Proper pit boss pellet removal is a crucial part of maintaining your grill, ensuring every cook is as delicious as the last. Whether you’re switching wood flavors for a new recipe, putting your grill away for the season, or preventing pellet jams, knowing how to quickly and cleanly remove pellets from pit boss grills is essential.
Forget the tedious scooping. Most Pit Boss pellet grills, including the Pit Boss Pellet Grill Pro Series, have a built-in feature that makes this job incredibly simple. This guide will walk you through the correct, easy process for a clean hopper and a happy grill.
Important Safety Information
WARNING: Combustion by-products produced when using this product can expose you to chemicals including carbon monoxide, which is known to the State of California to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm. For more information go to Proposition65.
Why and When to Empty Your Pellet Hopper
It’s good practice to empty your hopper in a few key situations:
- Changing Flavors: You don’t want the leftover hickory smoke from a brisket overpowering your next cook of a delicate Pit Boss Salmon Recipe.
- Humidity/Moisture: Pellets can absorb moisture over time, causing them to swell, jam the auger, and burn inefficiently.
- Long-Term Storage: Never store your grill for long periods with pellets in the hopper, as they can rot and ruin the mechanics.
- Cleaning: For a deep clean, you need to empty everything out.
The Easy Way: Using the Pellet Release Door
This is the definitive guide to pit boss pellet removal.
Step 1: Safety First Before you begin, ensure the grill is turned off, completely cool to the touch, and unplugged from the power source.
Step 2: Empty the Hopper
- Place a large, empty bucket or container directly underneath the pellet hopper chute on the back of your grill.
- Locate the hopper clean-out door handle. On most models, this is a small metal plate with a handle you can pull or slide.
- Open the release door. The Pit Boss hardwood pellets will pour out of the chute and into your bucket. Use your hand or a small brush to push any remaining pellets towards the chute until the hopper is empty.
- Securely close the release door.
Step 3: Clear the Auger Even with the hopper empty, a few pellets will remain in the auger tube.
- Plug the grill back in and turn it on.
- Let the grill run for a few minutes. You will hear the auger motor turning. It will feed the remaining pellets into the firepot and burn them off.
- Once the last few pellets have been fed through, turn the grill off and let it run through its shutdown cycle.
- Unplug the grill again before proceeding.
Step 4: A Final Clean-Out
Once the grill is completely cool, use a shop vacuum to clean the ash and any remaining pellet debris from the firepot. This is also a great time to give everything a more thorough cleaning. For detailed instructions, see our guide on how to clean your Pit Boss grill. This ensures easy cleaning and readiness for your next cook.
About Pit Boss Smoker Pellets
Pit Boss smoker pellets are made from 100 all natural North American hardwood. They offer many different blend hardwood pellets to create unique flavor profiles. For example, a Competition Blend often contains a mix of woods that works for everything, while a classic hickory is a popular wood that pairs well with beef, pork, and chicken. For a complete guide on fuel, check out our article on wood pellets for smokers.
Watch The Video!
For a visual guide, check out this video on How to Empty a Pit Boss Pellet Grill Hopper.
Conclusion of Pit Boss Pellet Removal
Regularly cleaning out your hopper is a simple task that pays huge dividends in performance and flavor. Now that you know the proper method, you can easily swap pellet flavors for a variety of recipes, from a classic smoked brisket to an inventive Pit Boss Pizza Recipe. To see the latest models, you can shop Pit Boss grills and smokers directly.
FAQs About Pit Boss Grill Pellet Removal
How do you remove pellets from Pit Boss?
The easiest way is to use the built-in pellet release door on the back of the hopper. Place a bucket underneath, open the door, and let the pellets pour out. Then, run the smoker for a few minutes to clear the remaining pellets from the auger tube.
How to remove auger from Pit Boss pellet grill?
Completely removing the auger is an advanced maintenance or repair task that requires disassembling parts of the hopper and motor. For routine pellet removal, you do not need to remove the auger. If your auger is jammed, first try clearing it by running the smoker on empty. If it requires removal, always consult your specific model’s manual first.
How to remove auger from Pit Boss vertical pellet smoker?
Similar to their grills, removing the auger from a Pit Boss electric smoker (vertical model) is a complex task for fixing jams or replacing parts. Always refer to your user manual. For simply changing pellets, use the hopper clean-out and auger-clearing cycle.
How to remove pellets from Pit Boss auger?
After emptying the hopper, the best way to clear the auger is to turn the grill on and let it run for 5 minutes. This will feed the remaining pellets from the auger tube into the firepot to be burned off.
How to remove pellets from Pit Boss hopper?
Locate the pellet clean-out door on the back or bottom of the hopper. Place a bucket under the chute, open the door, and the pellets will drain into the bucket.