So at 5:30 this morning it is off to the 24 hour Walmart to grab the Pit Boss and guess who was in the Jeep waiting to roll?
Smoochy won't move until that bad boy is out of the Wrangler
Got er back on the patio (very heavy box), Smoochy helped the best he could
Cut the ties and opened that carton. Weber quality packaging. It is like a box pallet. The box slips right off after the ties are cut and the bottom is like a cardboard pallet. Everything is wrapped nicely and there was no damage to the contents.
Assembly is simple. While the well detailed instructions called for more steps, most work was done for me. Just the 4 legs, bottom rack, 2 wheels and the handle needed to be installed. Everything is pre-threaded and all holes were exact.
No surprises with this set-up
Haven't seen this before. The sensor is protected.
Far side of the barrel has the smoke-stack hold template and hardware installed for a side shelve. I think these two items come with their "Deluxe" models so they use this set-up for other models.
So no smoke stack huh? Nope, holes in the back that run along the door
Speaking of the door. Very thick and fits super snug. Real snug. Gives you an idea of the quality of this pit
Nice grates. This unit could hold six racks of ribs laying flat.
Moving over to the hopper. Here is the dummie grate installed in the hopper. It is mounted much higher than Camp Chef. Will take it out after the review.
Couple items of interest on the back side. Nice set up to roll up the power cord. See the little rubber square on the lower left corner?
That is the pellet clean-out. Nothing fancy but it will work.
Here is the star of the show in my opinion. The grease deflector. It is curved. Pit Boss claims that the grease will roll over to the channels and sizzle and add a different flavor profile. The Flame Broil insert is standard on all Pit boss units. Just slide the top pc over to the right and get your sear on.
Our Wal-Mart carries the Pit Boss Cometition Blend pellets. 19.76 for 40 lbs. That will work. 50% Maple, 25% Hickory and 25% Cherry.
I burned it in on high for 30 minutes per Mfg instructions. The door must be open when starting and shutting down. When starting you set it to smoke (175-225), when three dots stop blinking you close the door and set the pit to high. They recommend this for a better heat up and pre heat. When your pit gets to your desired temp, set your dial to that on the controller. Let it stabilize and you are off to the races. There is no shut off increment on the dial. You just set it to off and fan continues for a while. They recommend raising the lid for this feature.
The controller dial probably will seem primitive even to Camp Chef and Traeger offerings(obvious competitors in this price range). Off-smoke (175-225 no added smoke at this setting per Mfg...so why have it), 200-225 (the so-called smoking sweet spot), 250-300-350-400-450-High (500). That is it. I am looking at this review like a backyard Jack or Joe or Jill
, just setting it to my desired temp and letting it rip. There is a P-setting adjustment button and a full explanation in the manual. I am leaving it on factory settings for this review.
Start up for the first time. The pit took 15 minutes to get to 500. This is where the mounted thermometer fooled me. I figured it would be nothing more than a hood ornament. That darn thermo was 10-15 degrees higher than the read-out on the controller. Makes sense to me. It is mounted in the center of the door directly over where the fire-pot is placed. Seems to be a pretty accurate set-up.
Fit and finish is excellent. This is a really heavy sturdy pit. Thick 14 gauge all throughout and the door sits snug and perfect. While not a deal breaker if it doesn't sit flush but it speaks volumes to the quality of this unit.
I will leave my final impressions at the end of the review but for where I am at right now, this is tons of quality for a little money. Yeah the controller is simple and probably outdated compared to the big boys out there but the MSRP for this model is 499 bucks and I got it way cheaper and there are good prices to be had on-line. In fact, the sales lady at Dansons told me that they set up the MSRP but their dealers all sell for way under that. Best initial quality I have seen so far. Easily as solid as Rec Tec and blows away the offerings in between.
However the proof is in the cooking, so a bunch of cooks are coming up.........and
The Smooch is on board for the entire review
