Review of 24 Inch Pit Boss Kamado

[magicmanfan]

Just finished putting mine back together. I went with felt all around the rim of the sliding vent door. Haven't lit it yet, but it feels much tighter and better sealed than before. For $12 in gasket (I have loads left over for future replacement) and about 15 minutes work, I'd say this (or variations of) is a no brainer for this grill.

Can you share a link to the felt you used? I see some on Amazon and Home Depot, but I'm not sure which would work best in a grill. Thanks.

Look for Nomex felt gasket. It's readily available in the US if you search for it. I even managed to find some in the UK!

[BRiGrill]

With over a month on the boss I felt like I should give an additional update...  Still like the grill and the value but needed to make a few modifications.  First thing was the dome thermometer was way off I took it out and tested in boiling water and it was about 75 deg off so I bought this one from amazon http://www.amazon.com/Teika-Temperature-Thermometer-Fahrenheit-Barbecue/dp/B016VZRMXK?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00  which happens to resemble the vision thermometers, don't know if that's a coincidence or not. Most recently while I was doing a brisket I was struggling to keep the temp under 275 and had to close both top and bottom vents and noticed a ton of smoke still escaping from the top vent and seemed to be pulling in air through the closed bottom vent as well. I purchased a cast iron top vent which fits from vision grills, just called vision and asked for the CI top vent for the Classic B it was 49.95 w/shipping. I received it yesterday and installed it, it seems to be much better quality and appears to close better even without the smoke buildup. the PB top vent leaked not only from the holes in the top but also from the space between the daisy wheel and the base of the vent. I also did JDubU mod with the felt gasket on the bottom vent slider, but applied it all the way around like jmcc82 did. I plan to do a pork tenderloin Friday and pizzas on Sunday so I will have a better idea how the mod's perform.

 

there is a thread on the top vent under the vision forum, looks like this:

 

 

Future additions: Like I mentioned in an earlier post I bought the PB heat deflector and don't love how high it sits up in the dome so I am looking at the vision brackets and lava stone setup or the grill dome xl indirect rack.

 

Picture of the new top vent and thermometer:

 

 

And some St. Louis style ribs from Costco I did yesterday that were delicious...

[magicmanfan]

With over a month on the boss I felt like I should give an additional update... Still like the grill and the value but needed to make a few modifications. First thing was the dome thermometer was way off I took it out and tested in boiling water and it was about 75 deg off so I bought this one from amazon http://www.amazon.com/Teika-Temperature-Thermometer-Fahrenheit-Barbecue/dp/B016VZRMXK?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00 which happens to resemble the vision thermometers, don't know if that's a coincidence or not. Most recently while I was doing a brisket I was struggling to keep the temp under 275 and had to close both top and bottom vents and noticed a ton of smoke still escaping from the top vent and seemed to be pulling in air through the closed bottom vent as well. I purchased a cast iron top vent which fits from vision grills, just called vision and asked for the CI top vent for the Classic B it was 49.95 w/shipping. I received it yesterday and installed it, it seems to be much better quality and appears to close better even without the smoke buildup. the PB top vent leaked not only from the holes in the top but also from the space between the daisy wheel and the base of the vent. I also did JDubU mod with the felt gasket on the bottom vent slider, but applied it all the way around like jmcc82 did. I plan to do a pork tenderloin Friday and pizzas on Sunday so I will have a better idea how the mod's perform.

there is a thread on the top vent under the vision forum, looks like this:

Future additions: Like I mentioned in an earlier post I bought the PB heat deflector and don't love how high it sits up in the dome so I am looking at the vision brackets and lava stone setup or the grill dome xl indirect rack.

Picture of the new top vent and thermometer:

IMG_4871.JPG

And some St. Louis style ribs from Costco I did yesterday that were delicious...

IMG_4956.JPG

That's the thermometer I'm trying to get in the UK, or the one on the Saffire Grills kamado. Would anyone know how to get one sent to the UK, and how much it would cost?

[paul staines]

Hi if it saves on postage I would take one of these also . Regards Paul

[Thewinelake]

Just a note from a fellow UK Pit Boss owner, I did order the deflector from Canada - a nice lady called Lori helped me. Came to about $79 inc delivery. Will get other branded pizza stone.

[Thewinelake]

Me too!

[magicmanfan]

Just a note from a fellow UK Pit Boss owner, I did order the deflector from Canada - a nice lady called Lori helped me. Came to about $79 inc delivery. Will get other branded pizza stone.

Have you got the contact details please?

[handyd]

I finally got my dual 1/2 16" ceramics deflectors and Spider from the CGS and finally made my first ribs today.. Also used the Maverick  ET-73 to monitor the smoking temperature. I also doubled up on the heat tape on the top and added the heat tape to the sliding door. I look forward to more practice and coming up with the best rub. 

 

Thanks to everyone with all their suggestion and help.  A lot of solutions came up over the last month.

 

 

 

[d3n3]

Question for Pit Boss owners who also own an Akorn.  

 

Is this work upgrading for?  I've only had the Akorn a year but it is already starting to rust even with a cover and regular cleaning. I missed the Kamado Joe Costco Roadshow thus I can stick it out for another year or two on the Akorn or upgrade to the Pit Boss now.   

[Thewinelake]

 

Just a note from a fellow UK Pit Boss owner, I did order the deflector from Canada - a nice lady called Lori helped me. Came to about $79 inc delivery. Will get other branded pizza stone.

Have you got the contact details please?

 

Sorry for the delay. It was lori.brown@dansons.com a very nice lady, I must say.

 

However, the deflector arrived smashed to pieces due to poor packaging!

They have been lovely about it and asked if I'd like a full refund or for them to try again.

 

I'm investigating whether other brands would fit (my friend's LGE won't) and there has been an offer from a steel fabricator to make one up in stainless steel for about £60. Quite a tempting option and one that would have lower (zero?!) chance of breaking in use. Makes me wonder why they're not always made of stainless steel.

[magicmanfan]

Just a note from a fellow UK Pit Boss owner, I did order the deflector from Canada - a nice lady called Lori helped me. Came to about $79 inc delivery. Will get other branded pizza stone.

Have you got the contact details please?

Sorry for the delay. It was lori.brown@dansons.com a very nice lady, I must say.

However, the deflector arrived smashed to pieces due to poor packaging!

They have been lovely about it and asked if I'd like a full refund or for them to try again.

I'm investigating whether other brands would fit (my friend's LGE won't) and there has been an offer from a steel fabricator to make one up in stainless steel for about £60. Quite a tempting option and one that would have lower (zero?!) chance of breaking in use. Makes me wonder why they're not always made of stainless steel.

See the other posts and pictures about a Paella pan. Works perfectly and I got a 40cm one for £12.

[penningtonsm]

Coud you guys tell me if the 18" is big enough or should i spend the extra $600 for an extra 6 inches..? I know that is a subjective question, but i dont know any other way to word it.

[Sea-Hawks]

Coud you guys tell me if the 18" is big enough or should i spend the extra $600 for an extra 6 inches..? I know that is a subjective question, but i dont know any other way to word it.

I'm just a newbie, so take my thoughts with a grain of salt. I got a PB last month and am really enjoying it. But, there are times that I wish I would've gone bigger. Did ribs yesterday and threw corn inform the last 20 minutes and barely had room. The space generally isn't an issue for my family, it's probably just a guy thing to know that there are bigger options out there so I want it.

Overall, I'm very happy with the PB and it wasn't worth it to me to pay double for a little more room and a brand name. As I start cooking more that could change, but I'm pretty frugal so I think I'll be fine with the savings.

[CeramicChef]

Coud you guys tell me if the 18" is big enough or should i spend the extra $600 for an extra 6 inches..? I know that is a subjective question, but i dont know any other way to word it.

Size always matters. It's better to have the size and never use it than to need it and can't get it. Cooks always expand to fit te size of the grate. Go big.

[m-fine]

Coud you guys tell me if the 18" is big enough or should i spend the extra $600 for an extra 6 inches..? I know that is a subjective question, but i dont know any other way to word it.

The Pit Boss "24" has grates that are 20.5" and 20". That makes it a touch bigger than the 18-18.5" but smaller than the true 24" grills. I was going to get an 18" before I found the PB and I am glad I got the extra 2" for sure. The PB has plenty of room to cook a lot of food, BUT that is relative to how much you need or want to cook and the size of the largest cuts you want to set on it. I have a large offset smoker for the big cooks but I could see others wanting something bigger than the PB.