newbie startup temp question

[Fxsales1959]

Hey Y'all
Did intro earlier. Sorry to be a newb PITA.
Just got my PBV4PS2.
the manual kinda sucks.
Attempted burn off. being the techy I am I placed a probe from my Inkbird on the middle of the middle grate during burn-off. to verify temps versus control panel.
The inkbird was nearly 50 degrees hotter than what the control panel read on ACT temp. Image attached shows 330 for ACT and 383 for inkbird temp.
Inkbird is verified accurate.
Is this normal? Am I going to have to "guess" on what to set the control panel on to get 250 internal on chamber. If so , me and my new smoker are not going to get along.
Thanks in advance
John

 

[Fxsales1959]

Update: called support. they say replacde the temp probe, which is an act of congress and on backorder.
Not a good start for me and PitBoss

 

[Ol' Smokey]

Put the inkbird as close as possible to the probe in the unit and see how far off it is. Your probe may have been in a "heat path" if that makes sense.

I know it sucks to buy a part that is under warranty, but you can get a new probe off Amazon for about 10-15 bucks....

Heres one on ebay...

Replacment Ambient Tempature Probe Pit Boss Pro Series Vertical Smoker PBV4PS2 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Replacment Ambient Tempature Probe Pit Boss Pro Series Vertical Smoker PBV4PS2 at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

 

[Cowboy1955]

I have the INKBIRD and could care less about using the PitBoss probes

 

[Fxsales1959]

Put the inkbird as close as possible to the probe in the unit and see how far off it is. Your probe may have been in a "heat path" if that makes sense.

I know it sucks to buy a part that is under warranty, but you can get a new probe off Amazon for about 10-15 bucks....

Heres one on ebay...

Replacment Ambient Tempature Probe Pit Boss Pro Series Vertical Smoker PBV4PS2 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Replacment Ambient Tempature Probe Pit Boss Pro Series Vertical Smoker PBV4PS2 at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

didn't have to buy, but do have to replace. I've read similar posts regarding PB temp issues. I think they're throwing darts.

 

[Fxsales1959]

not to argue. but the middle of the center grate is 50 degrees hotter tan the probe reading. I don't cook on the corner of the grid by the PB probe.

 

[probak118]

Not to push other purchases but look into a probe side heat deflector and / or a flame tamer ( smoke like a boss ). Those two accessories might get you where you want to be?

 

[GeekChef]

The pitboss controller is very dampened down and slow to respond to actual setpoint temperatures. The display is lying to you for a good long time while till it settles in to temperature…usually about an hour for me depending on outside temperature and setpoint temperature. It can take a bit of oscillating to get the metal and all that water in the pan to come to a constant temperature…..so precise direct readings inside on the grates will vary significantly from the controller display for quite a bit of time. Did you take these readings with no meat in there? Adding 20-40 pounds of cold meat really brings down the overshoots after an hour of cooking. But over time you will determine your smokers characteristics and quirks…..it’s like having a wife….it is a long term relationship for sure. I am a techy nerd too…..my advice from an old electrical engineer is to Be patient and take a lot of reading during lots of cooks and you will learn over time how she runs.
Here are my gradients for each rack. My center rack eventually gets to target temp after about an hour of smoking. Bottom rack +30, 2nd rack +10, and top rack +15. And this forum is great! Lots of seasoned smokers here to help! Enjoy!

 

[Chuck P]

Hey Y'all
Did intro earlier. Sorry to be a newb PITA.
Just got my PBV4PS2.
the manual kinda sucks.
Attempted burn off. being the techy I am I placed a probe from my Inkbird on the middle of the middle grate during burn-off. to verify temps versus control panel.
The inkbird was nearly 50 degrees hotter than what the control panel read on ACT temp. Image attached shows 330 for ACT and 383 for inkbird temp.
Inkbird is verified accurate.
Is this normal? Am I going to have to "guess" on what to set the control panel on to get 250 internal on chamber. If so , me and my new smoker are not going to get along.
Thanks in advance
John

My suggestion is to learn to live with a temperature delta and compensate accordingly. My experience with the PBV6PSE

is that the controller reads about 25°-30° higher than the general chamber temp. Early on I clipped external probes (both the PB and others) directly to the controller probe. They always read a consistant delta. Now I just mentally compensate when setting the setpoint. Also, the control algorithm is not tuned very well. Startup temps greatly overshoot setpoint. Temp recovery after having the door open for a period is also prone to significant overshoot. You can chart the controller temperature and the plug in probes and see that something fishy is going on with the reported controller temperature. There's some sort of data smoothing going on. As an example, I can increase the controller setpoint and like magic the reported tmeperature comes up to match it in a very short time. I'm talking like less than a minute.

I guess to sum it up, use your inkbirds to finely control the desired temp. Use the controller to get you in the ballpark, with the anticipation of the observed temperature deltas.