Danger! Fire!

Amy

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AZ
My less than 4 month old vertical smoker was great until the control panel caught on fire and started a fire in the hopper! This wasn’t a small fire and would have burned my house down had we not been home. Pit Boss only replaces parts! It doesn’t matter how new the product is - they just replace parts. That’s the most ridiculous warranty I’ve ever heard! I wouldn’t buy any of their products.
 

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You ever call tech support with those pics? I bet they'll replace it for free or Lowe's will. Defective product liability lawyer have a field day with that.
 
I called and sent pictures. They stand by their warranty - parts only. I told them the same thing that they have liability, but they wouldn’t budge.
 
I agree with Mike from R.I.
My board went out and they sent a new one a three packages of seasoning
That looks bad! I’d be furious
 
Looks like Lowe’s may take it back and send it back to Pit Boss. I have to haul that big, heavy, filthy thing to Lowe’s and then they have to call Pit Boss to get a return authorization. They make it very difficult to return their product.
 
Looks like Lowe’s may take it back and send it back to Pit Boss. I have to haul that big, heavy, filthy thing to Lowe’s and then they have to call Pit Boss to get a return authorization. They make it very difficult to return their product.
Have relative or friend with a pick up truck load it for you. Lowe's will unload it and give you a replacement.
 
Whoa, that makes me not want to leave mine alone.

Was it raining or anything? What temp did you have it set to when it happen?
 
Wasn’t raining. I live in AZ. The temp was set to 225. The temperature started to go up and up and the hopper started smoking. I turned the unit off, but didn’t unplug it. Several hours laters, the control panel caught on fire and the hopper had flames coming out of it. The only reason we noticed it was because we went for a walk there was smoke in our neighborhood! We went back into the house and saw our smoker on fire! I would not leave the house while your smoker is on.
 
Wasn’t raining. I live in AZ. The temp was set to 225. The temperature started to go up and up and the hopper started smoking. I turned the unit off, but didn’t unplug it. Several hours laters, the control panel caught on fire and the hopper had flames coming out of it. The only reason we noticed it was because we went for a walk there was smoke in our neighborhood! We went back into the house and saw our smoker on fire! I would not leave the house while your smoker is on.
Did you clean it out before use?

Sounds like maybe a grease fire
 
I posted this back in September.My neighbor just purchased the PBV4PS2 from Lowe's, I have the same unit, except his has the new controller (10 deg increments) but he has had similar control issues as the previous controller that many of us have had, temperature control, start up, etc. On his second cook this past weekend, he started up went inside to prep, called me when he went back out and saw way to much smoke coming from every conceivable spot on the smoker. When I got there, smoke was billowing out the hopper, the stack and the fire pot had blown open and a roaring fire was coming out the front of the unit. I was able to pull out the fire pot which was full to the top and blazing with the fan going at full speed. Pellets were on fire in the auger as well. Needless to say a very bad situation. I was able to get the fire out and had to unplug the unit to make the fan stop feeding the fire. All he did was start the unit, no prime, nothing. It appears to me the controller just kept feeding pellets, which I have had happen as well, but it smothered the fire, his blew open the fire pot which gave it all the O2 it needed to causing a roaring blaze. I am starting to be a firm believer that pit boss doesn't know how to build a PID controller, this is a huge safety issue and the controller should have been able to shut it self down before this ever happened. They are spending way too much money on celebrity endorsements instead of quality control and engineering and I'm surprised someone has not been hurt very badly by this lack of QC. The good news, Lowe's came and picked up the unit and delivered a brand new one the next day. Please be careful with these units, do not place in an area that is close to anything that could catch on fire, I did an overnight cook, but had the unit in the middle of the driveway, and was very vigilant with other temperature monitors and alarms. Just because the new controller has 10 degree increments has not make it a better controller, IMO. Be safe out there......
 
Here I’m thinking I wanted to move the unit closer to the house as right now I have it out 30ft away from my house because I have an outlet for the pool filter that I use and it’s by the patio but with all this talk I’m thinking having it it far from the house might actually be a good thing
 

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