MAK vs Rec Tec
- Thread starter NYC ‘Que
- Start date
KevinJ
somebody shut me the fark up.
- Joined
- Jul 9, 2015
- Location
- Pensacol...
Neither did I, especially when you can program 5 different temperature steps in a cook based off time and or meat temp.NYC ‘Que;4087661 said:
Except in this case the lower priced pit is still $1,200...not $200. The price difference isn't that great.
For me, I'd save a few hundred and go Rec Tec.
lkissell
Knows what a fatty is.
- Joined
- Mar 22, 2010
- Location
- Tallahas...
And while the old adage you get what you pay for is true, the Rec Tec is very high quality. While it may not be as good as a Mak it is still a high quality cooker that will last many years and provide lots of great meals.
It really comes down to personal preference and priorities. The Mak is the gold standard, but the Rec Tec is a close second. Decide what your priorities are (price, size, WiFi, top quality, etc.) and see which one checks the most boxes on your list.
I do believe you are looking at two very high quality smokers, and either one will serve you well.
Good luck.
It really comes down to personal preference and priorities. The Mak is the gold standard, but the Rec Tec is a close second. Decide what your priorities are (price, size, WiFi, top quality, etc.) and see which one checks the most boxes on your list.
I do believe you are looking at two very high quality smokers, and either one will serve you well.
Good luck.
rwalters
Quintessential Chatty Farker
Pug-N-Monk's BBQ
Knows what a fatty is.
I'll always spend more to support AMERICAN JOBS. Call me what you want, but I will always take care of our own first.
Hoping you’ll share pics and your thoughts upon arrival and use
Absolutely. But now I’ve got to decide on options. Probably take me another week or so before I pull the trigger
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rwalters
Quintessential Chatty Farker
As far as options, whatcha thinking? I had a 1 Star once upon a time. IMO, the absolute necessities are 1) Full upper grate. 2) Cover. 3) Side shelf. I also had the lower shelf which I liked... more than anything, it gave the MAK a finished look... lol.
Same thing. Side and front shelf, lower shelf, and definitely a full top rack. Is the cover worth 100 bucks?
I’m thinking that the pellet hopper top is all the shelf I need. I’ll most likely never store anything on the bottom either. I definitely want the full upper grate. As far as the cover, I don’t want to drop 100 bucks if it’s a thin POS. My Stumps cover was 200 or 300 bucks, but it’s a real heavy, quality cover.
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rwalters
Quintessential Chatty Farker
I had the 1st generation cover and now I have the latest. The new one is much nicer. Worth a $100... well, that’s subjective... lol. I think it is because I want to represent my MAK well... lol. Can you buy a nice cover on Amazon for 60-70% less? Yup! The MAK cover does fit nicely only if you buy the side shelf.
I may pass then and just store it in my garage. I do appreciate your input!
Does the top of the pellet hopper make a good shelf?
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rwalters
Quintessential Chatty Farker
Yes, the hopper lid makes for a very nice shelf! As far as additional shelf’s, I am not a fan of the front shelf (just personal preference)... but I loved having the additional side shelf.
I could always add shelves later if I feel them to be necessary.
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rwalters
Quintessential Chatty Farker
Not sure if you realize this or not... the main cooking grate is split. The split cooking grate when placed together is the same size as the full upper grate. What does this mean? You can use the full upper grate as your main grate and half of your stock main grate as a half upper grate. In other words... buy a full upper grate and by default you’ll also have a half upper grate when needed.
I actually did read that somewhere but thanks! That’s exactly what I’ll do.
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That was definitely a part of my decision.
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OklaDustDevil
is one Smokin' Farker
I bought a Mak 1-Star last Thanksgiving and love, love, love it.
With respect to options, I purchased mine with the 3/4 upper grill, the front shelf, and the new-style cover. I like the first two but do not like the cover; because I didn’t buy the side-shelf option, the cover fits poorly and on one occasion blew off even though I had cinched it down as much as possible. So I recommend storing in the garage or buying an aftermarket cover.
I respectfully suggest you don’t need WiFi for the Mak. The controller is so programmable, you can program many different stages with time and temp variations; also, one stage can depend instead on the meat hitting an internal temp as measured by the probe. So I can’t think why I would need to use WiFi to control it, and therefore I can’t speak to the quality of any WiFi control Mak offers.
The biggest option decision would be whether to buy the flame zone (std on 2-Star but extra on 1-Star). I deliberately chose to use mine as a smoker and I grill on my Weber kettle, so I did not buy the flamezone. But if you want to grill I have read that it works very well in comparison with other pellet smokers.
The best thing about the Mak is I wanted a smoker and it generates a lot of smoke. I read of many folks using extra smoke tubes and other devices to up the smoke content of their pellet smokers, but in my experience that is not necessary with Mak. Pellets smoke more at lower temp’s so I usually program the first stage of my cook at the lowest temp setting for 3-6 hours, then a second stage at a higher temp until the meat hits my desired IT, then a lower food-safe temp for holding until I get out there to turn it off. I have been totally satisfied with the flavour of the food.
KevinJ
somebody shut me the fark up.
- Joined
- Jul 9, 2015
- Location
- Pensacol...
If you are using the MAK 1 Star setup with the base diffuser and grease tray without the flame zone kit it won't work because the split grates run front to back instead of side to side. The flame zone kit comes with 2 new grates and those grates you can you use as a half grate, I have both so I know.
