PBX - Advice needed

[BKYDBBQ]

I have had a PBC for a few years and love it. I got a PBX from Academy a couple months ago, have not used it yet. I am planning to use it for competition ribs.

Does anyone have any suggestions on transitioning from the PBC to the PBX, lighting / usage differences, etc?

Also, any advice on using one for competition ribs?

BKYDBBQ

[tenphases]

I ran it just like my pbc and it worked perfect

[Ace]

+1 👍

[Duanessmokedmeats]

+2 👍

[fzxdoc]

jfmorris took advantage of the same PBX deal at Academy. He's been working his way up the PBX learning curve (shallow though it may be) as well. Maybe he'll chime in here.

Kathryn

[jfmorris]

I've got exactly 3 cooks under my belt with the PBX, so am not good for much advice. Two chicken cooks, and the one rib cook.

For the chicken, I am scattering a half chimney lit coals over the top of the basket, as I want things to get hot faster for a shorter cook. For the rib cook, I hollowed out the center of the basket and tried to dump all my coals in the middle. It worked well.

For the ribs, I had 3 full racks of St. Louis cut from Fresh Market, and I ended up cutting them in half, and single hooking 2 bones down. I also rotated them around the barrel twice during the cook, as one side seemed to be cooking hotter than the other. And the ribs were DONE in 2.5 hours, way before I expected. I just wrapped them in foil and put them in faux cambro in a cooler until dinner, and boy, were they some of the best ribs I've ever smoked.

My birthday is on the 11th, and I've already told my wife that if the kids come over to hang out, I am making ribs on the PBX.

My biggest worry is doing ribs again and taking significantly longer than 2.5 hours - if I plan the cook for it, it may not happen! So far the PBX has been less predictable than my other cookers. So I highly advise a practice run or two before you go to a competition with it.

Good luck with your competition ribs!

[TomfromtheSoo]

Happy Upcoming Birthday!

[BKYDBBQ]

Did a burn-in on the PBX yesterday and did the first cook today.

Today I noticed about a 2 inch area on the seam of the barrel where smoke was coming out of it. This tells me that the seam is separated in that space. Is this something I should be concerned about.

I will be using this pit for competitions so it will be loaded and unloaded in vehicles and manhandled and I am worried that all of the moving it around could cause the seam to separate even more.

Am I overthinking this???

ETA - The seam I am referring to is not the lid, it is on the side where the two ends of the metal sheet come together to form the barrel.

[Ace]

After a few cooks that should seal up. I never clean the rim and it seals better as it gets a little "gunky". You might be able to speed up the process by coating the rim channel with some cooking oil before the cook. If you push down on the lid while its venting and the smoke stops, you can add some weight to the lid while cooking to see if that helps. That amount of leakage shouldn't affect the temps much, if any... 🙂

[Lynn Dollar]

I would not feel good about that. I'd take pics and document it in case it worsens with time. My PBX has nothing like that.

But till then, there's metal tape. I've used this tape to put the Thermoworks Billows adapter over the bottom air intake. It will close leaks .

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007FN9FWY?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_5&th=1

[Spinaker]

I would say after a few cook it will seal up, but that is an issue that I am sure would be cause for a return, if they were still making these.

The more you cook on it, the better sealed it will become. For now, I would not worry about it too much. If you lid is sealed well and then temp are running steady, then you know that it is not affecting the barrel too much. If you really want too, you could get some JB Weld and patch the seam from the outside. That stuff is very heat resistant, and should path the hole in the seam. Keep in mind, you might be able to see it when it is all set up.

[jfmorris]

They are making them, or ran another batch of them, as you can now buy the PBX again on the PBC website - through Amazon, for a whopping list price of $599. I'll take my $160 one from Academy....

There is a 1 year warranty from PBC Co, so I think if it is a true defect they will make it right for him.

[jfmorris]

BKYDBBQ there is a one year warranty with the PBC Co, so if it is a defect, I am sure they will take care of you.

That said, I think Spinaker aker is onto something with the JB Weld, but instead of a hard epoxy that cures grey, I would try some black RTV. I used some black LAVALOCK RTV sealant to seal around the intake vent frame of my SNS Kamado when I took it off to replace some gasket material, and it cured up a nice shiny black, and is rated up to 450F. A tiny bit of that, wiped into the seam with your finger, with excess cleaned off with a paper towel, will seal any gap leaking smoke.

[Ace]

BKYDBBQ

After reading some of the other comments I decided to re-read the original post which I totally misread.
I thought you were talking about a leak between the barrel and the lid. Although the suggestions posted by everyone are valid, I would call Pitt Barrel and explain. They are a great company and I'm sure that they will take care of you. You might end up with a spare barrel. So sorry for the confusion...

[tenphases]

You got a warranty an no smoke leaking out a seam on the bottom of a brand new pbx is not normal. Use that warranty!!