Pit boss vs treager grills

[muliehuntr]

I have been considering purchasing on of these grills for awhile now. Just wondering which of these grills people on here own and how they like them or don't like them.

I'm leaning towards the pit boss one because of some of its features but don't know anyone that has one. my brother inlaw has a traeger and loves his.

thanks for your feedback

[ryeguy21]

a louisiana grill is better then both those options

[13mileranch]

I've got a Yoder and love it.

My neighbor has a Traeger and he really likes it.

[gtr]

You can ask ten different people and get twelve different answers.
Usually whatever the person has is the best. Human nature dictates that.
Having said that I have used and owned several with no issues that stand out like a sore thumb on any of them.

[YYC338]

You can ask ten different people and get twelve different answers.
Usually whatever the person has is the best. Human nature dictates that.
Having said that I have used and owned several with no issues that stand out like a sore thumb on any of them.

Pretty much what GTR says. Depending on what you want to use it for, (all day brisket or quick chicken wings, etc) a couple of features to look for are hopper size and precise temperature control.

I've got a trager tailgater which is a smaller unit but works for what I do.

Probably equally or even more important is the quality of the pellet you use. They are not all created equal.

[SamSteele]

I have a Traeger that is about 5 years old or so. I believe they changed ownership shortly after I got mine and moved production offshore. Ours has been a decent unit. Had to replace the firepot and glow rod once so far. That said, I think I would look long and hard at the Green Mountain Grills or Louisiana Grills if I were to replace it.


SS

[Benny86]

I know people with traegers and we have a pit boss. Both in my opinion are similar. We went with pit boss because cabelas was having a good sale that was about it. Runs fine and we havent had any issues.

[HyperMOA]

Never seen a pit boss in action. I love my Traeger. However, if I knew what I know now about pellet grills I would've foregone my Traeger for a Yoder. If, or when, my Traeger dies I will replace it with a Yoder that can hit 700F. As mentioned above that a Louisana Grill is better, they get about 75-100F hotter than my Traeger does.

[KyleSS]

I've been doing a lot of research on this and if you have $3000 to spend then yes get a Yoder (Med Hat Home Hardware I think). From what I have found the Louisiana and Pitboss are made by the same company. Rumor is that the Pitboss parts are made overseas and that is why they are cheaper in price. I have decided to save my pennies and the the Louisiana LG900. I am going with the Louisiana because of the precise temp control as well as being able to go up to 600F and open the heat diffuser so you can sear steaks. Also, Louisiana is based out of Edmonton and the best deal I found is from Ed's Pellets just outside of Carsairs. https://sites.google.com/site/edspelletstoves/

Last time I checked (few months ago) the LG900 was $950 (if you put it together your self) and it comes with a cover and a bag of pellets.

[A-Baum]

I had a traeger for a while and while I liked what came off of it, the one trick pony aspect to it was frustrating and having to have another device for actual grilling. Plus it ate pellets like crazy. For a full brisket cook, I'd easily use more than 3/4 of a $20USD bag of pellets. That starts to add up. The set it and forget aspect was nice, but I finally sold it in favor of something i could grill and smoke on. If you already have a grill you like and looking for a smoker, it's hard to do better than a traeger or similar pellet smoker. The food that comes off is pretty good, but there's just something about smoking over charcoal that adds a different flavor in my opinion.

[rocpilefsj]

I love my traeger, yoder gets my vote if I was upgrading too. No matter which one you go with you will love it I'm sure. I seen camp chef also makes one now. Best of luck!

[Beeman3]

I went with a primo oval xl. I was also worried about pellet consumption and being able to sear steaks. These Kamodo style grills are very efficient. Don't use much charcoal on a 14 lb brisket. But they are not as user friendly as a pellet grill. I almost went with the Yoder YS 640. It gets good reviews.

[A-Baum]

I went with a primo oval xl. I was also worried about pellet consumption and being able to sear steaks. These Kamodo style grills are very efficient. Don't use much charcoal on a 14 lb brisket. But they are not as user friendly as a pellet grill. I almost went with the Yoder YS 640. It gets good reviews.
Yeah I went with an XL Big Green Egg for that reason. The flexibility in cooking is amazing. I can smoke a brisket for 20 hours, then sear a steak at high temp and then make a wood fired pizza on the same load of lump charcoal. It's not as set and forget as the Traeger, but once you "learn" your device it can be pretty much set and forget.

[Xbolt7mm]

I am jealous of you yoder guys, anyone wanna buy a jim bowie or a daveycrockett GMG

[Iron Brew]

Yeah I went with an XL Big Green Egg for that reason. The flexibility in cooking is amazing. I can smoke a brisket for 20 hours, then sear a steak at high temp and then make a wood fired pizza on the same load of lump charcoal. It's not as set and forget as the Traeger, but once you "learn" your device it can be pretty much set and forget.

I found my egg very picky on charcoal for temperature. What (and where) do you get your charcoal for high temp?

[Off in the Bushes]

I found my egg very picky on charcoal for temperature. What (and where) do you get your charcoal for high temp?

Best place for charcoal is Canadian Tire I buy the Royal Oak Lump Charcoal, but lately the quality have been suffering. Really small piece and lots of rocks in the bag.

[gtr]

I am jealous of you yoder guys, anyone wanna buy a jim bowie or a daveycrockett GMG

I thought you give your stuff away.

[13mileranch]

I found my egg very picky on charcoal for temperature. What (and where) do you get your charcoal for high temp?

I use to get Weekend Warrior from BBQ's Galore but the manufacturer apparently quit shipping to Canada as they were sold out with their USA market. If you could ever find any please let me know.

Now for real high temps I use Dragons Breath. Lots of big lump.

For low and slow I use Basques (from sugar maple).

Most others are just small crumbly pieces.

[A-Baum]

I found my egg very picky on charcoal for temperature. What (and where) do you get your charcoal for high temp?
I'm in the US but I get my lump from wholesale clubs. Either Sams Club (Wal-mart company) or BJs. They usually have large bags of Cowboy of Frontier brand lump for a good price and I load up when they go on sale in the spring. Never been picky on brand. When I do high temp I do not attempt to get too precise as it can fluctuate. For pizzas I use a laser thermometer to tell the temp of the pizza stone and then determine how long the pie should stay on. Anywhere from 260-285 C is good for pizzas.

For steaks, I've actually stopped searing at high temps. I do a reverse sear and finish off with a sear around 230 degrees C, give or take 25 degrees. I've found the egg is ideal for holding low temps for a long period of time which is ideal for long smokes.

[Beeman3]

I have been using PRIMO brand lump charcoal. This is all kind of new to me so nothing to compare it to. Lots of big chunks and not much fine. They threw in 2 bags when I bought the oval xl. That was 15 months ago and I am only getting close to have using up 2 bags. I see at my local Canadian tire they are selling a lump maple charcoal out of Quebec. Think I will try this next time.

[tbiddy]

I basically follow this:

Harry Soo of Slap Yo Daddy BBQ, one of the top 10 competition teams year in and year out once told me "I buy whatever is on sale." Mike Wozniak of Quau, the 2010 Kansas City Barbeque Society Team of the Year and winner of scores of championships told me "Charcoal is for heat, not flavor. Wood is for flavor. I cook on whatever brand the competition sponsor is giving away for free."

[gtr]

Some of the brands leave a bitter smoke taste, that's hard to take. More pronounced on the low and slow cooks.

[sharpstick]

I have a RECTEC and love it but I too am looking to get the Cadillac of pellet grills, the Yoder YS640.

[Xbolt7mm]

I thought you give your stuff away.

I would but yoders are expensive

[ladyjig]

I have the 680 Louisiana grill and I love it. No problems, really good on pellets if u have the bucks I would invest in one.
Good luck in deciding lots to choose from.