Pit Boss Whiskey Still Wood Pellet Vertical Smoker Reviews

Pit Boss has come out with a new pellet smoker that is designed to look like an old time whiskey still.  While the design is cute I actually tin can't think of whatever reason why anyone should purchase this product instead of a Pit Dominate vertical cabinet smoker or their more traditional barrel style smokers.

Let me walk yous though the basic details of this smoker so nosotros can wait at why it really isn't a good pick.

Whiskey Yet Pattern Specifications

This is a pretty basic smoker that, despite the novel outside design, doesn't accept many features.

• Cooking Area: 757 square inches spread across three cooking grates
• Cooking Grates: Three 18 inch diameter grates.
• Hopper Capacity: 15 pounds of pellets
• Temperature Range: 150-350F in 25 degree increments
• Digital Meat Probe: Included
• Warranty: five years

Why I Don't Recommend the Grill

The major trouble with this smoker is capacity.  The 18 inch grates just are not that large and most folks will only want to use 2 of them.  Hither is a look at how much Pit Boss says you tin fit in this smoker.

Pit Boss says that with the Whiskey Still y'all can smoke:

• Three chickens: Presumably that is one chicken per grate.
• 3 pork shoulders: Presumably that is one shoulder per grate
• Four slabs of ribs: Presumably that is ????

I suspect that the usable capacity is actually lower than this.  Hither is a look at the base of the smoker.  Y'all tin run into that the bottom grate is straight above the grease tray which in turn is directly above the pellet burn pot.

Here is how all of the grates and fire pot assembly look together.

There is no fashion in heck that the bottom grate will exist seeing the same temperature profile as the acme and eye grates.  The best use for that bottom grate is to hold an over sized h2o pan to add wet and help collect grease.  I suspect that folks volition eventually terminate upwards merely using the tiptop ii grates for cooking.

Other than chapters in that location are a couple of other features nearly this blueprint that I don't like.

Accessing the nutrient from the side panel door will be awkward.  Let'due south say that y'all have a big pile of state style ribs smoking away on the height grate and y'all want to brush them with a little sauce. You are going to have to open the side door and jiff in a large pile of fume while you attempt to reach the ribs on the back side of the grate.  There is no easy way to admission any food that is on the back half of the grates.  This isn't a deal billow only it is annoying.

Another feature that is lacking on this smoker is a proper working side table.  You lot are going to want someplace to put your tongs, newspaper towels, etc and this smoker doesn't have it.

Pit Boss makes plenty of full sized smokers that work great and have plenty of capacity.  If yous want a Pit Boss Pellet smoker then buy one that is functional, not the one that is cute.

Another Opinion

I got an email from a reader, Al W, who had some different opinions about this smoker and was gracious enough to allow me to post them here.  Hither are a few thoughts from Al.

one) I think the vertical design of this smoker is a stride in the right management. As we all know, heat (and fume) wants to travel straight upward – non sideways. This is why we end up with convoluted designs like reverse-flow offset barrel smokers which endeavour to obtain compatible horizontal distribution of something that wants to go vertical.

2) The close proximity of the bottom grate to the grease tray is in all likelihood a non-issue. Any direct effect the firepot might take on the lower rack would be by radiant heat. As there are 2 metal console components between the firepot and the rack there would be very trivial if whatsoever radiant heat reaching the bottom grate. In addition, the forced convection aspect of all pellet burners farther promotes uniform temperatures by circulating big amounts of air (relative to natural convection smokers) through the smoker at all times. I take a Traeger pellet grill which has a like design (i.e., two metal panels between the firepot and the grate) and have never noticed any blazon of 'hotspot' straight to a higher place the firepot.

iii) I have in the past used a Brinkmann Smoke 'n Pit round vertical smoker which has a like design relative to the door and racks. I agree that access to the rear portion of the racks is express. Another problem I had with those racks was that if the food item was slid to the front of the rack (as during loading or unloading) the rack would sometimes tip as the portion of the rack in the door opening is unsupported.

4) As the owner of the same Traeger grill, I don't think the term 'a big pile of fume' is applicative to any pellet burner.

5) An issue I would have included in the review is that the controller is super low – perhaps a foot off the ground? The controller on my Traeger is about twice that loftier and I feel fifty-fifty that is annoying and inconvenient. Actually, the whole smoker would exist easier to use if those legs were a foot or two longer.

I'm not for or against the Whiskey Yet Smoker, just wanted to put my two cents in.

Cheers for the input, Al!

marshalleired1968.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.bbqdryrubs.com/whiskey-still-pellet-smoker-by-pit-boss-review/

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