I left my PG500 uncovered for 6 months, some of the time in snow and others in torrential rain.  I haven't used it for a few months and had some difficulties when I turned it on a couple of days ago. 

I suspect that the controller has gone haywire.  Bill Vice, Cookshack Customer Service, replied to my email, "When you turn on the unit, it will run for a minute or so at whatever setting your Hht is set to and then it shuts off for 3 minutes. After that, it goes through the normal cycles for the duration of the cook."

My PG500 dates back to January 2013.  I don't think it normally operates in this manner and my operating instructions don't address it.

• Can anyone with a similar vintage controller confirm that it operates this way?
• Can anyone with a newer controller confirm this start-up procedure?

My apologies to Bill, at Cookshack.  The controller worked exactly as he said it would.  Obviously, this was the first time in five years that I stood at the pit and closely monitored the start-up procedure.

Glad you got things worked out.