Pit boss series 5 grate temp vs set temp

Bunznthighzbbq · May 18, 2020

Hi everyone, i own two of the pit boss models at the moment, the vertical 5 series and the pro 1100, I like using my vertical series for smoking because it performs better with indirect heat and gotta love the water pan.
My question is regarding the vertical one, I noticed that at the 225-275 setting I feel meat takes longer to cook than I would initially think so I placed a thermometer down on the middle grate and noticed it runs 50-75 degrees cooler on the grate than the temp dial , so at 225 the grate temp hovers around 15-175, it only starts to elevate towards the end of the cook, I think because the water pan had mostly fat at that point and retains the heat more.
Anyone notice this issue with the temps? I'm almost thinking about putting lava rocks down by the fire pit to help retain the heat better, or any other mods or tricks to help get the grate temp even with the digital one?

davew102 · Sep 28, 2020

I noticed a similar thing with yesterday's cook. I decided to put a probe at the meat/grill level and found it 30F lower than the set temp. Probably due to location of the internal probe on my Series 5 and maybe the water pan. Going for 225 at meat level, I raised the control to 250F and was closer to the 225F actual.

I was only doing a 45 minute smoke with several door openings, but will use a probe at food level on a longer cook to see if this is a short cook issue or same on longer smokes.

Rever · Sep 29, 2020

From my experience when you put Cold meat on the grate the temp is going to be much lower as the meat will drop the temp. This is why as the temp levels off later in the cook as the meat temp raises. I also replaced the high heat gasket around the door to maintain a better seal. My other feeling is the location of the RTD probe is closer to the firebox so it will be a bit higher too.

davew102 · Sep 29, 2020

Rever said:
From my experience when you put Cold meat on the grate the temp is going to be much lower as the meat will drop the temp. This is why as the temp levels off later in the cook as the meat temp raises. I also replaced the high heat gasket around the door to maintain a better seal. My other feeling is the location of the RTD probe is closer to the firebox so it will be a bit higher too.

Makes sense. I tried again last night and the remote probe was closer to the controller temp. My first experience must have been a situational thing. Seems all good now, but may use the remote probe more often to verify.

Rever · Sep 29, 2020

davew102 said:
Makes sense. I tried again last night and the remote probe was closer to the controller temp. My first experience must have been a situational thing. Seems all good now, but may use the remote probe more often to verify.

Yeah I always use my remote temp probe as it allows me to monitor it while away from the pit. Also allows me to graph the temp of the pit and meat. Glad it seems to be working better for you, I love my Pitboss Series 5 copperhead