Meathead Could you revisit the review for the Pit Boss 5-Series Wood Pellet Vertical Smoker Review. It was given a Gold Star rating here on Amazing Ribs. I bought it for that reason when I needed to replace my smoker. It's a good smoker when it works. The hopper design is so poor, the pellets create a bridge and won't feed down into the auger. The hopper is built in such a way, cleaning it is near impossible. The little door to empty the hopper will not allow you to get all the pellets out. Customer Service was of little help. It looks like I am stuck with an expensive patio ornament.
John "JR"
Minnesota/ United States of America
******************************************** Grills/Smokers/Fryers Big Green Egg (Large) X3
Blackstone 36" Outdoor Griddle 4-Burner
Burch Barrel V-1 Karubeque C-60 Kamado Joe Jr. (Black) Lodge L410 Hibachi Pit Barrel Cooker Pit Barrel Cooker 2.0
Pit Barrel PBX
R&V Works FF2-R-ST 4-Gallon Fryer *******************************************. Thermometers
FireBoard (Base Package)
Thermoworks ThermaPen (Red)
Thermoworks MK4 (Orange)
********************************* Accessories Big Green Egg Plate Setter
Benzomatic TS800 High Temp Torch X 2 Bayou Classic 44 qt Stainless Stock Pot
Bayou Classic 35K BTU Burner Eggspander Kit X2 Finex Cat Iron Line FireBoard Drive Lots and Lots of Griswold Cast Iron Grill Grates Joule Water Circulator
KBQ Fire Grate Kick Ash Basket (KAB) X4 Lots of Lodge Cast Iron Husky 6 Drawer BBQ Equipment Cabinet Large Vortex Marlin 1894 .44 Magnum Marquette Castings No. 13 (First Run) Smithey No. 12 Smokeware Chimney Cap X 3 Stargazer No.10, 12 ******************************** Fuel FOGO Priemium Lump Charcoal Kingsford Blue and White B&B Charcoal Apple, Cherry & Oak Log splits for the C-60 ************************************************* Cutlery Buck 119 Special
Cuda 7' Fillet Knife Dexter 12" Brisket Sword Global Shun Wusthof ********** Next Major Purchase Lone Star Grillz 24 X 48 Offset
sthomasaz I did the review on that smoker.........One thing to keep in mind is that the Gold-Star rating factors in VALUE. At the $500 price point, you kind of get what you pay for, unfortunately. "the Pit Boss 5-Series is built pretty solid for the money."
It sounds like your issue is more about the hopper design and not over all build quality. That is a good thing. We can try to work through the hopper issue. The pellet bridging can be an issue on many pellet smokers. Even though I never had any issues with the pellets bridging when I was using this unit during my review; I know these things can and do occur.
Just a few questions that might help you work through some of these issues.......What conditions were you cooking in? Did you remove the pellets after you cooked? Where was the bridge occurring in the hopper? Humidity, pellet condition and the amount of sawdust in the hopper can all cause bridging in the hopper.
How often were you checking on the unit while cooking? Sometimes you can spot the bridge and fix the issue before it becomes to big of a problem. Many people want true "set and Forget" but truth be told, no unit is perfectly "set and forget" They need to be monitored from time to time.
I know cleaning out these hoppers can be a pain. One trick, that I used was a shop vac or vacuum to get the last of the pallets out of the unit.
I know Pit Boss has changed hands recently and their customer service as of late, is not great.. Things are not like they used to be when it comes to these large brands and their customer service.
I will do what I can to help you resolve the issue since it sounds like Pit Boss is not holding up their end of the deal.
Don't forget a lot of bridging also happens with the budget cookers because they designed their auger around small diameter and length pellets. So pellet choice could be an issue too.
Thanks for the responeses!. Funny enough, I'm using Pit Boss pellets. I live in Az so humidity isn't really an issue. When the hopper is full of pellets There is no real way for me to see if there is a bridge happening. I have emptied the hopper a few times trying to figure out the problem. I've only had it a couple of months.
Pit Boss about a month ago said that I needed to keep the hopper full to keep the bridging from happening. That's 40-50 pounds of pellets. Am I supposed to empty it every time I use it? Though, I have had it bridge just from adding pellets to the hopper.
that's wild if their own pellets are doing it, does it have the stupid safety thing and the stick? If so lots of people remove that (just remember not to stick your finger near a moving auger). If not, I would guess making an H shape with a coat hanger or sticks so the center of the H was over the top center of the auger by no more than half the thickness of a pellet or so (make sure weight of pellets can't make it sag and touch auger) might keep pellets from bridging.
Yes, you should empty and vacuum it hopper and auger each time. I use a 5-gallon bucket to catch the extra pellets. Although being in AZ, it really should not be an issue.
John "JR"
Minnesota/ United States of America
******************************************** Grills/Smokers/Fryers Big Green Egg (Large) X3
Blackstone 36" Outdoor Griddle 4-Burner
Burch Barrel V-1 Karubeque C-60 Kamado Joe Jr. (Black) Lodge L410 Hibachi Pit Barrel Cooker Pit Barrel Cooker 2.0
Pit Barrel PBX
R&V Works FF2-R-ST 4-Gallon Fryer *******************************************. Thermometers
FireBoard (Base Package)
Thermoworks ThermaPen (Red)
Thermoworks MK4 (Orange)
********************************* Accessories Big Green Egg Plate Setter
Benzomatic TS800 High Temp Torch X 2 Bayou Classic 44 qt Stainless Stock Pot
Bayou Classic 35K BTU Burner Eggspander Kit X2 Finex Cat Iron Line FireBoard Drive Lots and Lots of Griswold Cast Iron Grill Grates Joule Water Circulator
KBQ Fire Grate Kick Ash Basket (KAB) X4 Lots of Lodge Cast Iron Husky 6 Drawer BBQ Equipment Cabinet Large Vortex Marlin 1894 .44 Magnum Marquette Castings No. 13 (First Run) Smithey No. 12 Smokeware Chimney Cap X 3 Stargazer No.10, 12 ******************************** Fuel FOGO Priemium Lump Charcoal Kingsford Blue and White B&B Charcoal Apple, Cherry & Oak Log splits for the C-60 ************************************************* Cutlery Buck 119 Special
Cuda 7' Fillet Knife Dexter 12" Brisket Sword Global Shun Wusthof ********** Next Major Purchase Lone Star Grillz 24 X 48 Offset
Going against their advise for a second, I would not load a whole 50 lb bag of pellets in the hopper if you do not need too. I understand they want head pressure to prevent the bridge, but we know it is already happening with a full bag. From where we are now, loading all of those pellets in the hopper makes it hard to see where the problem is happening. I would put maybe1/4 of a bag in the hopper and then monitor the smoker closely. Then see if it happens. You should be able to tell when you have a bridge happening by the fact that the pit is not maintaining temps. Essentially, you want to cause the bridge to happen so you can see what is causing the problem. Next cook, try more pellets and see what happens. It might be the sawdust from the pellets in the bag, it could be sawdust built up in the auger or the bottom of the hopper. Sometimes we just need trial and error to trouble shoot these issues.
It sounds like you have done your homework and tried most things but one thing to make sure you are doing is keeping that auger clean between cooks. Vacuum it out after each cook. I use a small Milwaukee shop vac with a stem to reach down into the hopper to clean it out.
I wish I still had the unit so I could look at the bottom of the hopper where the pellets feed into the auger system. If you can, snap a few pictures like the one below, only without the pellets in the hopper. I might be able to come up with some ideas for you. As ItsAllGoneToTheDogs mentioned in his comment above, some of these rigs have smaller auger openings to allow pellets to fall into the auger. This might be a design flaw that I missed in my review as it never occurred while I was testing the unit. Unfortunately, we can't catch every single draw back all the time.
Even trying a different pellet might help too. But I would not switch until you can catch where and when the bridge is happening.
John "JR"
Minnesota/ United States of America
******************************************** Grills/Smokers/Fryers Big Green Egg (Large) X3
Blackstone 36" Outdoor Griddle 4-Burner
Burch Barrel V-1 Karubeque C-60 Kamado Joe Jr. (Black) Lodge L410 Hibachi Pit Barrel Cooker Pit Barrel Cooker 2.0
Pit Barrel PBX
R&V Works FF2-R-ST 4-Gallon Fryer *******************************************. Thermometers
FireBoard (Base Package)
Thermoworks ThermaPen (Red)
Thermoworks MK4 (Orange)
********************************* Accessories Big Green Egg Plate Setter
Benzomatic TS800 High Temp Torch X 2 Bayou Classic 44 qt Stainless Stock Pot
Bayou Classic 35K BTU Burner Eggspander Kit X2 Finex Cat Iron Line FireBoard Drive Lots and Lots of Griswold Cast Iron Grill Grates Joule Water Circulator
KBQ Fire Grate Kick Ash Basket (KAB) X4 Lots of Lodge Cast Iron Husky 6 Drawer BBQ Equipment Cabinet Large Vortex Marlin 1894 .44 Magnum Marquette Castings No. 13 (First Run) Smithey No. 12 Smokeware Chimney Cap X 3 Stargazer No.10, 12 ******************************** Fuel FOGO Priemium Lump Charcoal Kingsford Blue and White B&B Charcoal Apple, Cherry & Oak Log splits for the C-60 ************************************************* Cutlery Buck 119 Special
Cuda 7' Fillet Knife Dexter 12" Brisket Sword Global Shun Wusthof ********** Next Major Purchase Lone Star Grillz 24 X 48 Offset
Never had a problem with Traeger Pellets. Had problems with jamming when using Pit Boss pellets bought at Walmart.
Traeger with WFI seems to be almost "set it and forget it". As in overnight cooks, and others.
Longer pellets are more likely to bridge than shorter ones. At least that is my experience.
Thanks for the input! I have never used the PB pellets, I would if that could be the issue here. It's funny I am doing another review right now on a PB Pellet rig and I have not had any issues using Kirkland pellets.
I pretty much used Pit Boss pellets exclusively in my Blazen Grill Works and now in my Lone Star Grillz without any issues. It has probably been 5+ years since I used anything else.
MAK 2 Star pellet
Big Green Egg
Fuego gasser
Pitboss ceramic griddle
Eastman Outdoors wok burner
Ooni 16 pizza oven
Cast iron chimenea with pizza steel
Breeo smokeless fire pit, with Titan rotisserie and Titan Santa Maria style adjustable grate
Oklahoma Joe Bronco
I have had a MAK since about 2018. Never any bridging. BUT, early on I stored 4 bags of pellets in their original unopened plastic bags on our covered 2nd story deck. Summer, south central Washington state, 6 or so inches of precipitation/year, low humidity. The bottom 2 bags apparently absorbed moisture. Fed into hopper all right, but disintegrated into sawdust in the augur. Pain in the rear to clean out,
Since then, store bags in garage, no more problems. There are always pellets in the hopper, on that same deck, year round; no problems. I still don't really understand what happened.
LSG Adjustable Grill/Smoker, MAK Pellet Grill, Large BGE with Several Attachments from the Ceramic Grill Store, Weber Genesis E335 Gasser, Cast Iron Pans & Griddle, Grill Grates, Mostly Thermoworks Thermometers, Anova SV Stick, BBQ Guru Controller and Fan
Over the past 20 years or so I've had a Traeger, a Memphis, and now a MAK Pellet Pellet Grill. I've used several brands of pellets. I can't remember ever having a pellet bridge. Most of the time though I just fill the hopper about half full. As I read the OP from sthomasaz my mind went to the amount of pellets in the hopper or the brand of pellets as some are larger or smaller than others. This is just my 2 cents.
The MAK, like the LSG and some others has a pretty robust auger that can chomp any pellet. I've had a bridge one time and that was just dumb luck with a bag if pellets that had a couple 3+" long pellets.
Hi, sthomasaz, sorry you're in pellet purgatory! One thing I can suggest is tossing the bag of pellets on concrete several times to break up any long pellets. Long pellets cause bridges. It's always a good idea to burn your cooker until pellets are thru the auger (good time to clean grates, etc.).
Large Big Green Egg, Weber Performer Deluxe, Weber Smokey Joe Silver, Fireboard Drive, 3 DigiQs, lots of Thermapens, and too much other stuff to mention.
My experience with Pit Boss ceramic top griddles is that the company is fine with a high percentage of manufacturing defects and poor quality. They seem to have made the business decision that it is cheaper to address any issues as they come up, under warranty, than it is to improve their manufacturing process, product, and quality.
So if you get a good one, it’s good forever. If you don’t, you’re okay as long as it’s under warranty. Except for the hassles and the parts backups and delays.
My only experience with pellet smokers is with a little 10-12 year old Traeger Tailgater with original cover - the cover is brittle - that was given to me in 2023. I live in a very humid environment (Texas Gulf Coast) and I have had zero pellet feeding problems. I leave the pellets in the hopper between cooks; I've never cleaned them out after use. I've used both Traeger and Kirkland pellets. Maybe I'm lucky - I've read numerous posts on here about pellet feeding problems.
Over the past 20 years or so I've had a Traeger, a Memphis, and now a MAK Pellet Pellet Grill. I've used several brands of pellets. I can't remember ever having a pellet bridge. Most of the time though I just fill the hopper about half full. As I read the OP from sthomasaz my mind went to the amount of pellets in the hopper or the brand of pellets as some are larger or smaller than others. This is just my 2 cents.
I was a bit stunned when Pit Boss support told me I needed to keep 50 pounds of pellets in it to keep it working properly.
Sorry about your luck. I've been a pellet head since 2017 with a different brand never had a bridge or ever removed pellets. Good luck. Perhaps, Spinaker needs to revise his ranking. Now that we have hands on experience.
I have had the Grilla Chimp for several years now. I use B&B Championship Blend pellets almost exclusively. I store them year round on the deck in a Kingsford charcoal storage bin. I haven't had any bridging issues at all, and the bin keeps everything dry
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