Traeger made me a believer

[Scooter]

Never had a pellet grill/smoker but an ad from the BBQ Guys caught my eye...for the Country Smokers portable pellet grill and smoker, 43 lbs and $225. #3061748 and/or CSPEL015010497. Anyone have this ? Thanks. Did not think to check for country of origin.

[DeeGee]

Not familiar with the Country Smokers unit, but I have experience with both Traeger and Green Mountain Grills. The GMG Dazvy Crockett is a much better quality unit than the small Traeger smoker. It is made of thicker metal and will last longer. At the time I bought, the Traeger had so-so temperature control (+- 25 degrees or so) while the GMG let me set it to 5 degree increments. I have never regretted buying the GMG.

I bought a set of casters to replace the short spring legs. I store the GMG in the front passenger-side bay, and I can easily pull it out, flip the stand legs down, and use it.

[brobox]

Originally Posted by DeeGee

The GMG Dazvy Crockett is a much better quality unit than the small Traeger smoker. It is made of thicker metal and will last longer. At the time I bought, the Traeger had so-so temperature control (+- 25 degrees or so) while the GMG let me set it to 5 degree increments. I have never regretted buying the GMG.

It was the temperature swing of the Pitt Boss and reports of the Davy Crockett over and over that made me switch.
I just installed the new temperature probe that Pit Boss sent. The temperature swing went from 73 degree down to 40 degrees never averaging the set temperature. How do they think that people can cook on a unit like that? The GMG temperature swing was only 5 degree during the hour burn in. The Pitt Bass has never come close to that. Thank you and all the other with the great reports on the GMG, I wish I would have listened the first time. The Pitt Boss is such a piece of junk, Walmart is closing them out online for $199. If Walmart is dumping them, they have got to be bad.

[Motorhead-54]

Originally Posted by brobox

....How do they think that people can cook on a unit like that? The Pitt Boss is such a piece of junk, Walmart is closing them out online for $199. If Walmart is dumping them, they have got to be bad.

Take a stroll over to the Pit Boss forums and you’ll see that hundreds if not thousands of people are creating great meals every day with their Pit Boss grills....myself included. Your experience does not mirror that of many many successful backyard chefs out there who are using Pit Boss grills.

If you’ve found the Tailgater somewhere for $199 please share that info because I ran a quick check of WalMart online this morning and it shows a “rollback” price of $278 which does not indicate WalMart is “dumping them online”.

Pit Boss is releasing a handful of new models at the first of the year so it is possible they are phasing out legacy models for newer improved designs, but there is nothing that substantiates your claim of “dumping because they are so bad”.

Once again I will say that with this grill I have time and time again managed to deliver great smoked meats....easy peazy!

My one nit is I think the Tailgater is too heavy to be a true portable grill at nearly 90lbs. Other similar brands come in at ~65lbs or so...still heavy but not quite as heavy as my Tailgater.

[brobox]

You are correct today it is $278. I swear yesterday it was a Close Out at $199 as I was checking before getting rid of mine If others like Pitt Boss, that's fine. My personal experience is not that of others. I paid the money to call mine absolute junk which mine is.

[lwmcguire]

Pitt Boss has been the best pellet grill I have ever owned

It is one of the heaviest as well

Use it several times a week

There are lemons in everything manufactured so grills could be included

To label everything a manufacturer produces bad with one experience sounds polictal to me

[Hit_the_Rhod]

Originally Posted by DeeGee

Not familiar with the Country Smokers unit, but I have experience with both Traeger and Green Mountain Grills. The GMG Dazvy Crockett is a much better quality unit than the small Traeger smoker. It is made of thicker metal and will last longer. At the time I bought, the Traeger had so-so temperature control (+- 25 degrees or so) while the GMG let me set it to 5 degree increments. I have never regretted buying the GMG.

Looking to buy a GMG soon. Anyone want a Traeger cheap? Frankly I've not been impressed with it. Small hopper, original temp control was absolute junk. On max with brand new, dry pellets would only reach 275 degrees. Upgraded to the "Optional digital control". Would finally get hotter, but temp fluctuated 50 degrees. Just not impressed. Better smokers out there for less money.

[brobox]

Originally Posted by Hit_the_Rhod

Looking to buy a GMG soon. Anyone want a Traeger cheap? Frankly I've not been impressed with it. Small hopper, original temp control was absolute junk. On max with brand new, dry pellets would only reach 275 degrees. Upgraded to the "Optional digital control". Would finally get hotter, but temp fluctuated 50 degrees. Just not impressed. Better smokers out there for less money.

I'll bet my Pitt Boss is worse than your Traeger

[jbwilli1]

Glad to see these posts. I have a Traeger that I finally learned to cook well with it.


BUT, I've tried every flavor of pellets from Traeger & all seem the same, except the Texas Beef Blend.


Am I doing something wrong or is the flavor differences that subtle?


I keep the grill clean, line/cover the drip pan with foil to make clean up a little easier & vacuum the ash out about every 4th time.

[Motorhead-54]

I use the Pit Boss competition blend pellets with great success in my Pit Boss Tailgater grill. Their flavor is relatively mild. For some meats I prefer a stronger flavor and use a “smoke tube” to supplement with using either hickory or mesquite pellets in the tube. Adding the smoke tube really turns up the smoke flavor.

Smoke tube.... https://youtu.be/biJajMAr8ys

[brobox]

Originally Posted by jbwilli1

Glad to see these posts. I have a Traeger that I finally learned to cook well with it.


BUT, I've tried every flavor of pellets from Traeger & all seem the same, except the Texas Beef Blend.


Am I doing something wrong or is the flavor differences that subtle?


I keep the grill clean, line/cover the drip pan with foil to make clean up a little easier & vacuum the ash out about every 4th time.

This guy is a composition cook, but has some great home pellet smoking "how to" videos. I have enjoyed his videos leaning the pellet smoker. Glad I finally bought one that will works. If your grill will not hold close to a constant temperature, it's not your fault, it's fault of the grill. I purchased one of these to give me an accurate temperature of the grill and the meat. It really helped me to discover why nothing would cook in the Pitt Boss. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1




https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=CevV-HkDbBM

[Dieselgem]

Originally Posted by jbwilli1

Glad to see these posts. I have a Traeger that I finally learned to cook well with it.


BUT, I've tried every flavor of pellets from Traeger & all seem the same, except the Texas Beef Blend.


Am I doing something wrong or is the flavor differences that subtle?


I keep the grill clean, line/cover the drip pan with foil to make clean up a little easier & vacuum the ash out about every 4th time.

Depends on the blend. I find if I use the mesquite it is a much stronger taste than with a pro blend. I find the fruit blend has a more mild taste. some use the same pellet and change the taste with the rub. Victory Blue is here on the forum and is a great smoker, I would PM him. He does some of the best ribs I have ever tasted.

[hpykmpr47]

Thought I would share my experiences with Our Traeger grill.We purchased a new Traeger Ranger in New Hampshire on our way to Nova Scotia in June. When we got to NS I used it and the first thing I noticed is the temperature was all over the map. Set it at 250 and it would go up to over 400 before it leveled out. After being on the phone with Traeger several times the sent me a new temperature probe. What they did not tell me is that with the Ranger iit was a huge job to replace the probe as unlike the other grills the Ranger was not meant to be repaired by the customers.There was also a recall on these grills for catching on fire. After several more calls and my convincing them that I had one of the recalled grills they agreed to send me a new grill.Wren the new one arrived it turned out to be a Scout,which I originally had a chance to buy but chose a Ranger instead. I called them again and they tole me that they were not making the Ranger any more and I would not be able to get a new Ranger until some time in 2020 as they were going to completely redesign it before building any more of them. I sent the Scout back telling them that if I had wanted a scout that is what I would have bought.


To fast forward to last week , in late September I was told that Traeger was working on some kind of a compensation package for those who had bought one of the problematic Rangers. I called them last week to find out if they had reached an agreement on this compensation package yet and they said they would give me a credit on my next order of accessories which they did. They also told me that I would be receiving one of their newly designed Ranger Grills some time in January as they were finished redesigning it and were once again building them. So if they do send me this new grill I will have to say that Traeger does look after their customers.
On another note after returning to FL in Oct I purchased a new Traeger Junior Elite 20 grill and so Far I love it. I could never make pork ribs and chicken without burning them until I got this grill and now make them both all the time......Alan.