Lexington Temp Control

Barthur

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I just got a new Lexington and had temp control trouble with it right away. I wanted to smoke a biscuit at 225 and the grill just wouldn't get there. I kept turning it up and once I turned to 300 deg it worked fine. I turned it back down and it wouldn't hold temp.

I explained to them that the controller was regestering the temps between 200 and 250 but wouldn't regulate to them. I also told them that I suspected that they had a software problem.

They sent me a new controller and I had the exact same trouble.

I decided to look a little deeper and this is what I found. I used a volt meter to tell me when the auger was on and off. I used a stopwatch to determine the time. The method isn't perfect but these are my results.
1. There is a 20 second loop that the controller uses to control the auger.

2. At 200 deg the auger was on about 2.75 sec and off for 17.25 seconds.

3. At 225 deg the auger was on about 2.75 seconds and off for 17.25 seconds

4. At 250 deg the auger was on for about 3 seconds and off for 17 seconds.

5. As soon as I turned it to 300 degrees the PID started to work. It ramped up to 5.5 seconds, then over several cycles it was running 8 seconds out of 20. It then ramped down as it approached the set point. That is the way I expected it to work.

I explained this to a customer service supervisor, he agreed to discuss this with the engineers. They came back and told me that they were not going to modify the software or the board to fix the problem.

So that said, how do you get a message to the company owner to tell him that he is selling a product that doesn't work as advertised, (won't hold temp) because the engineers don't want to address the issue.

I would even gladly fix the software for them (I am a retired programmer) if they were willing to work with me.

I really like the size of the grill but want the controller to actually control.

As I see in the forum this is a very common complaint.

May 12, 2021
I thought that this was supposed to be where you got help. So far 12 days and no reply.
 
Last edited:
I just got a new Lexington and had temp control trouble with it right away. I wanted to smoke a biscuit at 225 and the grill just wouldn't get there. I kept turning it up and once I turned to 300 deg it worked fine. I turned it back down and it wouldn't hold temp.

I explained to them that the controller was regestering the temps between 200 and 250 but wouldn't regulate to them. I also told them that I suspected that they had a software problem.

They sent me a new controller and I had the exact same trouble.

I decided to look a little deeper and this is what I found. I used a volt meter to tell me when the auger was on and off. I used a stopwatch to determine the time. The method isn't perfect but these are my results.
1. There is a 20 second loop that the controller uses to control the auger.

2. At 200 deg the auger was on about 2.75 sec and off for 17.25 seconds.

3. At 225 deg the auger was on about 2.75 seconds and off for 17.25 seconds

4. At 250 deg the auger was on for about 3 seconds and off for 17 seconds.

5. As soon as I turned it to 300 degrees the PID started to work. It ramped up to 5.5 seconds, then over several cycles it was running 8 seconds out of 20. It then ramped down as it approached the set point. That is the way I expected it to work.

I explained this to a customer service supervisor, he agreed to discuss this with the engineers. They came back and told me that they were not going to modify the software or the board to fix the problem.

So that said, how do you get a message to the company owner to tell him that he is selling a product that doesn't work as advertised, (won't hold temp) because the engineers don't want to address the issue.

I would even gladly fix the software for them (I am a retired programmer) if they were willing to work with me.

I really like the size of the grill but want the controller to actually control.

As I see in the forum this is a very common complaint.

May 12, 2021
I thought that this was supposed to be where you got help. So far 12 days and no reply.
I have the same issues I'm frustrated with pitboss
 
Anyone here who owns a Lexington want to chime in? I don't have this model so I'm unsure. Give them a call 877.303.3134
 
Anyone here who owns a Lexington want to chime in? I don't have this model so I'm unsure. Give them a call 877.303.3134
I've been on the phone with Pitt boss more times than I can count they have sent me 2 controllers and 2 probes and it's still not right.
 
No idea since I don't have that model. I believe there are some Lexington owners here maybe one will reply.
 
Anyone here who owns a Lexington want to chime in? I don't have this model so I'm unsure. Give them a call 877.303.3134
I have a Lexington….when smoking I pre-heat at 350 for about 20 minutes. The I turn it down to 250 and it maintains the temp at 250. I always use a water pan.
 
Hurray! I just installed the 3rd controller and it seems to be working correctly! I started it up as normal and this time when I turned it up to 225, it actually raised the temp as expected it seemed to be stalled at 212 but that is way better then 185. It was a little low but after putting it up to 250 the temp crawled to 225, then when I turned it down to 225 (after an hour or so) it is holding temp st 235 unlike the previous two controllers. So yeah pitboss. It took a while, but it works as expected. I am very happy.
 
Hurray! I just installed the 3rd controller and it seems to be working correctly! I started it up as normal and this time when I turned it up to 225, it actually raised the temp as expected it seemed to be stalled at 212 but that is way better then 185. It was a little low but after putting it up to 250 the temp crawled to 225, then when I turned it down to 225 (after an hour or so) it is holding temp st 235 unlike the previous two controllers. So yeah pitboss. It took a while, but it works as expected. I am very happy.
I've been on the phone with Pitt boss more times than I can count they have sent me 2 controllers and 2 probes and it's still not right.
I just spoke with Pitboss customer service and as it turns out, they had a bunch of controllers that came in that had software problems. They have figured out which ones that were problematic, and isolated them. The replacement units that they are now shipping out work correctly. I suggest you call them explain the problem and get another new controller. It worked for me!
.
 
I just spoke with Pitboss customer service and as it turns out, they had a bunch of controllers that came in that had software problems. They have figured out which ones that were problematic, and isolated them. The replacement units that they are now shipping out work correctly. I suggest you call them explain the problem and get another new controller. It worked for me!
.
Did you happen to get a model number of the new controller? I'm having the same issues and the model of the replacement controller they are sending me is (AC03P17-340-PID). Was wanting to know if you got the same one. Thanks.
 
Did you happen to get a model number of the new controller? I'm having the same issues and the model of the replacement controller they are sending me is (AC03P17-340-PID). Was wanting to know if you got the same one. Thanks.
Sorry, I just have the item number which is 80112 that was on my shipping notice.
 
I just spoke with Pitboss customer service and as it turns out, they had a bunch of controllers that came in that had software problems. They have figured out which ones that were problematic, and isolated them. The replacement units that they are now shipping out work correctly. I suggest you call them explain the problem and get another new controller. It worked for me!
.
 
I just got a new Lexington and had temp control trouble with it right away. I wanted to smoke a biscuit at 225 and the grill just wouldn't get there. I kept turning it up and once I turned to 300 deg it worked fine. I turned it back down and it wouldn't hold temp.

I explained to them that the controller was regestering the temps between 200 and 250 but wouldn't regulate to them. I also told them that I suspected that they had a software problem.

They sent me a new controller and I had the exact same trouble.

I decided to look a little deeper and this is what I found. I used a volt meter to tell me when the auger was on and off. I used a stopwatch to determine the time. The method isn't perfect but these are my results.
1. There is a 20 second loop that the controller uses to control the auger.

2. At 200 deg the auger was on about 2.75 sec and off for 17.25 seconds.

3. At 225 deg the auger was on about 2.75 seconds and off for 17.25 seconds

4. At 250 deg the auger was on for about 3 seconds and off for 17 seconds.

5. As soon as I turned it to 300 degrees the PID started to work. It ramped up to 5.5 seconds, then over several cycles it was running 8 seconds out of 20. It then ramped down as it approached the set point. That is the way I expected it to work.

I explained this to a customer service supervisor, he agreed to discuss this with the engineers. They came back and told me that they were not going to modify the software or the board to fix the problem.

So that said, how do you get a message to the company owner to tell him that he is selling a product that doesn't work as advertised, (won't hold temp) because the engineers don't want to address the issue.

I would even gladly fix the software for them (I am a retired programmer) if they were willing to work with me.

I really like the size of the grill but want the controller to actually control.

As I see in the forum this is a very common complaint.

May 12, 2021
I thought that this was supposed to be where you got help. So far 12 days and no reply.
My Pit Boss Lexington 540 is brand new and 30 minutes from starting it I got an Err code. I’m a noob so I don’t know wtf to do. My access panel bolts are put on so f ing tight I’m just stripping the bolts. I’m so fed up with this.
 
My Pit Boss Lexington 540 is brand new and 30 minutes from starting it I got an Err code. I’m a noob so I don’t know wtf to do. My access panel bolts are put on so f ing tight I’m just stripping the bolts. I’m so fed up with this.
Hi,
Yeah you are right about the bolts, I had trouble with mine too. Fortunately for me they were both Straight and Phillips, I ended up using a good sharp straight slot to get them loose, and when I tightened them back up, I didnt tighten them up nearly as tight. The really thin heads on the soft bolts they use are really bad. I hope you can get them out.
 
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