Traeger vs Green Mountain

[garmp]

Think I'm in the market for a pellet grill. (By that I mean I haven't discussed this with the DW yet) Really, really want one, but which. Pretty much got it down to Traeger vs Green Mountain. Want quality, but price is a definite qualifier. Don't want something for the road, home use only. Won't be cooking for competition nor crowds, so a smaller one is fine. Love to smoke stuff on my charcoal Brinkmann, but want something I can set for 6+ hours of smoking without feeding charcoal constantly.
What's your thoughts?

[jvharal]

We have two Traegers, one for the house that is ten plus years old and one in the camper. Both work great. Traeger would be my recommendation.

[Rotis]

garmp1 wrote:
Thanks for the input.
Am leaning toward the Rec Tec RT-300 also. Which is $100 more than the Davy Crockett, but then there's a $100 shipping charge and I read somewhere, I can't remember where, about a 6 year warranty (which was highly recommended) for another $100. That puts the Rec Tec RT-300 at $300 more than the DC. That's darn near twice the price. Don't I care to spend $700 to try something I'd really get into.

I haven't heard about a six year warranty, nothing like that was offered to me when I bought mine. It does have a two year warranty. They also have a 30 day return for full refund policy if you are not happy with it. The construction and quality is much better than my Davy Crockett.

The Davy Crockett is a very good grill for traveling and it cooks well once you learn it. The right side can be as much as 70 degrees hotter than the left. Some are not that bad but both of mine were that way. It also sits very low when you use the legs, if you are going to use it at home you would want to put it on a table or stand.

[ORbiker]

I've got a hunk of pork loin doing a slow cook today.

[garmp]

GoPackGo, I have heard that the GMG DC grill has hot spot or uneven temp issues. Have you experienced this?

[GoPackGo]

I love my GMG Davy Crockett. Bought it because the legs fold up and it takes up less room in my fiver. If I was getting one for home use, I would get one of their larger grills.

1. The larger ones sit higher off the ground.

2. I am well satisfied with the capacity of mine, but the bigger models have a significantly larger grill area. Makes a difference when you want to cook ribs for a flock.

What I like about GMG -

- Can adjust temp in 5 degree increments
- Built in cooking probe
- Digital Read Out
- The WiFi option
- The fan cycles on and off, does not run constantly

[garmp]

Thanks for the input.
Am leaning toward the Rec Tec RT-300 also. Which is $100 more than the Davy Crockett, but then there's a $100 shipping charge and I read somewhere, I can't remember where, about a 6 year warranty (which was highly recommended) for another $100. That puts the Rec Tec RT-300 at $300 more than the DC. That's darn near twice the price. Don't I care to spend $700 to try something I'd really get into.

[davosfam]

We love our Rec Tec RT-300. Big enough for four people and portable to take camping with us. The GM Davy Crockett is more portable but everything about the Rec Tec is sturdier and it has a larger grill surface. The lid metal is thicker, grill racks are heavier duty, etc. With that said, the RT-300 is heavier in weight than the Davy Crockett.

ETA - Once I read reviews for the smaller Traegers, they weren't even a consideration for us.

[Strabo]

Caution using a Traeger in windy conditions!!!!

Winds can push flames up the pellet auger igniting the entire pellet storage area, burning the smoker to the ground. Happened recently to a friend of mine.

Be Advised.

[garmp]

Just saw the GM Davy Crockett alive in the flesh at a local store and was quite impressed. It is big enough for the two of us, home or on the road. Has some nice features and definitely could work. Need to check out the RecTec. Don't think it has all the bells and whistles, also couple of bucks more.
Still thinking. Thanks all!!!

[Rotis]

Green Mountain Grills makes a very good product. I used a Davy Crockett for several years, it travels in the MH very well.

If you want something for your home but not too big look at the Rec Tec T-300, I just bought one to replace my Davy Crockett. It's very high quality and a bit larger than the small GMG or Traeger, well worth the little extra in price.

[ORbiker]

I've got the Davy Crockett Green Mountain Grill.

It's my first smoker. So far, I love it. The WIFI connection is very cool. I can turn it on, adjust and watch the temps. of both the unit and the meat.
The GMG will adjust the temp from 150 to 500F.

I think quality pellets is the secret.

Love our covered patio too.

[LetsRV]

Did quite a bit of research before we got the GMG Daniel Boone. Have had it over 3 years and still love it. Also recently got the new GMG Davy Crockett for the motorhome.

Use it year round 3 or 4 times a week (covered patio in Oregon).
Love the remote control (option), the food probe, the digital temp control. Etc. Etc.
Tech support is great. I've called with questions and always got a real person and excellent info.
The previous comment about soot (without getting too far into it) is something that will be cured when they call customer service.

It will Grill food (hot and fast) up to 500 degrees. It will BBQ and smoke food (low and slow) down to 150 degrees. The pellet cooker is a different breed and takes a bit of a learning curve but in no time you'll be making great food. Cook meats, veggies, and desserts.

A great web site for all things pellet grill is pelletheads.com, lots and lots of info.

I have no affiliation with GMG or pelletheads, just a very satisfied cusotmer.

[Chakara]

I went with the GM Daniel Boone last year. The WiFi is handy, I use it for things like Butt. Run at 150 for 4 hours (smoke flavor) then crank up to 220 until internal temp reaches 195 - then hold. No user interaction other than listening for the low pellet alarm.

2 other things drove me to it over the Traeger.

1) Can run as low as 150 and hold steady. Important to get the smoke flavor as higher temps don't make much smoke.

2) Taller cooking chamber. Bought one of the front shelves and mounted inside greatly increasing cooking space. Mostly for Jerky.


Here I'm finishing off some Jerky at 150, and have a Tri-Tip on the right bottom catching some smoke. Shortly after this pic I pulled the Jerky and cranked it up to 220 for a bit over an hour to bring the Tri-Tip to 115 internal temp. Threw it on the maxed out grill for about 4 minutes per side to finish it off and get to 145 internal temp.

In-Line pic doesn't seem to work with Google Photo's so heres the link.

https://goo.gl/photos/s1w7NrJ6tzJf7vgSA

[Ductape]

I got the GM last year. Been somewhat disappointed in the flavor, as it makes soot. As in black sooty chicken etc., not bronzed. Need to call tech support and see what they say. I have read a few reports of similar issues.

Otherwise the grill is a joy to use. Easy to set and forget for a long cook. Just need to sort out the airflow or whatever the problem is.

[mowin]

I've got the GMG Daniel Boone with wifi. My brother has a traeger.

I've used his several times before getting my gmg. There both good pits, but I like mine better. I've done everything from chicken, to briskets. With fantastic results. Pellets can get expensive, but if you can get others in your area to do a group buy, you can get a ton delivered for around .30c a lb. Otherwise your looking around. 75-1.00 a lb locally.