Pit Boss Copperhead Onyx 4 | Running H ot

[xoric]

Hello,
Bought a new vertical smoker a few weeks ago and smoked on three occasions. First was a pork shoulder, second was spare ribs, third was baby back ribs. In the back of my mind I thought the shoulder got to an internal temp of 203 probably 2-3 hours before it should have with me setting temp at 200. The ribs seemed to get done at least an hour or more on both occasions as well. I bought a set of probes to attach at the grate level (same as internal probe) to measure the temps and compare them. Here are the details.

At 30 minutes with the temp set at 150, the built-in temp showed 149-151 and probe #2=196, probe #3=195
At 60 minutes with the temp set at 150, the built-in temp showed 151-152 and probe #2=270, probe #3=268

Before each smoke I always do maintenance, clean out firebox, clean grates, drip pan and water pan (aluminum foil) is replaced and clean off the temp probe. I treat the smoker like I do my grills and clean before each use.

I called Pit Boss this morning and they are sending me a new control board and probe. Has anyone else experienced such a drastic variation with the smoker running way hotter than it should? Right now I cannot set it at 150 even if I wanted to slow smoke the pork at 200 all night.

Any suggestions beside this possibly a control board issue that I may have missed?

Thanks!

 

[hoity toit]

try the new board and see. then update us here.

 

[xoric]

Hi Hoity,
I was told the CB was not in stock right now, but should be soon. Once I get the CB I will do some tests and let you know.

Thanks!

 

[BigW.]

Welcome! Getting different temps is very common. Did you happen to test your probes in ice/boiling water to confirm if they are consistent with each other? To clarify, both probes are on the same shelf as built in...reading left and right sides?

I routinely smoke pork butt and many others at 275, so continue to use while you are waiting for new CB.

 

[xoric]

Welcome! Getting different temps is very common. Did you happen to test your probes in ice/boiling water to confirm if they are consistent with each other? To clarify, both probes are on the same shelf as built in...reading left and right sides?

I routinely smoke pork butt and many others at 275, so continue to use while you are waiting for new CB.

Thanks!
I can do this tonight with the probes and see what the temps are.
Yes, both probes are on the same grate as the built-in temp for the reading. The built-in temp probe is on the back right side, so I put one next to it and the other on the left back side.

For now I will do as you suggest and rely on the two probes for my temp until the new CB gets here. I would think it may be common for a +/- 20 degrees, but when I saw there was over 100 difference I figured for sure my control board was bad.

Thanks!

 

[Randy1]

Hi Hoity,
I was told the CB was not in stock right now, but should be soon. Once I get the CB I will do some tests and let you know.

Thanks!

Inside any smoker be it wood fired or pellet there are hot place, perfect place, and cooler places. The trick to smoking is learn how to deal with them.
Also think of the firebox like a candle. Put your hand right over the candle and it get's hot quick. Put your hand on the side and yoy can get quite close to the flame. The temper sensor is off to the side of the firebox I am guessing.

Try putting a pan of water above the firebox arear. Tryy different size pans. Some third party suppliers may offr cast iron heat divertors.

Not saying it is not the controller but suggest you try a different approach to get up a good smoke..

 

[xoric]

Inside any smoker be it wood fired or pellet there are hot place, perfect place, and cooler places. The trick to smoking is learn how to deal with them.
Also think of the firebox like a candle. Put your hand right over the candle and it get's hot quick. Put your hand on the side and yoy can get quite close to the flame. The temper sensor is off to the side of the firebox I am guessing.

Try putting a pan of water above the firebox arear. Tryy different size pans. Some third party suppliers may offr cast iron heat divertors.

Not saying it is not the controller but suggest you try a different approach to get up a good smoke..

You are correct, the temp probe is in the middle and to the far right side. This is where I place my rack at and smoke the meat so it will be on the same level, in the middle of the vertical smoker. The smoker comes with 5 racks and I only keep one in while smoking and it's in the middle. I did not want grease dripping on the other racks if nothing is going to be put on them :)

The smoker comes with what I think is 1/2 gallon capacity tray which sits right above the firebox for water. I have used water in the pan each time.

I would assume if I put the probes below the center rack and above the center rack the temps would be even more fluctuated. I would much rather it be something I am doing wrong than a controller board issue.

Thanks for suggestions, appreciate it!

Kevin

 

[jcam222]

Assuming your probes are accurate there certainly shouldn't be that big a difference between the set temp and those. Even when it's fixed I'd recommend you try doing butts / shoulder at 275F.

 

[xoric]

Assuming your probes are accurate there certainly shouldn't be that big a difference between the set temp and those. Even when it's fixed I'd recommend you try doing butts / shoulder at 275F.

Hey Jcam,
I am getting a set from my son-in-law this evening and going to test them compared to mine that way there will be different brands at least.

I have never really smoked before, just grilled with charcoal/propane for the past 30 years so I am documenting my temp times, seasoning, etc in an excel spreadsheet just for future reference. I know it's overkill as once you do it enough it comes naturally to you.

What temp do you pull and let the shoulder rest, somewhere between 199-203 ? I think I pulled mine at 201 and let it rest for 1 hour covered in an aluminum pan.

Ty!

 

[jcam222]

Hey Jcam,
I am getting a set from my son-in-law this evening and going to test them compared to mine that way there will be different brands at least.

I have never really smoked before, just grilled with charcoal/propane for the past 30 years so I am documenting my temp times, seasoning, etc in an excel spreadsheet just for future reference. I know it's overkill as once you do it enough it comes naturally to you.

What temp do you pull and let the shoulder rest, somewhere between 199-203 ? I think I pulled mine at 201 and let it rest for 1 hour covered in an aluminum pan.

Ty!

You are in the right ballpark on your finish temp and rest. Not a thing wrong with keeping records of cooks!

 

[Randy1]

You are well on your way to smoking perfection.
Pellets brand make a difference.
Here are my top brand choices. Not in any order. These are all good.
Smokey Woods
Oklahoma Joe's
Smoke Mountain
Lumber Jack

 

[xoric]

You are well on your way to smoking perfection.
Pellets brand make a difference.
Here are my top brand choices. Not in any order. These are all good.
Smokey Woods
Oklahoma Joe's
Smoke Mountain
Lumber Jack

I sure hope so :)
I have heard good things on Smoky Mountain and Lumber Jacks. Right now I just got the pit boss competition blend in there for starters.

Thanks for the pellet choices!

 

[xoric]

Update:

Did the ice cube/water test on the two probes I am using to test for temp. The probes registered 32 and 33. The "meat" probe I was using for my meats was a different story. It never got below 66 degrees.

Letting the smoker go for probably 1.5 hours it ended up on both probes at 191 and 197. The 197 was placed right beside the internal temp probe of the smoker. The smoker was set at 150 and the digital readout never got above 160 at that set temp.

I decided to increase the temp by 10 degrees every 10 minutes, however even at a set temp of 200 on the smoker, the digital readout never got above 165. I could hear the auger releasing pellets every few minutes and the 2 probes gradually started to increase in temp, however the digital readout never got above 165. Not sure how long it should take it to reach temp, but those two probes climbed quickly before the digital temp when I shut the lid on the smoker to start out.

Thought I would give an update.