Bull Buy Again?

[TIBO]

I am looking for a new pellet grill. I have narrowed the list down to three.

Pit Boss Competition 1250
Recteq RT 700
Smokin Brothers Premier Plus 30

These are $699, $1199, $1699 respectively. My question is would you buy the RT 700 again, or spend less, or spend more for American made? I know a few people personally with each model and all are mostly happy with each. Whatever I end up with will spend most of its time on an uncovered deck. Just looking for a little advice before purchasing. Recteq I would have to ship. I can go get either of the others in an hour or so. Any ideas?

 

[Gonefishin]

personally I’d pass on the Pitt Boss, so it’d be between the other 2. Other than being made in the US I don’t see all that much difference, I’d want to take a ride to Boston and see the Smokin Brothers. Don’t see a warranty length on the Smokin, as opposed to 6 years on the bull, also no SS grates. And the biggest issue would be the lack of horns.

id have no issue spending more for a better made US grill. But I’d want to see one.

On edit… Amazing Ribs review says 3 years.

 

[TIBO]

personally I’d pass on the Pitt Boss, so it’d be between the other 2. Other than being made in the US I don’t see all that much difference, I’d want to take a ride to Boston and see the Smokin Brothers. Don’t see a warranty length on the Smokin, as opposed to 6 years on the bull, also no SS grates. And the biggest issue would be the lack of horns.

id have no issue spending more for a better made US grill. But I’d want to see one.

On edit… Amazing Ribs review says 3 years.

Correct, 3 years is the same thing the local dealer said.

 

[Grillmatt]

I have a 700. Doing over, I’d prob spend half.

 

[SmokeOCD]

I am looking for a new pellet grill. I have narrowed the list down to three.

Pit Boss Competition 1250
Recteq RT 700
Smokin Brothers Premier Plus 30

How long have you had the 700 that it's time for a new grill?
The Smoking Brothers - I'd pop the extra $100 for the Barn-B-Que.

 

[Greg Jones]

If the grills you listed are your budget range, I’d go with the 700. I don’t know if your deck is enclosed with a gate (mine is), but if so the 700 will not fit through the gate or a door. I suspect the same is true for the Smokin Brothers Premier Plus 30.

 

[Motodad1776]

Not a damn thing wrong with the latest PitBoss models, I had a non PID controlled model for years and it worked flawlessly, they are now on par with Rectec and Trager IMHO.......and yes made in China. As for out on an uncovered deck, I personally wouldn't be keeping a pellet grill out in the elements even with a proper cover.

 

[Elias]

I am looking for a new pellet grill. I have narrowed the list down to three.

Pit Boss Competition 1250
Recteq RT 700
Smokin Brothers Premier Plus 30

These are $699, $1199, $1699 respectively. My question is would you buy the RT 700 again, or spend less, or spend more for American made? I know a few people personally with each model and all are mostly happy with each. Whatever I end up with will spend most of its time on an uncovered deck. Just looking for a little advice before purchasing. Recteq I would have to ship. I can go get either of the others in an hour or so. Any ideas?

I would buy the RT-700. I would not get that chance... the smoker would outlive me.

 

[kstone113]

I would buy the 700 again. It has been a great grill for me. The one grill if it was now that would really peak my interest is the Camp Chef Woodwind Pro with the slot you can add in wood chunks above the diffuser. That is a game changer in my mind.

But I love the controller of the RecTeq and the materials of the grill are great!

But I probably would be more looking at the 1250. I like the second shelf which I believe is better for smoking.

 

[ToeJam]

I came from a camp chef to the rt 700

 

[okie]

RT 700 is best bang IMO. But I am not familiar with Smoking Brothers.

 

[FrybucksBBQ]

I am looking for a new pellet grill. I have narrowed the list down to three.

Pit Boss Competition 1250
Recteq RT 700
Smokin Brothers Premier Plus 30

These are $699, $1199, $1699 respectively. My question is would you buy the RT 700 again, or spend less, or spend more for American made? I know a few people personally with each model and all are mostly happy with each. Whatever I end up with will spend most of its time on an uncovered deck. Just looking for a little advice before purchasing. Recteq I would have to ship. I can go get either of the others in an hour or so. Any ideas? I like my RT700. I purchased it five years ago and have not had any issues. In resent years on this blog I see more complaints and wonder why.

I am looking for a new pellet grill. I have narrowed the list down to three.

Pit Boss Competition 1250
Recteq RT 700
Smokin Brothers Premier Plus 30

These are $699, $1199, $1699 respectively. My question is would you buy the RT 700 again, or spend less, or spend more for American made? I know a few people personally with each model and all are mostly happy with each. Whatever I end up with will spend most of its time on an uncovered deck. Just looking for a little advice before purchasing. Recteq I would have to ship. I can go get either of the others in an hour or so. Any ideas?

I have a five year old RT700 and have not had any issues and love it. Over the last few years I’m seeing more negative feedback on the Bull. My personal opinion is the quality of China has gone down hill since Covid. I don’t believe RT is getting the same quality as it was pre Covid. With all the problems between US and China in present times I don’t know if I’d buy anything made in China.

 

[Dean]

I have 7 smoker/grills Plus the 700 and a 380 bullseye...gave 2 away including a BGE and now only cook-grill-smoke on the Recteq's.. enough said... IMHO

 

[Luke Warm]

I am looking for a new pellet grill. I have narrowed the list down to three.

Pit Boss Competition 1250
Recteq RT 700
Smokin Brothers Premier Plus 30

These are $699, $1199, $1699 respectively. My question is would you buy the RT 700 again, or spend less, or spend more for American made? I know a few people personally with each model and all are mostly happy with each. Whatever I end up with will spend most of its time on an uncovered deck. Just looking for a little advice before purchasing. Recteq I would have to ship. I can go get either of the others in an hour or so. Any ideas?

I have a 700. I wouldn't buy it again-- your comment about having to ship the Recteq is a key. They ship it to you, and if you don't like it you have to ship it back within 30 days. The packaging for mine was literally falling apart on arrival. Then you have to put it together, and figure out if you like it, which may take longer than you think if it's missing parts, or things arrived broken like happened to me. If you don't like it, you have to disassemble it and figure out how to pack it and ship it back, all in a pretty short period of time. And they keep $180 as a restocking fee. There's a pretty high barrier to returning the grill if you don't like it-- compared to driving it back to the store and getting 100% money back. Oh, and for extra fun, you can read about the customer reviews for Recteq products, it appears they do not include their bad reviews on their website.

 

[DD owner]

Love my 700 here in SD. I have a cover for it but it sits on our uncovered deck 90% of the time without it on as i use it multiple times a week. i believe its close to five years old and the only issue i had was the digital screen wasnt working always. Recteq sent me a new board instantly. Not sure on the others your looking at but Id definitely buy recteq again.

 

[Beach Bum]

We have owned our 700 for three years and our B380X for four months. We would buy both again without hesitation. The 700 was leap of faith based on reading this forum. We saw the B380X in use at the RT Academy. A bit of time watching it cook with chefs John and Greg convinced us to buy it.

 

[Edthebook]

I have the 700. Would I buy again? No because I already have one.

I would look at the 1070 or 1250. They weren’t available when I brought the 700.

 

[GrillIndy]

I've had my RT700 for three years now and just over 200 smokes/cooks. Came from a BGE I used for ten years. Nothing is perfect and saying that I have nothing but positive things to say about Rec Tec.

 

[TIBO]

I’m pretty sure my choice will be Recteq. I’m about 6 hours from there. Maybe I’ll make a Friday afternoon trip and stay the night and hit the showroom on Saturday morning. Do they sell them preassembled or still in the box? I’m thinking if I pick it up, I can at least minimize risk of the carrier getting it to me. In the box would definitely travel better on a 6 hour drive. Maybe I’m better shipping and picking it up at my local Estes hub only 20 minutes away. Thoughts?

 

[BillsCamino]

Yeah, I'd buy again...only a bigger model.