Pit Boss Champion vertical barrel smoker mahogany

[mark286]

My Aunt won this from a contest and gave it to me as a gift. For close to 1K you would think this grill would be tough as nails. The black plastic mounting blocks for the handles to move the barrel smoker around 1 broke in two. I noticed while moving the barrel grill around that the handles seemed loose and weak to trolley around a 200lb smoker. according to pit boss this is not a part they have for sale on there parts list i wonder why. think they know there prone to break and dont have them for sale fir that reason. any case disappointed that a almost 1k smoker has flimsy handle mounting blocks that according to pit boss not able to be ordered.
any advice be appreciated
thanks

 

[Cowboy1955]

My Aunt won this from a contest and gave it to me as a gift. For close to 1K you would think this grill would be tough as nails. The black plastic mounting blocks for the handles to move the barrel smoker around 1 broke in two. I noticed while moving the barrel grill around that the handles seemed loose and weak to trolley around a 200lb smoker. according to pit boss this is not a part they have for sale on there parts list i wonder why. think they know there prone to break and dont have them for sale fir that reason. any case disappointed that a almost 1k smoker has flimsy handle mounting blocks that according to pit boss not able to be ordered.
any advice be appreciated
thanks

Pitboss support should have those. I’d call them back

 

[mark286]

Eric the guy i talked too for Pit Boss Support indicated that if the item is not listed as a replaceable item or even listed as a piece that was preinstalled at the factory then they dont make those parts to sell. Its shown in the exploded view but no discription of what it is is given since it was a preinstalled piece. Shows the bolt that screws into it and what it looks like. i can call again i just dont want it to be a waste of my time. its an inferior design for such an expensive smoker.
Thanks

 

[Jimsmokes]

Should be a warranty item from you description

 

[mark286]

She didnt buy it she won it and i cant prove when it was delivered to her so im not sure they warranty it in this instance. Think she won it 6 mos again but not sure. I couldnt even find the serial number on the smoker. The guy kept telling me to look on the hopper and In said it has a door at the base that you pull to load lump charcoal but no hopper per se for pellets. Looked on the front and back of the bottom loader door and couldnt find anything unless its on the bottom of the unit where the wheels are located.

 

[mark286]

Got a chance today to call them back up and talk to another Customer Service Rep and they were able to get me the right parts but they are on back order. I asked why is that? He wasnt sure then I mentioned looks maybe like others might be having the same issue with the brackets breaking since it looks to be an inferior design. Looks like what happens is that the center nub protrusion that keeps the bracket centered snaps off since its only a 1/8" nub. That nub fits into a hole cut into the side of the barrel smoker to keep everything correctly aligned. Too much stress on that nub shears it right off causing more stress and causes the top bracket to break in half.

 

[Cowboy1955]

Hopefully you’ll back up and runnin in no time

 

[mark286]

Well the other day i finally got the brackets from PitBoss after 2 months. The great thing is they sent me 4 sets of 4 brackets so 16 total. Good thing is i only paid for 1 set but they probably know the bracket is a BAD Design since 6 out of the 16 had broken nubs on the back so maybe that why they decided to send 4 sets just to make sure 4 were good.. Its just a shitty design since its a brittle type of hard plastic that resistant to heat. they jostle together during shipping and fracture at the nub. Again for a damn near $1000 smoker youd think it be better built than that. Having a buddy cnc mill me some out of steal he said wont have to worry about them snapping at the nub.
at least im in business again.

 

[mark286]

Well moved the smoker to use it and another Damn bracket cracked in two. Glad I have 8 more as replacements. While looking at why the brackets snap in two I noticed that the metal handle where the bolts fit through the holes on the front and back sides are different diameters. This causes the handle to shift side to side and torque causing the bracket to fracture. What a fucking shitty design or the handles are defective would be the only reason I can come up with as to why the bolt hole sizes are mismatched. The front holes are like 3/8" wide and the rear holes through the tube handle bar back side is 1/2" wide. The bolt is about 1/4" wide way too much play for the bolt in a 200+lbs smoker. Now to figure out a solution for that shitty handle design or defective handle.