New Austin XL owner (first smoker)

[brewersfan73]

I can't wait to get started on this hobby. I've been using a Weber Genesis Silver B for the last 18 years (still going strong), and I dabble a little bit with a Weber kettle and a Char-Broil Big Easy SRG. I couldn't pass up a deal ($297) on this pellet grill at Walmart when we were on vacation a couple of weeks ago. I read about the temperature fluctuations and hot spots before I pulled the trigger, so I knew what I was getting into before I bought it. I figured that at the price I was buying it for, I wouldn't feel too bad about dropping a few extra dollars on modifications, if necessary. Part of the "hobby", I guess.

Anyway, I'm eager to begin using this thing a lot, and I look forward to the advice in these forums. So far, I've only cooked baby back ribs once, and they turned out really good, especially considering I didn't have enough warning or prep time to do them correctly. Since then, I've spent a fair amount of time doing temperature tests to see where the hot and cool spots are, and to see how well the controller and temp probes are working. I'll be posting some questions in the "Pit Boss Mods" forum soon.

 

[Mike From R.I.]

Welcome. My son in-law has the Austin for 3 years and loves it, wouldn't trade for anything in the world beside another Austin years down the road.

 

[Sparky]

Welcome to the group

 

[ANT0407]

Welcome

 

[Guineabear]

Welcome and good luck with new smoker.

 

[Cowboy1955]

Welcome to the group!!
Roll that smoke !!!!

 

[primeone]

Welcome to the forum @brewersfan73 - Congrats on the new Pit Boss!

 

[b.beach]

good luck! Sure you get better service out of yours, mine is terrible worst grill I ever bought.

 

[brewersfan73]

Thank you all - I'm happy to be here. I've done few cooks already. Some of them have been really good, and couple of them were less than stellar, but still alright. Getting my comfort level up a little bit before I dive into a brisket.

Just an FYI in case other people are having the same issue. I noticed that my controller display kept getting very dim during my smoking sessions, so I called Pit Boss customer service yesterday and they are sending me a new one. They are aware of the problem and it sounds like they had a bad batch from their supplier. Not sure if it was relegated to the Austin XL, or if it affected a few different models. Luckily, it was still working fine, but I couldn't read some of the digits. It is currently backordered, but usually I can see it well enough to know what's going on. So far, their customer service has been great, but it's unfortunate that I've had to use them twice already.

So far, I'm very happy with the Austin XL. Seems to be one of the best deals out there in terms of build quality and size, especially when its on sale.