Pitmaster IQ 110

[cabin fever]

As some of you may know I bought a Pitmaster IQ 110 a few weeks ago and have had nothing but problems with the unit so I ended up shipping it back. The company just sent me an e-mail saying that they received the 110 and tested it out. They said there was absolutely nothing wrong with my unit or the probe and that they could either send it back to me or offer a 50% refund. I opted for the refund. The 110 is an extremely simple unit to use and I did everything I was told to do and then some, but I had the same results each and every time.

I burned through three 23 pound bags of Kingsford doing six test cooks with the 110. My WSM leaks a good bit from the access door and around the bottom of the lid, but then again so do most WSM's. As a matter of fact I don't know of many smokers that are truly 100% air tight, but apparently they need to be for the 110 to work properly. This still doesn't explain why the fan would continue to run almost constantly resulting in all of the charcoal catching fire.

One would think that when up to temp the fan would just barely run to keep the fire going. Anyway, a lot of people own these units and are completely happy with them, but for some reason it didn't work out for me so I ended up wasting some money. Just remember folks, you get what you pay for.
 

 

[SmokinAl]

Thanks for your honesty. In my opinion any company that won't give a full refund on their product is not a company that I would do business with. With the number of people on this forum, I would't think they would want to have a bad reputation here. You were very diplomatic pointing out that many people had success with their unit, but why leave a bad taste in your mouth by not giving you a full refund. Is one sale going to break them? One dissatisfied customer does more damage to your business than 100 satisfied ones do it good.

 

[jirodriguez]

Sorry to hear about that. I agree with Al, it would be nice if companies would actually stand behind their product .

 

[alelover]

That sux dude. I agree with Al as well. Some companies just don't get it. They will throw away $100 to save $1.

 

[cabin fever]

Thanks for the kind words everyone. I'm one of the nicest guys you could ever meet and I always tried to be fair when talking about my issues here with the iQue 110. Oddly enough though, when they emailed me back with the options of either a return or 50% refund, they pointed out that they had sold several of these units all over the country and that I was the only one to ever have an issue. Not very classy. Oh well, it is what it is.

 

[michael ark]

It takes years to gain a loyal costumer base and only seconds to lose it.With the Internet now word of mouth is a whole new ball game.You should of videoed the test runs posted here as a review and you tubed it . A picture is worth a thousand words so video would be worth at least a million.Then they would have been more hospitable to their units short comings.

 

[scarbelly]

I would send them a note refererencing this site and the bad publicity they are getting as a result of their decision to not give you a complete refund or at a minimum 75% since you did use it a few times. If it works so well they can clean it up and sell it as refurbished to recoup their costs.

 

[cabin fever]

I would send them a note refererencing this site and the bad publicity they are getting as a result of their decision to not give you a complete refund or at a minimum 75% since you did use it a few times. If it works so well they can clean it up and sell it as refurbished to recoup their costs.

I tried that buddy, believe me. They told me the best they could do for a refund was 50% as they could only demo the used unit since they can't re-sell it. At this point I'm just washing my hands of this ordeal and moving on.

 

[scarbelly]

Man that sucks. Just do a bump on this thread every few months to warn other folks off

 

[smoke em out]

I Own 2 and have never had a problem and I bought mine back in November.

 

[SmokinAl]

I Own 2 and have never had a problem and I bought mine back in November.

What kind of smoker are you using them on? Why don't you swing over to roll call & introduce yourself.

 

[flyweed]

Cabinfever...thanks for posting this...I too have read alot of GOOD reviews for this product, and a few negative ones too.  Both the Stoker and BBQ Guru are tried and true pieces of equipment with good backing from lots of people. so not sure what unit I am going to go with now

I did contact the Pitmaster people and they were very eager to sell me a setup  I value your honest, and intelligent opinion on your experience with this unit.

I cannot believe they wouldn't issue you a full refund (even minus shipping).  They could have cleaned the unit up a bit, and maybe add the unit to their "for sale" list as a scratch and dent unit, or a refurbished unit.  Lots of companies do that, and it works out great for all involved.  Heck..they could have just said "the customer is always right" given you a new probe with the unit, and maybe that would have solved the issues....don't know, but it's what I would have tried.

I think I'll be writing to them and doing a copy and paste to this thread link to they can see the negative press they are receiving for what should have been a very simple "fix" on their part.

I did read their "satisfaction guarantee"..it's a bit misleading...First they say they'll give you a 90 day refund on faulty or defective units.....BUT...further down..they say if the unit has been used, it cannot be returned....well my question is...how do you know it's faulty or defective IF you don't use it????????

 

[smoke em out]

What kind of smoker are you using them on? Why don't you swing over to roll call & introduce yourself.

I use mine on two 22.5" WSMs. I saw these guys at the "Jack" last year and really liked there setup so I went with it. I also had a Guru but sold it once I purchased two of these. In my honest opinion these work great.

 

[smoke em out]

Cabinfever...thanks for posting this...I too have read alot of GOOD reviews for this product, and a few negative ones too.  Both the Stoker and BBQ Guru are tried and true pieces of equipment with good backing from lots of people. so not sure what unit I am going to go with now

I did contact the Pitmaster people and they were very eager to sell me a setup  I value your honest, and intelligent opinion on your experience with this unit.

I cannot believe they wouldn't issue you a full refund (even minus shipping).  They could have cleaned the unit up a bit, and maybe add the unit to their "for sale" list as a scratch and dent unit, or a refurbished unit.  Lots of companies do that, and it works out great for all involved.  Heck..they could have just said "the customer is always right" given you a new probe with the unit, and maybe that would have solved the issues....don't know, but it's what I would have tried.

I think I'll be writing to them and doing a copy and paste to this thread link to they can see the negative press they are receiving for what should have been a very simple "fix" on their part.

I did read their "satisfaction guarantee"..it's a bit misleading...First they say they'll give you a 90 day refund on faulty or defective units.....BUT...further down..they say if the unit has been used, it cannot be returned....well my question is...how do you know it's faulty or defective IF you don't use it????????

I have my 2 right now but I am going to be purchasing a 3rd in the next few weeks when I get done with my UDS. I stand by what I said previsouly that the 2 I have now have been working great. I currently use them on 2, 22.5" WSMs with no problems. Here is what I found on their website just now.

"Unless otherwise noted, all pitmasterIQ.com products are warranted against defects in components and manufacturing for ninety (90) days from date of purchase. Failure to use products in manner described in Owner's Manuals will void warranty."
 

So they do carry a warranty if the product is defective, and it sounds like they dont accept returns on used items becuase they dont want joe shmo ordering one and using it for a weekend and then returing it when he is done using it.
 

 

[mdboatbum]

Just out of curiosity would you further detail your troubles with it? I've been considering one, and it seems pretty simple and straightforward. How did you set it up and where did you put the probe? You mentioned the fan ran almost constantly, so it seems like either the thermostat or the probe was faulty, or maybe it was directly in the path of the incoming air? Sorry for your troubles, and that is pretty classless of them to handle the situation the way they did.

 

[flyweed]

After I posted to this thread, I contacted Matt at Pitmaster...I have been in communication with him a few times....as I have been interested in possibly buying one of their units.  He replied promptly to me today, and this is what he had to say:

"My dad and I saw it this morning as well and have tried taking care of it with this guy. His mom called us today to give us his credit card info so we can refund him his money. This guy apparently did not read our return policy page. Thanks again for informing us.

Hope this helps a bit

Dan

 

[SmokinAl]

I'm glad they finally came to their senses & gave the guy a refund. That was the quickest way to end this whole thing.

 

[cabin fever]

After I posted to this thread, I contacted Matt at Pitmaster...I have been in communication with him a few times....as I have been interested in possibly buying one of their units.  He replied promptly to me today, and this is what he had to say:

"My dad and I saw it this morning as well and have tried taking care of it with this guy. His mom called us today to give us his credit card info so we can refund him his money. This guy apparently did not read our return policy page. Thanks again for informing us.

Hope this helps a bit

Dan

My fiancee ordered the iQue for me as a late birthday gift which is why she had to call and give them her credit card information. What my mother had to do with this I have no idea.

 

[hardslicer]

guess your fiancee sounds like your mom?  thanks for the heads up on this product....sounds like not something I want to get involved with when there are so many other companies eager for your business......

 

[cabin fever]

guess your fiancee sounds like your mom?

I'm still trying to wrap my head around that. I don't know why it surprises me at this point but it does.