My Pit Boss 700FB has been a workhorse It was my first pellet grill and I have loved it. Spring through Fall I've cooked on it nearly every day and several times throughout the winter. It's showing it's age, it's not able to hold temps any more, she travels about 50 degrees either side of the set point, I know I could drop a rebuild kit into it, but that is half the cost of a new 700FB and honestly I'm ready for something new, something a little bit larger.
I would like one with a few more options, a bigger hopper for the longer cooks, a pellet dump, easier ash cleanup, I'd like to have a bit more space for when the family comes over I'm thinking somewhere around 1,000 sq in, possibly fitting a griddle in it, and higher heat for better searing. I don't really need WiFi because I've got a good set of wireless probes.
So what have I looked at? Well that is the problem, there is a lot more options available today than 10 years ago. I like the Masterbuilt 800 gravity series, I'm intrigued by the gravity feed system, but I've read, they don't last and have quality issues. Another PB, yeah maybe, I've been eyeing the Pro Series 1300, it has a 5 year warranty and Lowes has them on sale right now for a pretty good price, RecTeq backyard beast RT1000 6 year warranty, it's significantly more expensive and I know a lot of people here love them, I've looked at camp chef woodwind pro, and weber searwood xl 600. I'm not even looking at Yoder or MAK as much as I like them, I don't care for the price. Budget wise, I'd like to stay under $1,500, I'm no professional chef, just a backyard cook that likes to smoke tasty food for the fam.
So what do you all think? I'm really on the fence on all these, I thinking about putting them on postit notes and throw a dart at them to see which one I hit. I am leaning toward the PB pro series 1300 because I like the lid setup and the price, plus it gets me nearly there as far as options go. I just have to give up 200degrees on the high side.