If you had it to do over.

[Edchad]

Ok here’s a question probably most of us have asked ourself. Especially new to pellet guys like me.
I know I’ve pondered over this a few times myself. And from a lot of the posts we see In here, I’m sure there’s a few that would have some input.

OK…….
If you knew what you do now. Would you have bought it. And maybe more importantly would you have bought a different model than the one you got?

First off I’m not posting this for it to become a bashing thread! If it does I would like a mod to just take it down.

There’s a lot of things about pellet cookers that newbies don’t know till it’s too late. And also different features and models. For myself there’s a lot of things I didn’t know about, to consider.

Who knows. Maybe somebody lurking around thinking about getting in the game might stumble on this and get a little educated about them.

I’ll start by saying I was infatuated with the pellet smokers in general and ran across a very good deal on a floor model. Price on mine at Lowe’s was 459 I believe and mine went out the door for 320 bucks and tax.

PBV4PS2

At first I was about ready to take it back because of the lack of smoke. Especially since the sales guy told me these things were the smokiest available. My first few cooks were, well lacking. The ease of using it was great. But the lack of smoke was almost a deal breaker. I ran across a couple of websites and watched a million YouTube’s like most do. And especially in here I learned two things. The first being they do NOT deliver the smoky flavor as say my offset or chip burner. And the second thing I learned I didn’t know what the hell I was doing lol. Low temp smoke session and most of the time a smoke tube. And experiment with pellets.
Now I’m pretty happy with it. I use it a few times a week. And can get satisfactory smoke when I want it. And have even used to cook when I didn’t necessarily want heavy smoke. Kinda like an outside oven if ya will.

As far as buying one. Knowing what I do now. Yup I certainly would.
But the same one ??? I’m on the fence there. I see the 850s and others with their grill like capabilities and actually thought about replacing this one. I have a couple of son in laws that I’m sure would like it.
But it ain’t going nowhere right now. Lol. But man I do like the idea of the other options on the others.

 

[ANT0407]

Ok here’s a question probably most of us have asked ourself. Especially new to pellet guys like me.
I know I’ve pondered over this a few times myself. And from a lot of the posts we see In here, I’m sure there’s a few that would have some input.

OK…….
If you knew what you do now. Would you have bought it. And maybe more importantly would you have bought a different model than the one you got?

First off I’m not posting this for it to become a bashing thread! If it does I would like a mod to just take it down.

There’s a lot of things about pellet cookers that newbies don’t know till it’s too late. And also different features and models. For myself there’s a lot of things I didn’t know about, to consider.

Who knows. Maybe somebody lurking around thinking about getting in the game might stumble on this and get a little educated about them.

I’ll start by saying I was infatuated with the pellet smokers in general and ran across a very good deal on a floor model. Price on mine at Lowe’s was 459 I believe and mine went out the door for 320 bucks and tax.

PBV4PS2

At first I was about ready to take it back because of the lack of smoke. Especially since the sales guy told me these things were the smokiest available. My first few cooks were, well lacking. The ease of using it was great. But the lack of smoke was almost a deal breaker. I ran across a couple of websites and watched a million YouTube’s like most do. And especially in here I learned two things. The first being they do NOT deliver the smoky flavor as say my offset or chip burner. And the second thing I learned I didn’t know what the hell I was doing lol. Low temp smoke session and most of the time a smoke tube. And experiment with pellets.
Now I’m pretty happy with it. I use it a few times a week. And can get satisfactory smoke when I want it. And have even used to cook when I didn’t necessarily want heavy smoke. Kinda like an outside oven if ya will.

As far as buying one. Knowing what I do now. Yup I certainly would.
But the same one ??? I’m on the fence there. I see the 850s and others with their grill like capabilities and actually thought about replacing this one. I have a couple of son in laws that I’m sure would like it.
But it ain’t going nowhere right now. Lol. But man I do like the idea of the other options on the others.

I have the 1600 Pro Series. And I would have to say I would buy it again. Yes I had to switch out the control panel but that was a really easy switch. I also had a bad gasket on the lid right out of the box, pitboss replaced it for me. I love the double wall cooking chamber and the smoker itself is built like a tank. I would definitely buy it again

 

[Odian]

In considering your question.....

I thought about it for about 20 minutes or so.

I bought the 1150. There were a bunch of us all went and got them within a couple weeks of each other. I had been wanting a grill, and a smoker. This fit the bill.

I love this thing. There are two issues I have found with it. Neither is a deal breaker, and both of them have been modified.

1) The metal grate over the pellet hopper. I know why its there, to make sure people do not stick their hands down there and get their fingers hurt in the pellet auger. It is just annoying when trying to level out the pellets on a long cook. I just removed the whole grate because I am smart enough to not put my hand in there.

2) I feel that there is an *obvious* design flaw regarding the left side of the grill, where the heat shield has a 1/2 to 3/4 inch gap across the entire shield that allows the heat to go up right over the barrel temp probe. I had a 50 to 60 degree temp difference between the left and right side of my grill. I purchased a "mod". and installed it. Problem fixed. Now no more than a 10 degree difference between the left and right sides.

So there are a LOT of comments and threads about upgrading the controller, and the horrors of it. I have not upgraded mine. It works very well. Still fence-riding on whether or not I will.

Now. Would I buy this one again. Yes. Yes, it would have the same issues, and they would be fixed in the same way as mentioned above.

BUT.

I'm honestly debating if I need an 1150. I could probably make everything I wanted to, on the 820. Basically the same thing...just smaller.

And from what I understand, THAT one has the heat shield that keeps the heat from going up across the temp probe.

I cant give a firm, "I would buy the 820", or a firm "I would buy the 1150"....at this time. I would buy one of them again. It is absolutely an awesome beginner pellet smoker grill.

 

[Edchad]

This could be a very informative thread with input like this. Not only for the new guys but also Pit Boss themselves.
While there’s no shortage of threads containing complaints there’s multitudes of posts about PB taking care of problems.
Unfortunately we also see the ones that seem to be totally neglected by PB.
Myself I’ve only had one real issue which was recent, in my Hammertone that was bought somewhere around 2017-2018. The temp probe went out. And considering it’s had about four years of hard service and is one of the lower end units I can’t complain.
I contacted them via email and within an hour or so I had a response with they were sending me a replacement probe free of charge and even already sent the instructions how to install it. I believe FedEx tracking shows it due tomorrow or the next day. Now I’m not at all saying there’s not the cases where they’ve dropped the ball. Because some it surely seems that way.
When I contacted them with my problem, which actually wasn’t a problem. I was wanting to know if and how to purchase a replacement part. I gave them every piece of information I had. Name address date bought and where. Model and serial number. Maybe I didn’t leave them anything to drop the ball on? Lol.

 

[Dan-H]

Not sure I'd get another pellet grill.

If aliens transported all my grills to space and I had to replace them, I would get another genesis like the E330 and another BGE, probably an XL.

I think i would look into a stick burner and try to master that.

Edit. My reasons are:
1. Fan noise
2. Needs power
3. Uneven temp throughout locations in the smoker

 

[Sparky]

I have my the KC Combo for over a year now with no complaints. Coming from a stick burner took some time to get use to not playing with it all the time, but to me that's have the fun of smoking. I got it because the stick burner and grille were starting to rust out. I liked being able to smoke and also do quick grilling all at the same time and not taking up so much space on the patio. All in all I would get it again.

 

[Elfcane]

If it was the only cooker I was going to own I'd have to say no. While it is very versatile it does have it's disadvantages that I don't need to go over. That being said, even with it's flaws, I have been very happy. That's all we can ask for right?

 

[Jimsmokes]

Hmm a do over? Yea I wished I would have bought a smaller one....








Said no man EVER!! LoL
No change here I wanted it for the simplicity of set and forget. Not to replace my charcoal or stick burners.

 

[Cowboy1955]

I own the 820 and love it and would definitely buy another one. I smoked meat with oak since I was a teenager and I’ll never go back to wood smoking.
I did order myself a 12” pellet smoker tube yesterday and it’ll be here tomorrow. I’ll probably smoke a chicken on it first to what kind of smoke ring I get on it.

 

[MikeInFla]

I had no idea they even existed. My wife bought the first one for me as a Christmas present. I liked it so much I went and bought a Pit Boss Copperhead vertical pellet smoker.

Never had a stick burner, never will. I am ok with what I have. In fact when I look at grills now the only ones I look at are pellet grills. Such a fantastic invention!

 

[Cowboy1955]

I had no idea they even existed. My wife bought the first one for me as a Christmas present. I liked it so much I went and bought a Pit Boss Copperhead vertical pellet smoker.

Never had a stick burner, never will. I am ok with what I have. In fact when I look at grills now the only ones I look at are pellet grills. Such a fantastic invention!

Mike,
How’s yours after the storm? Everything checkout ok?

 

[Mike From R.I.]

PBV4PS2 smoker and yes I would. I just put in a new controller today and now it has changed to a big YES. We love this smoker.
I now get 10 deg increments if I do it manually, but no 275 deg, only 270 and 280 deg which is no big issue.

 

[hossdawg2]

I'm happy with my PB Austin 1000. Slow and low as they say. Beef ribs and beef tri-tips are so far flawless. Hamburgers taste fantastic. Chicken??? Taste fantastic but still working on getting the skin crispy. Put the temp probes in and let them cook while I enjoy not having to babysit them. I have BBQ'ed my whole life for churches, Elks, and schools standing in front of an oak woodburning pit. The meat and chicken tasted great too. But I have to say that there is no going back to the open pit after doing the pellet thing. I'm outta Dodge!

 

[Edchad]

I had no idea they even existed. My wife bought the first one for me as a Christmas present. I liked it so much I went and bought a Pit Boss Copperhead vertical pellet smoker.

Never had a stick burner, never will. I am ok with what I have. In fact when I look at grills now the only ones I look at are pellet grills. Such a fantastic invention!

Fantastic invention for sure. Sometimes I think a lot of us take for granted the technology involved in these things. And as such you’ll get a hiccup every once in awhile.
“These ain’t yer grandpappys smokers”.

 

[Edchad]

PBV4PS2 smoker and yes I would. I just put in a new controller today and now it has changed to a big YES. We love this smoker.
I now get 10 deg increments if I do it manually, but no 275 deg, only 270 and 280 deg which is no big issue.

Hey congrats on the new controller and better increments! I got the same smoker but with the large increments. But I DO have my app running good. They say it ain’t the one that’s suppose to run….. but after going back and forth for four days there’s not much chance of me doing it again. Lol.