Uh, the 'heat shield' you speak of is actually the drip pan and you had it installed upside down. Guessing you didn't read any of the directions on how to set it up. That damage is outside the firebox so you had a grease fire. Just own up to it and move on. Don't listen to this guy the DC is good.

Good news on the paint peel, it's food grade paint on the inside of those grills, from what I'm told by GMG. Also, all of these kinds of grills tend to get hotter on the draft side of the grill. The side to which heat and smoke flow naturally because of the smoke stack being on that side of the grill. Fortunately, nothing you mentioned should effect the performance of your grill. Should serve you well for years. I've got the same exact model, have had it for 5-plus years and experienced none of those issues. Mine works great to this day. Good luck!

Wow, that is tough to swallow on a new grill. Glad I saw this before purchasing.

It’s a tailgater... it’s meant to be somewhat portable, most portable grills or smokers don’t perform like their larger counterparts. All smokers and grills have hot spots. Part of cooking is understanding your tools. Knowing your hot spots and adjusting... if you want a set it and forget it type of cooker call Ronco or use your microwave.

The things that your complaining about are normal. If there's paint inside the grill whether it be over spray or an actual painted surface it's going to peel like that. It would literally take you a few minutes to just knock that off otherwise it's going to be in your food. And the heat shield well that's normal whenever you apply high heat to thin metal. If it's that big of a deal for you replace it with something thicker

I think the GMG grills hold up way better than the Traegers. Obviously the tailgate version is going to be cheaper made and have less performance. I thing choking down the damper a little will help you with the heat issues on that right side. The rust and flaking isn’t an issue/totally normal. If everything was stainless it would cost $700. That is why a break in heating is so important ~ so any excess coatings and such can burn off.

Inside won't/shouldn't look like that (dry with rust) after a cook. Purple clean will strip paint. The drip pan and heat shield are different than mine. 2 piece pan and no holes in heat shield. No issues with warping.

That's what happens when you constantly cook bacon in it until its catches on fire. How many times did you cook wings at 575 ? If you want bbq chicken in and hour might I suggest charcoal.

I have a Daniel Boon that is great and has worked perfect for 5 year's. The Davy Crockett is junk. Bad firmware, uneven cooking, does not light first time around most of the time. I do not see it listed on the web site any longer. If mine breaks it is going in the garbage. Not worth repairing. Thanks Green Mountain Grill for wasting my money!!

I have a Davy Crockett that is about years old. The new ones look cheaper. I have no rust or warping and my heat shield is a two piece affair and much thicker stainless.

I was thinking of purchasing one. Now I'm kinda thinking I won't. Thanks for the review.

Did you follow the burn-in instructions?

I have that exact same grill. A couple of things that you’re doing wrong number one that heat box has a heat diffuser underneath it and it needs to be centered over the pellet burner. If not you’ll definitely get hotspots to the right or left. I think green mountain grill should’ve had some locks in place that keep the Box from sliding to the right and left. My heat shield warped as well what I did was I bent it close to the exit side. My grill I have not had the paint peeling but there is definitely deterioration of the outer coating on the rest of the grill. They could’ve done a better job for sure. I wanted this little guy to see if I enjoy pellet grill smoking. I’ve gotten used to it but it is definitely a lot of maintenance as with any pellet grill vacuuming and cleaning. I’ve got it worked out pretty well and overall I like it when are the things I do as I do oil the heat shield often. Another thing I did not like was the exit area for the grease. I actually drilled mine out and made it much wider exit which was a little difficult but nevertheless it works much better. I found that the temperature sensor needed to be adjusted on the app it was running very hot when I put my own probes in and measured the internal temperature it was burning 20° hotter so I adjusted on the app. I’ve been looking to get another larger pellet grill just haven’t pulled the trigger yet not sure which one to buy. I know it can be frustrating brother but overall if you figure out these bugs it’s not a bad barbecue

You kmow the stuff you are complaining about has zero to do with how the unit performs. You need to learn how to adjust the temperature swings. Your gripe about their cs is way off. Your issues are user error. The reason it warped is because of poor alignment of the diffuser. Make adjustments,move to the right 1/8 inch at a time until stable temps on either side.

Strange issue with the Heatshield what have you been cooking at 500F? Mine has about 30 hrs on it and is spotless and cooks great!

Thanks for your review I was going to purchase this model but not now sorry for your loss

how is that destroyed? its a solid piece of metal dude....

I've done 3 cooks on mine and it looks nothing like that.

I bought one of these recently and I'm a little frustrated as well. It definitely needs rotation. Mine gets hot on 1 side vs the other side which is not. Still experimental at this stage. But you're right. I feel like if you spend money like this you shouldn't have to work on a product. The product should do it's job.

I have this exact model smoker for 4.5 yrs, and have not one issue with it. Just my opinion but it appears that you either left it out in the weather unprotected, or you have washed everything to keep it clean. Dude this stuff is like a cast iron skillet. It needs to be seasoned...meaning it needs a thin layer of grease to protect it from rust. Not to be pointing fingers, that's not the manufacturer fault at all !!! That's either neglect, or you're not sure on how to properly care for it !!! Sorry dude, but if that was taken care of correctly it shouldn't look like that after two weeks. My advise, sand everything down, remove all the rust you can and rub a fine layer of cooking oil on every unprotected surface. Just clean the heavy mess, leave the rest !!!! Dont wash anything !!!!

Are you storing it outside?

This is the old model , not the 2020 model

Doesn’t look destroyed to me. Yeah new?

That’s all normal with any pellet grill

That looks like you had a grease fire.

Mine lasted 2 years before it just became rust. Probably the climate

Do your research before buying pellet grills. There is a difference..

Just bought one and its a pos, 30plus degrees hotter on one side.

Any plate is going flex & bend when heated up & cooled. It looks like you got water in it to cause the rust! No paint is going to with stand heat! 👎

Physics, people. 🤦🏻‍♂️

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