The Official Pellet Grill Smoker thread.
- Thread starter Rib Rub
- Start date
Cabin Fever
Full Fledged Farker
- Joined
- Jun 23, 2011
- Location
- Orange, VA
After bragging about my Pit Boss in another thread, I ran into my first problem with my Tailgater. I put a 6 pound butt on this morning at 8:00 using Pit Boss brand hickory pellets with the temp set to 225. Everything went great all day until I checked it around 3:30 and noticed the temp had dropped below 100 degrees. The fire was out and the burn pot was filled with unburned pellets. The fan was still running, but I went ahead and turned the cooker off and I'm currently finishing the butt in the oven.
I always clean/vacuum out the burn pot after every cook and the temp today was in the high 50's with next to no wind. This was my first time using Pit Boss brand pellets as I usually use Lumberjack's 100% hickory. I'm really stumped on this one. Any ideas what could have caused this?
I always clean/vacuum out the burn pot after every cook and the temp today was in the high 50's with next to no wind. This was my first time using Pit Boss brand pellets as I usually use Lumberjack's 100% hickory. I'm really stumped on this one. Any ideas what could have caused this?
BKING!
is Blowin Smoke!
Smoked chicken legs on the Mak. Smoked them for 30 minutes then bumped the temp up to 400 deg for a little over 30 more minutes to get them crispy.
They definitely got some smoke on them but not too much. They were great!
They definitely got some smoke on them but not too much. They were great!
Last edited:
gtsum
Babbling Farker
- Joined
- Aug 30, 2003
- Location
- Richmond...
Looks good! I also like to see someone else using similar fine china as I do!
Memphis Elite
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Memphis Elite
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
rwalters
Quintessential Chatty Farker
rwalters
Quintessential Chatty Farker
Not sure, but hopefully it was just a flukey thing. If this was your first time with PB pellets perhaps they just produce to much ash. Sounds like you done low n slows with LJ with not issue? I have never had issues with LJ pellets.
I had this happen twice with my PitBoss 820. I believe what happened was a tunnel had formed in the pellets, and let the auger run with nothing in it. The igniter rod is out, so by time the pellets fell back down into the auger, they were hitting the pot and didn't have any fire left to burn them. It kept cranking fuel at it in an attempt to bring the temps back up.
At least, that's how they explained it to me when I called tech support.
Did You do a proper preheating of your grill? Always preheat your grill for at least 20-30 mins at 300* degrees on warm days and at 350* degrees on cold days... Also, what P-Setting was your grill set to? The higher the P number like P6-P7 the greater the smoke output, but also the greater the chance of a flameout.. I never use P6 or P7. Factor Default is P4. At 50-40* degree outside temps, I would set the P-Setting at P3 along with a proper preheating. Once your grills temp is stable at the preheating temp and has ran for the 20-30 mins, then You can set your grill to your desired temp and you shouldn’t have anymore flameouts. Also a few more tips... Some pellet brands have more sawdust in their bags then others. You don’t want your hopper full of sawdust.. I’ve never had a problem with PB Pellets, but I like Lumberjack Pellets flavor a little more. I’ve found that Lumberjack Pellets put out a bit more ash then the Pit Boss pellets.. I always Shop-Vac my burn pot and I make sure the igniter rod is clean of any excess debris and buildup. I hope the tips help and Good luck.
PB Austin XL in SoCal and Always... Semper Fi
pjtexas1
somebody shut me the fark up.
^^^this. I forget this cooker requires preheating.
Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
Cabin Fever
Full Fledged Farker
- Joined
- Jun 23, 2011
- Location
- Orange, VA
Thanks for the input so far guys. I always let my cooker preheat for about 20 minutes before throwing the meat on and changing to desired temp. I noticed these hickory PB pellets have a lot of ash while my bags of Lumberjack 100% hickory had little to none. Not sure if that has anything to do with my flame out. Also, after finishing the butt in the oven, it doesn't smell or taste anything like the butts I've done in the past with Lumberjack hickory. It's a lighter slightly off putting taste that's hard to describe. Meanwhile the butts smoked using Lumberjack more or less taste like they were off a stick burner. 
edit - I always keep my P setting at the default 4
edit - I always keep my P setting at the default 4
Thanks for the input so far guys. I always let my cooker preheat for about 20 minutes before throwing the meat on and changing to desired temp. I noticed these hickory PB pellets have a lot of ash while my bags of Lumberjack 100% hickory had little to none. Not sure if that has anything to do with my flame out. Also, after finishing the butt in the oven, it doesn't smell or taste anything like the butts I've done in the past with Lumberjack hickory. It's a lighter slightly off putting taste that's hard to describe. Meanwhile the butts smoked using Lumberjack more or less taste like they were off a stick burner.
edit - I always keep my P setting at the default 4
When the outside temps drop, it’s best to drop your P-Settings as well. Your grill will put out a little less smoke, but it will burn the pellets at a quicker pace, thus preventing a flame out. P3-P2 are good settings when you’re cooking at below 50-40* degrees. Keep an eye on the pellets in the hopper to ensure there is no disruption in the flow of the pellets. That can happen on a long cook. Keep the hopper full and never less then half full. At least until you’re sure there’s no disruption in the pellet flow from the hopper through the Auger tube. There’s always a learning curve with every new grill. I think everything will be alright on your next cook.. Funny you mention stick burner.. I use a stick burning heat diffuser in my Austin XL, so I enjoy the best of both worlds...
PB Austin XL in SoCal and Always... Semper Fi
Smoking Cajun
Full Fledged Farker
I find that PB pellets generate a lot more ash than the B&B pellets, and I get larger temperature swings.
Cabin Fever
Full Fledged Farker
- Joined
- Jun 23, 2011
- Location
- Orange, VA
Sorry for the late reply guys. I did a test burn on the tailgater last night once again using the PB hickory pellets with no meat for about 6 hours and I didn't have any problems. Outside temp dipped into the low-mid 40's and it was a little windy, but the tailgater had no issue keeping the temp +/- 25 degrees of the 225 set point. I even set it to 300 for an hour and it ran fine.
Hopefully that last cook was just a fluke. I must say though, I'm REALLY disappointed in the PB hickory pellets. On a scale of 1-10 the smoke flavor was maybe a 2. Anyone else find this to be true? Would it even be worth it to try their other flavors of pellets? If their hickory is this weak I could only imagine how weak/subtle of a flavor their fruit blends would impart. Anyone have any luck with their competition blend?
Hopefully that last cook was just a fluke. I must say though, I'm REALLY disappointed in the PB hickory pellets. On a scale of 1-10 the smoke flavor was maybe a 2. Anyone else find this to be true? Would it even be worth it to try their other flavors of pellets? If their hickory is this weak I could only imagine how weak/subtle of a flavor their fruit blends would impart. Anyone have any luck with their competition blend?
- Joined
- Jan 3, 2014
- Location
- Detroit...
biggest issue with pause delay controllers seems to be dust. tunneling seems like another pit boss issue, it the flat spot in the hopper. I suggest a remote therm with an alarm for low and high temps in case of failure.
I trust my drum with 2 intakes open as set and forget way more than my pit boss.....by far
I trust my drum with 2 intakes open as set and forget way more than my pit boss.....by far
I’ve found that the PB Pellets are ok... They are on the bargain level as far as price and flavor.. I’ve had better results using Lumberjack Brand Pellets or those that are 100% wood type and not just flavored wood pellets like Traeger and Pit Boss. If You can, try some Lumberjack brand pellets and run the Smoke Mode first after you’ve preheated your grill. The lower the grills temp, the more smoke and more smoke flavor it will produce. Anything above 250* degrees and the flavor profile will be much lighter. Also, I’ve always found that all pellet brands will have some sawdust in their bags, some more then others. It’s always wise to check before You start pouring the pellets into the hopper. A firebox full of sawdust is never good. Your PB Tailgater has only a 5.lb hopper capacity, so it’s best to keep it full and after 4-5 hours, check it to make sure it’s flowing properly. Check for dead spots in your hopper, if need be, smooth it out or just add some more pellets to the hopper and the pellets will keep flowing.
Good luck
PB Austin XL in SoCal and Always... Semper Fi
KevinJ
somebody shut me the fark up.
- Joined
- Jul 9, 2015
- Location
- Pensacol...
MAKtion BSRs
rwalters
Quintessential Chatty Farker
MAKtion BSRs
If that money shot ain’t photoshopped, you my friend are the BSR whisperer! Crazy thing is... the pic appears legit... lol. RESPECT! [emoji1306][emoji106]
qnbiker
is Blowin Smoke!
I've been trying a lot of pellet brands since I got my GMG DB. I really like Cookinpellets and Lumberjack, but both are almost $1/lb. in my area. I buy Kingsford Blue Bag during the Labor Day and Memorial Day sales for $.25/lb. Not comparing the two, but is there a traditional time and place (Labor Day, HD for briquettes) to find pellets on sale? I like to buy in bulk and have around 400lbs. of charcoal in my garage. I used to use 500lb/yr. but since I got my Daniel Boone, I think that should last me a while as I'm burning a lot of pellets instead. Would like to stack some bags of pellets beside the charcoal stack.
If you can't find them locally, this is probably your best bet, for a good price.
https://bbqpelletsonline.com/index.php
