Removing the Safety Grid on a Pit Boss Hopper the RIGHT WAY

[@madbackyard]

🔥 Make sure to also check out our video on how to EMPTY THE PELLETS from your Pit Boss HOPPER and AUGER to prolong their life and save you money ➡ kzbin.info/www/bejne/qaqbeI2hjNmFg6s 🔥

[@dhansel4835]

Here in Houston, Texas we have high humity. I always remove all the pellets from the hopper. The challenge is to run-out all the pellets from the pellet feed tube so the pellets won't swell up while sitting the the feed tube for a long time. You can hit the price button many times but all that does it ump the pellets into the burn chamber and things get really hot. They need to include on the menu a selection for "Prime the feed tube and Empty the feed tube without burning them".

[@madbackyard]

Yes, it would be nice if there was a quick release on the auger the way there is on the burn pot to dump the pellets!

[@dhansel4835]

I called Pit Boss and talked to a man in customer service and described what they need to add to their next Pit Boss firmware update. He took down the notes and said that people along the Gulf Coast has the same request.@@madbackyard

[@bruuuuhhh5918]

Thanks! This is a great idea! I thought youbwere just trying to make money off of me with that link so i went to HD spent an hour looking & getting everything else & went home. Then drove back to HD to get what i went there in the 1st place to do this project! Sorry I doubted you!

[@madbackyard]

Ha! Glad it worked out in the end for you.Thanks for watching! 👍 Yes, I'd much rather be doing almost anything than staring at the nuts and bolts wall at HD. 🤪

[@Underwearscares]

Getting your fingers hurt by the auger is like that scene from Austin Powers when the guy gets ran over by the Zamboni. You have to basically want to have your fingers chopped off for it to happen haha

[@madbackyard]

Ha, probably true. But you have to think every time you see a "safety feature" added to a product its because somebody, somewhere, did it...

[@reddog907]

This is something I wanted to do but because of the where the probes sit I was reluctant, anyway , this does spurs some other ideas , thanks for sharing.

[@madbackyard]

Thanks for watching!! 👍

[@toddhatch6826]

I use a paint stick as well to move my pellets around. Not sure if I'm going to remove the safety grid or now, but now i know how! Thanks!

[@madbackyard]

Right on!

[@AJ-uk6ft]

I actually put in some nails as a quick pull system. I can leave the gril in, or pull 4 pins and remove the grid quickly.

[@madbackyard]

Cool idea!

[@beardo5022]

I did this and put the grid back in resting on the screws. Now it's a removable safety grid

[@madbackyard]

Very cool! I had the same idea initially but found I don't even use it so I just leave it out now.

[@methosmomomax7470]

I lowered the safety grid down to where the hopper starts to narrow down. This is still far enough from the auger but allows you to work with the pellets.

[@madbackyard]

Great Idea!

[@Chuck-1121]

I did the same to my Camp Chef, but with the hardware installed I re inserted the grid on top of the hardware so its still in place for the young ones but easily removed anytime.

[@madbackyard]

Yes, that works great if you want to be able to easily pull it out when adding pellets!

[@muddpickle2476]

I used nut certs on inside. This allows the grate to be pulled in and out quickly and remain safe.

[@MikeP350]

Rhats the first thing i did on my 1150. That cubby is cute but i could never get my probes to fit back in there right as well

[@stampdealer]

I just got a PB700FB1 on a Friday and the grid was out on Sunday.

[@dhansel4835]

What I first did was put some perma-tex putty in each hole and flattened it out. Later that day I went to my local hardware store and took one of the screws with the washer that came with it. I found if I got 4 washers and one nylon locking nut that would work for each hole. The 4 washers per screw gave me the right amount of spacers for the nut to tighten too and create a smooth surface. I would have loved to found rubber plugs to stick in each hole but the hardware store did not have anything like that. Maybe someone reading this could find some on the internet. You only need 6 of them.

[@madbackyard]

Great tip on the extra washers! Curious why you puttied the holes before putting screws through them?

[@dhansel4835]

I thought putting putty on the holes was a quick fix until I figured out something else. I don't know how big the holes in the pellet hopper is. I thought maybe 1/4" but wasn't sure. I went to Amazon looking for some 1/4" rubber plugs to push into the holes and found several plugs. The trouble is that the sites are selling them by the dozen or two and I only need 6. @@madbackyard

[@packer34]

Was the first thing I did was remove the grid. Used silicone for holes and save yourself a few bucks and pick up a bucket from home depot!

[@madbackyard]

That works too! Thanks for watching! 👍

[@autopilotbob3002]

what happens when the wingnuts rattle loose into the auger?

[@madbackyard]

Ha, fair point, I usually give them a quick check everytime I load more pellets in the hopper and they have stayed tight so far. You could use a regular nut and a socket wrench if you really want to tighten them up more I guess.

[@jeremylastname873]

Without something to lock the wing nuts and keep them from vibrating loose, they could potentially fall into the auger. That could (possibly) become a problem.

[@madbackyard]

Yes it could, however I give mine a quick check every time I load more pellets and they’ve stayed pretty tight. Could use regular nuts with a socket wrench or some loc-tite if you are really concerned about it. Thanks for watching!

[@niki20072]

I have a Pitboss Lexington 540 and have tried to simply unscrew the screws like you show but they absolutely will not turn. We nearly rounded out one of the screws trying. Does anyone know if it is possible that the screws are glued in some way? From the inside ours also has the cap looking thing on the end of the screw which I thought might be some kind of locking mechanism but maybe not since your model had that also. I remember the video saying that the grate has the threads for the screws so I guess that is the purpose for the caps (or whatever they are) My model does not have that storage space for probes so that is not a concern for me. Of course, we could simply take tin snips and cut it out but would rather be able to just unscrew it. Anyone have any thoughts as to why it won't easily unscrew?

[@natecovertmallard4677]

I just stripped 2 of the screw heads and had to drill out the bolts. I found that using a drill with a proper Phillips drill bit worked better than using a screw driver. I was able to push and go really slowly to loosen all the bolts without stripping them. Then I replaced all the bolts with better quality ones from the hardware store. I didn't find any lock tite or anything they are just in there tight and aren't high quality so they strip easily.

[@danielploy9143]

Great tip. Soo easy a cavewoman can do this.

[@richardaristeo8394]

Why remove the grid ? Just cut off the center area big enough to put your hand or a large flat stick while maintaining the integrity of the body. After cutting sand edges smooth.

[@madbackyard]

Hi Richard- you can certainly do that if you want to, although it seems much easier to me to just quickly unscrew the whole grid and replace the screws rather than going through the hassle of cutting and sanding metal.

[@richardaristeo8394]

@@madbackyard easy things on life are not always better, I'm the type of person who's prefer do it right or don't do it at all. But everyone their own ! 🍻

[@sebastianmizzell7541]

@@richardaristeo8394 I don't think it is about a right way or wrong way. Some may prefer to still have a functioning safety device, just in case they are ever smoking with kids around. Doing it his way allows you to keep that option instead of destroying it.

[@richardaristeo8394]

@@sebastianmizzell7541 I don't know if you ever try to reach with your hand down into the hopper, the very same reason we are doing this modification.....cause you can't stir the pellets unless you use a long stick and thats why we either remove or cut it ! It is safer to cut small square of 4×4 oppose to remove the entire grate. Just big enough push a long brum stick thru it ! Unless you have children's with octopus arms 😆

[@az8theist977]

I just took out a pair of metal cutters and cut out the inside of the grate, leaving all the screws in place along with the grate perimeter. This way you don't have to plug anything up and you don't need a paint stick to move pellets around. Easy peasy....

[@madbackyard]

Nice! That works too, although I guess you need to be sure you never want to use the grid again! 😆 I didn’t put it in the video but found I can rest the grid on top of the wing nuts to still store my probes, but now I can just pull it out when adding pellets. Thanks for watching!! 👍

[@az8theist977]

@@madbackyard Love your channel! You turned me on the habit of emptying the hopper when not in use. Moisture on the pellets is not much of a problem here in Arizona, but cleaning out the auger is great maintenance. Never would have done that without watching you. Thanks again!!

[@madbackyard]

Awesome! Thanks for watching! Yeah I used to live in AZ for a short time and I know what you mean. Stay cool this summer, it's been brutal!🔥🌡♨️