Hey guys, got this on sale last weekend and used it twice that weekend. Did a burn-off as instructed and everything seemed normal. Attempted a low and slow on some beef back ribs and came to check and found the grill cooking itself.
I pulled the plug on it, because turning it off put it in the shutoff cycle flaming the pellets more and closed the lid to suffocate it. Hopefully that’s the right call.
Checked for recalls, nothing. Saw some videos where people noticed smoke coming out of the hopper. But they didn’t seem worried about it.
I’ll be contacting Pit Boss tomorrow. Made sure to register it for that warranty.
by TheONEbeforeTWO
45 Comments
Not ideal.
Ahh, I see what’s happening there. The pellets in the hopper are on fire. That’s not the way it’s supposed to work. I have a suspicion that something is wrong with your pellet grill.
Not normal at all!!!! That’s how you burn your house down.
Thats a feature not a defect. Smoke and direct grilling options. You pay extra for that?
Well it is a Phoenix.
Ah crap, that’s not good. Other than manufacturer defect, the only thing I can think of is, maybe the smoker was not level and helped back feed it up the auger?
Your auger is jammed or not functioning. Unplug it, put the fire out, empty out the pellets, clear the auger, clean the fire box, refill the enjoy. Hope this helps.
Yeah thats where you open flame cook/sear.
Kidding, very much so kidding.
I guess that’s supposed to be a cooking grate on the top of the hopper there.
I’ve always found when smoke or fire makes its way to the hopper you have to watch the wind direction. If it’s against the wind it will push air into the hopper eventually catching and ending up with this as a result. Try repositioning your smoker…
Im seeing this more and more with pit boss smokers. I have no idea why its happening but its horrifying honestly. Say you shut your smoker down and put it away and the pellets in the hopper catch… House gone.
I have a camp chef smoker, Ive smoked many things and used every brand of pellets in my area. This has never happened.
Yup
No
Seems to be normal for Pit Boss
Almost ran into this with my traeger. Old pellets had turned to dust in bottom. Was pushing sawdust and pellets to burn bowl. Dust filled up bowl and started burning inside the auger.
you unplugged the BBQ before the power down cycle completed (or fan was not blowing)!:and I did read the context.
Super smoke mode activated
Perfectly normal. Plug her back in and let it burn.
Had the same issue on 2 different pit bosses…they are just trash! Go to Recteq, have had no issues with it!
No
No.
Yes. Your BBQ rises from the ashes. Hence the name “Phoenix”
Your searing function is broken
This is not just a pit boss problem, every pellet smoker is subject to this happening and has.
What happened is that the pellets in the auger caught fire, and did a back burn to the hopper.
Why it happened can be for a couple of reasons.
1. The auger jammed, broke the shear pin and stopped spinning. The fire in the fire pot lit the pellets in the auger and the back burn happened.
2. An airflow issue.
(A). Check to make sure your exhaust cap is adjusted correctly. On a Traeger it’s 3/4” or about a finger width. Not sure on a Pit Boss.
(B). Wind direction. If possible, position the smoker where wind is flowing from the hopper to exhaust.
(C). Fan failure.
What to do:
(If the hopper is just smoking)
Do not unplug or cut power. This stops the auger which is not what you want.
Currently the fire is still in the auger. You have to increase the feedrate to push the burning pellets back into the firepot and you do this by turning up the temp. No higher than 300 or you risk starting a fire in the chamber as well. When hopper stops dmoking, keep running at temp for 5 minutes before turning the yemp back down.
(If the hopper is on fire ala OP’s situation)
The fire is no longer in the auger so now it’s an emergency.
Unplug to cut power. My understanding of the pitboss is that it has a pellet hopper dump to empty the hopper. Put a metal container under the dump and drain the hopper.
If that’s not an option, scoop out the pellets into a metal container and use baking soda or fireproof blanket and a fire extinguisher if required to extinguish remaining pellets in the hopper.
* This is why you’re not supposed to cook near your house if there’s an emergency.
100% Normal, you see those grates above the pellets? That’s your sear station.
Toss the steak over and boom, charbroil perfection.
No
Nice side sear box
For a Pit boss yes
No of course not
Nope not normal at all sir
Definitely not ideal. Was there too much sawdust in the auger?
I’m hoping (for you) that this is just machining oils causing this.
1) empty the hopper
2) Attempt to use the advance to empty what is in the auger
3) If the auger doesn’t move, I’m sorry. It is a PITA to take apart to where you can disassemble the auger.
4) make sure the grill sensor shows a temperature rise – if the fire box got overfilled because the grill thought it was cold, you’ll get the behavior you saw.
5) Quit using lighter fluid!
That the optional side burner?
Don’t worry another smoker will rise from its ashes .
Dansons grills are trash. Save up for something (not trager) better
It’s the side burner for searing
Buy junk get junk
Clean your pot
Pellets are probably to big, they got stuck and caused that.
No
It’s like showing a picture of your gas tank on fire and asking if it’s normal 😂