PIT BOSS Pellet Grill

Continuing to update this review...***For any that have followed my review of this pit will know how much I have loved it. This will be my final update as my 700FB has been fully amortized, and while it is still cranking after nearly 4 years, I will be fully justifying upgrading to a newer Pit Boss pellet grill soon. The 'open flame" grates have FINALLY worn through. Frankly, I had been waiting for SOMETHING to go wrong with this pit for the last year so I could justify upgrading. Would the auger motor burn out? No. Would the firebox igniter go out? No. Would the grill box or frame rust out? No. I had to nitpick a burned out grill grate cover to convince my wife it is time to go to the next level. Don't tell her I could replace that grate for about $50... and don't tell me either, lol. I want a newer, badderass Pit boss dammit! HUNDREDS of great meals cooked on this pit over the last nearly 4 years. If you are thinking about checking out the pellet experience, you could not pick a better pit to start with IMO. Life changer. Shop price...as mentioned below, this pit is often available at Wal-Mart for under $400....for me, that was about $1 per use... 10 STARS!I paid $396 with free prime delivery for this pit, and this review is based on that price. Be sure to shop this pit if you see it priced here higher. Walmart also offers this periodically for that price.***Update 3... Well, we are well over 2 years into owning this pit. I can honestly say, that if it died tomorrow, I wouldn't care and wouldn't change my 5 star review... already money well spent. I have made some poor investments (including my $4000 Cal Flame gas grill kitchen that I haven't used since I bought the Pit Boss (read more below)...but I can proudly say I nailed this one. We still fire it up AT LEAST twice a week. I can see at the time of this writing it is being offered for about $340...DO NOT HESITATE to buy this pit for this price! I paid $396, and THAT was a bargain. (and NO, I have not been paid or compensated in ANY way for this review...just straight up. GET ONE!***Update 2...Now over a year in. I have easily fired this beauty up at least 150 times...yes, 2-3 times a week. With the cover, the care, and occasional, deep clean (just deep cleaned it for the 4th time..about a 1-2 hour simple process) it honestly looks like it did the day I set it up and works just as well. My pizza is the talk of my son's youth group buddies (don't want to tell them its Wal-Mart take and bake) and I can now cook/smoke/grill literally anything on this pit. My biggest problem now, if you read below about not using my 4K Cal Flame gas grill anymore (STILL haven't since), is that my wife if busting my chops to tear out my original 'outdoor kitchen' to free up more space on the patio! I'll keep making excuses to avoid that, but truth be told, this pit rendered my Cal Flame useless. Not one complaint...don't hesitate to buy this pit (remembering the $400 target price).******Six month update.... LOVE this pit. Can't say how much it has changed the way I cook. I initially bought it for the occasional times I want to smoke big meats... brisket, pork butt, ribs, pork belly, etc., and it is AWESOME for that. Totally "set it and forget it." But, it has completely replaced my $4000 Cal Flame gas "outdoor kitchen" for EVERYTHING. Burgers, chicken breasts/thighs/wings/etc, pork chops, steaks, veggies, pineapple...OK you get the point. I literally have not turned on my Cal-Flame since I purchased it. Our new favorite thing is buying cheap frozen pizzas and lasagna and making them taste like they were fired in a brick oven- without heating up the kitchen in our hot Texas summer months. Below is my original review, modified in a few spots where I have gained some knowledge and added some ***notes.... and, yes, I did use this for the graduation party mentioned below, and yes... it was perfection. I have been asked to cater similar events.A couple of my buddies had bought Traegers and I have had the pleasure of sampling the smokey goodness these types of grills can provide- without hassle and mess of a wood smoker. But, money doesn’t’ grow on Traeger trees, and laying out $800 + for a 2nd grill (I use a gas grill as well), just wasn’t in the cards. I sure am glad I found this pit.It is the PERFECT size for us. Large enough to cook for a party (you could get a full-size brisket, a medium pork shoulder and a rack of ribs or two on this grill at the same time using both racks), but it doesn’t take up the whole backyard. It gets hot enough, so that you could grill some chicken breasts or leg quarters, and/or sausage links while your briskets and ribs are resting. I plan on using this to feed about 100 guests and my son’s graduation party, and I don’t think it will even be a stretch with some good timing and finishing some brisket and pork shoulder in an oven.The unit arrived in perfect condition and was remarkably simple and intuitive to put together. It is actually harder to unpack than assemble! It took me about two hours, just taking my time with no help. One of the smart, presumably computer aided design elements is that the legs are ambidextrous, and the legs and bottom tray use the same hardware- so you don’t spend an hour trying to figure out right leg/left leg and sorting out 60 screws and washers. The handle and lid stop already have the hardware screwed in, so no brainer there either. After putting this together once, I could unpack and assemble another in less than an hour. The instructions are extremely well written- no weird “Chinese to American” translation issues whatsoever. The guide is poignant, and actually humorous at times.Be sure to read the manual before operating. There is vital information there, especially for the first fire up. One note that the manual does not mention, is that when you first fill the hopper, it takes several minutes for the pellets to reach the firebox. On your first "attempt", it is likely that the firebox will turn off before the pellets reach it, and you will think your grill is defective. Its not. Either "prime" the firebox with a small handful of pellets, or let it cycle once, unplug, and restart on "smoke" setting. You should always start the grill on "smoke" setting with the lid up until the initial smoke clears and you hear a nice "roar" of pellets burning...But, who cares about all that!? How does it cook? I knew pellet grills could deliver the flavor based on my buddies’ samples. And they told me how easy it was, but I really didn’t believe it until I threw 4 split breasts and a rack of ribs on my Pit Boss for her maiden voyage. I LITERALLY did nothing, but my usual rubs and putting them on. After 2 hours on the chicken and 3 on the rib rack (Baby Back) at around 300 (then foil wrapped the rib for another half hour), I had PURE perfection. Every breast was evenly cooked according to size- and I never touched them (on my gas grill I have to constantly shuffle everything around for even the dream of even cooking (and pray for no flare-ups). I never had to flip either and the temperature was 160 top to bottom on the breasts when I pulled them. I have been cooking split breasts for 30 years…these were the best I have ever done- and all I had to do was drink beer. The ribs were smokey and had a REAL smoke ring. They didn’t “fall off the bone”, but just pulled away perfectly. SO good… honestly, this feels like cheating!My first run was a warm day with little wind and the temperature held +/- 15*…about the same as an oven and much more steady than sticks, chips, or charcoal. It is remarkably efficient. I have smoked twice and grilled once and haven’t used but maybe 10lbs of pellets (I have been using the Competition Blend Pit Boss Pellets ($20 at WalMart for 40 lbs) . WAY, WAY cheaper than charcoal to run (and almost no ash!). There is all of this talk about PID controllers in pits, and I don’t know if this pit has one or not, but if not, that talk is overrated in my opinion, because I can’t imagine needing any tighter control. The pit also has “P” value setting that allows you to trade a wider temperature variance for more smoke and less pellet usage. I haven’t played with that yet, but it sounds intriguing (it comes factory set in the middle).***update, this does not have a PID controller... you can buy one aftermarket that fits for about $150, but frankly, I don't think you need it. I have played with the P values- can't tell a whole lot of difference, but if I am smoking, I raise the P value to 5 or 6, and if I am grilling, I use 2 or 3***My Pit Boss and I are still on our honeymoon, so I’ll update this post periodically if the bloom comes off the rose. But as of right now, I might be kicking my Ex Gas Grill-Friend to the curb (literally). If you are thinking about a pellet grill (and see this for the $396), pull the trigger, NOT the TRAEGER!***honeymoon is over, but still love the marriage! Anyone wanna buy a Cal Flame Gas Grill???New Final Update...will call it a Post Script. My 700FB was fully amortized after 5 years, and I put it to pasture, having been fully and completely happy with its dutiful and faithful service. Dozens, nay HUNDREDS of sessions of fantastic grilling and smoking. I "upgraded" to a Pit Boss Pro Series 1100 (Lowe's exclusive) about 3 years ago, and I have to say it was overall disappointing. I have had a lot of issues with the Pro Series- rusted out firebox (after less than two years- which caused annoying and dangerous backburning), a failed ignitor (around about 2 years), a seemingly inaccurate temperature probe, and general trouble with the controller properly adjusting for temperature swings. To Pit Boss' credit, their warranty process has been smooth, painless, and completely cost free for the 1100PS. BUT, I have had to endure some downtime, vs never having an issue with the 700FB. Sometimes simpler, is better, and that is the case here. I hindsight, I probably would have just bought another 700.... I miss that dude sometimes....