Temp frustration with Pit Boss pellet grill.

[reformedvegan]

Been a few years since I been on here - new house and new job kept me very busy - no time to dedicate to BBQ, but in all honesty ‐ frustration with my 700 series PB pellet grill is also to blame. Sine I got it (in 2018), I was never able to get it to hold temperature. Swings of -50 to +75 degrees Fahrenheit were always a problem. It seemed it would always just gradually decrease temperature to to point that it needed to compensate, and did so by dumpling a massive amount of pellets that would cause a 100+ degree spike in temperature. Then would begin the gradual decline to a point where this would happen all over again.

I'm in the middle of cooking my second pork butt this week. I think I've figured out that I can get a reasonably consistent BBQ temperature of 225 degrees by setting the grill at 200 degrees and the P setting at 0 (zero). This seems to force the grill to feeld pellets often enough to avoid the gradual decline in temperature and inevitable spike to follow.

Has anyone else shared my frustration? What was your solution? I'm still strongly considering upgrading to a PID controller, even though I avoided massive temp swings in my latest cook.

Best regards,

 

[mike243]

Well mine runs 25 swings either way until it gets warmed up, the P setting is to encourage swings, the smoldering pellets make more smoke at lower temps the higher P number the larger the swings. the owner manual states you can possibly get flame outs on the higher settings. Sounds like it's working as designed.

 

[JIMSMOKES]

I have the PB1150PS2 and it runs steady. Took a lil over 10 cooks before it settled down the temp swings.

 

[mr_whipple]

The setting of the exhaust cap was the big game changer on my camp chef. I had wild swings also. Now after that installing a gen 2 controller didn't hurt either, but finding a sweet spot isn't all that hard with the exhuast.

 

[Hijack73]

I'll just say this - I'll never buy another one. I had to really learn how to cook on mine, and that was after I tapped out on the factory PID and went aftermarket. Before I replaced the PID - it was impossible to use. I hated it. I still dislike it, even though I can turn good Q out on it now.

It's no more set and forget than a cat. I am not an engineer yet I can pick out multiple design flaws.

Mine is an 1100 Pro. Pro stands for Pain Radiating Orifice

 

[WaterRat]

I’d get a new controller. The old ones are total crap. Also the “p-setting” does nothing unless the dial is on “smoke”. I got my PitBoss around that time also, even though they may look the same the newer controllers are better, in my experience.

 

[mike243]

Mine is around 7 years old and has worked fine since day 1, not sure where all you have polled lol

 

[Chris_in_SoCal]

Before you spend a bunch of money on a PID upgrade try placing an aluminum tray under your grill and filling it with as much water as it can hold. It won't cost much and just might help to solve your swinging temperatures.

I have a vertical Pellet smoker and it makes a huge difference in keeping a constant temperature. This is just a few days ago with 1 gallon of water added into the pan before smoking.

 

[reformedvegan]

The setting of the exhaust cap was the big game changer on my camp chef. I had wild swings also. Now after that installing a gen 2 controller didn't hurt either, but finding a sweet spot isn't all that hard with the exhuast.

No exhaust cap on this one - instead a row of holes in the back. I have experimented in plugging some holes, but it did not make an improvement

 

[reformedvegan]

Before you spend a bunch of money on a PID upgrade try placing an aluminum tray under your grill and filling it with as much water as it can hold. It won't cost much and just might help to solve your swinging temperatures.

I have a vertical Pellet smoker and it makes a huge difference in keeping a constant temperature. This is just a few days ago with 1 gallon of water added into the pan before smoking.

View attachment 703155

There is a curved and slanted heat deflector panel under the grill - I don't think it's possible to get a tray of water in there.

 

[reformedvegan]

I’d get a new controller. The old ones are total crap. Also the “p-setting” does nothing unless the dial is on “smoke”. I got my PitBoss around that time also, even though they may look the same the newer controllers are better, in my experience.

Pit Boss claims the P setting does control the pellet drop cycle at temp settings other than "smoke", the the effect diminishes as you go up in temperature. I can tell you from experience that the P setting has significant effect at 200 and 225 degrees.