Congrats on you SJP!
I picked one up about two years ago NIB as well. I assembled it & have cooked on it about a dozen times. I say use it, but take care of it. You can use it a hundred times and it'll still clean up great as long as you take care of it.
People give them (and the SJG) a bad rap because they claim that the vent design compromises airflow. I will admit that they have a bit of a learning curve, but after learning a few tricks I've come to really enjoy cooking on mine. The key is to bank the coals on half of the charcoal grate right in front of a vent that is adjusted to raise/lower temps. The other lower vent should be closed completely. I often use a single charcoal rail in the middle and pile up a lot of charcoal until it is almost touching the food grate. A charcoal basket would work as well. This setup draws air in and through the coals, then up through the food & out the top vent. If you really want a rip roaring fire leave the lid off and open both bottom vents. About the only thing a SJP or SJG doesn't do well is run high temps with the lid on for a prolonged period of time. I've cooked everything from burgers, beef tenderloin, chicken & tri tip with excellent results.
Forgive me for the tangent, but I was pretty tickled when I figured this out, and have been meaning to share it with the forum.
Topic: Finally got my smokey joe platinum (Read 3154 times)