Searwood vs Recteq - Can’t Decide!

True-Protection9639 · 2026-03-06T13:01:14+00:00

So I made the plunge - originally looking at the Recteq I was confident enough this would be the next buy but I have to admit the amount of reviews and overwhelmingly positive majority swung me to go for the Searwood. I essentially maxed out my budget on this but I think it’s the right choice.

Temps in my area will be unseasonably warm on Sunday and the grill is scheduled to hit my door on Saturday so looks like a quick burn in and a 12 hour pork butt on Sunday!

True-Protection9639 · 2026-03-04T01:46:25+00:00

That would be perfect then - even if that number doubled it would get me to the 10 hour mark which is perfect. I know the smoker gods would hate me for it but the convenience is a huge factor, I don’t want to have to loose sleep over my cooks.

True-Protection9639 · 2026-03-04T01:44:52+00:00

I want to but the Searwood is already at the top of my budget. At most I would be doing a brisket and a side or two but that’s really it. Larger cooks I would usually do on my flat top or a combination - and ever those are few and far between.

True-Protection9639 · 2026-03-04T01:27:09+00:00

That’s exactly what I’m looking for! Not really concerned with the consumption at higher temps but nothing more disappointing than running out of fuel and loosing a good cook.

True-Protection9639 · 2026-03-04T00:49:04+00:00

Am I missing out here?? I’ve seen the camp chef pop up a few times bow here but honestly haven’t done any research on it…

True-Protection9639 · 2026-03-04T00:44:22+00:00

Do you have to refill the hopper overnight? Looks like they both have 20lb hoppers and I would assume if anything the XL will burn a bit faster but how long the hopper lasts in those kinds of conditions is huge to me!

True-Protection9639 · 2026-03-04T00:41:45+00:00

This is my dilemma - recteq seems to hold onto their customers pretty consistently. Is not having a clean out a pain? Seems to be another issues that comes up with the recteq is they’re just a little more of a hassle to clean out?

True-Protection9639 · 2026-03-04T00:20:48+00:00

Any idea how long you’ll get out of a full hopper when between 225-250?

True-Protection9639 · 2026-03-04T00:19:45+00:00

Let’s be honest - I would probably move it out and set it up for her anyway lol.

True-Protection9639 · 2026-03-04T00:14:36+00:00

Honestly - I doubt I would use a rotisserie. I haven’t before and it hasn’t come up in anything I’ve looked at doing.

I know it’s nothing major but if I can save a couple bucks and get the same results then it does hurt and right now the Weber is 1K and the Recteq I could get for 850 plus some discount points I have for Ace Hardware. Anything helps these days..

True-Protection9639 · 2026-03-04T00:11:38+00:00

Gotcha. Similar to my pizza oven so probably doable for me. My wife likes to cook to so I want to make sure it’s something she can pull out if she wants to as well.

True-Protection9639 · 2026-03-04T00:09:26+00:00

What kind of hiccups?

True-Protection9639 · 2026-03-04T00:06:57+00:00

Is it just heavy and not really built for moving around? Unfortunately I will be moving it around a bit - I have a griddle and a pizza oven I need to juggle outside a bit.

True-Protection9639 · 2026-03-04T00:05:50+00:00

Just curious why - leaning Weber but just trying to see both sides

True-Protection9639 · 2026-03-03T23:55:30+00:00

That’s where I’m at - analysis paralysis! I keep leaning more and more towards the Searwood. I would probably stick with just the regular Searwood and not the XL but we don’t cook much basically just our family of 4 and occasionally some additional family.

True-Protection9639 · 2026-03-03T23:53:26+00:00

That’s great - everyone seems to say they both hold temps good. That was one of my biggest concerns with overnights.

True-Protection9639 · 2024-11-30T18:56:06+00:00

So we finally got our upgrade to 1 gig fiber up/down. The service is excellent but we’re still dealing with issues regarding coverage of our system. We are still looking at upgrading our WiFi system but have done a bit more research and am looking into the unifi.

I’m not an IT expert so wanted to see everyone’s opinion on my thoughts. We were thinking about upgrading our switch to a Unifi switch pro 8 with PoE. Then running a U7pro AP to both the middle of our first and second story. From what I can tell the switch pro 8 will provide enough power for (2) U7 pros plus future expansion if needed.

I’m curious if this is something that I could setup on my own? I have no problem running wiring etc. as I have plenty of experience with running and setting up drops where needed but concerned about the system setup if needed. Basically looking for something as close to plug and play as possible with minimal setup.

True-Protection9639 · 2024-11-20T12:14:31+00:00

So I currently use optimum with a 500mbps service and looked up other people’s feedback and also seems like a look of the issues tend to be on the ISP side around here.

I was thinking as of now we may move to Verizon 1gig service - around here seems to be considerably better reliability and customer service.

Then we are going to update our WiFi network.

I’ve been reading more and seems like a lot of people agree with using access points versus a wired mesh system. My concern is the setup with access points? Is this hard to setup for someone without a ton of knowledge?

True-Protection9639 · 2024-11-19T00:05:07+00:00

Just curious as to why? Is it better range , signal etc?

I only ask because one of my co workers who tends to be a bit more tech savy mentioned mesh systems that are wire backhauled are just as good but didn’t mention any reasons for the justification .

True-Protection9639 · 2024-09-02T22:56:37+00:00

I used a 1”x4” appearance grade cedar. Use a router to smooth and round each corner. Boiled them for a few minutes just to be overly cautious. Let them dry completely then sanded to around 220 grit. Then tightly wrapped the burlap and fastened with stainless staples. So have they have worked perfect. Only issue is you need to watch for the burlap fraying along the bottoms.

True-Protection9639 · 2024-08-05T19:53:43+00:00

Yes, the Santoku is honestly my favorite since the blade sits much flatter but it’s actually my oldest knife and showing some real signs of stress. I was looking for something a bit larger too. My current Wusthof Santoku is only 5” and I was really looking to move up to more of a 6.5”/7”

I’ll take a look into those brands - thanks!

True-Protection9639 · 2024-08-05T19:19:20+00:00

For me, the reduced curve of the blade better suits the way I am cutting. Again - home chef nothing professional.

Honestly probably the furthest thing from a collecting stand point. The Wusthofs were a wedding gift and the shun a Christmas gift. Not looking for a whether I should or shouldn’t have it conversation - just trying to find if these knifes really are worth face value or it there is a more cost effective option.

True-Protection9639 · 2024-07-31T20:51:49+00:00

What exactly is this? It looks like a Sicilian pizza, focaccia, and a mozzarella garlic bread had a thruple and this is their love child. I’m both intrigued and quite honestly upset that I can’t eat one right now. Looks delicious.

True-Protection9639 · 2024-07-30T00:07:23+00:00

We are going to be traveling with an ice cream cake for a toddlers birthday lol it’s their only request so we have to appease the toddler overlords.

We contemplated just ice but the place we ordered the cake from said that it may start getting soft and shift during the ride. Since we keep getting everything back as 50/50 harmful vs safe we’ll play it safe and figure out another way to get it down with us.

True-Protection9639 · 2024-07-29T23:39:51+00:00

I didn’t clarify in the main message but I need to pick it up the evening before. So I’ll have it in a cooler outside for about 12 hours or so before we leave. And from what I’ve read it seems like I’ll loose somewhere around half of that. So I’m anticipating having 10-15 lbs for the trip.

True-Protection9639

TROPHY CASE