Pit Boss at Menards

[phatbac]

 
See that is what I am thinking...cheaper to just drive out and snag one...and then I dont have to wait for the freight shipping! Thanks, I am excited! 

hey if you can do it then do it! i would have had to rent a trailer and borrow a truck form my Dad and all kinds of stuff. Getting a new smoker is exciting! when Lang called me with mine i shut my office door at work and did a happy dance! the next morning i had Black Betty and couldn't have been happier! I seasoned her,  smoked a 19# brisket,  and cleaned her! it was a helluva day!

make sure to take lots of pics!

Congrats!

phatbac (Aaron)

 

[tallbm]

 
See that is what I am thinking...cheaper to just drive out and snag one...and then I dont have to wait for the freight shipping! Thanks, I am excited! 

Won't Academy deliver from one store to another?

Also won't Academy do an order online and ship to store?

Just curious because one of those approaches would surely be an easy option to lean on :)

 

[bonedadddy]

 
Won't Academy deliver from one store to another?

Also won't Academy do an order online and ship to store?

Just curious because one of those approaches would surely be an easy option to lean on :)

It wasn't listed anywhere on their site for Store-to-Store or Ship-To-Store. When you choose shipping, its pretty much freight to your house. I am going to call the local store though...See if I can get an ETA on when they will get some in stock and if they would consider shipping from a different store. I agree, would be simpler than driving out.

 

[hoosiersmoker]

Menards will ship one to your local store for free and hold it for you at no charge. You have to purchase it online and select the store you want it shipped to.

 

[bonedadddy]

Menards will ship one to your local store for free and hold it for you at no charge. You have to purchase it online and select the store you want it shipped to.

Thank you...I stopped by our local Menards (which is funny, it is right across the street from Acadamy Sports) and looked that the 820 they have...they have 11 in stock.

Now I need to decide if it is worth it to get the Deluxe edition (which is what Acadamy Sports sells). From what I can see, the only things you gain with the Deluxe is the Copper colored hood, the side tray,  a solid shelf on the bottom and the hopper holds 4lbs more pellets....Menards doesn't carry the Deluxe version. Ahh the fun of decisions :-) I am really sold on this unit though...just the right size.

Here is the side by side comparison from Pit Boss:

Compare.PNG

• bonedadddy
• Aug 4, 2017

Thanks for all your comments! 

 

[ab canuck]

Not sure what the price difference is, but from exp. I would get the side tray it's a convenience thing for me. ( I am going to look at that option very soon)  And the bigger hopper is nice. One thing I have found is when the hoppers get low they don't feed well, the slope to the auger is not steep enough to drain the pellets completely.  That is the only thing I can say I am not happy with. ( And that is not much, you keep an eye on everything anyway) 

 

[bonedadddy]

So I pulled the trigger on the 820 from Menards. It was tax free weekend (and even though I didnt get free tax, Menards gave me 11% off)...I put it together on Sunday (easy assembly) and seasoned her up good. Last night I cooked hamburgers and they turned out great...Seared them for a few min and then moved them off the flame (cheap meat for first use...is my motto haha). Really like this grill/smoker. I like the way it takes care of grease...and it cools down really fast (I am keeping this in the garage to store it....and move it out when I use it...hopefully this will keep any rust to a minimum.)

Tonight we move up to Chicken Thighs and possibly will be doing a Brisket this weekend. I will post some Que when I get a chance. Really appreciate all of your comments as they helped me "pull the trigger". 

 

[hoosiersmoker]

I'm on my second season owning this grill and I'm impressed at how well the grates are holding up too, especially at the higher temps. It really is a good fit for those that can't, or don't want to, have a separate grill and smoker. Personally, I always pull the drip plate when I'm grilling and get great sear marks from almost direct flame. Just be sure to empty the combustion cup often. I got a little too lax on that and had an auger smolder almost all the way into the hopper. Now it stays nice and clean all the time. I got a mini Shopvac and suck it out each time before I fire it up. I Just found out my Wallyworld sells the PB pellets: Apple, Cherry, Hickory AND Mesquite as well as the competition blend, which is a great smoking blend! So it's time to try mixing some small batches of custom blends for smoking. I'm thinking of getting a bag of Mesquite just for adding when grilling to get a more intense smoke during quicker cooks. Anyone have success with their own custom blends?

 

[hoosiersmoker]

AB Canuck. The fix for the pellet hopper is easy. I bought a food grade carnuba wax spray. Empty and clean the hopper really well then spray it from a foot or so above and let it settle onto the inside surfaces. Wait a few minutes then with a soft, clean cloth wipe the surfaces lightly and quickly. The pellets will slide down nice and freely all the way to the bottom. Same thing I use on my table saw top and it lasts most of a season on my grill (less on my saw) and makes everything slide like butter!

 

[bonedadddy]

 
AB Canuck. The fix for the pellet hopper is easy. I bought a food grade carnuba wax spray. Empty and clean the hopper really well then spray it from a foot or so above and let it settle onto the inside surfaces. Wait a few minutes then with a soft, clean cloth wipe the surfaces lightly and quickly. The pellets will slide down nice and freely all the way to the bottom. Same thing I use on my table saw top and it lasts most of a season on my grill (less on my saw) and makes everything slide like butter!

What a great idea! I will have to try it! Looks like Amazon has Cheng Concrete Wax (which is pure carnuba) for $24

A couple of other mods I can see are:

1. going to try to reuse some of the shelves I have saved over the years...if I can get the holes to match up :-) we will see. most likely will end up buying the side shelf for this unit...

2. drill a couple of holes for temp probes

3. add oven seal around the lid...I noticed a small amount of smoke leakage (but really not bad at all...just like to mod things when I can)

4. I might try to move the bottle opener I have on the Members Mark grill over to this one...though I will be honest....I NEVER use it :-)

Thanks!

 

[ab canuck]

 
AB Canuck. The fix for the pellet hopper is easy. I bought a food grade carnuba wax spray. Empty and clean the hopper really well then spray it from a foot or so above and let it settle onto the inside surfaces. Wait a few minutes then with a soft, clean cloth wipe the surfaces lightly and quickly. The pellets will slide down nice and freely all the way to the bottom. Same thing I use on my table saw top and it lasts most of a season on my grill (less on my saw) and makes everything slide like butter!

 That's a great idea, I will look into getting some and trying that. Thx for the tip. Point.....

 

[bregent]

 
I Just found out my Wallyworld sells the PB pellets: Apple, Cherry, Hickory AND Mesquite as well as the competition blend, which is a great smoking blend! So it's time to try mixing some small batches of custom blends for smoking. I'm thinking of getting a bag of Mesquite just for adding when grilling to get a more intense smoke during quicker cooks. Anyone have success with their own custom blends?

Keep in mind that PB pellets are mostly filler wood like alder or oak, not flavor wood, so custom mixes won't really get you much difference. For custom blends, I would start out with 100% flavor wood pellets. 

 

[bonedadddy]

I promised some que...Here is the Pit Boss 820 and some chicken :-) Doing a Brisket tomorrow...cant wait! Any suggestions on switching out pellets? I have apple in there now, and want to use Hickory for the brisket.

 

20170809_190744.jpg

• bonedadddy
• Aug 11, 2017

20170809_195856.jpg

• bonedadddy
• Aug 11, 2017

 

[phatbac]

Looks great!

Hickory sounds good for beef!

Points!

Happy Smoking,

phatbac (Aaron)

 

[ab canuck]

How much do you have left in hopper? I usually just leave whats left start it up burn some off then fill with what I need. Once the heavy smoke is gone in goes the meat. I did take the hopper grate out though ( 4 screws ) If I have a lot left in there I scoop them out as much as I can. 

 

[thedarktitan]

Hello all. I just got my pit boss 700 up and running. Super pumped about it. Seems to be a well built pit!
The only issue that I'm running into is that the temps are not aligning. Say it set it to 300. The digital will read 300, but the thermostat on the door will read 270?? I also have mine set on P2.

 

[bregent]

Dial thermometers on the door are famously innacuate. What more important is the temps at the grate. Have you checked?

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