New to Pellet Grilling (old timer on a Weber Bullet)

wba1949

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I'm 71 years old and have made barbecuing/smoking a hobby I really enjoy. For the last 8 years I've been learning all the pros and cons of using charcoal, wood chunks and the science of using Weber bullet grills. Don't get me wrong, I don't profess to be a Pro by any means....but I guess I know my way around charcoal cooking, smoking.

I guess when I started to do the longer cooks, pork butt, pork shoulder, brisket, etc that the idea of using a pellet smoker started to appeal to me. Baby sitting all night smokes just weren't as much fun as they were in the beginning, lol. I'm not wealthy by any means, but I was willing to spend what I needed to for quality equipment. Research showed me that RecTec stuff was a favorite and I thought about getting one. But my wife suggested that I find something cheaper to decide if I liked the whole pellet thing.

Further research pursuaded me that a Pit Boss Austin XL would be a good starter smoker, so I bought one last weekend. It looks like a top quality outfit for the money and I can't wait to put it together. Would any of you old-timers have any advice that might make my path into the pellet world with this particular model or one like it any easier and more productive? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!
 
Follow the instructions for assembly, also for burn in procedure.
Then always follow instructions for Start-up procedure and shut-down procedure.
Also keep it clean, after cooking, and well after it's cooled down, (like the next day in some cases,) clean out the fire pot with a shop vac or an ash vac. very important to keep the ash from building up in there!!!
Lots of helpful information here on this forum too!
Good luck and have fun!
 
Also overnight cooks can flame out. It's the way the hopper is built. A pocket forms after a while and pellets don't fall like they should. You have to stir them up and kind of help them out. It does this on both of mine, one a pellet grill and the other a vertical pellet smoker.
 
Also overnight cooks can flame out. It's the way the hopper is built. A pocket forms after a while and pellets don't fall like they should. You have to stir them up and kind of help them out. It does this on both of mine, one a pellet grill and the other a vertical pellet smoker.
I call it the Anti-Gravity Hopper
 
I thought about that, a vibrator on a timer like a Martin NEA 504 or a Vibco SPR-10 or a Earthquake EQM-20, a little pricy at around 200.oo I don't think I need it that bad so I will keep using my hands.
A tip I got on an old Traeger jr I had was to put a plate upside down on the pellets and that will keep it from happening. can't do that with the metal grid that goes at the top of the hopper on PB grills unless you removed that, which would probably reduce the structural integrity.
 
No it won't hurt anything, I took mine out when it was new and it does not affect the structural integrity at all.
But it does let you get in there and keep the pellets from bridging up. Plus you can get your shop vac in there to clean it out.
Or you can use a paint stirrer stick to reach through the grate.
 

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