There is a MP/Prime button on the controller, you can press it to prime. This is stated in the manual. Same process to prime the auger for the first time.
Pit Boss Pro Series 4 V2 PBV4PS2
- Thread starter jdunk54nl
- Start date
GeekChef
Well-known member
This is from page 15 of my manual. See the MPC/Prime label next to the power button to the right. That label is actually a button. If you hold it for 3 seconds, the auger will turn on and stay on for as long as u hold it. It is not fun to hold...LoL....but if you watch the red auger text at the top, just start counting when it turns on. Usually I do it 2 or 3 time for 10-15 secs at the beginning AFTER the smoke has come and gone and you can hear the fan blowing full and feel the heat. You don't want to fill the pot with pellets until it is on fire. Feel free to ask any questions...I am learning too....but I am an electrical engineer...and do these types of controls a lot.
Once you prime it and you hear the pellets are falling into the pot, let it do the start up on it's own, it will produce lots of white smoke until the fan causes the smoking pellets to ignite, that's when you hear the torchy sound of the fire. Let the smoke clear, now you can close it up and set your temperature. You do not want to keep priming it any more, just let it do it's thing.
And yes it's not fun holding the prime button, I have to do that about 5 or 6 cycles when I am actually priming the auger for the first time after it's been all cleaned up.
If you still have pellets in the unit from the last cook then you do not have to prime at all, just start it up.
I always empty all the pellets and burn off the rest that are in the auger tube. So it has to be primed after you do this.
Hope this helps.
Mike Kopat
New member
Thankyou so much. This is so helpful. Ok. So when I first start the smoker I do so with the door open? What are the steps when I first turn it on. Last week when I tried smoking some chicken the temp wouldn't get up to 350 to start. Then when it got up to like 270 I lowered it to 225 on the button. It would then go to like 190 or so. I then had to put it back to 350 to raise the Temps.
GeekChef
Well-known member
Oh yes.....you need to start it up with the door open and leave it open until the thick white smoke goes away and the smokers sounds like a small jet engine is flying by your head. That is when the pellets are on fire and the smoker is ready to close the door. The smoker will start to heat up.....this is when I give it two or three 10 second prime pushes to get more pellets moving, and I like you set the smoker up to 300 degs. If you look at my long text....and you installed temperature probe on the rack with the RTD.....you would notice that the temperature climbs up to 280 in about 15-20 mins.....not the reading on the smoker...but the temperature probe I laid on that rack. That is when I turn it down to 250. I also press the Prime button once more to set in some pellets.....because the RTD at the time is only reading 215 on mine...but the internal temperature is much higher. The temperature on the RTD will continue to creep up...and so I put the food on and set it to 225....and then I hold the prime again for 10 more seconds.
It sounds like a lot....but it was super easy and I was cooking at 225 in 40 mins....and it worked perfectly the same way twice. This weekend I am cooking chicken on smoke for an hour....then I am going to prime it up to 350 - 400 degs and see how long it takes. I have heard getting to 400 degs is hard....but we will find out soon.
GeekChef
Well-known member
I prime mine several times during the startup...after I close the door...... to get it more fuel to burn to get to my setpoint temps faster.....has worked twice for me so far...and I am impatient. LoL.
GeekChef
Well-known member
Lesson learned.....MUST KEEP WATER IN THE PAN AT HIGH TEMPERATURES...!! I let the pan go dry and the temperature took off on me....had it set to 400 because it was struggling a bit to reach 350 real temperature.....but then the temperature went up to 445....Dang...! Took me a minute to realize that the water pan went dry....was freaking out...LoL! Anyway.....put water in the pan....lowered the temp to 350....and it dialed right in to 350 degs and has been holding for 30 mins. It is definitely not set it and forget it.....but am learning the process of a vertical versus a standard pellet smoker. There are some trade-offs.....being lower cost and space vs set it and forget it like my small Rec Tec. Need to process this a bit before I decide whether to keep it or not.....would be an easier choice if the controls were a bit more bullet proof.
BurntOfferings
Member
return it, Pit Boss will never be a "set it - forget it", plus the future unknown problems that will surely happen.
The whole set it and forget it was the big reason why I wanted this one and ultimately ended up returning it. That was one of the big pushes to vertical from all my research. I don't mind adding water occasionally or some other small start up procedures that you do and then you are done until you need to change something. But some of this playing is just too much and shouldn't be necessary if pit boss would get the programming right.
It seems like the biggest issue is the multitude of control units across the lines. Why make it that complicated? Why does the brunswick seem to work fine but this one doesn't? What is different in the programming? The brunswick is even bigger than this one too.
GeekChef
Well-known member
Totally understand your reasoning.....but where can I get a replacement vertical smoker for $360..? I don't have $800 to spend on a larger smoker and I really like having the 1000+ sq inches of cooking space without needing a Huge horizontal smoker. Also....I really believe for the money...that the cabinet design is one of the best on the market(Sub $500) for a vertical smoker....from the Ash Pot Cleanout.....the Grease Cleanout.....the Pellet Dump Cleanout.....no one has these things at this price range. The wheels are study....the cabinet is super stout. I even did a full disassembly of the bottom cover and there is no great design flaw on these cabinets. Just the WiFi controls seemed way too overdamped. After all my testing last night....I did notice that there is a strange reaction on the RTD.......if I open the door and (with gloves) touch the RTD....the temperatures drives down rapidly....and when I closed the door....the temperature rose back up rapidly to over 380 degs...even though my other probes on the grates were only about 285 degs. I believe the existing RTD is being fooled by the back right corner placement...most likely through the drafting of the vents onto the probe, or the flow of air up the back wall or the walls themselves. Am going to try moving it around a bit and blocking off places of direct air venting this weekend. If all else fails.....I have an spare RecTec PID WiFi controller that I might retrofit into this cabinet.
Definitely agree that it is a very well built cabinet (although I do wish the pellet clean out was on the bottom more. a lot of pellets get left in there if you use it). Ultimately though, if pitboss gets the controller issues figured out this is going to be a VERY hard to beat vertical smoker at any price. They have overall a great build on this product. I'd purchase it again in the future if they do. I'd even consider selling my camp chef to do so.
Mike From R.I.
Well-known member
I've never had a problem with my "old style" Copperhead Series 3 vertical from Walmart. These new controllers seem to have a lot of issues, for now I will stick to what I have with a non-PID controller. When I am in the market again I will do some heavy research
GeekChef
Well-known member
Dang! Look at all that snow in the reflection! Great news on your cook. I moved my WiFi antenna from under the board to behind the plastic face. Fixed all my connection issues. See back a page or two for a picture.
Mike From R.I.
Well-known member
6 -9" more tomorrow.
