I have to pull everything out to vacuum out the bottom & burn pot on my two traegers. Takes 2min total including the shop vac portion. There is a slight temperature fluctuation across both grills but not as bad as my gas Webber. They also cook nothing like the gas Webber. Wonder what the difference is between the pit boss & traeger? I’ve never researched them either.I wish I would have researched more before I bought it. I hate having to take everything out to clean the burn pot. Costco had it on special about a year and a half ago and I bought it, knowing nothing more than I've wanted a pellet grill for a while. Another thing that bothers me is the fluctuation in temps across the grill. I got a flame tamer that seems to help quite a bit, but still not perfect.