Advice Buying a new Smoker

[Greg23]

I’ve been using a Camp Chef for a couple years at really have enjoyed it, nothing bad to say about it except the build quality is obviously lacking. I would still call myself an enthusiastic amateur, I usually pull out the Weber summit for weekday fast cooking duty and pellet grill on the occasional weekend smoke. I’ve been looking at upgrading my smoker to something mid range mostly stainless build like a Rec Tec or Grilla. But I recently ran across a 2015 Mak 2 Star General for $1250. It’s more than I was looking to spend but I’m ok with stretching a bit if the residual value is there. That was the model year before they upgraded their flame zone and flashfire ignition which were two pretty cool updates. Sounds like a pretty good price for what they cost new though. I just can’t wrap my head around how much better the grills can get than the mid range premium grills.

I have a couple questions. What do you think about the value of the previous generation Mak? I’m sure it has a better quality stainless, I like the tall stacked racks for easy capacity or convenient water tray spot. You could get a lot of Wifi toys, and every Mak accessory is pretty premium.

And second, do you have any advice on what to look for when buying a used one? I would take it through startup and make sure the auger works but seems like it would be hard to test the controller other than seeing that it starts normally.

I also probably have to sell my Summit for the garage spot. I think I’ll miss it and my grill grates for things like fajitas with a pile of peppers and onions. If I got something like an OG Grilla I’d probably keep it in my back uncovered patio with a cover and leave the Summit in the garage. But Id probably just have the Mak as my sole grill.

Any advice?

[rwalters]

Not sure how much this helps, but I have had a good number of grills and smokers over the years... pretty much all of the mainstream styles/fuel types. I currently have a MAK 2 Star, 26.75 Weber kettle and Camp Chef griddle sitting in my backyard. In 25+ years of cooking on lots of different cookers... this cooking trio has become my all-time favorite. As far as grilling/smoking... my MAK by far and away sees the most use. In fact, I’d have to say that it has become my all time favorite smoker and grill. That said, I have cooked on MAK’s with and without the newer Funnel Flame Zone. The FFZ is a game changer IMO. $1250 on a 2015 2 Star that has been well taken care of is a reasonable price. If you can get a tad lower, even better.

If you have further specific questions please feel free to fire away :)

[Greg23]

Thanks that is helpful. It’s the perfect size grill for me, and I really like that the second grate can come in if I ever really need to increase the capacity. I’m keeping it outdoors so I appreciate the extra durability of the stainless, although I have heard nothing but good things from the Grilla groups who keep theirs outside even though they are clearly a step below. I’ve never seen one in person, I’m really trying to wrap my head around how much better it can be than the mid level grills. The FFZ and Flashfire upgrades looked like a big step up, if it were a 2016 I would be willing to go a good bit higher. But man those upgrades are pricy, $400 for the FFZ, $200 for the igniter, $80 probes which makes me want to just get a ThermoWorks Signals and hop off that probe train.
I appreciate a quality product just trying to balance how much I’m sinking into diminishing returns vs tangible value.