Slowmo,
That grub looks tasty! And your kit and deck look great!
I'm not convinced, though, by your "heat rises" dismissal of the Silverbac's double wall construction below the grates. I'm not a specialist in thermodynamics, but I know enough to remember that convected heat (which goes up and out the smoke stack at the rate set by the fan drawing in cooler air from outside the grill) and radiant heat (which travels in all directions from its source and is either absorbed or reflected) behave differently enough to explain a legitimate engineering decision to double-wall a grill near its primary source of radiant heat.
Again, I'm no expert in thermodynamics, but as I see it all pellet grills lose about the same amount of convected heat (the "heat rises" kind) based on the speed of the fan and regardless of insulation, steel thickness, etc., but lose radiant heat to varying degrees depending on insulation, material reflectivity and thickness, etc.
Hence, while little can be done about the "heat rises" kind of heat in any unit that constantly adds cool air from outside and allows smoke to escape, quite a bit can be done about radiant heat.
Anyway, I respectfully don't think the Silverbac's engineering (or marketing) is as unsound as you suggest.
Of course it's just opinions unless someone with both a Stampede and a Silverbac load them both with the same amount of pellets, set them at the same temp in the same environment and see which one runs out of pellets first.
(No one will do it though because real science would put the squash on at least half of social media, and what would be the fun in that? Ha!)
I would agree that were one to run both grills side by side in the same weather, at the same temps and over a period of time for the average cook, or in a test actually cooking similar items, that this would be the good way to tell the difference between which one held heat best while consuming a given amount of fuel.
However, pellets are cheap. We all know what a 20lb bag of our favorite pellets costs. We know what 10lbs of these same pellets works out to price wise. We know what 5lbs works out to. What 2.5lbs works out to in cost and so on.
And so unless a significant difference in fuel consumption between the two were observed in cold weather, or even warm weather, one would have to consider whether that difference, and that's assuming that there was even a difference, would be worth the warranty differences, and other differences which may be important to them, between the two.
Even taking this into account, there are of course variables. People cook differently. Some of us may be quicker to put food on our grills than others.
Some may watch the temps and put food on immediately after temp is reached. Others may put food on a bit before the grill reaches the target temperature. While still others might put food on several minutes after temperature is reached.
All of the above techniques could influence overall fuel consumption over a cook
Some like to remove briskets and pork butts at an internal temp of 200°, others may prefer a bit higher. Some slightly lower.
But again, all of the methods could influence pellets used over a cook and may not give a fair comparison of fuel consumption between one owner with one grill, and another owner using another grill.
So unless we're measuring down to the last pellet, and taking a few other things into account, well how crazy would one want to get in comparing fuel consumption between the two?
It brings us right back to the question; "Is that extra piece of metal in the bottom of the Grilla going to make a significant difference?"
Bingo. The temperature delta between the wall of the grill and the outside air is going to drive heat transfer. The lower half of the Grilla runs cooler than any other pellet grill I've had the opportunity to use (save my Father in-laws Timberline, which is also insulated in that area), which means it is losing less heat through skin losses. They're all still losing heat to skin loss from the top, and the argument was "why insulate anything if you're not going to insulate the top, because HEAT RISES." It's partially true, but it neglects the fact that some-insulation still prevents more heat loss than none-insulation. An additional benefit for those of us with littles running around the yard, the bottom of the barrel stays cool enough to not cause a severe burn particularly when running at moderate temps.
The fact is that both of these grills are great, and a better value for the money than the Traeger offerings. Some people will be turned off by bullhorns and the
RecTec culture. Others will be turned off by the more swing = more smoke argument (the Alpha controller allows you to choose what you want). When it came time to spend my money I couldn't stand the bull aesthetic and
the way people get attacked for negative experiences with RecTec drove me elsewhere. Grilla offered a number of features I liked and at a lower price point, so that's what I got.
Interesting points. Particularly the ones in bold.
I don't think that one can go terribly wrong with either purchase.
Indeed, the horns may be a turnoff for some, and others won't mind them.
On the other side of the coin, if people want to believe that widely swinging temperatures somehow account for better smoke flavor, well then that's their prerogative.
And that is whether or not anyone can explain the science behind why such a theory makes sense.
As far as a perception of "people being attacked for negative experiences", well, personally, I don't let that enter into my purchasing decision as I would likely miss out on a lot of good products were I to do so.
What happens if people start getting attacked for mentioning negative experiences for a product that I already have and am satisfied with?
Do I take it back?
As to the comment on "the
Rec Tec Culture". I'm not entirely sure that I know what that is, or what is meant by that but ......If you notice from the last picture I posted, every product in the pic, has what could be considered a cult following or a "culture" if you will.
The Otto Wilde, the 22in
WSM, (my 18in
WSM is not shown) the
Weber Kettle, the
Camp Chef griddle, the
Camp Chef stove, the Kamado Joe and yes the
Rec Tec.
All of them have huge followings, all enjoy good, if not great, reputations amongst owners, and with good reason.
When it came time to spend my money on a pellet grill, I looked at how I would be using it, it's construction, ease of use and convenience, hopper capacity, customer service and reliability......and yes, product reputation.