Pit boss Austin xl

[mixonjosh]

Hey guys I’m new here and new to the pellet world. Trying to get my feet wet with a pellet smoker so I chose the pit boss Austin xl. Seems like decent product for the price range and size. Bought it last night, did the initial burn in and today I’m smoking 4 racks of ribs, the rack in the center of the grill keeps burning I assume because of the fire directly under it. The slide is closed so it doesn’t have direct flames on it and I have the temp gauge at 225? I don’t fully understand the p settings, I had it on smoke with p4 and the temp kept dropping all the way to 170 and that’s when i switched it to 225


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[TwoGuysBBQ]

Hello Mixonjosh and Welcome to the Madness
I can’t help with your issue, a pellet smoker I don’t have. But when I pull the trigger on one it’s going to be the Pit Boss XL
There’s lots of good guys on here, I’m sure you’ll get some direct advice soon.
Oh and don’t forget to post pics of your smoker and que

[RCAlan]

Welcome to the Texasbbqforum... I have a few questions and tips for You that’ll help you with your PB Austin XL grill. Did You preheat your grill?? Always preheat your grill for 20-30 mins at 300*-350* degrees before your start your cook. Never just plug it and set the temp... If the outside temp is warm, then you can preheat at 300* degrees for 20 mins... If it’s cold out, then You should preheat at 350* degrees for at least 30 mins. These are still stick burners, just pellets... That’s why preheating is so important. Once the grills temp has settled and stabilize during the preheating, then you can set your grill at your desired temp. Extreme cold weather and smoke mode are not always good cooking partners... Your grill will put out good smoke for your food from grill temps of 200*-250* degrees. The smoke mode temp will run from 150*-190* temp range. The lower the temp the more smoke your grill produce, that’s why it’s called smoke mode... but if you’re on the wrong P-setting and it’s very cold out, your grill will have a greater chance of flaming out... That’s with all Pellet Grills with P-settings. The PB Austin XL is a great grill and will put out some fantastic bbq... As will all new pellet grills, there’s a learning curve. What’s the outdoor temp where you’re located? If the temp is in the 70’s, leave the P-setting on P4, which is factory default. If it’s 40*-50*’s, then I would use P-Setting P3. Always keep your grill and fire pot clean using a Shop-vac if possible after every cook. Also cover your grease/deflector shield with Heavy duty Aluminum foil and after cleaning your grill, always give it a light coating of cooking oil or grill spray on the untreated metal areas to prevent rust. I know this may seem like a lot to digest... It just so important to read and follow your Owners manual instructions.. That’s with PB, Traeger, and every other pellet grill manufacturer. I can’t say it enough. After your second and third cook, it’ll all be easy. I hope the tips help and keep us posted. Good luck

PB Austin XL in SoCal and Always... Semper Fi

[mixonjosh]

I preheated at 350 for roughly 15 minutes I suppose, and it was 60 outside. It held temp fine when I turned the dial to 225 it just kinda burnt the bottom of my ribs that I had in the middle of the smoker. I guess it’s best to cook on the left and right sides, not directly over the burner? The bark on my ribs was also not great, i did two racks unwrapped and two wrapped. The two unwrapped turned out better than the wrapped hands down. I’m starting to think I should’ve cooked them at 200 instead of 225.


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[RCAlan]

With your outside temp being in the 60’s.. P-Setting P4 is fine. PB grills require preheating. The owners manual says to preheat for 30 mins. Once You have a better understanding of your grill, then you can adjust it to 20 mins. While your grill is preheating, that’ll give you time to prepare your food for your cook. Once the preheating is done and You had your grill set at 350* degrees, the grills thermostat should also be reading 350* degrees... Not 400* and not 250*... After the 30 min preheat is completed, now set your grill it to either 200* or 225* degrees. Keep an eye on your grill while you’re learning how it operates. If your heat shield was not covered with aluminum foil and the grease from your rids was dropping into the burn pot, it’ll cause temp swings and to burn hotter. Remember, the burn pot is centered in the middle of the grill, so it will burn a little hotter there. At 200*-225* degrees, that shouldn’t make a big difference. Now if you’re cooking at 300*-350*, then it will. Your meat shouldn’t be burning at 200*-225* unless you weren’t keeping an eye on your cook. Again, your grill will cycle, all pellet grills do. If you have your grills temp set at 225* degrees, it’ll go up to 250* perhaps 260* for a few mins and then come down to 225*.. That is completely normal. It’s adding more pellets to the burn pot. All bbq grills will have some temp adjustments just by adding wood/fuel to continue the cook. Even your oven in your home does the same thing, If I may ask, what brand and flavor or pellets did you use? Some brands like Traeger sometimes will have a lot of sawdust and that can cause some issues as well. You don’t want your burn pot full of sawdust. My first cook wasn’t perfect... I had to go back and read my owners manual and ask for advice from people that had experience with PB Pellet Grills and not go off what’s on TV Info commercials. Not saying you did... but I did and others have also. I’m sure your next cook will turn out much better. Just keep a closer eye on your cook and grill, until your completely familiar with its workings.

[spacetrucker]

I would ask you to do a "search" on P setting and read a post by "papa tom" This guy really does have a good understanding and can explain the p setting really well.
I do not have a Pit Boss, but from what I read they are great grills and smokers.
Hopefully Papa Tom will jump in here and give you some answers to help get you going..
I have a FEC-100 and a Traeger my Traeger does have a P setting and if memory served correct it only effects the way the auger feed works in the smoke mode, which I almost never use.

[RCAlan]

This is the link to the posting on P-Settings... Read the entire thread, there’s some great information on P- settings and great info in general. The P-Settings info comes directly from the PB 820 owners manual. Thanks Papa Tom for posting.

viewtopic.php?f=71&t=32232

Also another good read from a prior PB Austin XL posting..

viewtopic.php?f=71&t=32622

[mixonjosh]

RCAlan yeah I read about the covering with aluminum foil but honestly just forgot about it and now that you mention it a couple times it flamed up because of the drippings. I used the PitBoss brand pellets, they seemed to have worked fine but I did notice a bit of dust. I’m not sure how much is a normal amount of dust but this didn’t seem like much to me?


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[RCAlan]

Mixonjosh, a good brand of Pellets to buy is Lumberjack brand pellets.. They produce great flavor and smoke. PB Pellets are fine, but I think Lumberjack is better. All brands of pellets will have some sawdust, I’ve found that Traeger tends to have the most sawdust in their bags. Whichever brand You use, just check for excessive sawdust before You start filling the hopper with pellets. When You plan on cleaning your grill, give the Flame Broiler main plate and slider a nice coating of cooking oil or use some Pam Grill spray on them, then wipe off, to help prevent rust from developing. Grease buildup and spills are not what you want to happen over the burn pot. The details and the finished product are what makes this hobby so much fun... On your next bbq, try a Brisket Flat and some spares and let us know how your cook turns out. Good luck.

[Papa Tom]

Welcome to the forum and the land of little stick burners.
Here is the easy way to check for cook temperature across your pit.
Do whatever warm up you like then set the temp to a good cooking temp (I like 250-275° for ribs) wait until it is stable, pop open a can of those refrigerator biscuits and place them in a pattern across the grid.
Close the lid and wait whatever baking time the biscuit can called for then open and check how well done the biscuits are especially the bottoms and record this info in your notes.
Now you will know how the temperature varies left, right and center & maybe more depending how many biscuits you had. And now that you know you can choose to use that knowledge to place food on the grid or move it around during the cook.
OR possibly modify the pit. My Traegers and Pit Boss do not have the direct flame option (my FEC 500 does tho) I modified them by screwing a cast iron griddle directly over the flame deflector to tone down the center hot spot and also temp variations during the cook (mass retains heat).

Good fortunes and welcome again to our world.
PT

[mixonjosh]

Great advice papa Tom I’ll be sure to grab some biscuits at the store this weekend and give that a try and I may modify my smoker later on as well.


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