Louisiana 7 erL - Error Code

[frijole smoke]

Good Morning:

I was hoping I hit a gold mine when I got my Louisiana 7 vertical pellet smoker at Costco for 449 this week. I did the initial burn in, and then when I came back to do a cook, it does nothing but display erL. The auger does not appear clogged and I took it apart to check the wires and appearance of the control board and did not see anything obvious there.

But the most troubling part of the story is when trying to call support to help, it says the number is disconnected. I was able to get through the other day, but after 45 minutes I had something come up with work, so I had to hang up.

Any advice? Should I take it back to Costco? I really want this to work out, and the darn thing is heavy. Any ideas?

Jeff

 

[SlowmotionQue]

Can you send them a text?

 

[bmudd14474]

I just called their customer service line and it works.

1-877-303-3134

Costco will take it back but give them a call first.

Brian

 

[bmudd14474]

Good Morning:

I was hoping I hit a gold mine when I got my Louisiana 7 vertical pellet smoker at Costco for 449 this week. I did the initial burn in, and then when I came back to do a cook, it does nothing but display erL. The auger does not appear clogged and I took it apart to check the wires and appearance of the control board and did not see anything obvious there.

But the most troubling part of the story is when trying to call support to help, it says the number is disconnected. I was able to get through the other day, but after 45 minutes I had something come up with work, so I had to hang up.

Any advice? Should I take it back to Costco? I really want this to work out, and the darn thing is heavy. Any ideas?

Jeff

Or email them at [email protected]

 

[frijole smoke]

Yep, indeed the phone is working now. I sent them an email, but haven't heard back...it's been a couple of days now. I thought the email would be a faster way.

Anyways, I changed the tread title the will post back on how things go. Hopefully this will be useful to others down the road.

Jeff

 

[frijole smoke]

Okay, I got through to customer support.

She asked me a few questions and said the error code is for low air flow. So she had me make sure the chimney was open sufficiently.

But because I get the error code immediately after powering up, that my control board needed replaced. So she ordered that and said I should have it next week.

I'm glad I got through. One of the reasons I pulled the trigger on this one is because of a couple of guys at work that have Pit Boss Austin XL's. They love them and said the customer service has been awesome for them.

Thanks.

Jeff

 

[frijole smoke]

So, I received the new controller in just 2 days, just like they promised. I then went on vacation and came back today and was able to install the new controller.

It came on for a short 1-2 seconds, but then went back to the erL code.

I ordered the 10 dollar temperature probe from Amazon as other threads have suggested. The probe wire did look pretty taut, but I wouldn't say it looked chaffed or anything. It just looked suspect. So maybe that will get it going.

Jeff

 

[MT Gpa]

I also bought the same smoker... I also get the same error code... I just replaced my 3rd control board and sensor... this last one worked for 15 min before it errored and stopped working!!! Really???
I was also told to open the chimney to max... try this remove the Louisiana Grill logo off the door and put a smoker temperature gauge in that hole... why??? I smoke full pork bellies for bacon... you will find the top of the smoker is 100 degrees cooler than the set temp and your sensor at the lower back... so my bacon is over cooked on the lower level and under cooked at the top of the smoker... but they don't want you to close down the heat loss... any ideas of balancing out this problem?

 

[Whiskey Bravo]

Have you tried slowly raising the temp? I have a Pit Boss vertical smoker and was getting the same error. Returned one only to have the same issue with the second and customer service was useless after being on hold for an hour. So I tried this.

Turn the knob one notch (from smoke to 150d). Let the temp in the smoker catch up then turn the knob another notch (From 150d to 175d). Do this until you reach your desired temp. Seems like the control panel thinks the temp probe is not working or disconnected if the smoker is still warming up to the set temp. If that makes sense. So if the temp probe is reading 90d and you turn the knob to 250d. You'll get the ERL.

Hope this works for you. It works for me everytime. Good luck.

 

[frijole smoke]

Hmmm. That is good info to know. Except there is no catching up to really do. The new controller just erred out right away. I couldn’t even prime the auger or get close to having it even light.

I think if I have to deal with it being that sensitive, I’ll probably just replace with a Rectec WiFi controller. I just don’t really have the coin for that.

 

[SlowmotionQue]

Take it back and get your money back for it if you still can.

If it's me, I wouldn't throw good money after bad.

 

[frijole smoke]

I also bought the same smoker... I also get the same error code... I just replaced my 3rd control board and sensor... this last one worked for 15 min before it errored and stopped working!!! Really???
I was also told to open the chimney to max... try this remove the Louisiana Grill logo off the door and put a smoker temperature gauge in that hole... why??? I smoke full pork bellies for bacon... you will find the top of the smoker is 100 degrees cooler than the set temp and your sensor at the lower back... so my bacon is over cooked on the lower level and under cooked at the top of the smoker... but they don't want you to close down the heat loss... any ideas of balancing out this problem?

What sensor did they have you replace along with the control board? I'm thinking they have a problem with the controller where the cool down cycle is not automated enough. They recommend you turn the temperature down a couple of times over 5 minutes or something. To me, the board should just always assume the smoker was at max temperature when the power button was pressed. That way the fan will definitely run as long as it needs to prevent the board from getting too hot because of it's proximity to the burn pot. But I don't know why the new control board didn't fix my problem.

As for the temperature differences, I'm going to have to get some seat time cooking with this big of a smoker and get back with you. I was attracted to this model of smoker because I've been lusting over the Pitmaker BBQ Vaults, but always wanted a pellet version. And this is as close as I would get to that and be within my budget. There are so many mods for the Masterbuilt vertical smokers, I would think a lot of those would apply to this one as well, or at least some of them. I'm so eager to find out how this thing works and be able to chime in on this question.

Jeff

 

[frijole smoke]

So I ordered a "replacement" temperature probe as mentioned on another thread in the forum. I got everything put back together, and it fired right up and has been burning off for a couple hours now. So, there you go.

The original probe didn't look obviously bad, but it did have a couple of spots where it felt like RTV silicone, but it was on the outside of the braided stainless sheath.

The replacement probe was an identical and exact fit. It was 10.99 on Amazon Prime. Here is what you should search on Amazon,

"DRELD RTD High-Temperature Meat Barbecue Waterproof Probe Sensor with Mother Shell, Replacement Part Fits for Pit Boss P7 Series Wood Pellet Grills and Pellet Smokers PB-39P350"​

So, had I known what it was in the first place, it would have been an easy fix.

Happy smoking.

Jeff

 

[MT Gpa]

I'm hoping I got my Louisiana Grill smoker problems working again...
They have sent me 2 control boards & 2 temp probes... neither would work above 250 without giving me the ErL error... so I put the original board back in wit a fresh sensor & it works... I've used it a few times in the last few days with great success. I just hope that is the real fix.