Hmmm, where to start. Regarding the initial burn in, I'd use an external therm and calibrate it right out of the gate; Tim Mickey can walk you through the process (takes less than 20 minutes, assuming you have your data points on internal temp vs. set temp).
I personally did NOT wrap foil around my deflector plate, though I do wrap my drip pan in HD foil. I don't see any benefit to wrapping the deflector as it's protected by the drip pan ... while it does accumulate a bit of pellet dust, it wipes off easily.
Now, on to the 400lb gorilla in the room ... moving it to your deck. The delivery truck will drop it off mounted to a pallet; if you bought ProShelves and any other addons your total weight is going to be in that 400lb range. Even if your lawn is flat and firm that will be a tough slog on a pallet jack. Moreover, the dimensions of the pallet may not work with the deck stairs if they have handrails.
Facing a similar issue, I did the assembly in my garage. Trust me when I say you'll need a second set of strong hands to hoist the grill chamber off the pallet and on to the legs or comp cart; you'll need 2-3 sets of strong hands to get this up on your deck, regardless of where you assemble. Like a fool, I couldn't wait to get mine running and since two different friends couldn't get to me immediately I did the assembly single-handed and nearly gave myself a hernia in the process. Once it was done, the Comp Wheels rolled pretty easily across my side lawn to the back of the house . I was able to get mine up on a concrete patio (a rise of only about 6") and nearly dumped the thing over in the process; again, patience and extra hands are needed rather than scratching/denting your new Blaz'n. Sadly, I say this as someone who had to find some high-heat semi-gloss touch-up paint to conceal a scratch on the back of the smoker.
If you do assemble it and then do a roll out, I'd remove all the interior shelves/grates and the front fold-down shelf to reduce the weight as much as possible. Getting hands on all sides of the grill will be tough due to the pellet hopper not being a good grab point. If you have some of those "forearm forklift" straps that would do the trick nicely with two strong people.
After your burn-in, lay in a stock of decent pellets (CookinPellets, Lumberjack, or Smoke Ring would be my three recommended pellets) because you'll blow through that 20lb. bag of BBQers Delight they send with the smoker quickly. I'd pick some nice fatty pork (do thick cut bacon or a pork butt) for your first cook. It will speed up the seasoning process, which will help cut down on free floating ash.
I'd also buy a couple of accessories in preparation:
- a grill mat or outdoor industrial rubber-backed mat to place underneath the grill (to avoid any grease drips that might stain your porch surface.
- a secondary multi-probe thermometer (I use Fireboard, but plenty of other solid manufacturers out there).
- a compact shop-vac for cleaning out interior.
- a roll of the extra-wide heavy-duty Reynold's aluminum foil (to cover your drip pan, if you so choose).
- a weathertight garbage can or storage container to keep your pellets stored without issue.
- a can of Barkeeper's Friend to keep the stainless steel shelf looking nice and clean.
- a cover (if you didn't buy the great one that Blaz'n sells).
As I noted when you were researching the Blaz'n, I think you'll find it to be a great experience learning to use it and developing techniques that are pellet-specific. I can't say enough good things about getting a set of GrillGrates if you want to use it for searing ... I literally haven't fired up my Weber gasser a single time since late December because my Blaz'n does it just as well. Other than that, I hope you'll post about your experiences with the Grid Iron; this forum (and the FB Blaz'n Owners Group) are tremendous resources if you have any trouble. Congrats on your new smoker!
