Novice need advice on first pellet smoker purchase

[SlowmotionQue]

They only made the PID option available on the new models, push a button and it operates in their normal swing mode. That's called having your cake and eat it too.

Why offer a mode which would make food taste "worse" if the past position has been that "this way offers the best tasting food"?

 

[SlowmotionQue]

I think maybe you need to stop talking and do more cooking before you start pronouncing what works and doesn't work and why. It takes practice, experience and a little work above everything else including the gear to learn to make great barbeque. The pit is just a tool of the trade. Consider the fact that some of the best barbeque you can put in your mouth is made with an old barrel and some cinder blocks and not a PID controller in sight.

I think I'll take my advice from elsewhere. LOL

 

[SlowmotionQue]

I cooked on an offset for years.

I believe you.

 

[SlowmotionQue]

Now I'm wanting some real pit cooked barbeque and there's none to be had short of buying a plane ticket maybe. Oh well.

I know that no matter how much temperatures are allowed to swing in an inexpensive compressed sawdust burning pellet grill, that the smoke taste won't hold a candle to a well burned wood chunks or split logs fire in say a reverse flow or traditional offset cooker.

 

[SlowmotionQue]

You can have all the fancy gear you want but I can take an old guy with a cast off 55 gallon drum and a pile of cinder blocks and he'll likely kick anyone's ass on here any time any place. It isn't the gear, its knowing what to do with it that matters.

No one is, nor has, disputed that.

 

[SlowmotionQue]

Yes in pit cooking you burn the wood down to coals separately in a burn barrel, then shovel the hot coals into the cooking pit and spread them out under the meat. The heat from the hot coals cooks the meat so the meat isn't exposed to any significant amount of wood smoke. It's really really good stuff either whole hog or just shoulders. That's how barbeque began.
Pits were actually pits dug into the ground and we still call then pits. But I'm sure everyone knows that much these days except for the beginners maybe. Even then the fire was seperate and they just shoveled hot coals under the meat so as to slow cook it and not burn it up.

It is still exposed to smoke, albeit not thick billowing white smoke. And that smoke that it is exposed to, is still sufficient to render good smoke flavor. Otherwise, why bother?

Matter can’t be destroyed. When wood burns, it turns to ash and it gives off compounds which will deposit onto meat. It’s those compounds which give meat exposed to them, it’s smoke taste.

So meat cooked over a cinder block pit, still gets smoke.

A burn barrel is used to ignite wood and get it burning, hot, and more prone to producing thin blue smoke and heat from it's coals, as opposed to thick creosote filled white smoke.

That's perhaps the biggest advantage of using a burn barrel.

 

[SlowmotionQue]

While cooking pigs Hawaiian style is cooking pork it isn't barbeque. Btw they just heat rocks in a fire and the hot rocks cook the meat along with steam.

Depends on how you're defining "barbecue".

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/barbecue

 

[Winterrider]

 

[SlowmotionQue]

Basically Texas Q is beef and cooked with burning sticks while Carolina Q is typically pig and is pit cooked over hot coals. And yes I do like both.

BTW I've likely been eating barbeque longer than many of you have been alive and cooking for almost as long. I started out on Carolina style and didn't come on to Texas style till later in life but I still like both. When given the chance I'll get both on the same plate.

Well, that's great>

I also enjoy barbecue of different styles and from different regions of North America.

And I enjoy trying my hand at as many styles as I can.

 

[SlowmotionQue]

Well whenever you get the chance to get in the right areas of the country it's great to go out and hunt down good barbeque. The shabbiest looking places often have the best offerings and they often put the most work into it.

Yes, I know this all too well.

Some of the places that I am familiar with, have limited hours because the best barbecue, can be difficult to produce in large quantities.

They sell until they run out, and if you are in line when they run out, then tough luck.

A lot of times they are usually not "sit down and eat" restaurants, but more of a carry out or a to go style.

 

[SlowmotionQue]

Well it is what it is but you may have better luck out in the countryside in rural areas than in the cities. A lot of times city folks have attitudes because they have enough of market they can afford them but they still have be nice and good enough to keep the doors open. There's always competition around to keep them honest. But its gotta be a hard life no matter what. I do like cooking it but not that much. I respect anyone you has dedication enough to do it though because it's a tough row to hoe.

I enjoy doing this for friends and family, and many times I cook to sharpen my skills. Allowing much of my food to go to friends and family, just taking a taste for myself to make sure that I got it like I wanted it.

 

[drunkenmeatfist]

I've been wondering about the merits of PID controllers versus normal controllers. As well as any units that offer both. Anyone have thoughts on this?

 

[drunkenmeatfist]

Grilla has both at the touch of a button but you dont need PID for smoking meat.
Maybe if you want to whip up a batch of nitro or something but not for cooking meat or even baking a cake.
They just tout it because it's there for free in most industrial temperature controllers these days so the salesmen talk it up.

 

[SlowmotionQue]

Yes in pit cooking you burn the wood down to coals separately in a burn barrel, then shovel the hot coals into the cooking pit and spread them out under the meat. The heat from the hot coals cooks the meat so the meat isn't exposed to any significant amount of wood smoke. It's really really good stuff either whole hog or just shoulders. That's how barbeque began.
Pits were actually pits dug into the ground and we still call then pits. But I'm sure everyone knows that much these days except for the beginners maybe. Even then the fire was seperate and they just shoveled hot coals under the meat so as to slow cook it and not burn it up.

Well, I appreciate the prior well wishes and the cordiality.

 

[sweetride95]

I bet stick burners are loving how serious the pellet thread has been this week.

 

[SlowmotionQue]

I bet stick burners are loving how serious the pellet thread has been this week.

No doubt. lol.

They’d have to be grateful that someone has taken a step to rebut the myth that wood smoke is not at all responsible for, or at best minimally responsible for, how good their food tastes.

 

[retfr8flyr]

This has been one of the crazyiest threads I have read on the forum. It just proves to me that everyone has their own opinions about BBQ and we should all just enjoy whatever equipment we have to make it.

 

[reformedvegan]

as been one of the crazyiest threads I have read on the forum. It just proves to me that everyone has their own opinions about BBQ and we should all just enjoy whatever equipment we have to make it.

OP here, and yes, I can reach the same conclusion - upon reading all of this, I am confident that it's probably of little consequence that I bought a pellet grill without a PID controller. I (finally) did my first smoke on it last night (salmon, which I will discuss in another thread), and temps seemed well controlled (swings in the range of +/- 15 F, with maybe some very brief excursions to +/- 20 F, but I don't have a temperature logging thermo to catch these).

I want to discuss my initial burn-off process and frustration with it, and ask for your opinions. I read the instruction manual several times with regard to the hopper priming procedure and initial burn-off. They are discussed in the manual as separate procedures, and the manual did not make it clear that you must absolutely completely shut down the grill after priming and restart it prior to burn off or cooking. It was not clear that the igniter rod doesn't continue to operate, so I turned the temp control up immediately after priming, which led to an unburned pile of pellets in the burn pot. I also did not realize that this amount of unburned pellets in the burn pot was abnormal, so when I finally figured out that the grill was not heating up, and shut it down and restarted, I did not clear the unburned pellets from the burn pot. The level of unburned pellets in the burn pot was just about at the top of the auger tube, definitely below the top level of ventilation holes in the burn pot (image below). I estimate that the burn pot was maybe 1/3 full of unburned pellets when I restarted the grill. This led to a big flare up. By this time I had someone from Pit Boss customer service on the phone, and he told me to just turn the controller back to the "smoke" setting and wait for the fire to die down with the grill lid open, which I did (it took some time). I then closed the lid and completed the burn off procedure.

[EDIT: I am wishing that I had just unplugged the grill to prevent the fan from stoking the file, and removed the grates and deflector using my pit gloves. The customer service rep got on the line with me just as thick white smoke began to billow from the grill. I believe I could have more gracefully salvaged the situation this way.]

After the burn off, I removed all the elements from the inside of the cooking barrel, and noticed that paint had burned off from the portion of the auger tube housing immediately around the burn pot. Please see the included pictures. The burn pot is also discolored and there is a section of the remaining paint on the auger tube housing that is discolored. Is this normal, or has the grill been damaged during the burn off process? I am concerned that the missing paint may lead to rust, and that there may be more missing paint where I cannot see it, such as inside the auger tube housing or on the bottom of the cooking barrel where I cannot see it or treat it to prevent rust. I am also concerned that the high heat may have damaged some components of the grill. What do you think.

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I must say, I am very frustrated by this ordeal and by the poor instructions provided by Pit Boss that led to potentially dangerous and damaging conditions for the burn-off procedure. I had hoped to baby this equipment to make it last a long time and perform it's best, and now it seems as if it may be damaged before I have even used it.

~ Jon

 

[SlowmotionQue]

OP here, and yes, I can reach the same conclusion - upon reading all of this, I am confident that it's probably of little consequence that I bought a pellet grill without a PID controller. I (finally) did my first smoke on it last night (salmon, which I will discuss in another thread), and temps seemed well controlled (swings in the range of +/- 15 F, with maybe some very brief excursions to +/- 20 F, but I don't have a temperature logging thermo to catch these).

I want to discuss my initial burn-off process and frustration with it, and ask for your opinions. I read the instruction manual several times with regard to the hopper priming procedure and initial burn-off. They are discussed in the manual as separate procedures, and the manual did not make it clear that you must absolutely completely shut down the grill after priming and restart it prior to burn off or cooking. It was not clear that the igniter rod doesn't continue to operate, so I turned the temp control up immediately after priming, which led to an unburned pile of pellets in the burn pot. I also did not realize that this amount of unburned pellets in the burn pot was abnormal, so when I finally figured out that the grill was not heating up, and shut it down and restarted, I did not clear the unburned pellets from the burn pot. The level of unburned pellets in the burn pot was just about at the top of the auger tube, definitely below the top level of ventilation holes in the burn pot (image below). I estimate that the burn pot was maybe 1/3 full of unburned pellets when I restarted the grill. This led to a big flare up. By this time I had someone from Pit Boss customer service on the phone, and he told me to just turn the controller back to the "smoke" setting and wait for the fire to die down with the grill lid open, which I did (it took some time). I then closed the lid and completed the burn off procedure.

[EDIT: I am wishing that I had just unplugged the grill to prevent the fan from stoking the file, and removed the grates and deflector using my pit gloves. The customer service rep got on the line with me just as thick white smoke began to billow from the grill. I believe I could have more gracefully salvaged the situation this way.]

After the burn off, I removed all the elements from the inside of the cooking barrel, and noticed that paint had burned off from the portion of the auger tube housing immediately around the burn pot. Please see the included pictures. The burn pot is also discolored and there is a section of the remaining paint on the auger tube housing that is discolored. Is this normal, or has the grill been damaged during the burn off process? I am concerned that the missing paint may lead to rust, and that there may be more missing paint where I cannot see it, such as inside the auger tube housing or on the bottom of the cooking barrel where I cannot see it or treat it to prevent rust. I am also concerned that the high heat may have damaged some components of the grill. What do you think.

View media item 554666
View media item 554667
I must say, I am very frustrated by this ordeal and by the poor instructions provided by Pit Boss that led to potentially dangerous and damaging conditions for the burn-off procedure. I had hoped to baby this equipment to make it last a long time and perform it's best, and now it seems as if it may be damaged before I have even used it.

~ Jon

I am sorry to hear of your issues Jon.

And yes, they are cause for legitimate concerns. Some of which you have already expressed above. I doubt that is 304 Stainless that the paint has burned off of. And it it's not, well then corrosion would be more of a concern.

I'm just glad that you didn't end up with an uncontrollable fire under the circumstances that you report above.

But, and I hate to say it, way back at post #21 and #24 when you said that you had made your decision, I had a bad feeling that you would regret it, albeit I didn't think that it would be this quickly.

Is there any way that you can return it?

Confusing instructions. Fire. That would be hard for many people to take.

You may have been better off cashing out that $800.00 Cabellas gift certificate that you describe in the first post of this thread, and buying something else other than what they carried.

 

[reformedvegan]

I wouldnt worry about that too much. Where it is, that paint was destined to burn off anyway.

R Richard Foster , this is mainly what I am wondering. I wasn't sure if the paint burn-off and discoloring would happen anyway, at some point.

The display flashes three small decimal points when the ignition rod is energized but they could have made that a little more obvious becase I dont think they included that tid bit in the instruction manual.

Correct, this is NOT in the instruction manual, and I only understood this after the customer service rep explained it to me over the phone.

I will say that I have seen videos and photos online of the same thing happening due to build up of unburned pellets, but people in these incidents had bigger fires, and often pellets that were spilling out of the burn pot into the bottom of the cooking barrel. Most of these photos/videos were coupled with screeds lambasting the defective and dangerous products. In hindsight, it seems these incidents are not due to defective products, but rather due to the product companies not adequately communicating that the igniter rod shuts off a few minutes after starting, so that the burn pot must be cleared of unburned pellets and re-started fresh after things like (1) priming, (2) clearing an auger jam, (3) fire goes out during cooking for any reason. Not communicating the need to shut down fully, and check/clear the burn pot of all unburden pellets before proceeding, an not clearly communicating what happens during start-up and that the igniter rod only functions for a few minutes, creates a very dangerous potential for fires, damage to equipment, personal injury, and possibly worse.

I hope description of my experience will be a warning to others, and I hope companies like Dansons and Traeger take notice and improve their product documentation so as not to risk life and property and open themselves up to class action lawsuits.

The manual for my grill, the Pit Boss PB700S, should have clearly explained the relationship between the priming procedure and "burn-off", clearly stating the importance of fully shutting down the grill before proceeding with the burn-off, and explaining why it is important. As it is, they are discussed as separate procedures, mentioning to shut down the grill at the end, but it reads like "when you are done, shut down the grill", or "Duh, when you are done using something, you should turn it off", not explaining the shut-down as an essential/crucial step in a larger overall process. Also, they NEED to explain the start up procedure and that that the igniter rod only operates for a brief time, and that if the fire doesn't light during this brief time, it can lead to a dangerous build-up of unburned pellets that MUST be checked and cleared before proceeding with ANY other step.

~ Jon