Setup for the new 4 series Wifi enabled Pit Boss vertical pellet smoker Update! Check out my video on a 12 hour smoke on 20lbs of pork! • Smoked pork on the Pit...
Got this exact model 6 weeks ago. 6 racks 3 butts 1 Chuck roast 4 reverse sear steaks and a bunch of fish dip later… I am nothing but happy. Confident enough to start trying side dishes.
Just purchased and assembled this bad boy today. Only one real hiccup and that was the left rear and right front legs were mislabelled, and it does make a difference when attaching support panels. Also the little wrench they included to tighten the legs nuts widened its jaws in the process, so have a tiny wrench handy. I have to say, this is a BEAST. The carton weighs something like 175 lbs, so you might want help loading and unloading, plus jockeying it up onto an elevated deck. It’s probably the most well built smoker I’ve ever seen. Looking forward to my first big smoke!😁👍🏻
Thank you for the video. I just purchased this smoker and put it together myself. It is currently 54 degrees Fahrenheit outside and it took sbout 40 minutes to reach 350 deg. inside and it held within 10 degrees for the entire hour I did the burn off. I will be cooking on it tomorrow....I can't wait.😃
Appreciate your video on this. The process of smoker burn off really helped because I had the Probe hooked up before the temp actually started to rise. Using it tomorrow!!
You all prolly dont give a shit but does anybody know of a method to get back into an instagram account..? I stupidly lost my account password. I would love any tips you can offer me!
@Mathew Jaiden Thanks for your reply. I found the site on google and Im waiting for the hacking stuff atm. Seems to take a while so I will reply here later with my results.
appreciate this. have been going back and forth on this, a v5, or buying a bigger masterbuilt electric. this video helps out in making a decision. hailstate by the way.
@@RobsRogues lazy bums wouldn't put mine together said they were too busy,didn't even help me load it in my truck. Last time I buy anything from Lowes.
I picked one up pre built at Lowes. Got home saw a couple screws loose. And I thought to myself hmm I wonder if there's any more loose nuts and bolts? And there were alot.
I enjoy mine. If you care about it you can send your control panel back to them and they will upgrade the firmware to give you 10-degree increments up to 250 and then 25-degree increments up to 300 degrees.
This is a much better design with the controller on the side than at bottom where it would get damaged from water and grease running down on the front and ultimately fail. However I would like the controller at the top and out front instead of the side. But I'm considering buying one .
Yes. I bought one today and used it to smoke a pork loin. The panel on the side is not convenient. And I've found that the app is glitchy. At one point it (the app) told me the temp was down to 135 deg F. I rushed outside to find out that was not the case. Grrrrrrrrr.
FYI, the drip pan/heat deflector is in backwards and the way you have it installed the grease will flow to the front of the smoker and could cause a fire. Trust me on this ...
I’m glad you guys have pointed this out. Since I put in an additional pan/tray above the drip pan to make cleanup easier, I unknowingly avoided a potential problem!
@Elijah Santana we don't. Care.get rid of gf if you do not trust Her.That is what IS wrong with ppl...High school is over.Find a trust worthy partner & buy a Ring.Swinging from Gf to Gf do not get u any where.
Hello, I bought mine already set up at Lowe’s because they did not have any left so I got the display model, also it did not come with an instruction manual. What does it say exactly on how to burn it in please and how long. Thanks and nice video
I bought 1 of these a couple weeks ago and like it. Just wanted to let you know that your drip pan (the shield above the water tray) is in backwards. I had mine in like that at first and none of the drippings were going in the pan. That ring looks like a handle, but it goes in the back.
Thanks for the input! Makes sense that the water pan shouldn't cover the channel for the grease to go down the back. The rings acts more like a stop so that you push it in far enough.
LOL! I thought the exact same thing about the ring looking like a handle. Had mine in backwards too. Not a good picture in the manual about how that goes in.
Thank you for the video, it was excellent in addition to the many comments. I bought this model, have put it together, but notice the door latch pulls the door closed, but it's not a super tight pull...it closes but thought it would be harder to latch. Just hoping I get a good seal (this is my first smoker). Perhaps I don't need as tight of a latch as I may think.
Mine had a gap also on the latch side, but loosening and retightening the hinge body screws while latched partially fixed the gap. I then bent the door mounted latch part very slightly outward to close the gap.
No don’t take advantage of free assembly, they are not mechanics or someone who can run a screw driver. Mine has stripped screws heads and stripped threads because of Lowe’s
I had a Series 5 and currently have a series 3. The thing I did not like about this one and the series 4 is that shelves are fixed on their separation. The series three and 5 have adjustable self brackets. I cut a piece of rebar the width of the grate and got some meat hooks to hang ribs. I really wish Pit Boss would come out with a PID controller for it. A couple tips I've learned is that the back runs hotter than the front so when doing chickens or turkeys you'll nee to rotate them. When cleaning the door get some Simple Green and 3M green scrub pads. It works really great. Yours has the PID controller with the phone app?
Yes, it has the PID. I find it to work pretty well. It can struggle to get up to higher temps quickly, so I manually prime a good bit to kick start it.
Added UPDATE: Make sure pellets are not clumped together! This is probably true for all pellet style cookers. I had some clump up and jam the auger which killed the motor. It happened during an 18 hour cook. This resulted in the hopper catching fire at the very bottom and smoking back through the hopper. No major damage, just had to replace the motor.
I have the exact same smoker, and I’m assuming since this is a month later you have probably already used your smoker and figured this out, but your drip pan is backwards, the little thing that looks like a handle is really just a spacer to keep it away from the back wall so the grease can drip into the channel and eventually into the catch can.
Yes. I noticed that, too. Bought one today and found that very strange, but at least mine has the word "FRONT" embossed in the pan. Maybe the earlier ones didn't have that.
A year later and if it's been updated, it needs to be again. GLitchy. GAve me erroneous info, too. Told me the smoker temp had gone down to 135 deg F, so I rushed outside to find it still at 250.
Error low means it’s likely not getting hot enough because the pellets aren’t catching fire, not primed, or being augured/moved in fast enough. You may need to clean and check the interior sensor. It can be a bad sensor inside the unit, but check that the pellets are actually catching fire. You may also need to sweep out the ashes from a previous burn/cook too.
Does your auguer go off every few mins? Mine does and always has a loud sound tahts it’s on. Like every minute. There’s no jam or anything, and pot is cleared before every cook. I don’t really hear the auger here so I wonder if I’m doing something wrong. Cooks come out great and have had zero issues just more noise than anything
Your question is 11 months old, so I hope you have already found out that is normal. It must be a gear reduction motor, because it turns for a while. And yes, it does it quite frequently. That's how the temp is maintained.
I just bought one yesterday. As a person who works in the computer science field and holds a degree in computer science. I can say that the WiFi and Bluetooth setup is basically a gimmick. It doesn't work properly. Fails to connect, fails to switch between BT and WiFi. It's just junk and needs to be remedied or stop selling this with those features until they can correct the issue.
Do you think using this smoker in below zero temperatures is the reason we cant seem to get the it to heat up to the desired temp? Today it's -8 with a wind chill of -23 and it's struggling to get to temp let alone hold it.
What is the outside measurements of the smoker? I am getting this smoker and have a certain type of cover I buy for my grills and want to make sure my cover will fit. Thanks
The footprint is about 28x28”. The cabinet is about 22.5” side to side and about 25.5” front to back if you include the handle in the back. It’s about 56” tall including the smokestack.
This is my first Pitt Boss and my first vertical smoker. So far I have enjoyed it! About 3 cooks so far, beer can chicken and pork butts. I’ll put my last pork butt cook up on TH-cam soon.
Did you prime the auger so pellets are ready to go? You should hear pellets falling into the fire pot periodically or when you press the MPC/Prime button. Also, make sure no preset temp are active on the smoker itself or the app.
The rain cap is a rain cap not a damper combustion needs airflow and these have advanced PID controllers. Also the mpc probe is will drop the cabnent temp to smoke after the set temperature is achieved to hold your food and hopefully not overcook
I just bought this pitboss and put it together. Rolled it outside and had a storm that night. Next day i noticed water had got inside. Is there any way to tighten up the door latch to get a better seal? Has anyone else had this issue?
Do you or any one on here have a problem with the door not shutting all the way? Like my latch is assembled and latched correctly but the door don’t shut all the way.
Spent an hour and a half putting it together, just to find there was a broken internal weld which is supposed to secure the ignition probe, rendering it inoperable. Very disappointing. Promptly Threw it in the truck and returned it. Ordered a Z Grill instead
Total piece of garbage. Send it back as soon as possible. If you already cooked on it, undoubtedly you found out what a piece of trash it is. $400 out the window! Friends don't let friends buy PitBoss!
I've cooked pork butts (up to 12 hours), chickens (about 4-5 hours), and sausage (about 1-2 hours) without any issues so far. What problems did you have?
Lol.. I've done over 100 cooks on my Austin XL over the last 3 years without a single issue.. Also own a vertical pitboss that I've never had a single issue with! Pitboss worth every penny, absolutely no reason to go spend top dollar for the same exact thing with a different logo on it
Here’s my situation….I got one back in November…did the burn out….then the hopper caught on fire…so they sent a new unit…I’m a little gun shy dropping a whole bag of pellets in again….please give me your thoughts on this…thanks Dan
Great addition to my other cooking toys. Smoked 2 turkeys and 4 slabs of ribs for Thanksgiving.....Outstanding and NO problems. If you are having problems, I suggest you read the Manual. It's easy - pesy.
Got this exact model 6 weeks ago. 6 racks 3 butts 1 Chuck roast 4 reverse sear steaks and a bunch of fish dip later… I am nothing but happy. Confident enough to start trying side dishes.
This EXACT model only has r racks. Maybe same brand, but not same model.
@@kevincrane1310 I’ve cooked 6 racks of ribs…. Sorry for the confusion
@@bryanoyoung gotya.. LOL. 👊🏻
I received one as a gift and I’m breaking it in today! So far so good!
Just purchased and assembled this bad boy today. Only one real hiccup and that was the left rear and right front legs were mislabelled, and it does make a difference when attaching support panels. Also the little wrench they included to tighten the legs nuts widened its jaws in the process, so have a tiny wrench handy. I have to say, this is a BEAST. The carton weighs something like 175 lbs, so you might want help loading and unloading, plus jockeying it up onto an elevated deck. It’s probably the most well built smoker I’ve ever seen. Looking forward to my first big smoke!😁👍🏻
Just got same smoker assembled at Lowes, thanks for sharing info on burn out and warm up
Thank you. Best start up video. Better than pit boss videos. More informative for user/consumer.
Thank you for the video. I just purchased this smoker and put it together myself. It is currently 54 degrees Fahrenheit outside and it took sbout 40 minutes to reach 350 deg. inside and it held within 10 degrees for the entire hour I did the burn off. I will be cooking on it tomorrow....I can't wait.😃
Keep your raincap up all the way, combustion needs airflow
Thanks for the video brother, I will be picking up mines this weekend
Thanks dude. About to fire mine up for the first time.
Thanks for the help on the burn off
Hey thanks my husband loves this smoker
Appreciate your video on this. The process of smoker burn off really helped because I had the Probe hooked up before the temp actually started to rise. Using it tomorrow!!
You all prolly dont give a shit but does anybody know of a method to get back into an instagram account..?
I stupidly lost my account password. I would love any tips you can offer me!
@Kyson Pablo instablaster ;)
@Mathew Jaiden Thanks for your reply. I found the site on google and Im waiting for the hacking stuff atm.
Seems to take a while so I will reply here later with my results.
@Mathew Jaiden It worked and I now got access to my account again. I'm so happy!
Thanks so much you saved my ass!
@Kyson Pablo No problem :)
I bought one and love it.smoked pork butt.beef roast.Today may 6 doing baked potatoes & flank steak
appreciate this. have been going back and forth on this, a v5, or buying a bigger masterbuilt electric. this video helps out in making a decision. hailstate by the way.
Go Dawgs!
Thank you, I just purchased this model for my husband. But I let Lowe’s put it together.
i work at Lowes and I let them put it together haha
@@RobsRogues lazy bums wouldn't put mine together said they were too busy,didn't even help me load it in my truck. Last time I buy anything from Lowes.
I picked one up pre built at Lowes. Got home saw a couple screws loose. And I thought to myself hmm I wonder if there's any more loose nuts and bolts? And there were alot.
Clean blue smoke !!
Through your hardship I will reap. Thanks for the video. Looking forward to assembly all the way through. 🇺🇸🇺🇸
Thank you. That was a very good video 👍🏻😎
I enjoy mine. If you care about it you can send your control panel back to them and they will upgrade the firmware to give you 10-degree increments up to 250 and then 25-degree increments up to 300 degrees.
How long did it take to send it and get it back?
@@pkabass78 I didn't do it because I usually smoke at either 225 or 250. But people on the Pit boss forums say about a week.
Nice video and it went just as it should when we first tryout something, we all learn during our first run.. everyone does bud!! Nice job
This is a much better design with the controller on the side than at bottom where it would get damaged from water and grease running down on the front and ultimately fail. However I would like the controller at the top and out front instead of the side. But I'm considering buying one .
Yes. I bought one today and used it to smoke a pork loin. The panel on the side is not convenient. And I've found that the app is glitchy. At one point it (the app) told me the temp was down to 135 deg F. I rushed outside to find out that was not the case. Grrrrrrrrr.
FYI, the drip pan/heat deflector is in backwards and the way you have it installed the grease will flow to the front of the smoker and could cause a fire. Trust me on this ...
I’m glad you guys have pointed this out. Since I put in an additional pan/tray above the drip pan to make cleanup easier, I unknowingly avoided a potential problem!
@Elijah Santana we don't. Care.get rid of gf if you do not trust Her.That is what IS wrong with ppl...High school is over.Find a trust worthy partner & buy a Ring.Swinging from Gf to Gf do not get u any where.
@@michaelwalker217?... Lmao wtf is this comment? Wrong comment section/video?
Hello, I bought mine already set up at Lowe’s because they did not have any left so I got the display model, also it did not come with an instruction manual. What does it say exactly on how to burn it in please and how long. Thanks and nice video
I bought 1 of these a couple weeks ago and like it. Just wanted to let you know that your drip pan (the shield above the water tray) is in backwards. I had mine in like that at first and none of the drippings were going in the pan. That ring looks like a handle, but it goes in the back.
Thanks for the input! Makes sense that the water pan shouldn't cover the channel for the grease to go down the back. The rings acts more like a stop so that you push it in far enough.
LOL! I thought the exact same thing about the ring looking like a handle. Had mine in backwards too. Not a good picture in the manual about how that goes in.
@@richnelson8508 Their marketing material has photos of it in backwards. This comment just saved my day.
Haha this one confused me aswell
LOL, just assembled mine today and thought if I used the heat deflector, I’ll lose a grill rack!😅
Your grease tray is backwards, the handle goes to the rear over drip guide
Thank you for the video, it was excellent in addition to the many comments. I bought this model, have put it together, but notice the door latch pulls the door closed, but it's not a super tight pull...it closes but thought it would be harder to latch. Just hoping I get a good seal (this is my first smoker). Perhaps I don't need as tight of a latch as I may think.
Mine is pretty tight but I don't think you need a super tight seal. Since a probe wire usually goes through the seal anyways, not sure it matters
Mine had a gap also on the latch side, but loosening and retightening the hinge body screws while latched partially fixed the gap. I then bent the door mounted latch part very slightly outward to close the gap.
Came back to this video for a point of reference. Meat probe issue. Answered my question, thank you
Came back to this video for a point of reference. Meat probe issue. Answered my question, thank you
I put mine in a Prius! Lol It was awkward, but I got it!
Dope!!!😉💪
Buying from Lowes, take advantage of the free assembly and delivery.
No don’t take advantage of free assembly, they are not mechanics or someone who can run a screw driver. Mine has stripped screws heads and stripped threads because of Lowe’s
I had a Series 5 and currently have a series 3. The thing I did not like about this one and the series 4 is that shelves are fixed on their separation. The series three and 5 have adjustable self brackets. I cut a piece of rebar the width of the grate and got some meat hooks to hang ribs. I really wish Pit Boss would come out with a PID controller for it. A couple tips I've learned is that the back runs hotter than the front so when doing chickens or turkeys you'll nee to rotate them. When cleaning the door get some Simple Green and 3M green scrub pads. It works really great. Yours has the PID controller with the phone app?
Yes, it has the PID. I find it to work pretty well. It can struggle to get up to higher temps quickly, so I manually prime a good bit to kick start it.
Added UPDATE: Make sure pellets are not clumped together! This is probably true for all pellet style cookers. I had some clump up and jam the auger which killed the motor. It happened during an 18 hour cook. This resulted in the hopper catching fire at the very bottom and smoking back through the hopper. No major damage, just had to replace the motor.
You using old APP? NEW APP IS! PIT BOSS GRILLS DANSONS.
I have the exact same smoker, and I’m assuming since this is a month later you have probably already used your smoker and figured this out, but your drip pan is backwards, the little thing that looks like a handle is really just a spacer to keep it away from the back wall so the grease can drip into the channel and eventually into the catch can.
almost ready to tell him but I was only 10 months late :P
Yes. I noticed that, too. Bought one today and found that very strange, but at least mine has the word "FRONT" embossed in the pan. Maybe the earlier ones didn't have that.
✌🏻
are you just adding canola oil/spray to grates ?
PIT BOSS needs to update the SMOKE IT APP and the firmware via Wi-Fi! No excuse not to!
They updated the app, seems better!
A year later and if it's been updated, it needs to be again. GLitchy. GAve me erroneous info, too. Told me the smoker temp had gone down to 135 deg F, so I rushed outside to find it still at 250.
Does anyone know where I should run the meat probe? The probe is reading 175 in raw chicken.
I just turned it on erl code
Error low means it’s likely not getting hot enough because the pellets aren’t catching fire, not primed, or being augured/moved in fast enough.
You may need to clean and check the interior sensor.
It can be a bad sensor inside the unit, but check that the pellets are actually catching fire. You may also need to sweep out the ashes from a previous burn/cook too.
Anyone have the problem with smoke coming out the door seal?
Does your auguer go off every few mins? Mine does and always has a loud sound tahts it’s on. Like every minute. There’s no jam or anything, and pot is cleared before every cook. I don’t really hear the auger here so I wonder if I’m doing something wrong. Cooks come out great and have had zero issues just more noise than anything
Your question is 11 months old, so I hope you have already found out that is normal. It must be a gear reduction motor, because it turns for a while. And yes, it does it quite frequently. That's how the temp is maintained.
I just bought one yesterday. As a person who works in the computer science field and holds a degree in computer science. I can say that the WiFi and Bluetooth setup is basically a gimmick. It doesn't work properly. Fails to connect, fails to switch between BT and WiFi. It's just junk and needs to be remedied or stop selling this with those features until they can correct the issue.
I can say that I haven't had issues with Wifi/BT feature. Maybe the unit is bad.
What is the additional T-Stat?
Do you think using this smoker in below zero temperatures is the reason we cant seem to get the it to heat up to the desired temp? Today it's -8 with a wind chill of -23 and it's struggling to get to temp let alone hold it.
Yeah, I would say that is a tall order. Maybe wrap it with a welding blanket or some other thermal wrap.
What is the outside measurements of the smoker? I am getting this smoker and have a certain type of cover I buy for my grills and want to make sure my cover will fit. Thanks
The footprint is about 28x28”. The cabinet is about 22.5” side to side and about 25.5” front to back if you include the handle in the back. It’s about 56” tall including the smokestack.
@@pkabass78 thank you!
I see this is their new version 2 of the 4 series and some of the changes they've made to it. How do you like it? How many cooks? Any other issues?
This is my first Pitt Boss and my first vertical smoker. So far I have enjoyed it! About 3 cooks so far, beer can chicken and pork butts. I’ll put my last pork butt cook up on TH-cam soon.
*Pit, not Pitt
About to take mine back to Lowe's . It won't even reach 350, I waited over an hour...
@@Bee_Beautiful Did you try using the prime button frequently? Are you in a cold climate?
@@pkabass78 it is 45 degrees here.
Do you have to have the door open for any of the burn out / 1st time smoke ?
I only leave the door open per the instructions when the smoker starts up. I did the same thing for the first burn out.
Did you get the app to connect and work? I’ve tried trouble shooting just about everything still doesn’t work.
Yes I did get it to work and still use it. It's not the best but it is functional.
I’m not using the meat probe and I have the same issue you had. It won’t heat past 150. What did you do to fix?
Did you prime the auger so pellets are ready to go? You should hear pellets falling into the fire pot periodically or when you press the MPC/Prime button. Also, make sure no preset temp are active on the smoker itself or the app.
The rain cap is a rain cap not a damper combustion needs airflow and these have advanced PID controllers. Also the mpc probe is will drop the cabnent temp to smoke after the set temperature is achieved to hold your food and hopefully not overcook
I just bought this pitboss and put it together. Rolled it outside and had a storm that night. Next day i noticed water had got inside. Is there any way to tighten up the door latch to get a better seal? Has anyone else had this issue?
Grab a cover for it
Amazon has plenty of aftermarket options. The one I got was probably around $20-30 and has held up nicely in the rain.
can you put full size pans on the racks
Yes, anything smaller than about 20x13 in.
What temp does it smoke most at? Cause I set mine at 200 and no smoke but says it's at 200
Not sure exactly what you're asking, but pellet smokers don't smoke nonstop.
What is the L41 code when I plug in my smoker?
Did you figure out what the code was? I just purchased mine and got the same code before it shut off.
Do you or any one on here have a problem with the door not shutting all the way? Like my latch is assembled and latched correctly but the door don’t shut all the way.
I have not had any issues. The latch does seem a little too tight, but it secures the door adequately.
I only get intermittent smoke from the stack. Is that normal?
I would say that it depends on the temp and pellets. Does it maintain the temp pretty well?
Did you purchase the protection plan?
nope
Comes with a 5 year Warranty...
What's the weight on that pit boss is it heavy?
Not super heavy. During assembly, you might want a second hand. Once assembled, it can be easily moved using the handle and unlocked casters.
172 lbs
I cooked ribs in mine…. Didn’t have any smoke flavor pretty disappointed
A temp diff of 353 and 361 or 365 is nothing
I cannot get mine to smoke at all .
Is it getting hot? Usually a lot of smoke is visible up to about 250F.
Can I put corn 🌽 and Potatoes In here
Don’t see why not.
Lowe’s would have assembled and delivered it for free
What's the fun in that!
Is the smoker that loud? Sounded like a jet engine in the video.
I wouldn't say it's super loud. But it's common for pellet style cookers since there's a blower fan.
The legs are a pain in the butt, because of the angles of the leg post
Spent an hour and a half putting it together, just to find there was a broken internal weld which is supposed to secure the ignition probe, rendering it inoperable. Very disappointing. Promptly Threw it in the truck and returned it. Ordered a Z Grill instead
Total piece of garbage. Send it back as soon as possible. If you already cooked on it, undoubtedly you found out what a piece of trash it is. $400 out the window! Friends don't let friends buy PitBoss!
I've cooked pork butts (up to 12 hours), chickens (about 4-5 hours), and sausage (about 1-2 hours) without any issues so far. What problems did you have?
@@pkabass78 I notice that you got no response from this guy. Which sucks!
Lol.. I've done over 100 cooks on my Austin XL over the last 3 years without a single issue.. Also own a vertical pitboss that I've never had a single issue with! Pitboss worth every penny, absolutely no reason to go spend top dollar for the same exact thing with a different logo on it
Here’s my situation….I got one back in November…did the burn out….then the hopper caught on fire…so they sent a new unit…I’m a little gun shy dropping a whole bag of pellets in again….please give me your thoughts on this…thanks Dan
Great addition to my other cooking toys. Smoked 2 turkeys and 4 slabs of ribs for Thanksgiving.....Outstanding and NO problems. If you are having problems, I suggest you read the Manual. It's easy - pesy.