Pit boss 820 not starting?

[Bumrush]

New to the forums I hope this is in the correct thread. I have an older Pitt boss 820 about 5 years old with only about 8 smokes on it. Went to start it today and the lighting rod would not get hot. Tried about 4 times cleaning the burn pot out and retrying. Finally had to light it with a torch. Anyone know what's going on?

 

[chef jimmyj]

The rods are a consumable item. They go bad and are easily replaced. They last longer than 8 cooks but it is the easiest place to start...JJ

 

[Bumrush]

How do you replace them? I just inherited this thing as my brother passed away a couple years ago. It's been sitting and so I decided to put it to use. This is my 4th time using it.

 

[bregent]

If you've got a multi meter, unplug the connection to the hot rod and check the resistance - should be in the neighborhood of 50 ohms I believe. If it's open, the rod is bad. If the ohms look good, the controller is bad or there's a bad connection to the hot rod somewhere.

 

[Bumrush]

Thank you sir!

 

[chef jimmyj]

Search the Pit Boss website for the manual for your unit. YouTube may be a source as well...JJ

 

[daveomak]

Check and clean the electrical connections... They are probably corroded and not making contact...

 

[Bumrush]

Ok I will check it tomorrow

 

[BigTurtle]

All great advice and spot on.

 

[Bumrush]

Update! Now the dam thing is working fine. Pulled what I believed to be the pig tail plug and reattached it. Now I need to know how to calibrate the digital thermometer? I need to verify with my remote thermometer. Can the digital thermometer be calibrated or replaced?