If you want the 'set it and leave it' functionality, there are plenty of pit controllers on the market to fill that request.
ok, thats pretty cool but it costs anywhere from 2/3 and + of what my whole smoker did and still might run out of charcoal on a long smoke.
Use a good lump charcoal and you can smoke 12+ hours on the same load at low temps- 250* or so.
I've not seen a pellet smoker reach temps higher than 550/600 and the egg will hit 700* relatively quick if I'm not paying attention.
The temp range and ceramic's ability to stabilize heat convinced me to buy. I have a 4 burner ss Weber too, but it hasn't been touched since the egg landed.
ok, thats pretty cool but it costs anywhere from 2/3 and + of what my whole smoker did and still might run out of charcoal on a long smoke.
I’ve been looking at Kamado style (like the Green Egg) versus pellet (Rec Tec). I’m looking to get a Kamado. The Kamado style is very expensive but I wonder if the fuel cost/consumption will make that cost a little more even. The Kamado style is thick ceramic and holds the heat. The fuel consumption is on my mind because of my current Weber Smokey Mountain bullet smoker. One time I burned through a large bag of charcoal on a cold day for a 4 or 5 hour smoke.
The fuel consumption between your bullet smoker and kamado style is not even close. I have a large Big Green Egg and a large Kamado Joe. I've done 20 hour cooks on the BGE and had plenty of charcoal left to keep going if needed. I recently did a brisket and boston butt on the KJ, both were 10+ hour cooks and still had plenty of charcoal left.
For those saying the cost is too high remember this: you do not need any other grill or smoker (perfect example above where steaks were cooked on a smoker (low temp) then seared on propane grill). Then, add on the fact a quality grill like the BGE is going to last a long, long time. My BGE is 10+ years old. I've never had a metal grill of any kind last that long.
How does the wifi pit temp controller work on that type of grillI have a Large Big Green Egg and a Mini-Max Big Green Egg . Absolutely love both. I don't think there's any grill out there that can match the versatility. I've done low and slow cooks for 15+ hours and still had enough charcoal left over to do a quicker cook, wings or something simple, without re-loading. I use the Mini-Max for tailgating, simple cooks like hot dogs, burgers, sausage, and as a searing station. I bought a wifi pit temp controller if I feel like being lazy or if I'm cooking something overnight. Temps are always on the money.