KC Combo New Owner

[PaulNC]

Hello, wondering if others have had similar problems with KC Combo grill. I was pretty impressed with quality of grill putting it together. Directiona had some problems but managed to figure it out.

On 1st cook started having clicking noise every time auger engages. Fortunately hasn't affected pellet feed or temp. Anyone else run into this?

Also had some paint rubbed kinda raw from shipping. Cut Svc says warranty doesn't cover paint. I told them I didnt think shipping damage would come under warranty but would be fixed as shipping damage. Anyone else run into something like this?

1st cook was smoked salmon, came out mighty good. Hoping I haven't bought a lemon with auger noises on 1st cook...

 

[Sparky]

Welcome to the group. I have had my KC Combo since May and have had no problems with it other than getting the app to update. I would CK to make sure nothing is touching the auger. I did notice some paint bubbling in the smoker section on the bottom on the last clean up. I do clean the smoker part before every smoke ( vacuum the fire pit and beside it and wipe off the heat deflector). Also on long cooks I stir the fire pot with a long thin piece of metal to help the ash fall into the ash tray. The ash brush does not get it all. Other than that I have enjoyed using it. Good luck and enjoy your new toy.

 

[PaulNC]

Thanks for the welcome Sparky, I am looking forward to using this grill for many hours of cooking great smoked foods. So far have cooked salmon, a whole chicken, and filet. As you point out the ash builds significantly in the fire box and the brush does little to clean out the fire box. Definitely needs to be vacuumed out IMHO.

I am surprised with the temperature variations when smoking. Setting for 180 for great smoke leads to swings between 160 and 190. And smoke is predominantly when the auger feeds pellets not consiatently through cooking. Meats have come off very tasty though so I suppose I shouldn't complain...

Thanks again and hope your smoking goes well!

 

[Sparky]

You don’t get the big smoke flavor as you do with a stick smoker, works out here since my wife & daughter don’t like heavy smoke in their food.

 

[DaveXDm9]

Thanks for the welcome Sparky, I am looking forward to using this grill for many hours of cooking great smoked foods. So far have cooked salmon, a whole chicken, and filet. As you point out the ash builds significantly in the fire box and the brush does little to clean out the fire box. Definitely needs to be vacuumed out IMHO.

I am surprised with the temperature variations when smoking. Setting for 180 for great smoke leads to swings between 160 and 190. And smoke is predominantly when the auger feeds pellets not consiatently through cooking. Meats have come off very tasty though so I suppose I shouldn't complain...

Thanks again and hope your smoking goes well!

Pit Boss PID controller is a unknown controller and not certain who designed, but I do know it is a china product. After talking with a lot of Platinum users I am shocked to see the same temp swings with the new PID controller and Pit Boss Pro Series Non-PID controller.

I am certain that Pit Boss will fine tune the software with updates as a PID should not get that big of a gap. My Yoder 640 at the smoke setting I get a +7 and - 7 swing. My Pro Series 1100 with a Rec-Tec controller I get about a +11 and -11.

I heard in another forum that Pit Boss is working on a Pro Series Competition Pellet grill using a PID controller from a USA company so I hope this is true. It looks like Pit Boss my step up into the big boy market.

 

[Jeremy]

I also hear a clicking noise every once in a while. It hasn't caused any issues and I have been using mine almost every weekend for about two months now.

I also use a smoke tube to help since it doesn't seem to smoke as much as I would like. Although, after using it a few times, i have cooked things without the smoke tube and they still come out pretty smoky. Just make sure you don't put much over the fire pot. I put a big pork butt over it and the bottom burnt pretty bad. Been meaning to try a metal pan with water to see if that will help things from drying out when they are in a long time.

Started having problems with the app so I don't use it very often. Maybe I'll look into that again. Just as easy to sit out with it enjoying a cigar.

 

[SwingDangler]

1. The KC grill does a great job cooking and I stress cooking. However, when they advertise the grill, they INCLUDE using a smoke tube for even 'more' flavor. Now why would they do that? What I found on my first two cooks without a tube, the smoke flavor and ring were lacking to the point of almost being non-existent. I added an extended tube per their advetising suggestion and finally got the flavor I was looking for. Again, why should I have to 'add on' with an $800 unit? Oh, yeah, I shouldn't.

2. The brush bristles on the ash tray either degrade too quick, melt, or otherwise shorten to the point of being ineffective. *sigh* You will need to manually clean that out as the knob brush becomes useless. It looks and sounds like a great feature...but results in more prep work. *sigh*

3. The app. Oh lordy. I found it works (whatever that means) on the Samsung Galaxy platform not so much with the Apple products. The company, Dansons, Pitboss contracted with, they failed misearbly and ripped Pit Boss off. The app on the Google Store has 1.4 stars out of 370 reviews. I was able to get it to work on my Samsung phone and to update the firmware on the grill itself. But it continually seeks an update which is a joke. I was able to get it to adjust the temperature manually from inside but the temp readings via the Pitboss internal thermos weren't very accurate. *sigh*

4. But...the grill for me was on sale and the gridle/gas grill was a great selling point but if you want a great smoker and have the funds, Traeger is the way to go. And the cool thing is, you don't need an additional smoke ring for more smoke like this $800 smoker and the app actually works. The last update to the app was June 25th, 2020.

5. Pit Boss isn't going to send out new PID software despite what fans may say. They have known about this temp swing since the unit has come out and offered no update to the PID controller. The app was updated in June but nothing

 

[Sparky]

1. The KC grill does a great job cooking and I stress cooking. However, when they advertise the grill, they INCLUDE using a smoke tube for even 'more' flavor. Now why would they do that? What I found on my first two cooks without a tube, the smoke flavor and ring were lacking to the point of almost being non-existent. I added an extended tube per their advetising suggestion and finally got the flavor I was looking for. Again, why should I have to 'add on' with an $800 unit? Oh, yeah, I shouldn't.

2. The brush bristles on the ash tray either degrade too quick, melt, or otherwise shorten to the point of being ineffective. *sigh* You will need to manually clean that out as the knob brush becomes useless. It looks and sounds like a great feature...but results in more prep work. *sigh*

3. The app. Oh lordy. I found it works (whatever that means) on the Samsung Galaxy platform not so much with the Apple products. The company, Dansons, Pitboss contracted with, they failed misearbly and ripped Pit Boss off. The app on the Google Store has 1.4 stars out of 370 reviews. I was able to get it to work on my Samsung phone and to update the firmware on the grill itself. But it continually seeks an update which is a joke. I was able to get it to adjust the temperature manually from inside but the temp readings via the Pitboss internal thermos weren't very accurate. *sigh*

4. But...the grill for me was on sale and the gridle/gas grill was a great selling point but if you want a great smoker and have the funds, Traeger is the way to go. And the cool thing is, you don't need an additional smoke ring for more smoke like this $800 smoker and the app actually works. The last update to the app was June 25th, 2020.

5. Pit Boss isn't going to send out new PID software despite what fans may say. They have known about this temp swing since the unit has come out and offered no update to the PID controller. The app was updated in June but nothing

The Smoke IT app did a update on my Apple phone last night. I guess I'll see if it will update this weekend. Fingers crossed

 

[Trelle]

The Smoke IT app did a update on my Apple phone last night. I guess I'll see if it will update this weekend. Fingers crossed

Took the update and ran to the store, can no longer control anything the smoker or even get correct updated temps unless I’m Bluetooth connected. It broke my WiFi connection. ?