Pit Boss Grills 71820 Wood Pellet Grill

Dec 22 2015 Edit Ok I have used this a bit more and got around to putting the wheels on the hopper side which made it so much easier to move it around. I am amazed at the simplicity of this grill and how much it improves the taste of the food. I have cooked a few steaks on the grill after doing the warm up to 500 and then turning it down, you get a bit of a sear and I think it is easier to not overcook a steak which is great. I hate buying a really nice steak and then overcooking it on a grill. On this grill the taste is incredible. Also it is so convenient to use. Just plug in, set the temp and let it heat up and then adjust to your cooking temp. No need to worry if your food is on fire so you just put it on the grill and give it time. I do think that I will change out the wheels at some time to make moving it even easier as these wheels work OK but it is more of a perception thing that functional thing.I have only used it once but I think the shortcomings are only that I have to learn how to grill this way. Follow the directions for first time use, I did not and the first moment or two it looked like my house was on fire. but as the unit heated up smoke came out of the stack but not to an excessive amount. Super easy to use and the steaks I made came out very good. The second one had more of a smoke flavor because I turned the heat down but it produced steaks like I remember when everything was cooked on charcoal. The unit is very sturdy and heavy. If you are not very strong you will need help getting it out of the box. Putting it together was fairly easy despite the instructions saying to do things that were done and paying attention to the leg with a bottle opener which was not on any leg as best I could tell and holes for attaching things that were not included but did not seem like they would work for anything anyway. The through the lid thermometer does not come close to matching the readout but those things are notoriously wrong. Get a wireless temp probe. I saw someone say the wheels are worthless but they work just fine and being all metal they are not going to break all that easily. They came attached although they gave instructions on how to attach them so change them if you want but for me they are good to go. I think the whole design is well thought out with the exception that the hopper is attached with small screws that pulled through the hopper on the first one I received but Amazon set up an exchange and the second one was blemish free. Moving it is not all that easy because the grill is nearly 100 pounds or maybe more but then you toss in maybe 15 pounds of wood chips and you have one heavy grill. no one is going to pick it up and carry it home. Well maybe someone could but they have to be pretty strong. The finish looked good and all the holes aligned when I put it together. I did contact customer support and got a reply on how to fix the broken screws which was a bit disappointing but I had already replaced it. Overall, I would not hesitate to buy the same thing again although hopefully I could afford to get it locally to avoid the shipping problem I had. I was aware that it might be an issue but being the optimist that I am gave it a shot. So I think if you are 1) tired of so so tasting food from a gas grill and 2) tired of buying grills that are meant to last only a year or two well this seems to be the way to go. I am a little concerned about leaving an electrical device outside cover or no cover and wonder what happens if those parts should fail but hopefully I do not need to face that for a good while.After reading the other reviews I realize that I probably have the legs on the way the instructions tell you too but for my model they are on the wrong side. It still works and honestly changing the legs should not take all that much time. I think if I can support the main body I can do it in 10 15 minutes.Cooked a good amount of chicken and ribs finally and they came out great even though it was a rush to get them cooked for my hungry family so I did not have time to really brine the chicken and rub the ribs or even to let it cook low and slow but they came out really good and even had a decent amount of smoke coloring in it so I am sure cooking them properly would even further enhance the flavor. I still have to get the hang of how long it will take something to cook but I did Ok with a steak my son brought. I will say that I am very pleased with the grill but would give them a knock for their instructions on how to put it together being dated and not specific to the model you have. I look at the picture and I guess I should have realized earlier that the wheels are on the wrong side. But to there credit as well, more items that they explain how to put together are already done for you, like the wheels. So what you get is actually easier to put together than what the guide says you have to do.

I bought this grill because it had almost all the features I wanted. The sear option and pellet clean out door were the biggest factors.Silly me. I guess I should have looked for the reliability option and checked that box too but unfortunately I didn’t and I have been rewarded with the worst performing food burning appliance I’ve ever owned.This unit loves to stop feeding pellets until the temp drops to usually 80 degrees then it overfills the firebox until the pellets run out onto the bottom of the grill. After that one of two things happen. Either your grill turns into an inferno shooting the temp so high so fast that it shuts down on an overtemp fault or it will start to smoke so hard and so thick that it ruins the food inside the grill in just a matter of 30 seconds or less. I’m not exaggerating when I tell you this is “call the freaking fire department “ level of smoke discharge. Thick grey/white smoke that smells like a house fire and so thick you can’t see anything past the grill. Don’t believe me? I have pictures.The worst ( dangerous ) part of it is the backdraft explosions.When the grill goes into its pellet overfill and then starts putting out the smoke so thick you can walk on it it’s time to kill the power and get away because a mild explosion might be on its way. This has happened to me four times now and while I don’t have any video of the explosions themselves I do have video and pictures of the aftermaths. One explosion was violent enough to blow the lid open, the diffuser plates and grills, off and sent a handful of burning pellets across my deck. Not good.Now, I’m not into the business of calling people liars but the people who are giving this grill five stars must be, A) Only using this pellet grill as a direct heat searing grill or, B) Very lucky and have gotten a properly built grill or, C) Haven’t taken it out of the box yet and thusly have no idea what they’re talking about or, D) Work for Pit Boss.I’ve had two of these grills and had both versions of this grill not both malfunctioned in the same way I would have given it 4 stars. But with the problems I’ve had with it and how dangerous I believe this grill to be, I can’t in good conscience give it a buy recommendation. It’s just not worth the risk.

I have seen other brands but chose Pit Boss for the price. Some super price for the day or screw up. The construction is always first thing I look at and it's built as well as any other. Putting it together took maybe 15 minutes with one screwdriver. These grills are built heavy and easy to put together by yourself with a little thought. I stood it on the grease bucket end using a piece of the shipping foam to stabilize, I laid the foam across the end like resting it on a 2x4 then bolted the legs on and simply pulled it on to it's wheels.A few things the description and other reviews don't mention are the pellet hopper size in which I was able to put a complete 20 lb bag of pellets in it. Yes it does have a pellet dump feature too. There is a small hole to put your temp probes thru so the lid will close and contain the smoke good, the idea of smoking is why you are looking at them after all. The cast iron grates are heavy and good quality. This is a big grill and I think the 700 model would be plenty for any family plus friends.So to finish I wish I had taken a few pics of putting it together and use but I didn't. Build was really simple. The first cook was a 7 lb chunk of beef and it was some of the best I have ever had, 2 hrs on smoke then 4 hrs on 225 = tender with a 1/4" smoke ring.This is a great product both build quality and finished product. Almost forgot the best warranty on the market. Updated in 2018 to 5 years.Actual purchase and use of the Pit Boss 820 Deluxe Wood Pellet Grill