New pit boss chemical smell

[IndyNick 0]

Hi guys new to the forum and a new owner of the pit boss 22” from Costco. I’ve been cooking on many different smokers for years and finally decided to give a Kamado a try. So I’ve done probably 6 fires in mine now but I’m getting a wicked chemical smell coming from

my grill. I started with a couple of small fires and then gradually ramped up to over 800 to try and burn it off. No luck. I tried throwing just some hotdogs on for the heck of it to see if they would pick up the taste and yep they sure did. I use cowboy lump with the Weber charcoal lighter cubes. Never had an issue with those in my other smoker. Called manufacturer to no help. They just said they hadn’t heard of it and to return it. That would certainly be quite the hassle as these things aren’t exactly light and I destroyed the box getting it out.

[RRL2 68]

Thats definitely not normal and the 1st I hear of it.

 

 

I dont think the manufacturer can do much except tell you to send it back and pick up another one... I think any of the kamado companies would say the same if in the same boat. most places shouldn't care about not having the box though..

[ShowMeSmoke 192]

I'd try another brand of lump before deciding if the smell is from the grill itself.

 Perhaps some uncarbonized pieces are the source.

Not too many folks like the Cowboy brand.

[ndg_2000 193]

As Show me smoke said give the kamado a good clear out of your old lump and Ash and try a different brand of charcoal could be something in the bag you bought. 

Edited April 26, 2018 by ndg_2000
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[IndyNick 0]

Ok I’ll grab some green egg or royal oak lump and give it a try. Thanks

[Savski 0]

Hi

I had this issue on my Pit boss K24, I bought the kamado last March, and struggled from then until around this March, I tried everything, to no avail, and then a light bulb moment.

I did a 700f burnout, then a few days later I used my small weber chimney starter to light the lump, poured that onto unlit lump let the temp settle, and bingo No horrid smell.

I really cannot tell you how close I was to my wits end, I am a very patient person, and have thrown countless amounts of meat away, my better half had no interest in kamados whatsoever, after enjoying 10 years of really quite special Weber kettle food.

I hope this helps in some way. 

All the best. 

Craig. 

[RRL2 68]

ahh I thought the chemical smell was from new (before any fire was put through) 

 

 

are you guys letting the coal enough time to heat up and clear?  I usually give my coal at least 30 mins so it has a clean burn. I find if I put my meat on too early the smoke coming from the coal gives a stronger and off taste at times. but by no means was it a chemical taste and smell.

[ndg_2000 193]

@IndyNick

 

Did you resolve your problem? 

[IndyNick 0]

On 5/20/2018 at 11:41 AM, ndg_2000 said:

@IndyNick

 

Did you resolve your problem? 

 

On 5/20/2018 at 11:41 AM, ndg_2000 said:

@IndyNick

 

Did you resolve your problem? 

Kinda sorta. I did try a different brand of charcoal but I just don’t get that typical Kamado cooking flavor that I’m used to with the other brands of cookers

[Watkins273 0]

i always have this problem with cowboy lump. I only buy royal oak. also i never use any sort of chemical  to start my fire. twigs and sticks. in a pinch i will use a rutland firestarter cube on my weber. the starter cube is made of sawdust and paraffin wax. you can get a box of 144 cubes for $20 on amazon. 1 cube is enough to light the coals.

[Chasdev 304]

I tried pretty much every brand I could get my hands on and finally settled on FOGO, lots of good size pieces, very little "crumbs", it lights right up, no weird smells and it burns a long time with very little ash.

Some of the lumps are so large I have to bust them up with a hammer...but I'm tempted to try to burn one of the big ones just to see what happens, temp control wise.

[ndg_2000 193]

Great to hear you have sorted your problem 

[joejoe 0]

New to this forum, just purchased a pit boss from Costco as well and a wicked chemical smell as in the original post here.  I read through the comments here but was not clear on how the problem was resolved.  Was the smell burnt off with use?  The smell is definitely coming from the Kamado and not from the coal.

[m-fine 196]

I would try getting it really hot. Light a chimney of charcoal, or a small pile in the bottom. Then, dump more charcoal on top to fill it up with a good sized load. Once the fire gets going, close the lid and open the vents all the way and let it rip until the fire goes out. It should get to 800+ and hopefully air off any residual chemicals from the factory.