New member considering a PBC

[PappyBBQ]

Right on brother! I did the same thing - well, i dropped hints and left the web site up on my laptop at home since my birthday is coming up, so my family did the same thing as my proxy! Heh heh heh... I can't WAIT for this to arrive.

[The_BruceB]

The WSM does have its own online community at http://tvwbb.com/forum.php (mods delete if URL is not acceptable).

I had the same predicament as you but chose to go with the PBC for the capacity of larger meats and the overall ease of cooking. The multiple steps and endless mods of a WSM was a bit to complicated for me as a first smoker / cooker. I have a Weber Gensis for my weekday and high temp grilling.

[TheBigLebowski]

@ThePitt

Absolutely. The first cook was a real easy. The company seems great and was very happy to deal with them.

[ThePitt]

So I think that most people who have both a Weber and a PBC probably got the Weber first, and in most cases have had it for years before buying a PBC. I think this makes us forget how much fiddling and learning curve there was with the Weber! I *love* my PBC for a lot of reasons, but the “set it and forget it” is the best part. It does what it says it does, straight out of the box- no seasoning, no fiddling, no nothin’. The only con that I do agree with is less grate space- but you can probably hack it to add a second grate if you wanted to.

A huge pro for me is the company behind the PBC. This thing is American-made, the company goes out of its way to hire veterans, and they stand behind their product. And it is solid as all get out- powder coated, horseshoe handles, just super-duper nice- I vehemently disagree that you can make one yourself for cheaper, cause there's no way your homemade one will be half as awesome as the PBC. The Weber is thin metal, made in China, mass produced, AND (IMO) requires several hacks and DIY upgrades to reach its full potential (adding handles, adding sand to the water bowl, adding a gasket to the lid, adding a thicker door). I am absolutely thrilled to be able to spend money on a product made by a company that seriously cares about the quality of their products and the happiness of their customers.

[Hondo]

That's fantastic... I'm sure you'll enjoy your PBC...

[Hondo]

@JeffJ... I've actually cooked with and eaten food from both a WSM and the PBC...

To be honest, both produce a high quality product in the hands of a capable pit master. I've never wished for a water bowl for the PBC... food is always juicy and tender and comparable to anything I've tasted from the WSM.

As far as adding coals to the PBC... I've cooked chicken, ribs, pork butt and brisket on the PBC and have always finished the cook without having to add coals. Pretty easy to run eight plus hours on the original coals.

The PBC wins in "my" book due to ease of use and the speed of the cook... I have cooked the large cuts and still been done within eight hours... bottom line is that the PBC works as advertised and I highly recommend it...

No disrespect intended for the WSM, it's an awesome smoker and deserves the high regard it has earned over the years...

[Lynn_B]

I went with a Rec Tec because of the Set & forget and I love it. Just my 2 cents

[pittkappasig]

They're a great company. if you have a question or want to bounce something off them technique-wise, the phone number went to Noah's cell. I don't know if it's still the same because they have grown quite a bit but they are fantastic. Definitely nihilists, dude.

[TheBigLebowski]

So I actually purchased the PBC today. A couple of neat things.........

1. Bought the cooker from the PBC web-site versus Amazon.......low and behold no sales tax.
2. Because I'm prior military, the PBC folks will affix a different placard denoting the United States Air Force.
3. Because I identified myself as prior military, a portion of the proceeds from the sale are directed to Folds of Honor.....a group benefitting the families of fallen US service men and women.

I was happy to purchase before, now I'm very happy to do business with this company.

[Ernest]

Dr ROK You know how folks talk about BBQing when they're actually grilling? It's a grey area. LOL!
PBC just wants to cook. It doesn't want to smoke (low and slow) or grill.

[Spinaker]

Not a and sauturday routine my friend, not bad at all. I love the fact that you can leave for long periods of time and she just keeps on truckin'
It's interesting that you mention the humidity being a factor. I have yet to use mine in any amount of humidity. We get some really humid summers here in Minnesota with all the lakes and wetlands, so I'll be interested to see how she performs.

[Dr ROK]

Thanks Ernest, but what I still don't get is how it is not considered a smoker. Aren't all smokers cookers too? Trying to clarify this in my head.

[Ernest]

The kettle can do that too.
It wasn't meant to be a "smoker" in the general sense of the word. Noah will be the first to tell you that as well.

[TheBigLebowski]

No doubt the post totals are larger due to the newness of the cooker. I kinda figured that much. I was just hoping that it might eliminate some of the initial guess work.

[pittkappasig]

el duderino, i know you've already made your choice and I agree with it. I started on a COS and then spent too much money on expensive smokers/gassers/etc etc. I am down to a Weber Performer and a PBC, it's all I need for the daily dinners and the large bbqs (I threw a big one on my bday last year, first one I didn't have catered, did it all myself and if it weren't for this forum, I would've had some trouble) being in Pittsburgh, my only feedback would be to watch out for external humidity. I have no Blonder science to back up my statement but on the overly humid western PA days the PBC can difficult. Maybe it's because of lack of air movement as the extra moisture makes the air heavy? On low humidity, normal spring/summer/fall days, I drop in 2 5lbs butts in the AM, go back to sleep for 2 hrs, play 18 holes of golf, come home and dinner is ready. Just do your due diligence as you would with any new cooker and after a few runs, you'll have it mastered.