pellet and idiot proof.

What, are you an accountant? Don't worry about overkill. Spare no expense.

[Jeff Lebowski]

what’s the move on a small family sized smoker? do the bigger ones use significantly more pellets? probably need room for a full packer and anything else is overkill. traeger? camp chef? need pellet and idiot proof.

Yeah, don't get the biggest one. You will burn more pellets and it will take longer to heat up. Mine has a 20"x22" grill and I think it is perfect. You can fit 4 butts or 1 brisket (packer) or 3 racks of ribs (st louis cut or baby back - 2 racks if you are doing untrimmed spares).

[Bo Diddley]

Yeah, don't get the biggest one. You will burn more pellets and it will take longer to heat up. Mine has a 20"x22" grill and I think it is perfect. You can fit 4 butts or 1 brisket (packer) or 3 racks of ribs (st louis cut or baby back - 2 racks if you are doing untrimmed spares).

This is the size I have as well. Mine is a Camp Chef. No complaints. Camp Chef also sells a propane sear box you can attach to the side. We'll be using that tomorrow to finish up our burgers and brats.