# Recommendations Please:  Best Set It and Forget It Smoker?



## toystry

Read tons of forums, articles, etc and the TRAEGER seem to be pretty easy to use, with the biggest complaint being three things:

1.  Pellets they sell suck

2.  Not enough smoke flavor

3.  Cheap construction

I'm lazy, I'll be honest.  I don't want to tend to meat all day in order to smoke something which is why I've leaned towards the pellet smokers as I've heard they are much easier to use.  With that, I'm sure there is some give and take by using a pellet smoker vice other models.

I'd love to hear from the pros with a lot of experience with smokers, especially if you're anti-pellets, as to why I should go another route.

Thanks for the assist.


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## submariner

Everyone has a opinion and I can only tell you mine.  I have owned a Traeger since 2010. I had the Lil Texas Elite until this year when I bought the new Traeger Timberline 850.   I never had a issue even once with my Lil Tex.  I just kept it vacuumed out and used only Traeger pellets.  I gave it to my sister who still uses it weekly.   I have tried other pellets but I think the Traeger pellets are better and provide more flavor.  As for smoke flavor that is controlled by technique.  I can flavor ribs, pork butts, brisket etc etc etc with tons of smoke flavor on a Traeger. I had a New Braunfels offset smoker for 15 years prior to my first Traeger and I can make the exact same pork butts on a Traeger as I did on the offset.  As far as construction being cheap I can only say the two I have owned were well built and withstood a lot of use.  In my opinion pellet grills are not for everyone.  I had to basically forget everything I learned in 15 years with a offset and start over with the Traeger.   Cooking times and temps are completely different.  Above 225 a pellet grill produces very little smoke thus more time at a low temp then a higher temp to finish.   Hope this helps.


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## SmokinAl

If you want good smoke flavor & set & forget.

Then get a WSM 22.5, with a BBQ Guru pit controller.

I run mine for 23 hours without adding any wood or charcoal & the temp never varies more than a couple of degrees.

Al


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## retiredbadge

I use a tragaer, but I also add an Amazn smoker inside.  Turns out great for me.


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## tropics

SmokinAl said:


> If you want good smoke flavor & set & forget.
> 
> Then get a WSM 22.5, with a BBQ Guru pit controller.
> 
> I run mine for 23 hours without adding any wood or charcoal & the temp never varies more than a couple of degrees.
> 
> Al


Xs 2 on that 

Richie


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## lancep

SmokinAl said:


> If you want good smoke flavor & set & forget.
> 
> Then get a WSM 22.5, with a BBQ Guru pit controller.
> 
> I run mine for 23 hours without adding any wood or charcoal & the temp never varies more than a couple of degrees.
> 
> Al






tropics said:


> Xs 2 on that
> Richie



Xs three and I never had a controller with mine.


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## browneyesvictim

Im not anti-pellet per-se... but Charcoal and wood chunks is the best for the middle of the road that's versatile and efficient in everything. I wouldn't own a Treager. There are much better options if you want a pellet pooper anyway. Get the Webber Smoky Mountain in the size of your choice, and you will see how good BBQ can get with minimal babysitting. That is with-or-without a Guru. If you want something more set-and-forget, you cant go wrong with an electric cabinet smoker that can burn chips or pellets in it as well in a tray or tube etc.. In any case there are trade-offs.


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## nozzleman

I have a Green Mountain Pellet Grill, Daniel Boone model. It is truly set and forget and can grill as well. I added a product called grill grates to it that I use for grilling and it produces great results. It is very well built as well.  I also own and use a smoking-it smoker. It is an electric that uses small chunks of wood. It is all stainless and again a truly set it and forget it option if you want it to be. It also produces a great tasting product. Electrics do not produce the traditional smoke ring but that has nothing to do wit the taste of the meat cooked in it, it is strictly a look that is caused through a chemical process when wood burns.

There are other great options do your research and whatever you choose I'm sure you will love it. I will close by saying don't go cheap, you will end up buying something that you really wanted later. Just go ahead and get what you want.


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## Bearcarver

In my book, set it and forget it takes two things:

#1  An MES 40 Generation #2.5 electric Smokehouse. Heat control from 100° to 275°.

#2  An AMNPS "Amazing Smoker" Tray to produce up to 11 straight hours of perfect smoke. 

I've been using MES Units for 8 years, and love them, especially this new Gen # 2.5.

Made all these things with them:

Just click on *"Bear's Step by Steps"*.

Bear


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## toystry

So I'm torn after seeing a Traeger in person.  They seem pretty flimsy in construction and there are a lot of mixed reviews.  For those with a WSM, what do you like/dislike about this option?


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## b-one

TOYSTRY said:


> So I'm torn after seeing a Traeger in person.  They seem pretty flimsy in construction and there are a lot of mixed reviews.  For those with a WSM, what do you like/dislike about this option?



I have had my WSM for three or four years there is nothing to dislike about them as long as you stock up on charcoal when it's on sale! I have the 18.5 but would like to move up to a 22.5 mainly to use with my rotisserie. I suggest you go to a store that sells them assembled to see how much you can pack in there.


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## lakegrillin

I had a KAMAdo  style smoker for years and went to a pellet grill recently. I really like mine, pellets taste good and it's easy to switch between high and low heat. Cleaner overall and heats up quick with no fuss. You will need to add a smoke tube if you like a lot of smoke.


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## retiredbadge

LakeGrillin said:


> I had a KAMAdo  style smoker for years and went to a pellet grill recently. I really like mine, pellets taste good and it's easy to switch between high and low heat. Cleaner overall and heats up quick with no fuss. You will need to add a smoke tube if you like a lot of smoke.



I added the smoke tube and you are correct that is a must if you like the smoke as I do.


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## sammartin

whats your budget when it comes to the pellet smoker? Ive been pretty anti pellet for a long time but im starting to come around on them in the last 2 years or so


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## txgunlover

Rectec.


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## hoosiersmoker

If you haven't already, check out the "Pit Boss at Menards" thread. It spans several years and gives a lot of good info on the ins and outs of Pellet Grills over the years. I have a Pit Boss 820 myself. I have been smoking and grilling for over 40 years now so from a 1950's grill to a wedding gift Webber Kettle to a Brinkman Smok'n Pit Pro to a Char-Griller Duo with offset firebox (a mistake I will never make again!), numerous pop-up hog pits complete with home made welded re-bar grates, to campfires and fire pits all over, to my Pit Boss 820 pellet grill I have used a lot of devices. I have a friend that bought an older Traeger that did a great job smoking but it even it had some issues and it seems even Traeger has slid toward lower quality in recent years though their price doesn't seem to reflect it. As a former smoking purist, never using anything but real hardwoods for smoking and being ever vigilant and present for every minute of smoke, I would rather have skewered my own eyeball than changed to a pellet grill (sorry for the graphic example). That being said: If my Pit Boss ever gives up the ghost, I will seek out another pellet grill in a heartbeat! I love the Pit Boss 820 and find that with pellets of many different species as well as competition blends becoming increasingly easier to find and less and less expensive it has opened a whole new life of smoking. My first few smokes (ribs and shoulders) found me constantly at the side of the new pellet grill expecting to make adjustments and correction but actually it ended up just a waste of my time to do so, it not actually needing my help. With low expectations I sampled the first ribs and, fully expecting to be disappointed with the competition blend and lack of hands-on babysitting, was told by my family they were some of the best ribs they'd ever had. Even with bruised feelings I saw the light: I could actually do two things at once now! And my wife said that could never happen! My experiences with the pellet grill, like every other new piece of equipment, have improved and with a better understanding of how to manipulate the smoke for more intensity, among other perks, and my flawed reality thinking it necessary for me being there every second have led me to only one conclusion: I should have bought a pellet grill 40 years ago! Shop and read a lot, do your homework. Not having a great deal of money for a new smoker / grill, the Pit Boss was a great fit. If it didn't work out, I only had a few hundred into it.


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## no peek n

Howdy Folks, I just got  my GriilaGrill, Silverbac, and they ship it for free and a 4yr wnty, and I did (2) smkes already, A 10lb for16hrs Butt, and a 14.5 Brisket for 17hrs, and it set there all night at 219*-230* flux, without me even have to lift the lid, and only use about 12-15lbs of LumberJack pellets...This rig is a beast..Go check it out online...You WILL buy one if even you don't need one...Trader's {;-p, smokers cant even share its shadow... Not even a hit of comparison ....

G


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## no peek n

Here Ya'll go,













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__ no peek n
__ Jul 31, 2017


















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__ no peek n
__ Jul 31, 2017


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## Rings Я Us

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__ Rings Я Us
__ Aug 9, 2017





I see bags of pellets are $1.00 per lb regular price by me. So would that be 1.00 an hour to cook? Home Depot $20.00  for bags of 20 lbs


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## no peek n

that is a pretty good guide line to follow, at 225*...(+/-)...if you do a whole packer Brisket and a 10lb butt at the same time, that is nothing to burn for a 16hr cook...That is alot of Grub for the Family , I vacuum seal it for a Samich a year from now when it is cold and raining outside...


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## Little_chief

Bearcarver said:


> In my book, set it and forget it takes two things:
> 
> #1  An MES 40 Generation #2.5 electric Smokehouse. Heat control from 100° to 275°.
> 
> #2  An AMNPS "Amazing Smoker" Tray to produce up to 11 straight hours of perfect smoke.
> 
> I've been using MES Units for 8 years, and love them, especially this new Gen # 2.5.
> 
> Made all these things with them:
> 
> Just click on *"Bear's Step by Steps"*.
> 
> Bear


What generation is 2.5? What is the model number? I have been looking at MES and cannot decide which one to go with


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## mike243

I suspect the 2.5 is the newer version mines a first generation 40” thats still working fine, pit boss austin xl is running rite now with a brisket that weighed over 17lbs before trimming,good luck on picking just 1 smoker as I couldn’t lol


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## Little_chief

mike243 said:


> I suspect the 2.5 is the newer version mines a first generation 40” thats still working fine, pit boss austin xl is running rite now with a brisket that weighed over 17lbs before trimming,good luck on picking just 1 smoker as I couldn’t lol


Thank you lol it will be pretty difficult I suppose but I think I am going to go with the 311 model.


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## mike243

To phrase it better you should have said,I'm going to start with a 311 model lmao


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## illini40

As others have stated before, everyone has different opinions on not only pellet cookers in general, but also the debate on brand of rig.

I have had my Traeger Pro 34 for about four months now. For a novice looking for something easy to use and not have to tend to fires, it has been great. I have had no issues. 

The two main things I see as being concerns of pellet cookers are:

1) Less Smoke - I may not have a ton of past experiences to compare to, but I have felt like my Traeger puts off enough smoke. Yes, higher temps definitely produce less smoke. The A-MAZE-N pellet tube is a common accessory to help with smoke.

2) Temp Fluctuations - as with anything with an open flame, there will be some temperature fluctuations. With pellet cookers, from what I have seen, you just need to accept that your cook temp will fluctuate over the entire cook. You should look at more of an average, rather than the temp at one specific point in time. Over a 10+ hour cook, there is too many variable and length of time to fret over fluctuations at specific moments in time. Yes, if a pellet cooker is fluctuating 75*+, I would not consider that normal so may want to check that out.

Overall, I really enjoy the pellet cooker route and specifically, I've been very happy with my Traeger. It appears that Traeger has improved in several areas over the past couple of years. My dad has had two Green Mountain pellet grills and has had great success with them.


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## Bearcarver

Little_chief said:


> What generation is 2.5? What is the model number? I have been looking at MES and cannot decide which one to go with




I never go by "Model Numbers" with MES units, because they throw model numbers around too much. Some Model numbers are just depicting what store they are sold at.
I go strictly by what parts the smoker has "Inside & Out", as to whether it's one I would want. IMHO

The two links below should help you decide which Generation is best.
The one has my findings from testing the #1, #2, and #2.5.
And the other link will show you how to tell them apart:
*Masterbuilt Smokers (Bear's Thoughts & Findings)*
*MES Generation Number Recognition Pictures & Pics (Digital Units)*

Bear


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## hoosiersmoker

Haha, I forgot I posted to this one so, update: My Pit Boss 820 Has been smoking strong since that post. Dozens of slabs and shoulders, several brisket and lots and lots of steak, burgers and brats. I think for me, having the ability to sear and grill makes all the difference in the world. It is a grill as well as very accurate smoker with the ability to feed more pellets and increase the smoke significantly. It is holding up extremely well and has no issues electrically / electronically. sweep it out, plug it in, set the temp, put the goods on and leave for the day if you want to come home to perfect shoulder or Brisket or roast or whatever. Almost can't remember the smoker tending days, of course I almost can't remember my name some days...


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