Cold Weather Start Issues

Debert · Mar 2, 2023

I have a PB Copperhead Series 5. I live in MN and temps get pretty cold from November through March. My issue is if the temperature is 40 degrees or colder, I get nothing when I plug the unit in. No lights no nothing. If I put a little heater under it for a half hour, it will start up. I talked to PB support and they told me that it was a safety feature.....not allowing it to start when the auger could possibly be frozen in. I could maybe understand that if it only did that when the temp was below freezing but in the 30's there is no reason it shouldn't be able to run. Does anyone else experience this issue?

Mike From R.I. · Mar 2, 2023

Debert said:
I have a PB Copperhead Series 5. I live in MN and temps get pretty cold from November through March. My issue is if the temperature is 40 degrees or colder, I get nothing when I plug the unit in. No lights no nothing. If I put a little heater under it for a half hour, it will start up. I talked to PB support and they told me that it was a safety feature.....not allowing it to start when the auger could possibly be frozen in. I could maybe understand that if it only did that when the temp was below freezing but in the 30's there is no reason it shouldn't be able to run. Does anyone else experience this issue?

That doesn't seem right. Is there anything about this in the owner's manual? I'd try calling back and try getting another person to talk to at customer support. I have the PBV4PS2 smoker and have no issues starting it up even when it's in the single digits.

Debert · Mar 2, 2023

Mike From R.I. said:
That doesn't seem right. Is there anything about this in the owner's manual? I'd try calling back and try getting another person to talk to at customer support. I have the PBV4PS2 smoker and have no issues starting it up even when it's in the single digits.

Thanks. Good to know.