Unbiased KC Combo Platinum Review & Reported Issues-Buyer Beware

I like the look of the Savannah Stoker controller and from what I have read they perform great. However I did find the Amazen pellet tube last season on clearance for 8 bucks at Walmart. $8 versus $189, the pellet tube wins. I don't use it all the time and on my vertical Series 3 Pit Boss no extra smoke is needed but I have use the tube a few times on the PB340.

Hopefully one day soon the PID controllers will become standard on all pellet grills.


Well I received a hint from PB that a PID is coming to the Pro Series, Navigator, and Sportsman. Tube is great, but the Savannah controller gives you that consistency and temps without the major swings. I tell you it produces a lot of smoke and Platinum grills should not have a probelm unless there PID controller is not a good or PB really has not dialed in the software.
 
This is my first KC grill and first pellet smoker and thought my review might help others. I purchased this $800 grill at the local Walmart for an early Father's Day gift. I made sure it was new in the box and not one of the pre-assembled ones that people have returned and without shipping damae. It was packaged greatly and neat and no issues out of the box when checking the parts list.
1/2 the grill is preassembled which is nice and it took my wife an I an hour or so to assemble which was rather easy to do. It is a monster and took 5 of us to load it into my truck at Walmart. This is my first 'expensive' smoker after using a leakly Charbroiler side smoker with no controls for years. Needless to say, I was excited after watching the reviews of Weekend Warrior BBQ and Pit Boss Instructional videos on Youtube!. And then....

1. The advertised Bluetooth app does not work on Galaxy S10 and continues to want to update the firmware during set up. This was out of the box. I was able to connect and update using the Apple iPad app. I've read in some older reviews that the Galaxy S9 does work. None of the 'official' reviewers on Youtube! in their video mention this probably due to Pit Boss sending them the grill for review. If the "I" on the digital display board keeps flashing, that is an indiciation of the firmware needing updated. If you have a new Galaxy, your stuck with the flashing I. Mine stopped and went solid after I updated using the iPad. I am not using the latest OS 13.5.1! The last update the developers had was back in January for android. I suspect the app will not be revisited unless a legal claim arrises for false advertisement. The email the developers used for support in the comments is dead address. Pit Boss customer service sent me to a 800 number where I left a voice mail at 8:44 am today. Its almost 2 and no call back. I'm not expecting one.

2. The smoke setting apparently burns to "clean" or "hot" according to a comment from Weekend Warrior BBQ in response to my question and doesn't produce nearly as much smoke as other KC models or competitive brands. He must have did something different because a follow up video showed a nice smoke ring from his cook. I noticed on my first smoke with ribs, "puffs" would come as the auger dumped a handfull in but the continous smoke just doesn't happen and then the pellets burned off rather quickly not providing the smoke I was looking for. I noticed little to no ring after being smoked about 4 hours. The same thing on the second smoke with the bbq chicken breasts. I could taste a hint of smoke after 2 hours but no ring at all. I'm going to try a bag of pit boss pellets to confim it is not the pellts. One reviewer had to use a $10 smoke tube to get what the $800 brand new grill could not-a smoke ring and healthy smoke flavor. KC Pit Boss own website suggests using a pellet tube to get more smoke flavor!! Uhhh excuse me? I paid $800 for a grill to do that and now I have to spend another $10 to get what the grill is suppose to do? Why not include it in the grill? If your reading this and get the copius amounts of smoke one would expect, please explain to me what brand of pellets you are using and what kind of settings. I will revisit this with a different brand of pellet. I have yet to find a Youtube! video showing this grill pumping out smoke like other models and brands. If you find one, please share!

3. Some users report the fan stays on. This is a safety featue and not an issue with the device. After a period of time, the fan kicks off after all of the pellets have burnt off.

4. Ash build up in the ash tray. Although this happens in nearly every grill after a while, this grill is suppose to have a brush that sweeps the underside of the ash tray, except the bristles are too short to cause the ash to drop in some cases. Owners of other models do not report having this issue of ash build up. After enough build up in the tray, the flame will die and your cook is disrupted or worse, ruined. Conclusion, the bristles are too small and may melt/shrink due to the location directly under the firepot. Whose bright idea was that??

6. The knobs are heavy and well made, however the turners they push into are pretty flimsy across the whole unit. I wouldn't allow a kid to go yanking on them on purpose or by accident.

7. The gas/griddle side is great! I've heard or read of no complaints and fried up a nice batch of potatoes while smoking the chicken.

8. Temp control worked fine for me on my unit taking into consideration all the things that fluctuate within a given time frame.

9. Both lights worked from the digital screen. I did not test the lights using the app.

10. The broiler feature is awsome on the smoker side. Slide the top cover over and you can sear that meat. The cover does produce a hot spot in the center of the grill where this feature is enabled which is to be expected.

If you would like to respond in kind or offer any ideas, please include the number above. I desperatly want to fall in love with this grill so maybe proper pellets is all I need. I've given up on the Android app side of things. If I'm doing anything wrong with the smoke side of things, please educate me. Thanks for reading and I appreciate any responses.
My is a nightmare as well. Auger jammed, screw stripped and now wound power on and I spent $1000.00 for all the bells whistles such as utensils, cover, pellets pellet cans to keep dry, this is beyond a disappointing disaster of a sale. My old commercial Charbroil w IR and rotisserie that is propane with a wood chip box is more reliable and 1/3 the price. I am greatly disappointed in the hype of this product compared to the results!
 

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My is a nightmare as well. Auger jammed, screw stripped and now will not power on and I spent $1000.00 for all the bells whistles such as utensils, cover, pellets pellet cans to keep dry, this is beyond a disappointing disaster of a sale. My old commercial Charbroil w IR and rotisserie that is propane with a wood chip box is more reliable and 1/3 the price. I am greatly disappointed in the hype of this product compared to the results!
 
My is a nightmare as well. Auger jammed, screw stripped and now wound power on and I spent $1000.00 for all the bells whistles such as utensils, cover, pellets pellet cans to keep dry, this is beyond a disappointing disaster of a sale. My old commercial Charbroil w IR and rotisserie that is propane with a wood chip box is more reliable and 1/3 the price. I am greatly disappointed in the hype of this product compared to the results!


Post this information on their Facebook and Twitter page you will get responses from them.
 
It happened to mine as well on my second cook.... The screw looks the same like yours... I was able to put it back in.... And get it running....
 
Are the pellets too hard? Or are the getting jamed? This is not what I want to hear. Was wanting to do some ribs this weekend for my first smoke.
 
I don't really know .. but I empty out the hopper and I prime all the pellets in the auger and let it burn out after every cook to avoid this from happening again
 
Sounds like a plan. I have read somewhere to empty your hopper after every usage so the pellets don't get wet or moist from the weather.
 
Excellent post. You are right on the money with the description of the KC Combo. According to other posts the pellet basket should be vacuumed out about every 3 cooks. The ash does tend to build up. And the smoke doesn’t seem to be as heavy as I would like for it to be on the meat. I have cooked 2 times and have used the same competition blend pellets from Academy. I would like a heavier charcoal flavor on the meat. Maybe I could just use charcoal pellets instead? I want to praise this smoker but I haven’t quite got it dialed in yet. The 2 times I cooked in the smoker I cooked 3 racks of ribs each time. I used the 3-2-1 method each time. I was a bit disappointed in the smoke flavor but I did have the smoke ring on the ribs. My family enjoyed the rib flavor. I am a plant shift worker and the guys at work enjoyed them also. So I guess the flavor was spot on. They are just not to my smoke satisfaction. If anyone has any ideas other than a smoke tube, which I agree if PitBoss says to use one then they should have provided it. We pay a lot of money for the pit for the smoke on the meat so it should not need a tube. Also on the side of the pit by the sight glass where you can see the pellets, towards the bottom left what is that knob? My pit was already assemble and I m not sure what that is? Does it control the amount of pellets that fall in the basket when the auger intermittently comes in? If so then maybe I need to adjust it to get a few more pellets to drop and then the smoke on the meat would be greater. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I plan on responding to any comments so I can help anyone that may be struggling like me to get the smoke flavor. Also I used Big Moes rub in my ribs. When I wrapped them I put a thin layer of brown sugar and some tabs if butter on each side. Then I finished it off with a thin mop of Stubbs original BBQ sauce. My next cook will be with the KOSMOS rub and sauce I just received. And I already ordered some ribs from PitBoss. I will let y’all know the results of these flavors. Thanks for reading
The pics below are from a pork butt using the PB combo and smoke tube. It was my 3rd cook and first long cook. I smoked ribs for the first (see op) and then chicken breasts for the second cook. After getting use to the temp flunctions, I put the pork butt on. The temp was consistent and the smoke tube (extendable from 2 hours to 4 hours) was lit and smoked for 4 hours. I used a 3rd party temp probe and noticed about a 20 deegree difference in reading between the grill's built in thermo and the 3rd party thermo. After getting thing ready, I was able to leave the grill, go mow, return, and get everything secured as I failed to check the weather and a thunderstorm rolled in on my last hour so I finished off in the oven with some steam and eventual rest.
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My is a nightmare as well. Auger jammed, screw stripped and now wound power on and I spent $1000.00 for all the bells whistles such as utensils, cover, pellets pellet cans to keep dry, this is beyond a disappointing disaster of a sale. My old commercial Charbroil w IR and rotisserie that is propane with a wood chip box is more reliable and 1/3 the price. I am greatly disappointed in the hype of this product compared to the results!
Man, I'm sorry to see that. Any idea what caused the jam so we can keep an eye on our own?
 
I like the look of the Savannah Stoker controller and from what I have read they perform great. However I did find the Amazen pellet tube last season on clearance for 8 bucks at Walmart. $8 versus $189, the pellet tube wins. I don't use it all the time and on my vertical Series 3 Pit Boss no extra smoke is needed but I have use the tube a few times on the PB340.

Hopefully one day soon the PID controllers will become standard on all pellet grills.
That sounds like the same tube I purchased on Amazon. Is it the extended one that you can change from 2 hours of smoke to 4?
 
The pics below are from a pork butt using the PB combo and smoke tube. It was my 3rd cook and first long cook. I smoked ribs for the first (see op) and then chicken breasts for the second cook. After getting use to the temp flunctions, I put the pork butt on. The temp was consistent and the smoke tube (extendable from 2 hours to 4 hours) was lit and smoked for 4 hours. I used a 3rd party temp probe and noticed about a 20 deegree difference in reading between the grill's built in thermo and the 3rd party thermo. After getting thing ready, I was able to leave the grill, go mow, return, and get everything secured as I failed to check the weather and a thunderstorm rolled in on my last hour so I finished off in the oven with some steam and eventual rest. View attachment 149View attachment 150
I recently purchased a smoke tube but have yet to try it. I’m fixing to be off for a week and will use the smoke tube for ribs, brisket and pork butt. I will post pics of the smoke ring and let y’all know how the smoke flavor turns out. Thanks all for responding and keeping the forum informed of all experiences
 
This weekend I went to my local Walmart and took a walk through Lawn and Garden area and did not see KC Combo or Lockhart grills anymore and the guy told me they are not carrying them at this store. I checked the online and there was only one walmart within 65 miles away from me that had a KC Combo.

That was a different story 3 weeks ago..interesting.
 
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