I think a lot of your problems will be solved by finding a brand of pellets that your rig likes. I went through this with my Camp Chef. It was bad enough that Camp Chef sent me a bag of their branded pellets to try and they were no better than the Pit Boss and Bear Mountain that are available in the stores near me. I ended up finding that my smoker liked to run Lumber Jack best and I didn't change brands when I got the LSG pooper.
Lumber Jack pellets a smaller diameter than Pit Boss and Bear Mountain and just seemed to run better than the rest in the Camp Chef.
I know it's frustrating, but keep at it and you will find something that works better for you and your Pit Boss.
Hey, fellow Copperhead 5 owner here. It was my first cooker, and I got it right after I joined this forum. I do not even know what "pellet bridging" is. I have never emptied my hopper, nor vacuumed my auger. I dump a full bag of pellets in, and I use a broomstick to poke at it when the slopes get too steep in the hopper, to keep the top surface of the pellet pile mostly horizontal. When the hopper is almost empty, I dump another bag in on top of that. Been doing that for coming up on five years now. Only time I had any issue was 1) during 20F weather when the thing just seized up and the auger wouldn't turn and 2) a few times when it was so windy it blew the damn fire out.
Real sorry to hear you're having this problem. I know that "hey, works for me" is of no help!
WI Bubba I've used all different kinds - personally, I can't taste any difference in wood variety, even with charcoal and wood chunks, so I don't really care anymore what the composition is of the pellets. I get whatever's handy. I've used Pit Boss, Cookin Pellets, Traeger, Bear Mountain... Nowadays, my local grocery stocks Traeger & PB pellets, so I just get a bag when I'm starting to run low, whatever is on the shelf.
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