This is my first KC grill and first pellet smoker and thought my review might help others. I purchased this $800 grill at the local Walmart for an early Father's Day gift. I made sure it was new in the box and not one of the pre-assembled ones that people have returned and without shipping damae. It was packaged greatly and neat and no issues out of the box when checking the parts list.
1/2 the grill is preassembled which is nice and it took my wife an I an hour or so to assemble which was rather easy to do. It is a monster and took 5 of us to load it into my truck at Walmart. This is my first 'expensive' smoker after using a leakly Charbroiler side smoker with no controls for years. Needless to say, I was excited after watching the reviews of Weekend Warrior BBQ and Pit Boss Instructional videos on Youtube!. And then....
1. The advertised Bluetooth app does not work on Galaxy S10 and continues to want to update the firmware during set up. This was out of the box. I was able to connect and update using the Apple iPad app. I've read in some older reviews that the Galaxy S9 does work. None of the 'official' reviewers on Youtube! in their video mention this probably due to Pit Boss sending them the grill for review. If the "I" on the digital display board keeps flashing, that is an indiciation of the firmware needing updated. If you have a new Galaxy, your stuck with the flashing I. Mine stopped and went solid after I updated using the iPad. I am not using the latest OS 13.5.1! The last update the developers had was back in January for android. I suspect the app will not be revisited unless a legal claim arrises for false advertisement. The email the developers used for support in the comments is dead address. Pit Boss customer service sent me to a 800 number where I left a voice mail at 8:44 am today. Its almost 2 and no call back. I'm not expecting one.
2. The smoke setting apparently burns to "clean" or "hot" according to a comment from Weekend Warrior BBQ in response to my question and doesn't produce nearly as much smoke as other KC models or competitive brands. He must have did something different because a follow up video showed a nice smoke ring from his cook. I noticed on my first smoke with ribs, "puffs" would come as the auger dumped a handfull in but the continous smoke just doesn't happen and then the pellets burned off rather quickly not providing the smoke I was looking for. I noticed little to no ring after being smoked about 4 hours. The same thing on the second smoke with the bbq chicken breasts. I could taste a hint of smoke after 2 hours but no ring at all. I'm going to try a bag of pit boss pellets to confim it is not the pellts. One reviewer had to use a $10 smoke tube to get what the $800 brand new grill could not-a smoke ring and healthy smoke flavor. KC Pit Boss own website suggests using a pellet tube to get more smoke flavor!! Uhhh excuse me? I paid $800 for a grill to do that and now I have to spend another $10 to get what the grill is suppose to do? Why not include it in the grill? If your reading this and get the copius amounts of smoke one would expect, please explain to me what brand of pellets you are using and what kind of settings. I will revisit this with a different brand of pellet. I have yet to find a Youtube! video showing this grill pumping out smoke like other models and brands. If you find one, please share!
3. Some users report the fan stays on. This is a safety featue and not an issue with the device. After a period of time, the fan kicks off after all of the pellets have burnt off.
4. Ash build up in the ash tray. Although this happens in nearly every grill after a while, this grill is suppose to have a brush that sweeps the underside of the ash tray, except the bristles are too short to cause the ash to drop in some cases. Owners of other models do not report having this issue of ash build up. After enough build up in the tray, the flame will die and your cook is disrupted or worse, ruined. Conclusion, the bristles are too small and may melt/shrink due to the location directly under the firepot. Whose bright idea was that??
6. The knobs are heavy and well made, however the turners they push into are pretty flimsy across the whole unit. I wouldn't allow a kid to go yanking on them on purpose or by accident.
7. The gas/griddle side is great! I've heard or read of no complaints and fried up a nice batch of potatoes while smoking the chicken.
8. Temp control worked fine for me on my unit taking into consideration all the things that fluctuate within a given time frame.
9. Both lights worked from the digital screen. I did not test the lights using the app.
10. The broiler feature is awsome on the smoker side. Slide the top cover over and you can sear that meat. The cover does produce a hot spot in the center of the grill where this feature is enabled which is to be expected.
If you would like to respond in kind or offer any ideas, please include the number above. I desperatly want to fall in love with this grill so maybe proper pellets is all I need. I've given up on the Android app side of things. If I'm doing anything wrong with the smoke side of things, please educate me. Thanks for reading and I appreciate any responses.
