Wondering if your Pit Boss is producing too much additional smoke?
Sure, smoke production is to be expected
But the levels of smoke and the type of smoke are essential factors to consider.
There are several factors that’ll help you determine whether your pellet grill is producing the ‘right smoke’.
White smoke, black smoke, or billowy smoke, for example, are all things that you would want to stay away from.
These kinds of smoke will add a very unpleasant taste to your foods.
In this article, we’ll help you identify what’s causing your Pit Boss to produce excessive smoke.
And we’ll also teach you how to solve this.
Table of contents
This Is Why Your Pit Boss Pellet Smoker Is Producing Too Much Smoke
Below are eight reasons why your smoker is producing to much smoke!
Are You Using Too Many Pellets?
The quantity of the pellets you use is also very important.
Sometimes more is not better.
While you definitely need the natural wood pellets to generate the smoke.
Too many pellets will result in excessive levels of smoke.
To solve this, you’ll need to change the P settings on your Pit Boss. The ‘P’ stands for ‘Pause’.
The P setting button actually controls the pellet supply rate.
The lower the setting, the more frequent the pellets from the pellet hopper will go into the burner.
Is Your Pit Boss P Setting Too High?
The auger pellet feeding cycle changes according to the different settings.
These settings go from P0 to P7.
If your smoker is producing too much smoke, then the time between pellet cycles may be too short.
While most guides would recommend that you simply stick with the P4 setting.
Sometimes that speed can still be too high.
That is why we recommend switching between P5, P6 and P7 to find the setting that’s right for your smoke session.
To change the P setting, simply keep pressing the P Setting button until your display shows either P5, P6, or P7.
You Might Need to Increase the Cooking Temperature
This may be a little surprising to some, but the slower the pellets burn, the more smoke they produce.
You can control the rate of the burn through the temperature control.
Low grill temperatures actually facilitate more smoke production.
Hence, if your smoker appears to be creating too much smoke, you might want to increase the heat via the grill’s temperature controller.
The Pit Boss temperature dial can be found on to the right of the display.
Just make sure that your appliance is within the perfect temperature range.
Once it is, you shouldn’t be experiencing these issues anymore.
Have a Little Patience — It Could Just Be the Start Up
Timing is also very important.
If you happen to notice thick white smoke appear at the very start of your cook then you have absolutely nothing to worry about.
The rod inside the Pit Boss is required to burn quite hot so that it can start up the initial flame.
This can often cause an excess of smoke to form.
The solution to this is to simply wait.
The white smoke should clear and the smoker should then function normally.
Bad Pallets Could Be the Cause
Damp pellets or old pellets could also cause too much smoke during your cook.
If the pellets in your Pit Boss have been sitting there for too long, they might be too old to burn properly.
And in some cases, wet pellets can trigger an error code to show up on the LCD screen and it can even cause your cooker to automatically shut off mid-cook.
Could You Be Experiencing a Flame Out? What Are They and How Do You Fix Them?
If you don’t know what ‘flame outs’ are, it refers to when your smoker just completely stops working and turns off on its own.
This can happen when something blocks off the air supply in the burner.
If your pellet supply doesn’t get enough oxygen, then the fire will die out.
As an outcome, you’ll be left with copious amounts of smoke and zero heat to cook your food.
The solution to this would include making sure that you clean your grill out regularly.
The best way to do this is to ensure that there’s not a lot of ash that’s accumulated in your Pit Boss.
If so, you should get rid of this ash and then use a vacuum to make sure that you’ve gotten rid of any broken-down pellets.
A great prevention method is to make sure that you remove any extra pellets or unused pellets from the grill after every smoking session.
Check the Smoker Mode
The ‘Smoker Mode’ on your Pit Boss is great to use towards the end of your cook.
This functions helps to infuse that lovely smokey flavor into your food.
If you are experiencing way too much smoke at the beginning or middle of your cooking session, you might want to check your smoke settings.
If it is set onto ‘Smoker Mode’ just turn that temperature dial down so that it sits at around 210 ℉ instead.
Perhaps You’re Smoking Too Soon
Did you know that you should leave a little bit of time gap in between your smoking and grilling?
This means that you shouldn’t immediately switch on the smoker function after you’ve grilled your meat to perfection.
You should actually let your Pit Boss rest for a little bit before you immediately set it to grill.
If you neglect this time gap, then you might see an excess amount of smoke coming out from your smoker.
This is due to the fact that the leftover pellets might burn up a little too quickly. And this can result in the production of too much smoke.
Hence, it’s best to let your appliance rest for a minimum of 15 minutes before you immediately switch it to ‘Smoker Mode’.
Is There a Problem With the Induction Fan?
There should definitely be smoke coming out from the grill lid and the smoker chimney.
But there’s definitely an issue if the smoke appears to be coming out through the hopper or pellet box.
This is a clear indication that that there’s something wrong with your smoker’s induction fan.
If the fan does not function correctly, then the pellets will not burn properly.
That is why the smoke will end up blowing out through the hopper when it is not supposed to.
What Smoke Should You Be Looking Out For?
It is normal to see some thick white smoke at the beginning of the cook, when you first start up your pellet grill.
It will disappear as soon as your Pit Boss is done with its start-up process.
After that, you should see some thin blue smoke during the grilling process.
And then after that you should strive for some thick blue smoke towards the middle and end of your cook.
At no point during your grilling session should you see any white or black smoke.
This kind of smoke will give your foods a bitter taste that’s not pleasant at all.
There are many reasons as to why your Pit Boss may be smoking too much.
But it shouldn’t be too difficult to pin point the exact cause.
It’s also perfectly okay if you feel like you cannot fix this issue by yourself.
Please know you can always call Pit Boss’s helpful customer service for assistance.
Good luck!
Smoke On!
Charlie
Hi, I’m Charlie, I have been meat-smoking and grilling for the past 15 years. I have an array of different smokers, thermometers, and have a love for finding the right wood and charcoal combo My favourite recipes are my EXTRA CRISPY smoked pork belly, juicy pulled pork, smoked brisket, duck poppers, and ANY SEAFOOD I grill).
I loves sharing his tips with beginners, helping them navigate the world of smoking. I find it’s not just about cooking; it’s a quest for that perfect smoky flavor.
You will usually find me playing with the kids, perfecting my brisket bark, or sipping beers with boys around the fire. Can’t wait to share all my delicious smoking and grilling recipes with you!
You can read more about me on our About Us page.
Hungry For More?
Thanks for that info regarding P4. Moving from there to P6 has changed my whole cooks, much appreciated 🙂
Hiya Davo,
No worries at all! What have you been cooking up?