Costco now has a new model of Traeger Lil Texas Elite grill for $399.
There are some slight differences from the Costco model and the normal Elite. It is model BBQ07C instead of BBQ07E.
The Smoke Stack cap and door are not in Stainless steel (Bonus in my opinion) they are
in normal black powder coat like the standard Lil Texas
The BBQ07C only has two wheeled legs not four.
Besides that the BBQ07C is exactly like the BBQ07E and even has the newest digital temperature controller.
On top of the 3 year warranty you get from Traeger ...Costco gives a lifetime money back on these.
MSRP for BBQ07E is $799. Normal price is probably closer to $699. The BBQ07C is only $399.
Here is the kicker... The BBQ07C is a new model and will be carried in Costco stores on an ongoing basis. During the Traeger events the sales guy will not display these and will hide or remove the price sign above these... He does not make a commission on these.
I bought the Junior for $299 (smaller, not as well made and without digital thermostat for $299) and ended up returning it for this one. Just the thermostat alone is worth $70-80 dollars.
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2 drawbacks to this smoker...
First, you must buy the pellets from Traeger, and they're not the best value. According to the "salesman" in Costco, Traeger pellets are custom sized.
Second, the unit uses a "corkscrew" to feed pellets to the heating element, but often times the residue from the burned pellets on a long smoke causes pellets to back up, and smoke diminishes.
And just remembered a third...if your hopper is full of apple pellets, and you want to smoke salmon, you have to get all the apple pellets out in order to put in alder pellets.
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I see a lot of this in the BBQ community--you know, lots of talk about how if you're not building your own fire out in the woods to cook meat you killed with your bare hands, you're cheating. Some of us are looking for a set-it-and-forget-it approach that still results in good quality BBQ, and that's what the Traeger is for.
As far as pellets...1000's of people use other brands of pellets besides Traeger. They do say using other pellets voids your warranty but a 10 second search will show you that it can't be enforced.
Not saying Pellets are cheap but you can get them for the same price as good charcoal at about .75 a pound. At highest setting you burn 2.2 pounds an hour.
As for novice. TON and TONS of people win BBQ competitions with pellet grills. Just do some research.
I returned my Junior and got this model. It is clearly not just one level up but built on an entirely different quality scale. I am a little mad I had to spend about 100 bucks trying to get the Junior up to par...then to disassemble and bring back..then assemble a new one..but over all VERY happy with my purchase.
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Might call Traeger and ask them...maybe they can tell you which Costco's have the grill. Model is BBQ07C...
The "C" Denotes Costco. The model Traeger and everyone else sells is the BBQ07E (Elite) they stopped making the BBQ07 (Non-Elite Model).
Anyway... I hope this helps someone out there
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Costco in Montgomeryville PA still has the Komodo too! Come on down.