British BBQ Society Forums

Hello, newbie here was tempted by a WSM 57cm, and nearly took the plunge. However starting reading about Pellet smokers and opened a new can of worms. Like the idea of the Daniel Boone, but seen other comparative units, ie Traeger, Yoder (how much !), not sure of the reliability and how new to market they are. Looking out for owners reviews, any recommendations welcome.
cheers
Fraser

Welcome

For that sort of money you could get a Weber 57cm for hot and fast, a WSM for low and slow, and have change.

Guess it's all about what you want to do and whether you want the predictability (and cost) of running pellets, or the vagaries, frustration and joy of wood and coal.

There are proponents of all on here. Have a look at some of the in depth (and often hilarious if Tiny has anything to do with it) threads.

Cheers

Hi Fraser
I have both a wsm and a yoder 1500 pellet grill from a cost point of view I have just done a 12 hr cook on yoder using lumber jack pellets (oak,mapel,and cherry) and I used 9lb of pellets so about £5.50 worth of pellets .When I use my wsm mine is the 57 cm if I do a 12 plus cook I use bookers premium restaurant charcoal it comes in 12 kg bags and costs £12 per bag and I would use about 6 is kg in 12 hrs so £ 6 per cook so from my point of view costs are not that different.It is also worth noting that my yoder is the large model they do two smaller models that I think would use less pellets.I would also like to add with your pellets if you use fruit only you will use a lot more pellets if you use a blend with some hard wood in it ( oak,hickory) these woods give you a lot more heat and burn slower than fruit pellets only.Having said all that as I said I have both types of grill they are both great to use and you will have a lot of fun with both
Shawn

I have just bought the 47cm WSM. The thing that persuaded me being a relative newbie to smoking (using a cheap Brinkman for the last year) to upgrade to a WSM is that Riverside Garden Centre are doing some pretty good discounts on the WSM at present, which I think offers great value.

Phil
http://love2bbq.com

I started out with a WSM and then moved on to a Yoder YS1500 but that was for commercial reasons. I love my Yoder, I simply cannot fault it, the build quality is superb, the temperature control is spot on and the ability to set the temperature and forget it is worth its weight in gold, particularly if you have to get up early in the morning and spend all day at an event.

The pellets produce a good clean smoke which I consider preferable to smoking over charcoal and the end results are perfect.

Pellet costs are no different to charcoal and the Yoder also has the ability to double as a direct heat grill with the purchase of additional grates that are simple to swap over. Of course the 1500 is a big beast but there are smaller models. If you have the money go for a pellet smoker.

Welcome chum,
and cheers to the Braii meister for the nod.

I think the difference between going charcoal or pellets is a philosophical one, some I am sure would contest that the use of a pellet smoker is not "proper" but this can then drive you down the abstract route of did you plant the tree, fell it and make the charcoal yourself? Unless you knew the name of hector the pig and hand raised him then your shoulder for pulled pork simply isn't proper enough, you get the picture in some small way we all look for help.

I see it as like owning a classic car and a tesler, both will probably get you to work every day but the former will need more care and attention and fettling but will be mighty impressive.

I have chosen the convenience of a pellet smoker and am delighted with my DB, from what I have read the Treachers are now much better so are a viable alternative to a DB, the Yartas are better still but have a price tag to match.

What I would say is that I have yet to find anyone disappointed with there GMG. At the moment American BBQ have a sale on code Summ16 gets you 20% off....do it do it doit
Cheers
Tiny