What Is the P Setting On a Pit Boss?
Having a pit boss pellet grill can be an incredibly rewarding experience for any barbecue enthusiast. Previously, managing the temperature was a significant challenge for pit boss grills. However, with the introduction of automated temperature control, maintaining the desired heat has become significantly easier. Similar to a traditional oven, when the temperature inside the grill drops, more fuel is automatically added to the fire via the auger to increase the heat to the set level. At this juncture, the supply of full pellets is halted to let the temperature decrease before the cycle starts anew.
Throughout this process, there are mild temperature swings in pit boss smokers, which worries most users. Whenever pellets are added, the temperature increases until the controller restricts further feeding of pellets to lower the temperature. This is a repetitive process to control the temperature inside the smoker to ensure even cooking and even heat distribution.
What is the p setting on a pit boss
If you are experiencing severe temperature swings when smoking, the p setting on your grill can go a long way in helping to stabilize the temperature inside the grill.
The p setting or the PAUSE setting is a temperature control option that allows you to increase the pause between pellet cycles. Doing so results in the production of additional smoke since you withhold the use of more pallets for longer. This results in lower temperatures. When the p setting s decreased, you reduce the pause time between pellet cycles. This leads to a decrease in the amount of smoke since more pellets are fed to the smoker before giving them enough time to be fully smolded, resulting in higher temperatures.
The p setting is designed for pit boss smokers since the smoke potential is the only setting fully controlled by timing in a pit boss grill. P smoke settings can affect even the lowest temperature settings between 200 and 250 degrees F.
Several reasons contribute to the swings in temperature common with pit boss smokers. Here is everything you need to know, and what you can do to minimize these drastic swings.
The weather is one of the greatest contributors to temperature swings in smokers. All-weather elements from rain, wind, and hot weather to cold weather and direct sunlight all have an effect on the temperature fluctuations in a pit boss grill.
Adjusting the p setting in your smoker
As mentioned earlier, adjusting the p settings changes the pellet flow and the auger frequency. It is important to be careful when adjusting the p setting and only do one setting at a time. Allow each setting adjustment at least half an hour to stabilize. Adjusting the p setting too often and too soon will only cause more temperature fluctuations. This can lead to completely killing the flame from massive swings in temperature.
If you notice that your smoker is losing the flame or experiencing large temperature fluctuations, always reduce the p setting. Never increase the p setting in this situation.
The best p setting for pit boss is the P-4 setting, which comes preset from the manufacturer in all pit boss grills.
How to use a pit boss smoker
To get your smoker up and running:
- Check the hopper and add pallets to ensure you have enough for your smoking session.
- Pull out the water pan and set it aside.
- Check to ensure the firebox is clean.
- Plugin your smoker and turn set the temperature using the temperature adjustment knobs.
- Press the on button and leave the door open to allow air into the firebox
- The augur and fun will be the first to turn as the heating rod gets hot enough to ignite the pallets.
- It takes a few minutes for smoke to start getting into the chamber, followed closely by the sound of fire. The smoke can be intense at the beginning as the pallets burn up.
- Set the dial to your required temperature once the smoke intensity subsides. Leave it to heat the chamber for a few minutes to disinfect it.
- Fill the water pan with water and replace it into the smoker above the heat shield.
- Remember to spray your rack with non-stick spray, as this will help prevent the meat from sticking on the rack.
- Load the mead onto the rack, set your desired temperature, and leave the meat to cook.
Factors to look for in the best pit boss smokers
The built quality
A pit boss smoker’s build can be rated 4 out of 5 stars, making it one of the best conductions in the market.
The door comes well fitted with the frame of the smoker. This ensures the door contacts the rubber seal perfectly, to prevent heat loss when smoking. It also comes with multiple temperature probing tools for your meat. This is one of the best-constructed smokers in the market. Other notable features include the dual valve/dual burner system that provides between 200 to 450 degrees temperature range, eternal access to the pallet drawer and grease tray, and the large viewing window made from high-temperature resistant door seals.
The hopper shoot
Pit boss smokers come with an easy to empty 40 pounds capacity hopper system. You can easily empty the hopper and burn the remaining wood pallets using the auger system whenever you use the smoker.
The digital LED display
If you are looking for an easy-to-operating, state-of-the-art smoker, the pit boss smoker is the right choice for you. It comes with a large LED display that shows you the internal smoking temperature and meat probe temperature. This LED display is next to the temperature control knobs. This gives you complete control of the smoking temperature and smoking process.
Adjustable food rack
This is one of the best features of pit boss smokers. The adjustable food rack can be spaced inside the smoker box to suit your desired outline. This allows you to create extra height when cooking long foods. It also allows you to align the cooking rack to suit your needs when you need to smoke several slabs of meat at one go. This is one of the best benefits of using a vertical smoker.
Setting up any pit boss smoker only takes a few minutes. Ensure the water pan has enough water at all times to preserve the moisture in your meat.
Besure to check out our other Pitt Boss Grill articles:
What Is the P Setting on a Pit Boss