ProQ Frontier - Some issues (Edited)

[rprata]

[Edited Intentionally]

The "stacker" sections don't fit together very well without some serious manhandling. Took me 10 minutes to get the lid on, had to bend it and bang it to get it to fit. The whole thing has a very flimsy feel to it. I don't know about Ian's prototypes, or what Roxy is using
When I went to pick up the smoker by the handles to add more lump, one of the handles snapped right off (Screws are crap) and I dropped the whole thing.

Sorry Ian, but either I got a dud, or these smokers are just poorly manufactured. From all the good reviews I read on the web, I thought I had a bad one, but I'm not so sure.

Unfortunately, Fred's Music & BBQ, whom I purchased it through, states "no refunds" on their invoice, so I guess I'm stuck with this piece of junk. [Edit: Been in touch with Fred, and we're working something out] Going to have to spread the word so nobody else makes the same mistake I made. Now I'm out $250 with no way to cook for 150 next weekend. Guess I'm gonna have to do multiple shifts on the WSM. At least it burns for more than 4 hours on a load of coals.
[Edited]

 

[Kloset BBQR]

Sorry for the bad experience but thank you for warning everyone!

 

[Puff1]

rprata, are you saying you took a smoker you never used before out of the box, loaded it up, and did an overnight cook on it?
(Am I getting this right?)

 

[rprata]

Puff, not really, I spent most of yesterday burning it, to get a feel for it. You know, I can live with the fuel consumption. What I can't live with, however, for the $$, is the shoddy construction/manufacturing and all the problems I've had with it.

 

[big dude]

Thanks for the report - this is the second similar one lately. I'd been thinking pro or wsm - you made it easy for me to decide although I was leaning toward the stackability of the pro. Sorry you had to pay for the experience.

 

[rprata]

I have been in touch with Fred, and he (on a Sunday, no less) is making arrangements to make things right. I can't say enough about Fred's customer service. I have not yet been in touch with Ian (didn't realize he hung around the boards) but I will get in touch. My frustration with the cooker was more in the way the pieces fit together, and the overall feel of the unit. However, it probably wasn't fair of me to bash the thing this early on, and for that, I apologize.

 

[Puff1]

I have been in touch with Fred, and he (on a Sunday, no less) is making arrangements to make things right. I can't say enough about Fred's customer service. I have not yet been in touch with Ian (didn't realize he hung around the boards) but I will get in touch. My frustration with the cooker was more in the way the pieces fit together, and the overall feel of the unit. However, it probably wasn't fair of me to bash the thing this early on, and for that, I apologize.

Ya' think? :roll:

 

[Greg Rempe]

Hey, its your opinion and you are entitled to say what you want here...no excuses!

 

[atruckerswife]

Sorry bout your experience with the Pro.

Mine is the same, so yours must be from the same batch of when they were first produced.

Ours now sits in the shed, and gets used for fire pits when we travel.

 

[Diva Q]

I have one as well and I don't use it much. I tried doing many things on it. I do however like the bottom section as an easy charcoal grill to take to the beach etc.

I think that eventually these units will be awesome,however I think that the fact that the metal is welded makes a huge difference vs the extruded metal of the WSM. Also the metal is 2 mm thinner than a wsm. There are a lot more screws in a Pro BBQ. I installed another vent on mine shortly after receiving it and it did help but in no way is it a comparable unit to a wsm at this time.
I replaced my handles already.
So all these little things certainly add up to a bunch of problems. I think the design is brilliant though. The snap together sections to me make a lot of sense. Wish my WSM had them. I think the hanging hooks at the top are wonderful for anyone inclined to hang a belly or even a whole fish.

It will get there eventually with tweaking. Then it will be a real WSM killer.

 

[Smokey_Joe]

rprata, are you saying you took a smoker you never used before out of the box, loaded it up, and did an overnight cook on it?
(Am I getting this right?)

I was just thinking the same exact thing