On Fire 🔥 after 4th use on PBV4PS2

[HotAsh]

I've had my vertical smoker now for 2 months and used it 4 times. During the 3rd smoke I smoked a 20 pound turkey it was delicious. For the 4th smoke I did chicken wings. During end of that smoke I went out to find the PBV4PS2 on FIRE . I immediately shut the power off removed the chicken and the fire cup. A few minutes later the fire went out. After the unit cooled down I took it apart to investigate. I was shocked to find that the grease funnel did not direct the grease into the grease pan instead it made its way down to the fire chamber, puddle up there and caused the fire. Thank God the unit was not up against my house and I was home. Please watch YouTube of the water test. You will see the path the grease went inside of the smoker fire chamber instead of draining into the grease pan. Has anyone else had this problem? As a side note there was an amazing amount of ash accumulation under the cover.

 

[Mike From R.I.]

Was the heat deflector plate installed correctly? The little handle isn't a handle but a stop that will be up against the rear/back wall when correctly installed. That is a substantial amount of grease, that didn't make it to the grease trap.

 

[HotAsh]

Was the heat deflector plate installed correctly? The little handle isn't a handle but a stop that will be up against the rear/back wall when correctly installed. That is a substantial amount of grease, that didn't make it to the grease trap.

Hi Mike, Good question, yes the deflector plate was install with the stop (looks like a handle) up against the back wall.

 

[HotAsh]

Update, I called Pit Boss, they were very nice, look at my photos & video. They said that maybe some sealant wasn't install properly at the factory. They told me that I needed to put some silicone sealant in at the edge of the Square hole. This should seal it and prevent grease from running down inside of the unit. I was doubtful but said I would try it and then call them back if it didn't work. They are going to send me the sealant +2 containers of spice rub.

 

[Steve In Pa]

I've had my vertical smoker now for 2 months and used it 4 times. During the 3rd smoke I smoked a 20 pound turkey it was delicious. For the 4th smoke I did chicken wings. During end of that smoke I went out to find the PBV4PS2 on FIRE . I immediately shut the power off removed the chicken and the fire cup. A few minutes later the fire went out. After the unit cooled down I took it apart to investigate. I was shocked to find that the grease funnel did not direct the grease into the grease pan instead it made its way down to the fire chamber, puddle up there and caused the fire. Thank God the unit was not up against my house and I was home. Please watch YouTube of the water test. You will see the path the grease went inside of the smoker fire chamber instead of draining into the grease pan. Has anyone else had this problem? As a side note there was an amazing amount of ash accumulation under the cover.


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Thanks for the info and pics. Next time I'm at the smoker I'll take a look. So far it looks like any grease is going where it's supposed to.

 

[DAN THE MAN]

I've had my vertical smoker now for 2 months and used it 4 times. During the 3rd smoke I smoked a 20 pound turkey it was delicious. For the 4th smoke I did chicken wings. During end of that smoke I went out to find the PBV4PS2 on FIRE . I immediately shut the power off removed the chicken and the fire cup. A few minutes later the fire went out. After the unit cooled down I took it apart to investigate. I was shocked to find that the grease funnel did not direct the grease into the grease pan instead it made its way down to the fire chamber, puddle up there and caused the fire. Thank God the unit was not up against my house and I was home. Please watch YouTube of the water test. You will see the path the grease went inside of the smoker fire chamber instead of draining into the grease pan. Has anyone else had this problem? As a side note there was an amazing amount of ash accumulation under the cover.


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The tray between the racks and the water pan has what appears to be a handle. It is actually a spacer not a handle. The spacer should go in first. Otherwise, the “grease” tray won’t direct grease drippings the right direction into the grease pan/ foil pan insert! See if this solves your problem. This was NOT made clear in the assembly instructions.

 

[DanStealth]

I put mine the correct way and it looks like greaser still dripped in

 

[Robotron]

I have never had this problem, but Zach at American smoke has and put a video up about it. I use an aluminum pan filled with water on the bottom rack of the smoker to catch all the grease and for extra water since the water seems to evaporate so fast from the factory water pan. I check the grease catch container thing of the smoker but usually can wipe it out with a paper towel because there just isn’t much there. Way easier to keep the smoker clean. His video about the grease trough funnel not lining up is here

.

 

[Steve In Pa]

I have never had this problem, but Zach at American smoke has and put a video up about it. I use an aluminum pan filled with water on the bottom rack of the smoker to catch all the grease and for extra water since the water seems to evaporate so fast from the factory water pan. I check the grease catch container thing of the smoker but usually can wipe it out with a paper towel because there just isn’t much there. Way easier to keep the smoker clean. His video about the grease trough funnel not lining up is here

.

If this is the sam

I have never had this problem, but Zach at American smoke has and put a video up about it. I use an aluminum pan filled with water on the bottom rack of the smoker to catch all the grease and for extra water since the water seems to evaporate so fast from the factory water pan. I check the grease catch container thing of the smoker but usually can wipe it out with a paper towel because there just isn’t much there. Way easier to keep the smoker clean. His video about the grease trough funnel not lining up is here

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I saw that video a while ago. My take away is that the user really needs to be more proactive on how your machine works.

 

[mixed up]

call me lucky I guess I have had my PB4 for 2 plus years and im not good at cleaning it out but once in a blue moon and never had issues but I do clean the burn pot every use