Huge Temperature Variance

[Les]

Hello,
I’m a new member to the Pit Boss family and wanted to see if it’s common for the temperature reading from the digital monitor be about 95 degrees (lower) than from the lid thermometer. See pics attached

FYI... I have the PS 1100 and this was my initial burn.

Thanks in advance for the assist.

 

[primeone]

Welcome to the forum Les! I haven't seen that, hopefully someone else can chime in that has that model.

 

[Les]

Welcome to the forum Les! I haven't seen that, hopefully someone else can chime in that has that model.

Thanks for having me. Hopefully someone has experienced the same and can advise.

 

[MikeInFla]

My PB Pellet grill (I think it is an older 340) has huge swings, or what I thought was huge swings. I don't have the lid thermometer (again and older model). But sometimes my digital would be set to 225 and read 400. Then jump to 325. Then jump to 380 and back to 400 again then back down to 325. All over the place. So I put a probe on the grate (a digital probe) and it said 225 right where the temp was set. Not sure why my PB temp probe was doing that but I cleaned it off and it did the same thing. It doesn't always do it, just sometimes but I have learned not to trust it. My external thermometer comes with a "clip" that goes between the grates so the probe doesn't actually sit on the grate but gives a reading. Like i said, when my pellet grill is set at 225 it will be very close and much closer than the digital board. Chugod Thermometer on Amazon

As for my new Series 3, it doesn't swing much at all, no more than 10-15 degrees and stays on target much better.

In your case it could just be simple science. Heat rises. The Pit Boss thermometer is right near the grate while the analog/lid thermometer is on top where the heat rises. Perhaps give PB customer service a call, they are very helpful but sometimes you can be on hold 30-45 min. The last 2 times I called I was only on hold for no longer than 10 minutes.

 

[Les]

My PB Pellet grill (I think it is an older 340) has huge swings, or what I thought was huge swings. I don't have the lid thermometer (again and older model). But sometimes my digital would be set to 225 and read 400. Then jump to 325. Then jump to 380 and back to 400 again then back down to 325. All over the place. So I put a probe on the grate (a digital probe) and it said 225 right where the temp was set. Not sure why my PB temp probe was doing that but I cleaned it off and it did the same thing. It doesn't always do it, just sometimes but I have learned not to trust it. My external thermometer comes with a "clip" that goes between the grates so the probe doesn't actually sit on the grate but gives a reading. Like i said, when my pellet grill is set at 225 it will be very close and much closer than the digital board. Chugod Thermometer on Amazon

As for my new Series 3, it doesn't swing much at all, no more than 10-15 degrees and stays on target much better.

In your case it could just be simple science. Heat rises. The Pit Boss thermometer is right near the grate while the analog/lid thermometer is on top where the heat rises. Perhaps give PB customer service a call, they are very helpful but sometimes you can be on hold 30-45 min. The last 2 times I called I was only on hold for no longer than 10 minutes.

Thanks! Gonna do my first cook today and will see if it replicates. If so, then I’m definitely gonna call PB.

 

[MikeInFla]

Hmmm... I just did a search on YT and the temps on this one seem to be pretty close on the control panel, the lid thermometer and the probes. If you look closely you can see those clips I was talking about on his probes. I suggest trying to find one of these and put a probe on the grate and one in your meat. Ever since I did that I stopped worrying about temp swings.

 

[Les]

Hmmm... I just did a search on YT and the temps on this one seem to be pretty close on the control panel, the lid thermometer and the probes. If you look closely you can see those clips I was talking about on his probes. I suggest trying to find one of these and put a probe on the grate and one in your meat. Ever since I did that I stopped worrying about temp swings.

Thanks Mike. I’m gonna do as suggested and test with several probes. I think the modification mentioned in the video might also help do the trick. Thanks again!

 

[Beamerism101]

Les,

I have an 820D and have had the same
Experience. I use external probes, have done all the tips and tricks, taken the whole thing apart and never found the grill cookable. It fluctuates to 375 routinely when set at 225. Only step left is to buy after market PID kit which is half the cost of what I paid. I finally stuck the grill on my back porch because it looks nice, but have stopped smoking on it at this point, just use it as a regular grill. Hope you fix yours.

 

[Les]

Wow...Sorry to hear that. I actually found a YT video that explained the same problem but noted that the temps came together better when actually smoking around the 225-250 mark so I did that yesterday and they were all just about in sync. Naturally I had temp swings but not as much as I did before. I seriously contemplated getting an Old Country BBQ Pecos offset smoker but opted to go with my first pellet smoker this time around. I’m happy with the decision (for now) and can’t wait until next week when I smoke my first butt on it. Thanks for the reply and KEEP GRILLING & CHILLING ?

 

[MikeInFla]

I used to find myself worrying about swings all the time. To the point I would sit by my Pit Boss pellet grill for 8 solid hours during a cook and watch the temps. Everything I have ever cooked on it has turned out awesome. So you know what I did? I stopped worrying about temp swings. I still keep an eye on it but not near as much. And my new Copperhead vertical smoker seems to keep temps better than the pellet grill but I will continue to use both. The vertical for slower cooks and the pellet grill for burgers, steaks and anything else I want in a hurry. I'll just crank up the temp. But even if I decided to use the grill for slower smokes I am confident everything would turn out fine even with the swings. I clean my temp probe off about every three cooks. The vertical cooker seems to have been updated as the temp probe looks like it has a shield on it to keep drippings off.

 

[Les]

You nailed it ??? cause that’s exactly where I’m at with it. I’m keeping an eye on it but I’m not losing any sleep over it. Thanks again for the advice! ?

 

[Daniel Warner]

Hey Les,
I just bought the pro series 1100 yesterday and did my burn in today. I had the same issue as your pictures. Let me ask did u have your sear guard open or closed when u did your burn in? I like didn’t realize and had mine open for about 20mins or so before closing so I’m wondering if it was that flame that caused my built in thermometer to read so high ??‍

 

[Les]

Hey Les,
I just bought the pro series 1100 yesterday and did my burn in today. I had the same issue as your pictures. Let me ask did u have your sear guard open or closed when u did your burn in? I like didn’t realize and had mine open for about 20mins or so before closing so I’m wondering if it was that flame that caused my built in thermometer to read so high ??‍

Great question. I had mine closed after the initial setup. I tested it again the next day except this time adding a probe near the stack and while the digital temp and the hood temp were in sync, the probe temp near the stack was still a lot higher, and again that’s with the flame vent closed. Now with that being said, I’ve noticed going forward that my temps seem to be better in line when the temp setting is low (no higher than 225-250), but above that and it has the potential to be all over the place. My advice is to stay true to the bbq code and keep it low & slow when temps are important. Thanks for the reply!

 

[Daniel Warner]

Thanks Les for the reply. Yes I’ve always cooked low n slow and only think my temp will go higher to sear steaks or maybe smoke a turkey.
thanks again

 

[Beamerism101]

Update. Bought the SmokeDaddy PID for my 820D. Temp still way off. Set at 225 the temp was 260-270. Set at 175 and it was 210-220. It may seem petty but I got a pellet smoker to set it and forget it for long cooks. I’m now way to deep financially into this bum grill. I know I could just do the math, but that’s not what I’m paying for.