My DLX arrived today. I left work a little early knowing that it was delivered. On the way home I picked up a family pack of chicken wings to use for the first cook. I know that a lot of people use bacon, fatties, or even biscuits to test their pits, but I wanted something that would kick off the grease to help season and be dinner at the same time. Assembly wasn't bad. It did not come with any instructions, but I had watched a few videos on assembly and read the manual online in anticipation of delivery. It was about 37 degrees.
After assembly, I ran it through the recommended 350 for 30 minutes cook off, and I used Pit Boss Hickory pellets. During the burn off, the lowest temperature I noticed was 334, and the highest was 359. The DLX primarily stayed between 340 and 355. After 40 minutes at 350, I turned it up a notch to 375 and let it run for an additional 15 minutes once it reached 375.
After 15 minutes at 375, I put the wings on the grill. I cooked them for 20 minutes at 375. Then, I cranked it up to 400 and cooked them another 20 minutes with a turn. After that 20 minutes, I cranked it up to high (we like our wings crispy with all fat cooked out) to see what this thing could do, and I ran it at high for 20 minutes. The pit got up to 456 and seemed like it may have had a couple more degrees in it before I shut it down.
I was satisfied with with temp stability on my first cook, and I am looking forward to my first smoke on the DLX this weekend with a butt or brisket.