RecTeq 1250 vs Pit Boss 1600 - Part 1

[@gtrhs82]

Can't wait to see more comparisons. I own the the ReqTec RT1250 and I love it! Keep up the good work!!!

[@ElSenorBbq]

Thank you!

[@BackyardWarrior]

VERY informative as usual...both pits are 🔥🔥🔥

[@ElSenorBbq]

Thank you sir!

[@Trumpetmaster77]

Recteq wins! 🤣 hey bro call them up and they’ll replace the cast iron heat deflector for you. I have a stainless heat deflector. If I’m searing I use the rtb380, I highly recommend you get that cooker! It’s a beast!

[@ElSenorBbq]

Haha hell no man, I got too many smokers already. I have my kamado joe for that. I'll say this, if it's a long cook, I much prefer the recteq. The controller is much more sophisticated. But for now, onto the next episode where we will be doing cooks.

[@tjlift22]

I have a recteq rt700 and love it

[@loganb6944]

I sold my 1150 pit boss because it took 45 minutes to get to 400 degrees. On 3 different “upgraded” controllers and in my garage with no wind; 45 minutes!!! That’s embarrassing. My recteq 1250 took 12 minutes to get to 400 degrees. And just for fun I took it up to 704 degrees before I turned it down. It would have still gone hotter but it made me nervous. LOVE my recteq!!

[@ElSenorBbq]

Yup, that big'ol auger is amazing! When I did the burn in, it got up to temp VERY fast. I mentioned here that the 1600 shares the same 1150 auger and it takes forever to heat that barrel up. It needs an upgraded version I feel.

[@krayziejones]

I just ordered my 1250 today 👍

[@ElSenorBbq]

You are going to love it!!! Do the wood chip on the heat deflector. I have a video of it here too! No smoke tube needed and it gives it a flavor similar to my kamado joe

[@KillerMillerQue]

Great review!

[@thomas5495]

Did Req Tec ever take care of you concerning the cracked cast iron heat deflector? Awesome job on the comparison. I wish my local Lowes here in the Corpus area had the new Pit Boss 1600 elite in stock so I could take a look at that.

[@ElSenorBbq]

Hey Thomas, I'll reach out to them tomorrow and see what they say.

[@mikemcmahon67]

I’m late to the party, as usual, but I’m curious if you have any updates in the intervening year? Strongly considering both the 1600 elite and the recteq 1250. Either would be a big step up from my 8yo GMG Daniel Boone

[@ElSenorBbq]

Hey Mike, I apologize for the delay but if I were to pick, idk man it's a hard one because I like the actual sear from the pit boss but love the controller on the recteq. Having said this, I'm not using my recteq as much as I should. The Pit Boss is a bit more versatile for all of my needs. Low and slow, direct flame sear action, easy ash cleanout, I mean it just does what I want it to. The recteq is amazing and the controller can't be beat, I use it when I don't want to even think about the cook as I know the controller will do it's job whereas the pit boss, while it hasn't given me an issue, past experience has told me to keep an eye on it regardless. Whichever one you go with I would think about what would be best suited for you.

[@TChalla007]

I have a camp chef as my first pellet grill. It works wonderful, Its just my wife and I for the most part. Looking to upgrade to this or the Recteq. I just like upgrading. Mind you, my campchef wasn't the intro model @$799.

[@ElSenorBbq]

Hey James, it's totally up to you personally. I also did another comparison smoking a brisket. Personally, for the money, I feel the Pit Boss does have a bit more bells and whistles for what you pay. However, the recteq controller simply just cannot be beat. They are both fantastic smokers but if I want to put meat in there for a long cook and not have to worry about it, I'd choose the recteq. If you want the most smoke flavor possible, the pit boss provides that just a bit more than the recteq but the temps swing up and down alot more which I believe contributes to the flavor.

[@TChalla007]

@@ElSenorBbq Thanks brother.

[@halfcenturynation2030]

Nice video I don't know anything about the rectec but I have a few cooks on my 1600. Unfortunately to get a faster preheat you need to put it on high and keep your eye on it, must be control board issue. The grill rack holder on the back is handy because how often do you need 3 racks? Is there a reason you keep your smoke stack cover barely screwed on? I keep mine almost all the way on. Thanks for the video

[@ElSenorBbq]

Smoke stack being too closed off means less convection. Doesn't change the temps one way or the other but if I like not having to choke it up on airflow.

[@JackBartley-mu4dj]

The Pitt boos is junk bought one and it quit after the burn in sent it back to the store. I bought a rec tec deck boss and it’s a fantastic smoker it stays right on temp and this thing really works great, Pitt boss is nothing but trouble.

[@daniellozano969]

Ride on bro...maybe on the video that you make when u cook something on both and they both dish out good flavor, I'll make a decision on which to buy for the house...I got the pitboss tailgater and it's been good for me...take it with me across country with the RV and it hasn't let me down.

[@ElSenorBbq]

Awesome my man! Does it take up space inside the RV or is it really portable? We might get into the RV scene in the future and this wouldn't be a bad idea to have.

[@daniellozano969]

I'm not sure if my replies are going through

[@HushJoe]

From personal experience, I would urge you to go for the recteq. I have a Pittboss Navigator 850G at deer camp and have enjoyed it so much I got one for the house. Brand new, in box. Took me just under 2 hours to unpack and assemble. The last sticker I peeled off brought paint with it and exposing a good sized existing rust spot. Pittboss customer service reps offered to send me a bottle of paint to cover the rust, adding that surface rust would not be a warrantied manufacturer defect. I returned that Pittboss and bought the recteq 750. I have been very impressed and happy with every bit of the recteq. Recteq is quality from the materials to the service. I have no respect for companies that operate like pittboss, sucks that I am the one that got us pregnant with the one at deer camp. Too late now.

[@chadpeterson6805]

Good comparison brutha! Hard to beat a recteq in the price point. We really enjoy the simplicity of our recteq lineup…they flat out work! Do I have others, yes, but recteq rigs are legit & won’t do you wrong & if something happens you’ll be taken care of 👊🏻

[@ElSenorBbq]

Not only that but I feel very comfortable doing an overnight cook on it. As I said in the video, that controller is just incredible and the bigger auger makes the temps climb up fast! But I do have to view it from all perspectives and have to at least do an honest pros and cons, at least from my end.

[@chadpeterson6805]

@@ElSenorBbq Absolutely! Easy to trust a recteq. We do a lot of overnight cooks for our restaurant & sleep very good. Not that other brands aren’t trustworthy, but these folks are definitely at the top for the mid price range pellet. Thanks again for the video & keep ‘em commin 👍🇺🇸

[@LizPostres]

Woooooooow great video , very informative 👏💯💯💯💯

[@tjlastname5192]

I saw your previous video on the pit boss 1150 overheat. So did they send you a new grill to replace it? Also did you have to mention reviewing them on KZbin to make that happen.

[@ElSenorBbq]

Hey TJ, we did troubleshooting and the good thing is that I saved the data regarding the graph lytics on the 1150 to see what all happened at what time frame. We did the troubleshooting and it turns out the controller had a glitch causing the auger to keep running constantly non stop so that was the reason that it caused a fire. They upgraded me to the 1600 at no cost and didn't ask me to do anything on it. They didn't ask to do a review, that was all on my own. I did a how to assemble the 1600 video and I go a bit more in depth in there as to what all happened. Pit boss did right and I continue using the 1600 to this day.

[@tjlastname5192]

@@ElSenorBbq just for clarification, I wasn’t trying to say you were in bed with them or anything like that. Haha I just didn’t know if they only made it right for fear of bad reviews. Some companies will crap on you until they find out you have an audience. Sounds like they were going to do the right thing regardless. Thanks for the info. Just wanted to make sure I could get it replaced if I had that kind of problem.

[@ElSenorBbq]

@@tjlastname5192 Not a problem my man! No offense taken. I like being as transparent as possible. It is what it is and at first I thought I was out of a smoker which is why I bought the 1250 from recteq. It took about 2 months or so in order to get the thumbsup for the 1600 so that's how it went. Cheers my man!

[@tjlastname5192]

@@ElSenorBbq thanks man. Just was about to buy one, and wanted to make sure they made it right before spending that kind of money. I’ll be checking back on your channel for some of the pellet reviews.

[@ElSenorBbq]

Thank you! I'll be doing a B&B pellet review within the coming weeks. I already started on it and so far it's been great!

[@soota6083]

Did you ever get that crack on the Rec Teq fixed? How was customer service at Rec Teq?

[@ElSenorBbq]

Sure did, the replacement came in within 3 days or so. No issues since!

[@jamesgunn5358]

I’ve got the 700 with the 2nd shelf that Chad Peterson makes (check him out if you have a 340, 590, or 700 and need more space!). I fit five butts on the bottom and two 19-20 pound briskets on the top. It wasn’t ideal but it got the job done lol. Same size cook chamber as the 1250 so the 1250 should be the same. Don’t really recommend THAT much meat loaded in there but can definitely do briskets over butts.

[@ElSenorBbq]

One of my nieces is graduating this year from HS and I'm going to attempt to load it up with 5 briskets. We'll see how it goes and hopefully I don't have to keep rotating them.

[@chadpeterson6805]

You’re the man brutha! 👊🏻

[@jamesgunn5358]

@@ElSenorBbq the nice thing about brisket is they can handle a long rest so it doesn’t matter too much if they finish at different times. That’s definitely going to be tight. Fat cap up seems better for top rack and fat cap down better for bottom. The 700 took a really really really long time to get to temp when it was loaded down. It was a cold day and I threw everyone on and that first recovery took like 40 minutes!

[@ElSenorBbq]

@@jamesgunn5358 I'll probably end up resting them sous vide in a big ol container but if it does happen, I'm definitely making a video of loading it up and how it handles!

[@greatwhitenorth3717]

I would say coming up to temp is a pit boss issue..as with my 1150. I would say you hit the nail on the head with the auger size. The tube and auger are tiny, tiny, tiny. Otherwise algorithm to speed up auger based in temp.

[@ElSenorBbq]

I think if Pit Boss would upgrade their auger to a bigger one, it would solve alot of problems. For now anytime I use the Pit Boss I put a handful of pellets inside the fire pot when I clean it out (easy ash clean out makes it super easy) and it gets up to temps just as fast as the recteq.

[@BoostedMK6]

The 1250 doesn’t need to be cleaned. In fact majority of Recteq users will only vacuum out the barrel once a year. Allowing ash build up does multiple things. Heats up faster, soaks up grease, and prevents ash flying around on your foods. All you need to do is scoop out the fire pot every so often.

[@ElSenorBbq]

I'm sure that's fine but for the money, an easy ash clean out would have been good to have. Also, folks on the Recteq pages complain about a hopper fire and that is usually due to too much ash. There isn't really a set timeframe on when to vacuum out the ashes but I try to prevent any mishaps from happening including cleaning it out each time. Most folks won't ever have that issue and I'm sure it's fine, I would have just preferred having an easy ash cleanout from the get go.

[@easybackyardbbq]

Did Rec Tec help you out on the cast iron being cracked and could you put wood chunks on it to get more smoke? Thanks

[@ElSenorBbq]

Recteq sent me a replacement cast iron deflector. The new one has a bit of a different shape. It kind of bows upwards a bit and has a bit more support at the edges. I think on the next smoke I'm going to add chunks. It did really good, the difference in flavor was immediate, and I feel the chunks will keep on smoking longer than the chips. I don't use the store bought chunks or chips since my land has oak trees and mesquite so I'll be using oak chunks on the next experiment.

[@easybackyardbbq]

@@ElSenorBbq I have the midsize 590 and it has the cast iron deflector. Hoping it doesn’t crack but I’m gonna try and put some chunks on it and see how it goes. Thanks so much

[@ElSenorBbq]

Not a problem! You will enjoy that flavor. For me it was more of a Kamado/Weber type of smoke flavor which is great!

[@ericvalenzuela747]

What about the price? Is the price worth the compromise?

[@ElSenorBbq]

That's what I was saying in the video regarding the cons with the RecTeq. For me that was a big con with no easy ash cleanout or pellet dump. For the price, I feel it should have had it since most come with it standard but once I do a direct comparison cook between them, we'll see how it is.

[@loganb6944]

Yes it’s worth it. Night and day difference from the pit boss. I’d pay it again for the recteq when it’s time for a new one.

[@ElSenorBbq]

It's a great smoker no doubt! I love smoking on it and it's pretty much hassle free. But when you start comparing it, there are some minor things that for the money you'd think it would at least have.

[@jeffsmith350]

Rec-teq holds temp alot better than most pellet grills.

[@ElSenorBbq]

That's exactly right.

[@hinds90]

Still planning on test out the smoke daddy heavy d

[@ElSenorBbq]

I don't have one unfortunately otherwise I would.

[@flounderwetspot8524]

Can I please have your 1600 controller that you pulled ??

[@ElSenorBbq]

I'm most likely keeping it as a spare. I believe you can buy them direct from Pit Boss though

[@flounderwetspot8524]

@@ElSenorBbq :( please ! I’ll pay pall you money this instant! I tried buying a pid controller for my 600 pro series and they won’t allow it saying it won’t fit, which is nonsense. The grill is metal, I can cut and weld it any way necessary to make it fit. As long as the controller reads temp and reacts to that accordingly there is no reason the controllers wouldn’t work out…. Super super frustrating and disappointing to say the least

[@ElSenorBbq]

Send me an email at [e-mail], I'll send it out my man!

[@NoCoffeeNeeded]

Good Comparison. Thanks for sharing.

[@russellernst1705]

If you don't like the Pit Boss then give it away

[@ElSenorBbq]

Who says I dont? There are pros and cons to every smoker and I'm highlighting both of their pros and cons including the RecTeq that costed me so much more money that doesn't have all the features the pit boss does.