Has anyone attempted it? Depending on the tech rep you talk to it only serves 2 purposes. One is to tell the board what temp to display and the other is to cause a shutdown if the grill overheats. Apparently the pellet feed is preprogrammed to the temperature selected and not dependent upon actual the temp in the grill (unless it overheats). Pit Boss support and warranty has been great but the probe they sent me in September has already failed. I have been waiting 2 weeks for another with no tracking info yet. It’s time to explore other avenues.
Bypassing the temp probe?
- Thread starter jeff j
- Start date
Well excuuussseee me! I didn’t think this was a very big ask. Is there a particular brand that’s more reliable than what Pit Boss uses or do you know what Pit Boss is using so I can avoid it? I just want a reliable grill without having to stock replacement parts. After all, having a bunch of people standing around a busted grill expecting a steak is such a great way to spend a couple of hours.
brewersfan73
Well-known member
I don't have any experience finding a replacement probe, but it looks like there are some on Amazon for $10-15 each. I bet if you read the reviews, you might see if it is a good option.
As far as your original post regarding the option to bypass. It doesn't seem right that the controller doesn't use the temp probe to control the temp in the grill. You would have vastly different experiences trying to run the grill in 20 degree weather vs 90 degree weather if it was just a timed cycle. I've cooked in all sorts of weather and my Austin XL has held temps pretty well, both with the original non-PID and my upgraded Competition Series PID controller, so I don't think that the tech support person was very knowledgeable. But I guess I can't say for certain.
I tend to agree that it doesn’t make sense about the probe use but it is what the man on the phone told me last September. The grill hasn’t been used that much since then and I am more than a little disappointed now that we are having some decent weather the grill isn’t working right again.
Customer support could have at least told me the probes are back ordered instead of letting me wish I had a grill to use. They printed a shipping label last week but it hasn’t shipped. I wouldn’t be surprised if every probe out there came from the same factory in China.
Customer support could have at least told me the probes are back ordered instead of letting me wish I had a grill to use. They printed a shipping label last week but it hasn’t shipped. I wouldn’t be surprised if every probe out there came from the same factory in China.
The one from Pit Boss started moving yesterday. No ETA on the tracking number. I did order one through Amazon but it will be a spare. Both should be here mid-week. Plenty of time left on the warranty to get another one if it screws up again. Not much point in using one I paid for as long as I can get OEM for free.
I experimented this afternoon. I plugged in the new probe but left it hanging in 64 degree air. I set the temp for 300 and shut it down when it got to 400 according to my oven thermometer.
I do find this a little confusing because when both of my probes failed, the grill kept feeding pellets even when the display showed 500 (oven thermometer showed 350). That is why it seemed plausible to me that the probe didn’t really affect operation. The display didn’t go above 64 today.
I do find this a little confusing because when both of my probes failed, the grill kept feeding pellets even when the display showed 500 (oven thermometer showed 350). That is why it seemed plausible to me that the probe didn’t really affect operation. The display didn’t go above 64 today.
