Pit Boss Austin XL... Anything better for $500 or less?

[kevin james]

Well, I finally decided to pull the trigger so my order is in. I ordered the Pro Series 1100. I have to call Lowes in the morning to schedule the delivery, but shooting for this next Saturday morning (so I don't need to take PTO). I can't wait to try it!

 

[smokinq13]

you'll be in love!

 

[ewsouth]

I am just about sold on the Pit Boss, but will likely go for the Pro Series 1100 over the Austin XL mainly due to the handle to open the searing section, the front shelf and the fact they will assemble and deliver for free. That seems like it is definitely worth the extra $100.

There is one thing that I have read several times that is the only thing holding me back at this point, the hot spot issue due to no true heat diffuser. I know this is due to the searing option though which I REALLY like since you can't have a heat diffuser and still be able to open up the sear section.

I'm not so worried about PID vs. Non PID, or temp swings of +/- 10-20 degrees since realistically, your oven has temp swings too and that doesn't seem to effect the food. My old MES 30 had similar temp swings and it was fine so I'm not really worried about it on the Pit Boss. If I decided later that I wanted a PID controller I guess I could do that but I'd be concerned that would void the 5 year warranty. I'm not sure Savanah Stoker even makes one that fits this particular Pit Boss model but it looks like the Rec Tec controller fits if you add a peace to cover the sides.

The hot spots though... I see a lot of people saying the left side of the grill is consistently up to 70 degrees hotter than the right side, with the right side closer to the read out temp. I wouldn't mind a difference of 10-15 degrees from right to left, but 70 degrees seems extreme. That is really the only thing that has me still concerned if I will be happy.

LOVE MY 1100 PRO SERIES!

 

[Winterrider]

I see PIt Boss has another model out now. Or maybe just a name for another size. The Rancher, seemed pretty heavy duty. Think it was $599

 

[mike243]

I seen the rancher somewhere but it only had 1 temp probe I think,same size as the Austin Lx

 

[BirdDawg]

4 weeks ago I entered into the pellet portal for the 1st time and picked up a Pit Boss 820 Pro. (which on a side note brought me to this forum as I was doing my research). It has a front folding tray, a fixed side tray and 2 temp. probes. I have used my PB 3-4 times a week for the last 4 weeks. Not 1 single issue. Plugged it in, filled up the hopper and never looked back.

As a 1st time pellett user I have noticed a couple of things that I am getting used to. I would love to have a 275 degree setting. No biggie as I've just allowed more time at 250. Temp swings have been nominal. Set-it and forget it. Coming from a charcoal/wood burner I would like to get a bit more smoking consistantly rolling thru. So yesterday I picked up a 12" A-Maz-In smoke tube at Wallyworld for $19 to supplement. Might be to much smoke for long cooks but we shall see.

As for Pit-Boss. So far so good!

 

[kevin james]

My Pro Series 1100 will be assembled and delivered this Saturday and the plan was to do the burn in on Saturday afternoon and try searing some steaks Saturday evening. Then Sunday, I was planning smoke a 2.5 - 3.0 LB Tri Tip, a 3.0 LB Bottom Round Roast, and maybe a rack of St. Luis Spares using 3 2 1 method. But... then we got a rain storm out of nowhere and now the forecast says rain all weekend. I have a very small back yard with no patio cover so I'm not really comfortable running it in the yard in rain as I don't want pellets swelling up and causing an auger jam on it's maiden voyage.

So.... Plan B. I'm thinking about putting it in my garage for now, rolling up the garage door and using in there this weekend. I'm not big on leaving my garage open and unattended due to other things stored there including some music equipment, so I think I will need to keep it to short cooks this weekend. So the ribs are out, but I think the steaks, Tri Tip, and Bottom Round cooks should be fine due to smaller cuts around the 3 LB mark, cooked to maybe 125 IT and then wrapped to rest to get a nice medium rare. I might try smoking a couple boneless chicken breasts as well just for the heck of it.

I was thinking about putting the Tri Tip and Bottom Round on one of my MES 30 racks sitting on top of a foil pan to catch the drippings, and put some beef broth in to add moisture. I'm thinkin this setup will elevate the meat so it's doesn't sit in the liquid and it should get good smoke coverage all over. Just something I want to try but I'm thinking this should allow the meat to form a nice bark while also making a nice au jus and keeping the clean up super simple. We'll see how things turn out.

 

[smokinq13]

Your best friend will be a canopy! I got this 4x6 at wally world for 35 bucks( not on sale)... its my "bbq" canopy now

:....

I'd get at least a 6 x 6 if I'd get another

 

[BirdDawg]

I'm the same having to use an Academy Sports canopy when it rains.
I did 2 tri-tips last Saturday on my PB. Smoked for 1.5 hours then reversed sear. It was really good.

 

[michael.hulgan]

I’ve had several friends purchase the pellet fed smokers and a majority of them complain about the lack of smoke flavor. It’s widely known that they just provide a light smoke flavor. I would go with a Oklahoma joes highland as the smoke flavor is amazing and gets fantastic bark!

 

[mpkelley20]

I’ve had several friends purchase the pellet fed smokers and a majority of them complain about the lack of smoke flavor. It’s widely known that they just provide a light smoke flavor. I would go with a Oklahoma joes highland as the smoke flavor is amazing and gets fantastic bark!

I have had zero issues with getting good smoke flavor with my PB 1100. I think majority of people that buy pellet grills buy them for the ease and versatility.

 

[ewsouth]

I have had zero issues with getting good smoke flavor with my PB 1100. I think majority of people that buy pellet grills buy them for the ease and versatility.

And another nice PB 1100 feature: the P setting. Use can adjust the amount of smoke 0-7(4 being standard) on your cooking.

 

[smokinq13]

And another nice PB 1100 feature: the P setting. Use can adjust the amount of smoke 0-7(4 being standard) on your cooking.

Pretty sure thats standard on most pellet grills... BUT a +$1400 grill vs a $500 grill that does the same thing, I'd go with the cheaper option such i am beyond happy with my PB austin.

Keep the grill happy with good maintenance ( seasoning after cooks for rust, cleaning out the ash etc) i don't see why this grill won't last as long too

 

[kevin james]

Update - So my new PB 1100 was delivered Saturday morning and as planned, I did the burn in Saturday afternoon.

I did the first cook straight after the burn in with a 2.5 LB Tri Tip rubbed down with a nice steak rub. I put it on the top rack on the hopper side with a foil pan underneath with beef broth and a little bit of the rub for flavor. I wanted to try the unit bone stock first before any mods and I definitely saw that the side next to the hopper was a little bit cooler and the side next to the smoke stack was much hotter. Not too big of a deal though. Temp swings weren't too bad, about +/- 20 degrees as it cycled. I set it at 225 and cooked to 140 IT then turned up to 300 and opened the searing section to reverse sear. It came out really good!

Second smoke on Sunday was an epic fail.. but totally my fault. I threw on a 2.5 LB chuck roast (never cooked one before), also rubbed down with the same steak rub. This time I pulled the flimsy heat diffuser out, set to 225 and cooked to 145 IT, then opened up the sear section and reverse seared and also cooked some veggies at my GF's request. This time I put the meat directly on the lower grates, on the cooler smoke stack side to get more smoke on it. I noticed that without the heat diffuser, the hopper side is now pretty even with the center, and the smoke stack side is a bit cooler. Left to right the temp difference at lower temps 200-250 is within 30 degrees which is not bad at all and I will use to my advantage moving things around inside depending if I want to speed the cook up or slow it down while leaving the temp setting alone. Everything worked perfectly as expected, but the epic fail which again was my fault, was that it was just to tough a peace of meat and really needed to be a longer smoke up to 200 IT like a brisket. For this cook it was too late... already 9:00PM on a work night. Oh well... live and learn.

Third smoke. My GF wanted some shrimp and I wanted another tri tip. So this time after the preheat I left it at 350, opened up the searing section and cooked the shrimp which came out great, then lowered it back down to 225 and threw the tri tip on. This one was a bit smaller at just over 2.0 LB. This time I put it on the lower grate right in the center set at 225, cooked to 150 IT (my GF wanted it a little more done), then reverse seared again. It came out amazing! Even taking it up to 150 before the sear it was still nice and pink inside, super juicy with a nice mild smoke flavor.

Since I'm only three cooks in, I want to continue experimenting before I do anything like add a smoke tube or do any mods. Before adding a smoke tube, I want to try Lumberjack 100% Hickory pellets and leave on the smoke setting for 1-2 hours to get as much smoke on as possible at a lower temp to see if that improves smoke flavor. Nobody had the Lumberjack pellets or any 100% Hickory pellets locally so I was stuck using the Pit Boss Hickory Pellets in the blue bag from Walmart, which I understand are a blend, 70% Alder/ 30% Hickory. I would think that could easily be the reason for the more mild smoke flavor, plus the fact that a tri tip isn't exactly a long smoke at only 2 - 2.5 hours. If I still want more smoke after trying the lumberjack pellets, I have an old AMAZN tray smoker I used in my MES 30 and I will try that to see if it helps. Also, I will say that I'm a little OCD so I have been and will continue to clean it after each use (it has it's own brand new dedicated shop vac lol).

This weekend I plan on trying something with a longer smoke time, but not too long since it's still in my garage... probably a rack of St. Luis spare ribs and maybe some chicken.

Overall, I am really happy so far and loving my new Pit Boss!

 

[treker67]

I’ve had several friends purchase the pellet fed smokers and a majority of them complain about the lack of smoke flavor. It’s widely known that they just provide a light smoke flavor. I would go with a Oklahoma joes highland as the smoke flavor is amazing and gets fantastic bark!

That's for sure on the smoke, convenient on the cooking but very light on smoke. May wind up selling my 2 month old Pit Boss pro series really soon. They are nice but nothing earth shattering, get way better smoke flavor out of my Webers.

 

[treker67]

I’ve had several friends purchase the pellet fed smokers and a majority of them complain about the lack of smoke flavor. It’s widely known that they just provide a light smoke flavor. I would go with a Oklahoma joes highland as the smoke flavor is amazing and gets fantastic bark!

That's for sure on the smoke, convenient on the cooking but very light on smoke. May wind up selling my 2 month old Pit Boss pro series really soon. They are nice but nothing earth shattering, get way better smoke flavor out of my Webers.

 

[J. McRican]

On the fence between the PB Pro Series 1100 or the PB Austin XL. Am buying this weekend and want real advice as to what to get. Love them both but ive read the hopper on the XL is a pain to empty a can cause low smoke or complete jams if not completely emptied after each use. Also, the better side shelf, lever for the searing and folding front shelf on the 1100 are great options that the XL doesnt offer. Biggest difference im having is the price difference in my area. The 1100 is $599 before a couple of discounts the basically bring it down to about $510. The walmart near me has the XL on clearance for $349. Thats huge compared to the $458 that ive seen regularly on line for months and i was set to get the 1100 til i popped into walmart today and saw the new clearance price.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Hope to hear back before purchase. Thanks again.

 

[mpkelley20]

I have the 1100 and I am glad I bought it. Emptying the hopper is very easy and I’ve never had a problem with jamming of the pellets. The lever to open up the center pot for direct grilling is used all the time. I use my 1100 for everything including smoking grilling baking. I know some of the other models have the ability to slide the middle plate open but it needs to be done from within the grill and not outside with a lever. That would not be fun

The only modification I made on mine was removing the grate at the top of the hopper which allows me to easily move pellets around inside if they are not falling into place on their own. I generally leave my pellets in the hopper at all times and do not empty it after every use. I have not had a problem yet.

As for the cost difference, you have to remember you are buying something that you will own for many many years. Do these features that come with the 1100 justify the price increase. For me it does because I no longer need to have my gas grill running to do things like burgers for Searing steaks.

Regardless of what you will buy, the pit boss is a great grill that cooks incredible food. The main thing is finding the right pellets to use and making sure if you love a lot of smoke that you use pure flavor pellets and not these blends that companies like pit boss make. I made the switch to lumberjack and couldn’t be happier. I’ve used a bunch of their different flavors and have found Sherry to be perfect for most of the items that I cook. Good luck with your purchase and let us know what you end up getting

 

[J. McRican]

I have the 1100 and I am glad I bought it. Emptying the hopper is very easy and I’ve never had a problem with jamming of the pellets. The lever to open up the center pot for direct grilling is used all the time. I use my 1100 for everything including smoking grilling baking. I know some of the other models have the ability to slide the middle plate open but it needs to be done from within the grill and not outside with a lever. That would not be fun

The only modification I made on mine was removing the grate at the top of the hopper which allows me to easily move pellets around inside if they are not falling into place on their own. I generally leave my pellets in the hopper at all times and do not empty it after every use. I have not had a problem yet.

As for the cost difference, you have to remember you are buying something that you will own for many many years. Do these features that come with the 1100 justify the price increase. For me it does because I no longer need to have my gas grill running to do things like burgers for Searing steaks.

Regardless of what you will buy, the pit boss is a great grill that cooks incredible food. The main thing is finding the right pellets to use and making sure if you love a lot of smoke that you use pure flavor pellets and not these blends that companies like pit boss make. I made the switch to lumberjack and couldn’t be happier. I’ve used a bunch of their different flavors and have found Sherry to be perfect for most of the items that I cook. Good luck with your purchase and let us know what you end up getting

I definitely will. I was almost deadset on the 1100 until i saw the price of the XL and almost swayed that way. Probably picking up the 1100 today and i will update on final price point and on use in the future. Thanks so much for your time in replying and so soon

 

[clifish]

I too was at my local wally world and they have a bunch of the pitboss grills and blackstone griddles in stock marked down. Guy in the dept says they will be further marked down in the coming weeks. So if they are loaded with them hold off....or buy now and don't assemble and see if they drop again.