PB820D - Fire Burning in Auger Tube

[TrishThaDish]

I am officially at a point where I don't know what else to do with my Pitboss Pellet Grill. There have been many problems with it, stemming from the auger seeming to get clogged. We took it apart many times & cleaned out the auger tube, which would get the unit back up in running for a short while. We then replaced the Control Panel, the fuses, the temperature probe & wire and today we replaced the motor, which finally got it back running BUT when it runs, the pellets catch fire before they drop, causing the pellets to burn in reverse back through the bucket and the unit starts blinking the temperature, which isn't even the met temperature.

Does anyone have any ideas on what we should do? This has been a hell of an ordeal & we just want our Pitboss back! I hope this wasn't confusing, I wanted to give as much detail as I could. Thanks!

 

[JD1]

Same Issue with Pellets catching n fire in tube and smoke kick back through hopper.... THorougly cleaned out - yet still happening.

 

[Mike From R.I.]

Time to call customer support 877 303 3134 option 2.

 

[HuntJ08]

I have the Lockhart.
If I ever notice smoke back-flowing thru the pellet box, then it is doing what yours is. (from my understanding).

FIX--I hit the Prime button for 10-15 seconds to push more "raw" pellets toward the burn cup, usually pushing out the burning pellets that started to burn in the tube.
RESULT-- temp raises up higher than what I want, so usually open lid to release excess heat.
Then it usually goes back to normal cooking..

 

[TrishThaDish]

Hm, I don't have a "prime" button, but I wonder if my "smoke" option is roughly the same. Maybe I could add some pellets to the cup as well. Going to try this later today.

 

[Dennis in FL]

I clogged my auger as well. Then I bought a screen and a bucket and got rid of the dust in the pellet bag. It has been fine ever since.

 

[06caurru]

I am officially at a point where I don't know what else to do with my Pitboss Pellet Grill. There have been many problems with it, stemming from the auger seeming to get clogged. We took it apart many times & cleaned out the auger tube, which would get the unit back up in running for a short while. We then replaced the Control Panel, the fuses, the temperature probe & wire and today we replaced the motor, which finally got it back running BUT when it runs, the pellets catch fire before they drop, causing the pellets to burn in reverse back through the bucket and the unit starts blinking the temperature, which isn't even the met temperature.

Does anyone have any ideas on what we should do? This has been a hell of an ordeal & we just want our Pitboss back! I hope this wasn't confusing, I wanted to give as much detail as I could. Thanks!

I had the same issues, and believe me, it was frustrating! Multiple calls/emails to customer service and nothing helped. One day, out of sheer curiosity and luck, if you will, I looked at the rain cap on the chimney. It was all the way down. Opened it up a bit, and haven’t had a clogged auger since. May or may not be the same issue…

 

[JerryM]

I am officially at a point where I don't know what else to do with my Pitboss Pellet Grill. There have been many problems with it, stemming from the auger seeming to get clogged. We took it apart many times & cleaned out the auger tube, which would get the unit back up in running for a short while. We then replaced the Control Panel, the fuses, the temperature probe & wire and today we replaced the motor, which finally got it back running BUT when it runs, the pellets catch fire before they drop, causing the pellets to burn in reverse back through the bucket and the unit starts blinking the temperature, which isn't even the met temperature.

Does anyone have any ideas on what we should do? This has been a hell of an ordeal & we just want our Pitboss back! I hope this wasn't confusing, I wanted to give as much detail as I could. Thanks!

What model do you have

 

[darrin]

I am officially at a point where I don't know what else to do with my Pitboss Pellet Grill. There have been many problems with it, stemming from the auger seeming to get clogged. We took it apart many times & cleaned out the auger tube, which would get the unit back up in running for a short while. We then replaced the Control Panel, the fuses, the temperature probe & wire and today we replaced the motor, which finally got it back running BUT when it runs, the pellets catch fire before they drop, causing the pellets to burn in reverse back through the bucket and the unit starts blinking the temperature, which isn't even the met temperature.

Does anyone have any ideas on what we should do? This has been a hell of an ordeal & we just want our Pitboss back! I hope this wasn't confusing, I wanted to give as much detail as I could. Than

Pretty much summarizes my pit boss experience. Mine never has worked right, it's a price of crap.

 

[pawpawjts]

I am officially at a point where I don't know what else to do with my Pitboss Pellet Grill. There have been many problems with it, stemming from the auger seeming to get clogged. We took it apart many times & cleaned out the auger tube, which would get the unit back up in running for a short while. We then replaced the Control Panel, the fuses, the temperature probe & wire and today we replaced the motor, which finally got it back running BUT when it runs, the pellets catch fire before they drop, causing the pellets to burn in reverse back through the bucket and the unit starts blinking the temperature, which isn't even the met temperature.

Does anyone have any ideas on what we should do? This has been a hell of an ordeal & we just want our Pitboss back! I hope this wasn't confusing, I wanted to give as much detail as I could. Thanks!

Mine did that. I have the Austin xl I started vacuuming thg e burning pot and it hasn't did it sense
Now if I cook burgers I'll do one more cook before vacuum
What happened on mine was the ashes built up which in turn put the burning pellets up higher and the fire ran the pellets into the tube. Sense I started vacuuming it's only did it just that once

 

[rewagner]

Had the same issue with my Lockhart. Found the fix somewhere on the internet. Turn down your temp below 200 or lower when your down cooking and let it cool down before you power off. From there it will be just the fan running to cool down. Once cooled down below 160 I unplug and no back burn.

 

[Amy]

I am officially at a point where I don't know what else to do with my Pitboss Pellet Grill. There have been many problems with it, stemming from the auger seeming to get clogged. We took it apart many times & cleaned out the auger tube, which would get the unit back up in running for a short while. We then replaced the Control Panel, the fuses, the temperature probe & wire and today we replaced the motor, which finally got it back running BUT when it runs, the pellets catch fire before they drop, causing the pellets to burn in reverse back through the bucket and the unit starts blinking the temperature, which isn't even the met temperature.

Does anyone have any ideas on what we should do? This has been a hell of an ordeal & we just want our Pitboss back! I hope this wasn't confusing, I wanted to give as much detail as I could. Thanks!

My Pit Boss caught on fire due to the many issues I had. If we hadn’t been home, our home would have caught on first as well. Called customer service and not only were they unhelpful, they were fairly flippant about the whole thing. Pit Boss only warranties parts. That’s it. They offered to send me a new control panel, since that melted and fell out of the unit. The pellet bin caught on fire as well and the back side was melted. Who in the world would ever use this unit again?!! I couldn’t believe they thought replacing the control panel would be safe! I talked to the people at Lowe’s (where I bought the unit) and they took it back!! I couldn’t believe how wonderful they were and I will never own another Pit Boss again.

 

[jaybirdvol]

I got a Brunswick in early January and have had the same problem. Three hopper fires in a brand new smoker. PB customer service is the only reason I kept it this long. I have replaced the temp probe and ignitor. PB was great about sending replacement parts and easy to follow instructions on installing them. At the end of day though this smoker is incredibly dangerous because the fire box is completely enclosed. If the fan stops working, The hopper is the only source of air flow for the fire. In the event it errors out or trips a breaker, you will have a fire in the hopper in a matter of minutes. Luckily I had seen reviews and knew the risk, so I always kept it away from my house and never filled the hopper very full. After months of battling, I officially returned it to Wal Mart today and am done. Feel incredibly frustrated and defeated. It was a beast when it worked, but if I am going to have to be on guard for fire fighting anway, I'll just use my wood offset.

 

[TrishThaDish]

What model do you have

PB820D​

 

[jaybirdvol]

My Pit Boss caught on fire due to the many issues I had. If we hadn’t been home, our home would have caught on first as well. Called customer service and not only were they unhelpful, they were fairly flippant about the whole thing. Pit Boss only warranties parts. That’s it. They offered to send me a new control panel, since that melted and fell out of the unit. The pellet bin caught on fire as well and the back side was melted. Who in the world would ever use this unit again?!! I couldn’t believe they thought replacing the control panel would be safe! I talked to the people at Lowe’s (where I bought the unit) and they took it back!! I couldn’t believe how wonderful they were and I will never own another Pit Boss again.

What model did you have@