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[PelletHawkeye]

Hey guys I had my new PG500 delivered yesterday and today when I had a chance to set it up I noticed some pretty good scratches on the inside of the unit. Don't think they would affect the functionality but it does sort of put a damper on such a nice unit. Anybody else have scratches like the ones i have attached? Am I overreacting and let it go? Thanks for any input.

[InThePitBBQ]

You'll never see that again after your first 3+ hour cook, it becomes a black hole in there.

If it were the exterior than yea, it would be a very big deal for certain.

Fill it up with pellets and enjoy it, you won't even recall it being there once the smoke does it's thing.

[PelletHawkeye]

Thanks. I figured I was overreacting a bit. The outside is in perfect shape so that is more important. Can't wait to fire this thing up and make some delicious food!

[InThePitBBQ]

Thanks. I figured I was overreacting a bit. The outside is in perfect shape so that is more important. Can't wait to fire this thing up and make some delicious food!

Oh I wouldn't call it overreacting at all, you paid top dollar for a tier one pit from Cookshack and they ought not to let that out the door it's the one and only chance for a first impression when it shows up and it would have bothered me just as much. You'll soon discover that entire shiny cabinet interior is going to be a black hole but it's brand new and you have no way of knowing this yet.

The cheap box store Chinese pits wouldn't get sent out looking that way but Cookshack didn't want to scrap that piece of scratched stainless so off it went. They have a long way to go at this point when it comes to building and servicing cookers for the residential market if they keep shipping product like this. I firmly believe the PG 500 is the most innovative and versatile pit on the market at any price but it's hard to recommend them when they think it's ok to send products like this out the door.

I've talked to them on the phone enough to know they don't care about issues like this. They are first and foremost a commercial equipment manufacturer and their customer service starts and stops at does the cooker function properly and they will throw parts at you till the cows come home but I doubt they would even pretend to care about an appearance issue inside a grill cabinet that will never be seen again once it's used a little bit. Plenty of people at the plant saw that before it was skidded and packed to ship and yet there it is.

Someone on the clock in a commercial kitchen would likely care less, for a residential consumer purchase they better get their act together Memphis or Yoder would never have let that leave looking that way.

[PelletHawkeye]

I ordered directly from Cookshack and I am going to email Karen and let her know and send the pictures. As you said I'm sure nothing will come of it but I do want to at least have my voice heard. Thanks InThePit you have been a big help along the way.

[InThePitBBQ]

Have fun with it, I love mine and wouldn't cook on anything else now I have enough time with it under my belt. I had electrical issues with it after it showed up and Dan from Firecraft was really on the ball helping to get them worked out.

Keep an eye peeled for deals on the Thermapen MK4 from Thermoworks, they just had a 20% off sale and should have deals for black Friday coming up you'll really need their instant read thermometer to be able to take full advantage of the charbroiler that thing reads fast enough to get your hands back out of the heat before it burns you.

I wasted time and some prime cuts of beef using older thermometers on hand and wished someone would have pointed out the need for one, it has made me a much better cook using it and seeing with your own eyes how little time a prime piece of beef transitions from rare to ruins is sort of a reckoning after cooking so long without one.

I attended comps and watched BBQ pro's on cooking specials for years and everyone had one of those Thermapens in their pocket and I should have picked up on it sooner why they all used the same device.   


Admin -- if you are thinking of buying one of these and use this link, PelletFan gets a small % os sale http://www.thermoworks.com/Thermapen-Mk4?tw=PelletFan

[PelletHawkeye]

Hey InThePit do you also use wireless thermometers? I was wondering which one to go with. I hear a lot of people talking about the fireboard. Since I am pretty new at all this I don't want to buy a bunch of stuff I don't need. Thanks.

[InThePitBBQ]

I went nuts buying wireless thermometers and discovered most of them are grossly inaccurate once I got a Thermapen in my hands. I trashed all of them and now use an inexpensive Chef Alarm from the same company because it flat out works and the insert probe reads very close to the Thermapen after extended cooking times. 

I was showing temps 20*+ of actual temps on several popular wireless units, the probes were much thicker and I believe conduct to much heat into the muscle area of insertion over time causing false readings none of that happens with the pro series probes from Thermoworks.

They do make more expensive units but the Chef alarm works great and it's cheap, plus you set the desired temp and turn the alarm on and you'll hear it even if it's outside the door. I had connectivity issues with all the wireless units I tried and wouldn't bother with another one.

Here's mine, this is good stuff that does the job when you need to rely on it:

[Bentley]

You are not over-reacting, you buy something new, you want it pristine...But it will not matter after about 12 hours of pellets and meat go through it.

[Bobitis]

Reminds me of a time when I owned a Chevy 4x4. The 1st foul out of the block was a bulge in the sidewall of one of the tires.
I took it back and told them to fix it. The guy I bought it through claimed his wife (in ill health) had to take the truck somewhere else to get it fixed. Really?

 The analogy is similar on many levels. Sure, yer pit will hide all that in time. That's NOT the point. I couldn't see the brakes, transmission, vacuum hoses, steering, suspension, (I could go on).

Make the seller aware of the issue and wait for a response. If they don't fix it to your satisfaction, kick it up a notch.

Yours is the 1st thing I've ever read of that would imply the manufacturers integrity. The pics are quite clear however.

I don't know that I'd be filing a claim for a new pit; but a discounted price for a scratch/dent model should surely be in the offering regardless of the damage location.

[PelletHawkeye]

So I did contact Cookshack and showed them the photos. They acknowledged this is not normal and want to make it right. Since I contacted them later in the day no decisions were made on my options. Any thoughts on some form of refund vs add ons? I am thinking of seeing if they will throw in a front shelf and cover at no charge.

[pmillen]

I'm happy for you, PelletHawkeye, but I have to say that I would have ignored the insignificant scratches.  When I'm building something with plywood, I buy sheets with one "C" side to use when that "C" side won't be visible.  I suspect that most of us do.

[Canadian John]

 Cookshack should do something very good as the world of Pellet Fans is watching.

[Kristin Meredith]

Cookshack should do something very good as the world of Pellet Fans is watching.

I'll be honest, I hate seeing posts like this.  I appreciate all our manufacturers and never want them to think of this site is some type of avenue to shame or harass them into doing something.  I would simply prefer not to know what happen. A consumer had a legitimate issue and took it up privately with the seller.  I know a few manufacturers stop even coming on PH to answer questions because they felt that they were getting bad pr and bashing from members when all they were doing was trying to provide info. I don't want that to happen here  I am not trying to pick on you Canadian John, but I did want to make my feelings, as the co-owner of this forum, very clear.  To me, whatever FEC/Cookshack does should be privately handled and all members need to know is that the consumer was satisfied.

[Canadian John]

 I don't feel picked on..You are 100% right; things got a little too far.